Divinity: A question of Honor
by Nebelflecke
Summary: Love can be an illusion of life, the core of a soul, a whisper in the wind, a kiss on your lips. Love is a mystery and can be the strength to carry on or the feeling that can tear you apart. Second season.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N:** Hello everyone, it is me again with the continuation of this story. I'm incredibly happy to have received so many reviews, author alerts and story alerts with the first season, I'm so happy for the new readers who decided to give this story an opportunity. Thank you._

_I want to send out a very special thank you to: **persian85033, Mimi the popo, PriestessHelene and Sangouscourage **you guys are the best, thank you so much for reading since I started posting and reviewing every single chapter, and another special thank you to** gingersnaps-luv, Serenityalexis, lunalily18 and Isis2010 **for reviewing and marking me as a favorite author as soon as you read the last chapter :)_

_And thank you to you who haven't sent me a review but have marked me as favorite author or the story as favorite._

_I have to say for the new readers of this season that if you haven;t read the first one you might get confused with some things, I invite you to read Divinity, I promise one thing either you love or hate it._

_Thank you so much for following and I will wait anxiously for your reviews, I hope you like this new season who is about to start... now!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own SM just some of the characters and the plot of this story. Thank you._

_"Now, you just need to think of a name for him" Queen Narella said._

_"I have found the perfect name" Gaia said._

_"Which is?" King Odell asked._

_Gaia smiled and turned to look at the baby in her arms "Endymion… my setting sun"_

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_Divinity: A question of honor - chapter one_

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Eros walked outside his chambers to talk to the doctor "Something happened am I correct?"

The doctor sighed and nodded "I don't know how to tell you this Your Majesty"

Eros frowned "Tell me whatever it is, without hesitation…"

"Her Majesty's health is delicate, giving birth worn her out very much, she had a hemorrhage we managed to control after the baby was born but…" the doctor trailed.

"Tell me the truth doctor" Eros asked.

"She cannot bare another child Your Majesty, if she gets pregnant once again her life will be at risk, considering she had a delicate pregnancy and a very hard labor" the doctor said in a serious tone.

"I understand…" Eros said.

"I'm so sorry to bring you this news in such a beautiful moment Your Majesty" the doctor said sadly.

"No…it's good to know this, I thank you for your diagnose" Eros said.

"She needs to take several precautions, like rest, do not expose to stressful situations and of course have a very healthy alimentation" the doctor said.

"I will personally make sure she takes her precautions well, I thank you once again doctor" Eros said.

"I'll be coming in a couple of days to check on Her Majesty and the baby" the doctor said.

Eros nodded, giving cue to the doctor to leave; a maid and his assistant were waiting for him at the end of the hall.

"Oh my…I can't stop looking at him…he's gorgeous!" Queen Narella said to Gaia, she was holding her first grandson in her arms and couldn't believe such miracle.

Obelix came close Gaia and sat beside her on the bed "How are you feeling little princess?"

"Very weak…very tired…but happy" she said softly.

"He looks like you" the priest smiled.

"Because of the hair?" she asked weakly.

"And your nose" the priest smiled.

The baby in Queen's Narella's arms was sound asleep, his rosy cheeks looked like two small red apples, his hair was midnight black, darker than his mother's, his skin a very fair tone, his small hands were curled up into tiny fists.

Eros came back into the room and smiled at the sight of his mother holding his child "It's hard to say who resembles the most" said Queen Narella.

Eros smiled and turned to look at his exhausted wife "Let's give Gaia some quiet time to rest…"

"You're right dear, she needs to rest" Queen Narella said.

"I think we all need to rest" said King Odell.

"I know…it's just that…seeing this bundle of joy I forget about anything else…" the queen's voice was soft.

Narella placed baby Endymion on his bassinet next to their bed and covered him with a blue blanket with little brown horses on it.

"We will see you later today for dinner" King Odell said to his son.

"Is there something I could bring you Gaia?" Aurea asked softly.

"No Aurea…I'm fine…I just…need some rest" Gaia responded with a weak voice.

Aurea nodded and left the room with Leonidas.

Eros stood still looking down at the bassinet, he stared at his son's steady breathing, his little peaceful form, he watched his hair and was amazed by how dark it was, he couldn't believe this miracle was a part of him and a part of her. Then he turned to see his wife, she looked different, she looked beautiful.

Taking off his boots and his military jacket he went to lie down on the bed next to Gaia and in a matter of seconds they both fell asleep.

* * *

"Your Majesty, there's a letter addressed to King Athan and yourself"

Serenity turned to see Luna in a pale yellow gown "A letter, from whom?"

"The Higher realm in Olympus" Artemis said.

Serenity took the letter from Luna's hand and broke the seal to start reading it, her eyes widened in shock.

"Is something the matter Your Majesty?" Artemis asked concerned.

"We are being calling to an audience with the Higher Gods…" Serenity said, she turned to leave the room quickly.

"Your Majesty?" Luna asked worried.

"If you get to see my husband, tell him I'll be waiting for him on Olympus" Serenity said.

Luna and Artemis nodded.

"What do you think this means?" Luna asked Artemis.

"It must be something very important" Artemis said.

"Ares, there's a letter addressed to us from Olympus" Eris said from her vanity.

Ares turned to look at his wife combing her dark hair "Did you read it?"

"It says we need to be present for an audience with the Higher Gods…" she said.

"Referring to?" Ares asked.

"It doesn't say anything else... but I'm almost positive what it's about" Eris said.

Ares remained silent; Eris continued combing her long hair "For how long is she going to keep stealing everyone's attention?"

"Why does it bother you so much? It has nothing to do with you…" Ares said with discomfort.

Eris placed her comb on her vanity "It's about a Goddess _you_ trained and had feelings for… I'm married to you; of course it has to do with me"

Ares sighed and turned to leave "Don't go if you don't want to then…"

"You will always be a ghost in Ares's mind Gaia…always" Eris said looking at her reflection on the mirror.

Serenity appeared in Olympus, gods and goddesses from all over the universe were directing towards the big white audience room. The same room Gaia was last seen.

"Serenity!" Aphrodite called her from a far.

Serenity turned to see the goddess of love and beauty with a concerned face "Aphrodite"

"Do you know why they called us?" the blonde goddess asked.

Serenity shook her head "No…"

"You have a very close relationship with Chronos don't you?" Aphrodite asked.

"Well, we talked several times recently but he was more close to Gaia" Serenity said.

Ares appeared next with Eris on his side; he stepped aside from her and went to talk to Serenity.

"This must be important, everyone is arriving" Ares said.

"Do you know what this is all about?" Serenity asked Ares.

"No…maybe they just want to inform us something, not out of the ordinary" Ares said.

"We better go inside and take our seats" Aphrodite said.

Inside the majestic round room, Serenity seated on her rightful place as Goddess of the Moon, minutes later Athan seated next to her.

"Artemis informed me of this audience" the lunar king said.

Serenity nodded.

The doors were finally closed and in the center on the room, up high on their respective thrones were the Higher Gods, Zeus, Poseidon, Apollo, Hades and Chronos. As always, Zeus broke the silence.

"This is not an ordinary meeting; it's about something that concerns us all…"

Serenity turned her face to where was supposed to be Gaia's golden chair, Geb and Nut were sitting in their respective chairs next to the empty space. Their expression was one of worry.

"We've been involved in a very uncomfortable position by dealing with a lower being who called herself a Mighty Goddess…" Zeus said.

Serenity's heart pounded very fast and looked at Chronos's stern face. When he was not in an audience like this one he was a very sweet God, but when it was time to become the Higher God he rightfully was he imposed his position.

Serenity could tell Zeus was talking about Gaia, what she didn't like was the way he was referring her to, she was once indeed a Mighty Goddess and she still was, she just didn't live among them anymore.

"Most of you had to battle her and caused disturbing among our Alliance… Metallia was her name and we clearly know who she used to be friends with…"

"She seems to be vanished from Olympus and we know why…" Zeus turned to look at Geb and Nut with a serious look.

Nut held her husband's hand with all her might.

"It seems someone made justice by her own hand, without consulting us first" Zeus said.

"Mighty God Zeus… what is this disturbance we all felt?" Athena asked from her seat.

"A strong energy we know well, an energy that only can come from an immortal being" Poseidon said.

"We are well aware of your daughter's strength Geb and we know it's her…" Poseidon said looking at the Earth's former protector.

"I don't understand…" Geb said.

"She took the sacred crystal you used to protect and you never informed us…" Zeus said his voice stern and cold.

"Were you trying to fool us?" Poseidon asked.

The whispering couldn't wait any longer, the tension in the room became evident; Ares was silent and paid close attention to the matter and so Serenity.

"Your daughter not only took the sacred stone from you, but she used it on a mortal's realm. But that's not the important matter of this meeting" Zeus said.

"But you stripped the Goddess off her title and took away her immortality with it her powers…" Goddess Hestia said.

"Yes, we did. And she lives a mortal life now. But it is something important what happened and needs to be attended" Poseidon said.

"What is that..?" Rhea asked with a dead glare.

"Gaia gave birth to a mortal child" Zeus said.

"What?" everyone started asking in surprise, Serenity turned to look at Ares then to Chronos who still held a stern look.

"But that is impossible…" Apollo said, turning to see Chronos.

"That child is not to be near any of us…a descendant from traitors must be punished if he dares to come to us" Hades said.

"We will not allow any link from the mortal's realm to this one! We must stay away from any contact with them, earthlings are not to be trusted" Poseidon said.

"No…" Serenity said.

Chronos turned to look at the Moon Goddess and shook his head no.

"The son of Gaia is not supposed to exist" Zeus said.

"We cannot leave Earth out of our Alliance…why? That child doesn't have any fault of what their ancestors did! Gaia didn't do anything wrong!" Serenity said.

"Serenity…stop it!" Athan hushed.

"How dare you to speak to us in that tone? To question our judgement?" Poseidon said.

"That baby is innocent…" Serenity said.

"That baby comes from a family who betrayed us, who broke our laws" Poseidon said.

"We must take care of this matter…" Hades said to Zeus.

Chronos turned to look at Hades "What are you saying Hades?"

"We must destroy that child…is the only way to keep at peace this realm. I'll take the child's soul to the underworld and we could have everything under control" Hades said.

"Time will create a distortion…we can't act that way" Chronos said.

"That child has royal blood…that child is indeed a miracle…but we cannot expose ourselves" Zeus said.

"Zeus, we cannot take his life with us… we are not Higher Gods to act like the beings that have been put under a seal" Chronos said.

Athan pulled Serenity back to her seat, she turned to look at him with a worried look "They can't do that…"

"Serenity, we can't be against them…we just formed an alliance" Athan said.

"Chronos, why are you defending this child so much? She is nothing yours! You saved her from her brother…but we don't know if her child has the same blood as he…" Zeus said.

"We cannot change destiny Zeus…or have you forgotten your past?" Chronos asked.

Zeus sighed and stood up.

"It is now completely forbidden to have any contact with Earth, it will cease to be in our realm and protection alliance. Any of you who dare to go there will have to pay for severe consequences. This decision is final" Zeus said.

Serenity couldn't hold the things they were all saying about her friend and her child.

The Higher Gods stood up and disappeared, giving cue to everyone to leave, the meeting was over.

Geb and Nut stayed in their seats, Serenity walked towards them "King Geb, Queen Nut…" she said softly.

"This can't be happening…" Nut sobbed.

"Nut, we need to go home…" Geb said, helping his wife they both vanished from the room leaving light blue sparks were they were sitting.

Serenity turned to see her husband waiting for her and started to cry, walking out of the room she met Aphrodite.

"Serenity…" Aphrodite said softly.

Athan came to stand next to his wife "Let's go home…"

Serenity turned to look at Athan with a stern look "Home is a place you call when you feel at peace and happy and neither of those things happens when I'm around you…"

Athan widened his eyes "What are you saying?"

"What you heard…" Serenity said.

"Serenity…"

"Please, leave me alone…" Serenity vanished and left Olympus.

"I'm so sorry Serenity…" Athan said almost like a whisper.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **_Thank you so much for your good acceptance of this second part of the story. I got really sick this week and I am still on bed, but the writing doesn't cease, so that's a good thing, right? Well, I hope you enjoy this new chapter, I'll be waiting for your awesome reviews as always._

_To Isis2010: I liked very much what you wrote on the review, I'm glad you are liking the story. About Endymion and Serenity...things will come along and when you least expect it it will happen, trust me. I am also excited to see those two in action, they are my favorite couple of all times I promise you one thing, once they show up in the picture you'll love it :D_

_To the rest of my dear and wonderful readers: I know, this is a very long story but I will do my best to keep you interested ;) you guys are the best and because of that I'll keep doing my best._

_Enjoy!_

_

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_**Divinity: A question of Honor**

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****Chapter two**

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Gaia opened her green eyes slowly; rubbing one with her hand she turned to her side and found Eros asleep. She turned to look at the bassinet next to the other side of the bed, finding odd her baby hadn't cry she tried to stand up carefully, flinching a little but managed to stand up and walked to the bassinet.

And there he was her miracle, her son. The apple of her eyes; as if he felt his mother was near he started to move and cry.

Gaia bent to hold her son in her arms trying to calm him down a little "Shh…shhh little Endy…you're going to wake papa"

She walked to the living room in their chambers rocking her son softly, coming closer to the window she looked up to the sky then to the baby in her arms.

"I'm in love with you…" she cooed.

Baby Endymion kept his eyes closed but made a face like he was about to cry once again.

"What are you doing up?" Eros voice scared her, making her jump a little.

"We woke you up…sorry" she whispered.

"You should be resting" the king came to stand next to his wife and son.

"I'm tired to be on bed…I needed to stretch…and this little angel started to cry" Gaia said.

"He must be hungry. I'll call Aurea to come and help you feed the baby" Eros kissed her on the forehead and left their chambers.

"You're hungry little man…" Gaia cooed again.

Gaia looked out the window and sighed "I wish your grandparents could meet you…"

Aurea came in with Eros minutes later "I'm here" she smiled.

Gaia smiled.

"I'll go take a bath then…" Eros said and kissed his son on the forehead.

Gaia looked down at the baby and then at Aurea with a frustrated look.

"What's wrong?" Aurea asked.

Baby Endymion started to cry desperately; his little fisted hands were shaking as if he was very, _very_ upset. Gaia started to get nervous and her eyes started to tear.

"What's wrong Gaia?" Aurea asked worried.

"I do not know how to do it…" Gaia started crying.

"That's why I'm here silly" Aurea said.

Gaia sniffed a few times and gave her friend a small smile "I don't want him to suffer…"

"He's not suffering, he's just hungry, I'm going to undo the lace of your night gown alright?" Aurea said.

Gaia nodded and blushed, after a few seconds she was marveled by how the baby became silent, she turned to look at him and was mesmerized by his little form.

Gaia turned to look at Aurea "I'm so sorry…"

"I promised I would help you take care of him… don't be sorry, you didn't know any of this…" Aurea said.

They stayed in silence for a long time until the baby was completely satisfied and Aurea broke the silence "He's beautiful"

"I wish he could open his eyes…" Gaia said softly.

Aurea smiled "How are you feeling?"

"Just tired…" Gaia said softly "But I'm tired of being in here…I want to go out and take some fresh air…"

"I understand…but you need to fully recover" Aurea said.

Eros came out of the room wearing a white shirt and a clean pair of his uniform pants "Did he eat?"

"Yes Your Majesty" Aurea answered.

"Did he open his eyes already?" Eros asked.

Gaia chuckled "He's been lazy and doesn't want to yet"

Eros chuckled "Dear I'll go check on my parents and see what's there to do, I won't take long alright?"

"Alright" Gaia said.

"Tell your mother Endy is waiting for his round of kisses from her" she smiled.

"Of course" Eros kissed his wife on the lips and then his son on the forehead.

"Take care of them Aurea" Eros smiled.

"Yes, Your Majesty" Aurea said.

"What are we going to do?" Poseidon the God of Seas asked as he walked into the Higher Gods' private conference room with the rest of the Gods.

"We need to take serious measures" Hades said.

Chronos frowned "Are you really considering killing Gaia's child?"

"There is no other way" Zeus said.

"She doesn't belong to this realm, which is why any relation she had with us must to be broken..." Apollo said.

"You can't…" Chronos said.

"Why do you defend her so much, why do you defend that child so much, that child is an abomination!" Hades said.

"That child is a miracle Hades! It is impossible for an immortal being without power conceive with a mortal and have a demigod!" Chronos said.

"Exactly, that is why we need to take his soul before everything gets out of control" Poseidon said.

"Chronos…" Zeus trailed off.

"Any contact with Earth is already prohibited; I highly doubt that child will be immortal…in a matter of years he will perish, just like his mother and his mortal father…when the time is right I will personally will go for their soul" Hades said.

"What worries me the most is what if that child follows his family steps…you know what I mean" Apollo said.

"You mean Gaia's brother" Zeus said.

Apollo nodded.

"He is sealed and doesn't have the sacred crystal" Poseidon said.

"But that child has it!" Apollo said.

"We will have to keep an eye to that child…" Zeus said.

"Thank for helping me take care of him while I took a bath" Gaia came out of the room and saw the balcony decorated with flower pots, cushions and a wooden rocking chair.

"Aurea…" Gaia breathed.

"I tried to lighten up the balcony so you wouldn't feel suffocated inside your room…" Aurea said happily.

"It's wonderful, thank you" Gaia smiled.

Gaia went to the bassinet to take her son out to the balcony "Let's go outside Endylove"

Aurea smiled "You just can't believe it, right?"

"No…I can't believe this gorgeousness is mine…" Gaia cooed.

A soft knock was heard, revealing a smiling priest behind the half opened door "May I come in?"

"Obelix!" Gaia smiled.

"How are you feeling?" the priest asked.

"A little tired but better" Gaia said.

"How is His Highness today?" the priest asked.

"I'm fine" Gaia said in a childish tone.

"Look what Aurea did for us!" Gaia walked to the balcony slowly.

Obelix smiled "It's beautiful…"

"Since I can't go out yet, because I need to fully recover, my good and dear friend Aurea decorated this place for Endy and myself" Gaia said happily.

"Well then, what are we doing here inside? Let's go out to the balcony" Obelix said.

"I can't wait to see him walking around the palace" Aurea said cheerfully.

Gaia nodded and sighed "Everything's perfect…we finally leave in a peaceful place, I am married to a wonderful man, I have a gorgeous baby…" she trailed off.

"But…?" Aurea asked.

"I wish Mother and Father could meet their grandson…" Gaia said sadly.

"Do you think they knew you were expecting a child?" Aurea asked.

"Yes…but of course they'll never come, they called me a traitor…" Gaia said.

"But your child will know who they are…that's all that matters" Obelix said.

Gaia shook her head "No…"

"What?" Obelix asked shocked.

"My son will not know who they are…" Gaia said in a serious tone.

"What are you saying Gaia? " Aurea asked shocked.

"But he will ask eventually" Obelix asked.

"And you won't say a word…" Gaia stood up with her child on her arms.

"Are you saying you are depriving your son from knowing his family, his origins?" Obelix asked.

"Obelix…I don't…What if he …" she trailed off.

"So what are you going to do?" Aurea asked.

"I will see what's better for him" Gaia said.

Baby Endymion started to move in his mother's arms, he started to rub his eyes with his little fisted hands softly.

"It seems the prince is about to ask for more food" Aurea said.

After a few seconds his eyes started to finally open slowly, he blinked several times to adjust them to the bright sun light making Gaia gasp in surprise.

"What?" Obelix and Aurea asked in unison.

The prince yawned and opened his eyes revealing a pair of an intense blue, so intense it could be compared to a stormy sea.

"Endymion…" Gaia breathed.

"Gaia?" Aurea was puzzled.

Obelix came to stand next to Gaia and her baby and widened his eyes when he saw her son's face.

"Those eyes…" Obelix said amazed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

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****Chapter three**

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"Those eyes…" Obelix said shocked.

"Is something wrong?" Aurea asked concerned.

"His eyes…" Gaia whispered.

"What about them?" Area asked confused.

"Look at them…" Gaia said.

Endymion's eyes were enchanting, so deep you could be drown in them and just like once her mother's it changed like a prism they changed in different shades of blue.

"He has sapphire eyes" Aurea said amazed.

"I knew I wasn't mistaken…" Obelix said.

"I don't think I understand" Aurea said.

"Endymion has the same prism eyes I used to have when I was a goddess…the same eyes…my brother once had..." Gaia said softly.

"Are you saying…the prince might be…a God?" Aurea asked shocked.

"But it's strange…when you were chosen, the energy came from the crystal…this time, the energy comes from within him" Obelix said.

Gaia looked down at her son in her arms, his deep blue eyes watched her carefully, his little hand played absently with the fabric of her dress.

"He was chosen…" she said.

"Chosen?" Aurea said confused.

"Yes, to be the next Earth's protector…I can feel the crystal's energy in him…" Gaia said.

"A miracle indeed" Obelix said.

Gaia caressed his soft cheek and smiled at him "That is why you always protected me from harm"

"When the time is right, he will need to learn how to channel all the energy inside him, how to manage the crystal" Obelix said.

Gaia remained silent "Eros needs to know this…"

* * *

"Serenity" Chronos deep voice echoed in the hall of his palace.

Serenity turned to look at the Lord of Time, her eyes were red and puffy from crying, her face screamed desperation and worry. Standing up she walked towards him with a stern face.

"Why did you let them decide that?" she asked.

"Serenity…" Chronos said.

"I thought she was like your little sister" Serenity said with an angry tone "Just because you're a High God you think you can control over everyone's life?"

"My opinion is not the only one that matters…" Chronos said.

"And what about your feelings, what about your heart? You took everything away from her and now you want to take her child's life just because you think he's an abomination?" Serenity asked.

"She will always be like my little sister Serenity, you know that, I managed to control their desire to go and take her child from her arms to the underworld with Hades...but they will keep a close eye on them. You will have to stay away from Earth from now on…" Chronos said.

"She's my best friend!" Serenity's fisted hands trembled.

"It is no longer possible Serenity, if someone goes there, their life might be at risk…can't you see? Her child is the link between the immortal and mortal world, they don't want that…if they know about you are going there, you might get punished and they will probably die…that is all I can do now, to warn you, let things take its course like they are meant to be…" Chronos said.

"I can't because I know what they will try to do Chronos! They'll try to go for that crystal…they'll fight her and if they do she will come back but as one of Lethe's river souls" Serenity said in desperation.

Chronos half smiled "You need to have more faith in them…"

"What?" Serenity asked.

"I cannot say more little flower…" Chronos turned to leave.

Serenity stayed silent and watched the God of Time get lost in the long hallway of his palace.

ooooooooooooooo

"We have a grandson…" Queen Nut said.

"I must take the sacred crystal from them…" King Geb said.

"But we don't know if they can use it Geb!" Queen Nut said.

"Do you want to wait and see if they can?" Geb said frustrated.

Nut turned to the window of their shrine "Father always acted in many mysterious ways…"

"Well, clearly this time he didn't think well" Geb said.

"Geb, do you really want to continue hurting our daughter?" Nut asked him.

"She did that to herself!" Geb exclaimed and paused for a moment when he saw his wife crying silently.

"And what are you going to do? Are you going to kill them? Are you going to kill your own daughter and grandchild? If our grandchild has the blessing of the sun is because Father wanted to…Father is also a High God, there is nothing we can do about it, no matter how much Zeus and the others want to destroy them" Nut said.

"Your father wasn't there in the first place..."

"Geb, please… reconsider. She's our daughter" Nut said.

"Are you going to say the same about our son?" Geb asked.

Nut looked away "I know I wasn't the mother Gaia wanted to have, I know I always judged her because she had to learn things she wasn't supposed to know. I was mad at Father for choosing her to be the next guardian, I was incredibly upset when we all found out she fell in love with a mortal…I called her worthless…but, she's my daughter and she just gave birth to a child who has our blood…and I miss her terribly, I miss her magical eyes…don't you Geb?"

Geb sighed. His wife was right, he missed his daughter, when she had bad dreams he was the one going to her room and tell her stories to fall back asleep.

"I have to do it Nut, so they can leave them alone" Geb said.

* * *

"He will lead a normal life"

"Little princess…what are you saying?" Obelix asked.

Gaia looked at her son in her arms "I don't want him to know any of this…"

"He will have to know, you can't hide the truth…someday when he gets older he'll ask and what are you going to do?" Aurea asked.

"I don't want him to know, he will not know what he is…" Gaia stood up and went to lay his sleeping son on his bassinet.

"Little princess why do you want to do that?" the priest said.

Gaia turned to look at Obelix with teary eyes "Because I want him to have a normal life as a boy…I want him to be able to go out and play…remember how my childhood was…all I did was study and train, learned how to use the crystal"

"But it is inevitable, he will eventually know something is different" the priest said.

"What will be inevitable Obelix?" Eros asked.

"Dear" Gaia said.

"Where's the baby?" Eros asked.

"In his bassinet sleeping" Gaia said looking down.

"Is something the matter?" Eros asked concerned.

Gaia sighed "Dear, remember when I fought Metallia?"

"Yes" Eros said.

"Well…the energy that sealed her away wasn't coming from me, it was coming from Endymion" Gaia said.

Eros's blue eyes widened in shock "What?"

Obelix joined the couple in the living room and sat next to the terran queen "I had my suspicions and they became true as soon as the prince opened his eyes"

Eros turned to look at Gaia "That means…" he trailed off.

"The one who confronted Ares wasn't me but him, the one who saved me from dying, the one who sealed Metallia it wasn't me…but him. He is the new Protector of this planet" Gaia said.

"So then…is he a…God?" Eros asked amazed.

"Prince Endymion is indeed a miracle Your Majesty, ancient stories say that when a god conceives a child with a mortal this becomes a Demigod, a human with the power of a God, but…that was only a myth" the priest said.

"But, how can you be so sure?" Eros asked.

"I don't have my pendant anymore" Gaia said.

"So that golden light that came from the room when he was born…it wasn't a hallucination" Eros said softly.

"No, it was our baby" Gaia said.

"Do you think _they_ know all of this?" Eros asked concerned.

"Probably…" Gaia said and lowered her gaze again.

Inside the room the baby started crying, Gaia stood up and walked towards the bedroom "But I hope they leave us alone"

* * *

At the moon palace Luna was waiting for her queen to arrive in the lobby.

"Luna, what are you doing here?" Artemis asked.

Luna turned to look at Artemis "Waiting for Queen Serenity, she looked so worried when she received that letter"

"I hope it wasn't bad news…" Artemis said.

Minutes after Serenity appeared in a flash of silver and walked quickly to her chambers without saying a word.

Luna looked at Artemis with a worried expression before following the lunar queen. Serenity entered her chambers and paced to one side and the other with a worried expression on her face.

"Queen Serenity, may I come in?" Luna knocked softly on the door.

Serenity stopped in her tracks "Luna…I didn't hear you knock, is something wrong?"

"I'm worried about you Your Majesty…you have such a worried expression…did something happened in Olympus?" Luna asked concerned.

Serenity sighed and sat on her bed; Luna followed her and sat on a white couch in front of her "I cannot lie to you my dear Luna…"

"Your Majesty you're worrying me" Luna said.

"Gaia gave birth to her child, the Higher Gods are aware of this and they want to…" Serenity trailed off, her lavender eyes started to fill with tears.

"They want to do what Your Majesty?" Luna asked.

"Kill him" Serenity said.

"Why?" Luna asked shocked.

"Because…they find that child a threat" Serenity said.

"I don't understand why, they are very powerful…why would they be afraid of a baby?" Luna asked.

"Because…Gaia's child is a myth that came true…" Serenity assured.

"And are they going to…" Luna trailed off.

"They forbid us have any contact with Earth…but I know they will keep a close eye on them…" Serenity said.

"She had a son then…" Luna said.

Serenity looked out the window "Yes…"

"And what is going to happen to them then?" Luna asked.

"I can't leave my friend unprotected…" Serenity said softly.

"But if the Gods find out they'll punish you…" Luna said.

"I need to warn her…I need to see my best friend…for the very last time" Serenity said sadly.

* * *

A/N: _Thank you for reading, it means a lot to me. I hope you liked this new chapter and we will meet again if not on wednesday it will definetly will be on friday. Have a good Monday. Oh, I before I forget, in further chapters when you see words in bold it will mean thoughts I wanted to tell you because I'm not writing side notes this time where I'm writing the story... okay, again, I hope you like this chapter._

_I do not own SM just this plot and some of the characters._

_ps. Don't forget to review ;)_


	4. Chapter 4

**Divinity: A question of Honor **

**

* * *

****Chapter four**

**

* * *

**

Three weeks have passed since Gaia was able to go out of her chambers and walk on the gardens of her new home. The doctor went to check up on her and her baby. Although the baby was in perfect condition Gaia's health was delicate, the doctor informed her what he said to Eros about not being able to have more children, when she receive the news she got sad, but she was grateful to have her son and to be there with him to watch him grow.

Endymion has caused quite a commotion in Elysion, the court and his family. Eros managed to free himself from his duties early in the afternoon and spent time with them. His grandparents were always around, especially Queen Narella who said she was deeply in love with her grandson, Aurea was always there helping her and sometimes she bathe him, Obelix went to pray a little while with him at night and even Leonidas went to salute the little prince.

Gaia was walking with her baby in her arms through one of the gardens of the palace, it was a lovely summer day and the sun was shining brightly, she sat down in one of the marble benches under a tree and watched the blue skies being decorated by fluffy white clouds.

Gaia sighed and listened to the dancing water on the fountain in front of her. The air started to blow softly caressing her skin. A few minutes later, a silver aura started to appear between her and the fountain.

Gaia knew who this aura was and smiled.

Serenity appeared seconds later in a glorious white dress, her lavender hair was longer than she remembered but styled in her usual hairdo. Taking the dreamy place in Serenity saw her dark haired friend sitting on a bench.

"Serenity…" Gaia said softly.

Serenity smiled and walked towards her "I've missed you…" she said.

"It's been a long time since I last saw you…" Gaia said.

Serenity nodded "I needed to see you…even if this is the last time we meet" she said sadly.

Gaia sighed "I know…"

Serenity looked at her friend holding what it looked like to be her baby.

"I want to introduce to you my son…Endymion" Gaia said.

Serenity smiled and came closer.

Gaia moved away the blanket out of her son's face for Serenity to see.

Serenity's eyes widened in amazement "Gaia…he's gorgeous" she breathed.

Gaia smiled "Do you want to hold him?"

"Me?...but…I don't know how to…" Serenity said nervously.

"It's okay…you just support his head with your arm like this…" Gaia helped her place her son on her friend's arm.

Serenity's heart started to pound fast; she felt his warmth and watched in awe at the little miracle in her arms, she stood that way for several minutes in silence, admiring her friend's son. She didn't want to imagine the Higher Gods trying to hurt him, he looked harmless and in peace, as if he noticed he was in a different pair of arms he opened his eyes.

Serenity gasped and turned to look at Gaia and then back to the baby, she was immerse in those deep blue eyes, the two of them locked their gaze and after a while baby Endymion gave a smile at the moon goddess.

"He likes you" Gaia said happily.

"He's smiling at me" Serenity smiled "He has beautiful eyes…magical eyes…"

Gaia nodded.

"What happened to Metallia?" Serenity asked.

"She confronted me, destroyed our old palace…exposed me to the people of my kingdom…" Gaia said.

"I felt a very strong energy…" Serenity said.

"I fought her…and put her under a seal…but then…I found out the energy that sealed her was not coming from me but from him…" Gaia said.

Serenity turned to look at the baby in her arms with wide eyes and remembered the meeting with the Higher Gods, she remembered her frustration because she knew this child and so her friend deserved to live in peace.

"They know…" Serenity said softly trying not to disturb the baby.

"I know…it was only a matter of time for them to know…" Gaia said and went to sit again on the bench.

"Are you okay?" Serenity asked worried.

"Yes…it's just that…" Gaia looked away.

"Tell me the truth Gaia…" Serenity said.

"My state is delicate…since I had Endymion...my health started to become affected. I get tired very easily and some days I feel weaker than others… but I will be fine…" Gaia said.

"Now tell me, do they want to do something against us?" Gaia asked.

Serenity's eyes widened in shock "How…?" she trailed off.

"Do I know?...I know what this means Serenity…" Gaia said "What worries me is if they come to fight me I won't be strong enough to fight them back…"

"Chronos convinced them not to" Serenity said.

Gaia widened her eyes in shock "Chronos…"

"He's against it, and they had to respect his decision but…" Serenity trailed off.

"But?" Gaia asked.

"We can't see each other anymore…" Serenity lavender eyes started to fill with tears.

Gaia stood up and hugged her friend "I know little flower…I know…"

"They want to give your child's soul to Hades to take it to the underworld where he can't do any harm at them…" Serenity said.

"What?" Gaia gasped.

"They think he is going to turn like him…" Serenity said.

Gaia's eyes started to fill with tears, her fisted hands started to shake in anger and desperation "How could they ever think he is like him?" Gaia raised her voice.

"I couldn't believe it either…I confronted them…they prohibited us any contact with Earth…" Serenity said.

"My son…is not an abomination…and I will protect him even if I have to die to keep him safe!" Gaia started to cry in frustration.

"They are just afraid…they do not understand" Serenity said.

Gaia sat on the bench again and placed a hand on her lips "Were they there?" she asked.

"Yes…"

"Did they say something?"

Serenity stayed silent.

"Of course not…" Gaia answered to herself, her green eyes still shone with tears.

Serenity sat next to her friend with her child on her arms "I will never leave you…just like you never left me. Even if we are not going to be able to talk…be sure I will always be making sure you are okay…"

Gaia smiled and nodded "Someday, he'll thank you personally"

Serenity smiled.

"I'm going to miss you…" Gaia said softly.

"Me too…" Serenity said.

"Can I ask you a final favor?" Gaia asked her friend.

"Anything…"

"Tell Chronos I thank him, for everything"

Serenity nodded "Do you know who has been defending you too?"

"No…"

"Ares…he's very sorry for what he did to you…"

Gaia smiled "Tell him I love him very much and that I wish him happiness"

Serenity smiled "I will…" she stood up and placed her friend's baby in her arms again and started to walk away.

"Serenity…" Gaia said.

The lunar goddess turned to look at her friend.

"Everything will be alright… remember how strong and blessed you are, and even I no longer am there for you when you need me, remember you will always be on my mind…we will meet again someday"

Tears started to fall from Serenity's eyes, wiping them off with her hands she smiled and nodded "I'll miss you dear friend"

"I'll miss you too…" Gaia said.

In a flash of silver her long time friend was gone.

* * *

Serenity appeared in her palace and walked towards the main court, sitting on a marble bench near the big white fountain she started crying.

Luna watched her from afar and knew where her queen was. She knew it was a hard moment for her and how much she was going to miss her dear friend.

Athan saw his wife arrive at their palace and walked quickly towards the gardens, he couldn't stand to see her cry that way, he thought of the countless times he have been making her cry. How many times she waited for him, how many times she asked him to kiss her to be with her.

He turned to walk to the palace's entrance and in a flash of light disappeared.

Luna walked to where her queen was sitting and kneeled in front of her and placed a hand on hers. Serenity opened her eyes and look at her advisor and friend.

"Luna…"

"Queen Serenity…things will get better, I promise" Luna assured.

"She looks so beautiful…and fragile…" Serenity said between sobs.

"You went to see her…" Luna said softly.

"I had to say goodbye Luna…I had to see her at least one last time and tell her to be careful…" Serenity said.

"Queen…" Luna said softly.

"She has the most gorgeous baby boy…I had him in my arms" Serenity said softly.

"How is he?" Luna asked.

"Dark haired, fair skin and gorgeous deep blue eyes…his veins have royal and divine blood, definitely" Serenity said.

"I don't think he is going to be a harmful person…" Luna said.

"You know…when I had him in my arms and opened his eyes I was shocked…amazed, then, after a few moments he smiled at me, such a sweet and innocent smile…I could never think of Hades going for his soul to seal it away…" the lunar queen said.

"I will protect my friend…I won't leave her alone…" Serenity's voice was almost a whisper.

ooooooooooooooooo

His steps echoed the black marble floor, his blue eyes searched for her familiar face. He went straight to her bedroom, he needed to see her. Opening the door to her chambers there she was lying in her bed.

Her loose dark hair fell graciously to the floor, her cat like eyes stared at him in wonder, her red lips curved in a half smile.

"You are back so soon? Can't get enough of my lips on yours King of the Lunar Kingdom?" she asked in a playful and seductive demeanor.

"Nehelenia…" King Athan said.

The black goddess stood up from her bed and walked towards him, her dark lace night gown invited him to think other things. Her red lips started to caress his ear and her hands intertwined in his silver blonde hair. Soon her lips found his and stayed like that for a while.

Athan pulled her apart and looked at her with a hungry stare "What are you doing to me?"

"I am not doing anything directly to you dear, I'm just taking what rightfully belongs to me" Nehelenia said.

Athan walked from her to the bed "You are never going to wear that crown Nehelenia…she is the rightful owner of that crown not you…"

Nehelenia smile died "I'm a lunar queen as well! Serenity…it's always about her…the most beautiful…the most innocent…and what about me? I am more beautiful and mature than her! I have a perfect body! Why did she have to have you too? Why can't you be mine?" she came close the lunar king and placed her hands on his face.

Athan stared at her hazel eyes "Because she is the one I love"

Nehelenia's eyes widened in shock "What did you just say?"

Athan moved her hands away from his face "I love her…Nehelenia"

"How could you…" she trailed off.

"I fell in love with her since I laid eyes on her…I married her because I love her…and I want to have a family with her" Athan said.

"She can't have children…it's been almost two years and nothing extraordinaire has happened" the dark goddess said.

"Because you have been behind of this all!" he grasped her wrist with force.

"Let me go!" Nehelenia said.

"You…and your dark enchantments…" he threw her against the bed.

Nehelenia chuckled "You think you can gain her back…after all you have done to her?"

"You are a nobody compared to her…you came out of a hole known as Andromeda…and you weren't even a prince!"

"Silence!" Athan said.

"What? Now you don't want to hear the truth? This is the immortal realm dear lover…we don't have feelings, we are cold to each other and just sleep together to fulfill our needs…and as much you were a nobody then you are still being a king with no interesting background…" Nehelenia said.

"And if I am what you say…what makes you? A being that has everything because of her black magic? a forgotten goddess, because..nobody considers you for anything…you live in this dark realm by yourself only wanting what others have, you dear Nehelenia…are nothing but a beautiful shadow" Athan said.

Athan hit on Nehelenia's pride "And you…? You are a weak lost soul in this vast universe…you are supposed to be Serenity's support and what did you do? You fell for a stupid spell"

Athan got angry and grabbed Nehelenia by her throat "I may be a lost soul…but you…you will stay here in this rat hole alone while I will try at least to win my wife's heart again" he threw her further making her fall on her back and left her dark palace.

"You will pay for this!" Neherenia yelled.

"I swear to you…you will pay what you did to me with what you love the most…" she said in a deadly tone.

* * *

A/N: _Well...another chapter is out. Since I finally have some chapters written I can go back to my old posting schedule, so, this would be yesterday's post._

_I do not own SM just this plot and some of the characters._


	5. Chapter 5

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter five**

**

* * *

**

Serenity opened her lavender eyes and found a white flower next to her face on her pillow, in surprise she sat on the bed and took the white flower with a confused look.

"You're finally awake sleepy head" Athan came in to the room.

"What is this?" Serenity asked him.

"A flower…" Athan said.

"So you are now suddenly giving me flowers?" Serenity asked puzzled.

Athan sighed and sat on the bed next to her "I know I made terrible mistakes…I know I've hurt you terribly and broke your heart many times…but I love you deeply and I'll do whatever I have to do to make you love me once again…"

"_Everything will be alright… remember how strong and blessed you are, and even I no longer am there for you when you need me, remember you will always be on my mind…we will meet again someday" _Serenity remembered Gaia's words.

"**How did you know?" **Serenity thought.

"I love you Serenity…and it doesn't matter if we don't have a child right now, what I want is to enjoy this moment with you" Athan came close to her face.

Serenity lowered her gaze "You…hurt me, you made me think you didn't love me anymore and I had to go through many things alone…

Athan held her hands and looked at her "I know…and I'm terribly sorry"

Serenity's eyes started to fill with tears "How do I know you're being honest?"

"Because I will never leave you alone, ever…I made a promise to you the day we got married and I am going to keep it" Athan said softly.

Serenity started crying softly; Athan wiped away her fallen tears and kissed her cheek "Don't cry beautiful…"

The lunar queen smiled at his words and rested her face on his hand "I've missed you…"

"I've missed to you too" Athan closed the gap between them and kissed her deeply on the lips.

* * *

Six months have passed since she last saw Serenity and she started to wonder if she would ever see her again once she leaves this place. She looked at her husband asleep next to her and smiled.

Their son was still asleep so she found a great opportunity to snuggle closely to her husband and take in his scent.

"Little dea what are you doing?" he asked with a raspy voice.

"Snuggling with my husband…and you?" she said playfully.

Eros chuckled "Snuggling with my wife"

Gaia smiled "Open your eyes for me…"

Eros slowly opened his eyes and adjusted them to the light and Gaia looked at them "Endymion has your eyes…"

The king of earth chuckled "I don't think mine are as blue as his…"

"I didn't mean it because of the color" Gaia said.

"No? Then why?" Eros asked.

"They're full of passion, love and honesty…" Gaia said.

"That boy is going to break so many hearts…." Eros said.

"Just like his father did once…" Gaia smiled.

"I did not do that"

"Of course you did!"

"You're lying"

"Have you forgotten?" Gaia asked.

"Forgotten what?"

"Oh! Erosss you are _sooooo_ hilarious! Ha ha ha ha ha!" Gaia imitated.

"Are you imitating Charmindy?" Eros asked.

"No…"

"Are you jealous?"

"…"

"I can't believe you're jealous!"

"You are going to wake up Endy…"

"You're jealous…I can't believe it"

"I'm not jealous!"

[Baby cries]

"You see, now you woke up your son" Gaia rolled out of bed.

"Me? You are the one who started talking about Charmindy and got jealous"

"I said I'm not jealous…" Gaia said.

"Yes, yes, whatever you say" Eros said.

"Are you hungry Endy? Or did papa wake you up?"

"Hey! You brought that woman to our talk" Eros defended himself.

Endy smiled as soon as he saw his mother and extended his chubby arms at her.

"Want to come with momma to the big bed?" Gaia asked him.

Gaia sat on the bed and put Endymion between her and his father "He's getting so big…"

Eros nodded "When we least expect it we are going to hear him say his first word"

Gaia nodded "Which of course will be momma"

Eros laughed.

"What are you laughing about?" Gaia asked.

"Dear, his first words will be papa" Eros said.

Gaia frowned "No…it will be momma"

"papa"

"momma"

"Endy can you say papa?" Eros asked baby Endymion.

Baby Endymion watched his father's face and clapped his little chubby hands.

"See? He is going to say papa" Eros said.

"Endy…can you say momma?" it was Gaia's turn to ask him.

Baby Endymion started laughing.

"He likes his momma better" Gaia said triumphant.

"Can you believe this little boy is ours?" Eros asked his wife while running his hand through his son's dark hair.

Gaia lay down on the bed and watched his son play with his little foot "He's perfect…"

"He has quite a character…" Eros said.

Gaia raised a brow "Yes…like _his_ father"

Eros turned to look at his wife "More like _his_ mother…" he chuckled.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Gaia asked.

"Nothing…" Eros said playfully.

Eros face turned serious "I guess his character will help him with his training…"

Gaia turned to look at him "What training?"

Eros continued watching his son play with his foot, still with his serious face "He will have to learn how to use the Golden Crystal…just like you had to"

Gaia sighed and sat straight on the bed "He won't train"

This time Eros turned to look at his wife with a shocked expression "What are you saying?"

"I don't want him to train to use the crystal…he won't" Gaia said.

"Dear, he will have to, how are you going to leave him lead a life without knowing the power he has within…who he is?" Eros asked concerned.

Gaia stood up from the bed frustrated "He will learn what you had to learn when you were a child"

"Gaia, that is not possible…you can't be thinking this seriously" Eros said shocked.

"You don't understand" Gaia said frustrated.

Eros sat on the bed watching his son not to roll off the bed "What is that I don't understand? That our child has been blessed by a higher being? That he was chosen to follow your steps? This little boy will have more responsibilities than me because he's not just a mortal boy…"

"Exactly!" Gaia cried in frustration.

Eros widened his eyes in shock, he wasn't waiting that reaction from her "Why are you acting like this?"

Gaia lowered her gaze "Because…I want him to be happy"

Eros frowned "I don't understand…"

"Do you think I was happy to be chosen? I couldn't do what my friend Serenity did…I had to train, I had to meditate, I had to learn how to channel all that energy that felt running through my veins… I want my son to be happy Eros, I want him to be able to learn what a normal boy learns, I want him to enjoy his childhood…I want him to be happy" Gaia's eyes shone with tears.

Eros took his son in his arms and walked towards his wife "Do you really think we are going to let him be miserable?"

Gaia raised her face and looked at him "Eros…"

"Look at him Gaia…does it look like he is going to be a miserable boy?" Eros said with his son in his arms smiling and giggling at his mother.

Gaia's wide eyes blinked a few times, and then sighed "I already talked to Obelix and asked him to teach him how to pray and control his energy"

"But Endymion will not know the truth about him or myself" Gaia said.

"Are you really meaning this?" Eros asked surprised.

"I only want him to know how much his family adores him and how his kingdom cares for him. I don't want him to know what I know _they_ don't want him to know…please, Eros…understand my position. I don't want them to fight him in the future…I don't want to fight them anymore" Gaia said softly.

"I do not agree…I think he has the right to know the truth…" he trailed off.

Gaia sighed and looked at her son.

"But…" Eros said.

Gaia raised her eyes to him.

"I understand how we want to be at peace…and…I need to respect your decisions as well" Eros said.

Gaia looked at him with tenderness "I love you…" Gaia said.

Eros half smiled at her.

"Thank you" Gaia whispered.

* * *

A/N: _Moving on with the story. I hope you like it. Thanks to the one that reviewed last chapter, I'm doing my best._

_I do not own SM just this plot and some of the characters_


	6. Chapter 6

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter six**

**

* * *

**

Serenity came out of her chambers with a huge smile on her face, after a long time having problems with her husband she was happy to see Athan try to win her heart once again.

While she was still walking through the main hall of the moon palace she saw Luna waiting for her at the door of the conference room.

"Good Morning Your Majesty" Luna smiled and bowed.

"My! Luna…good morning, how are you today? Is a lovely day outside don't you think? Helios gave us a wonderful morning…" the lunar queen giggled.

Luna eavesdropped and scratched behind her ear in confusion "It is…a lovely day Your Majesty…"

"Yes yes! Now… what are we going to do today? What do you have written on your list for today?"

"Lunch with Goddess Aphrodite and it seems the rest of your day is free Your Majesty" Luna's voice was soft.

Serenity smiled widely "Good…I'll go get ready then"

"I believe you had a good night Your Majesty" Luna said.

Serenity turned to look at the mauian girl in yellow "No, I had a good morning…"

Luna looked at the queen with confusion in her burgundy eyes "I don't seem to understand Your Majesty"

Serenity blushed and giggled once more "I'm so happy"

Luna smiled at the lunar queen.

Serenity sighed "I cannot hide anything from you, you have been my confident for so long…"

Luna opened the conference room doors and waited for Serenity to come in, the lunar queen went to the table and started looking at some papers still with a smile on her face. The cat like girl was amazed of how different her queen looked when she was happy from when she was sad, depressed and even angry.

"What is it Your Majesty?" she finally asked.

"Athan and I are giving our marriage another chance" Serenity smiled.

Luna's burgundy eyes widened in surprise "Your Majesty that is wonderful! I'm so glad!"

Serenity moved her white dress with grace so she could sit on her chair at the end of the large table and motioned Luna to sit next to her.

"I never thought this could actually happen…" the queen said softly.

"It would be too much of me to ask what happened, what changed yours and his mind…" Luna said.

Serenity turned to look at Luna and smiled "Dear Luna, you have been with me through very difficult moments…it is no secret for you to know that my marriage was in danger, that I cried because of him and because I couldn't bear a child. Athan woke me up this morning with a bouquet of white flowers and asked me to forgive him and to give him another opportunity to show me how much he loves me"

"I'm so glad we are finally at peace" Luna sighed happily.

"Chronos was right"

"Because he said you should give time to time?" Luna asked.

Serenity nodded "And because he said some things would change and that Athan still cared for me…Chronos is right most of the time…"

"How can a God like him can be ever wrong? He knows everything!" Luna chuckled.

Serenity laughed "I guess you're right. Oh! I better get ready for my lunch with Aphrodite!"

"Um…Your Majesty?"

"Yes, Luna?"

"Ready? I don't think you need to get ready"

Serenity looked at her dress "You think so?"

"You look beautiful as always"

"Thank you Luna…" Queen Serenity smiled.

Luna chuckled "Now you better leave to your meeting with the Love Goddess…you don't want to keep her waiting"

"Right!" Serenity walked quickly out of the conference room.

"I'm so glad you are finally getting what you deserve My Queen" Luna smiled and stayed in the room looking at some papers.

* * *

"Isn't he lovely?"

"He's a honey pie!"

Gaia smiled "Thank you"

Baroness Rodmila de Feister smiled and waved her fan with grace "Your Majesty…you have a heartbreaker in your arms"

Gaia nodded "I know…he's still a few months old and he's already taking a woman's breath away"

"Your Majesty may I say that you look absolutely beautiful this afternoon" a blonde woman know as Lady Azalea said while she waved her feather fan as well.

Gaia nodded "Thank you very much…I'm flattered by your comments Lady Azalea"

"I must say…blue is your color" said the baroness.

"Well…any color suits Her Majesty" the lady affirmed.

Queen Gaia smiled and had another sip of her tea, Aurea was there to help her with Endymion while she was with her guests, it has been long since the new royal family had guests. Queen Narella of course was thrilled.

Gaia looked indeed beautiful, she was wearing a royal blue empire cut gown with half sleeves, her hair was in a half ponytail with a hair piece with incrustations of sapphires. Her makeup was light and ethereal, a soft pink on her lips and soft peach on her cheeks.

"We can't expect less for my daughter in law" Queen Narella smiled at Gaia.

"You are going to make me blush" Gaia said softly.

"Have you thought about having another child Your Majesty?" the baroness asked.

Gaia lowered her gaze took a breath and looked up at them again with a soft smile on her face "It's too soon to think about that yet"

"Well, you know what they say…it's better to have children right after another so they can play together while they are growing up" Lady Azalea said.

Gaia kept her smile "I rather enjoy my son myself…I want to play with him, watch him grow, watch him become a better person everyday"

Gaia turned to look at Aurea who was rocking Endy in her arms and smiled at her, Aurea nodded.

* * *

"I'm so glad to see you!" Serenity said happily when she entered the tea room, where the goddess of love was waiting for her.

Aphrodite stood up and kissed Serenity on her cheek "I'm glad to see you too"

"We haven't seen since…" Aphrodite trailed off.

"The audience, right?"

"Yes" the goddess of love nodded.

"How are you doing? You know…with what they said about Gaia" Aphrodite poured golden leave tea in Serenity's and her cup.

Serenity sighed "They said horrible things…It was so hard for me to watch"

"If only she knew…" the goddess of love took a sip of her tea.

Serenity's small hands encircled her cup and fixed her gaze to the translucent liquid "She does…"

"What do you mean with that?" Aphrodite asked confused.

Serenity sighed and put her cup down "I went to see her"

"What!" the goddess of love exclaimed "Serenity, are you out of your mind? They told us not to go there!"

"Aphrodite, you know she's my closest friend…I want her to be happy, everything she did was for love, she doesn't live here anymore, she's a mortal now and yet they can't leave her alone?"

Aphrodite sighed and took another sip of her hot tea; placing the porcelain white cup over the little porcelain plate she directed her baby blue gaze at the lunar queen "How is she?"

Serenity tilted her head to the side and gave the love goddess a warm smile "She's…different"

"Different?" Aphrodite asked surprised "What do you mean?"

Serenity sighed "Motherhood suits her" the lunar queen smiled.

Aphrodite eavesdropped "Ow Serenity I thought you were going to say she looks bad or that she's not doing very well"

Serenity smiled and waved her hand in front of her dismissing her friend's comment "No, no! I didn't mean it that way…"

Aphrodite took another sip of her tea and waited for more gossip from Serenity concerning her friend, she gave the white beauty a curious look.

Serenity took a bite of her pastry and looked at the love goddess, after she swallowed she arched a thin brow "What?"

"So…?" Aphrodite said.

"So…what?" Serenity kept her puzzled look.

Aphrodite looked at their surroundings with discretion "Is it true?" she whispered.

Serenity blinked a few times "What?"

"You know…what they said…" Aphrodite whispered again.

"What they said…?" Serenity asked confused.

"You know…about…_the_ child" the goddess of love sat straight on the chair.

Serenity sighed and shook her head no.

"Did you see the baby?"

Serenity nodded yes and took another sip of her tea graciously.

"Is it a boy or a girl?"

Serenity looked at Aphrodite "A boy with the most gorgeous pair of blue eyes"

Aphrodite smiled "Does he look like Gaia's brother?"

Serenity shook her head "No…and I don't think he'll ever be like him, Gaia will not raise him to be evil"

"It's such a shame that they don't live here, I would love to congratulate her" Aphrodite said sadly.

"I know…but, she is very in love with her husband and her child…" Serenity lowered her gaze.

"And what about you?" Aphrodite asked.

Serenity lifted her face with a shock expression "Me?"

"Oh Serenity! I'm the Goddess of love…you can't fool me…" Aphrodite waved her hand.

The lunar queen blushed.

"It was a long time since I saw you this happy" the blonde goddess said happily.

"I was mortifying myself because I couldn't give him the child he wanted so desperately" Serenity said softly.

"In some way it was better for you not to get pregnant during that time, it would have been too much for you, besides the child would have resented all your arguments" Aphrodite said.

Serenity nodded "I believe you are right"

Aphrodite took another sip of her tea "Say, have you seen Ares lately?"

"No…the last time I saw him was in Olympus" Serenity said softly.

"I haven't seen Eris either; maybe they're trying to make their marriage work. Which I highly doubt" Aphrodite said.

"Aphrodite, don't say that!.. Maybe they are" Serenity.

"Serenity... no matter how much I would like to see Ares happy, he is living a lie with Eris. But well…who doesn't here in this realm lives a lie?" Aphrodite shrugged.

Serenity frowned "Just because Eris is the Goddess of discord doesn't mean they can't be happy"

"Don't misunderstand my words Serenity, but really, who here is married without having some kind of benefit or without arrangements?" Aphrodite said.

Serenity sighed "But…some are in love…I mean, you are in love"

Aphrodite chuckled "Dear, I'm always in love..."

"Don't tell me you don't love Adonis" Serenity arched a brow.

Aphrodite blushed "I do love him, but love here is very different from love down there" the goddess of love pointed the blue planet.

"I wish we all loved that way" Serenity sighed.

Aphrodite lowered her gaze "Ares will always be in love with someone else…"

"Do you really love Adonis?" Serenity asked.

Aphrodite smiled "We live together now"

Serenity's lavender eyes widened in surprise "What? Why haven't you told me that?"

Aphrodite blushed a deep crimson shade of red "Because…we haven't had the time to chat like this, we both are always busy"

"Are you going to get married?" Serenity asked.

"Maybe…I don't know…I just enjoy the moment…besides…we have an eternity to live and find out if we are meant for each other" Aphrodite smiled.

Serenity smiled "Love is a weapon. Some will fight for love, other hate because of love…"

"You say it because of Metallia?"

Serenity nodded "And well, because everything that happens has to do with love, Ares fought Gaia because he loved her"

"Loves her" Aphrodite corrected Serenity.

"Loves her" Serenity rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"Gaia confronted the Higher Gods because of love" Serenity said again.

"Hmm…Ares married Eris because she has loved him since I can remember" Aphrodite said.

"Metallia fought Gaia because she loved her brother…" Serenity took a sip of her tea.

"I'm glad Metallia is finally in a place she can't harm anybody" Aphrodite said.

Serenity nodded "She had what she deserved"

"She ended just like her love…" Aphrodite said.

"Yes, finally…we can move on with our lives…" Serenity said looking at the blue planet hanging in the light sky.

Aphrodite pursed her lips, the white queen noticed it "What? Don't you think we can?"

"It's not that…" Aphrodite took another sip.

"Then what is it?" Serenity asked curious.

Aphrodite smiled "I just have the feeling that more things will keep happening…just like our lives…love is endless and has a tremendous power"

* * *

_A/N: Another monday another chapter. Thank you to the people who keeps reading the story...I know maybe you are expecting something more but I'm getting there...really :( well, i hope you like this update. _

_I do not own SM just this plot and some of the characters, thank you._


	7. Chapter 7

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter seven**

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**

Her long wavy hair fell graciously to the floor; her hazel eyes watched the white palace from her window and for a moment she desired to be there.

Turning to the other side on her bed she thought about him, the man who was not destined to be by her side **"Again"** she thought **"Again you took what it should be mine instead of yours"**

And then she thought about the many times she planned to take the throne of the white moon, how many times she dreamed having the silver crown upon her hair. Metallia have failed achieving what she promised "Like she ever could achieve something that great" she said lowly.

Nehelenia stood up from her bed and walked towards the big mirror next to her vanity; placing a hand over the sleek surface she caressed her reflection with tender and admired her everlasting beauty.

The dark queen remembered the countless times Metallia mentioned the terran goddess sacred crystal.

"Maybe it is not the Ginzuishou the stone I should be acquiring but the Golden sacred stone, the stone that destroyed Metallia in a blink of an eye" the dark queen said to her reflection.

"If I obtain the Golden Crystal I can be the most powerful being in the universe…and dethrone Serenity…" she said softly.

"Peek-a-boo!" Aurea smiled and showed her face from behind a red blanket then she hid her face again.

"Where is Endy?" she asked.

Six months old Endymion was giggling and clapping his hands to the young woman playing in front of him.

"Here he is!" Aurea started tickling his tummy, the young prince's laugh made the maid's day. She could hear him laugh all day and not get tired.

Gaia was sitting on a red couch in front of them, she watched her son laugh and play with her confident and friend.

Aurea stopped tickling Endymion and sighed with joy "He's adorable" she said.

Gaia smiled "I know…he's my little angel"

"He's looking so much like you" Aurea said, giving baby Endy a small wooden horse to play.

Gaia scratched her nose and smiled "You think so? I think he looks just like his father"

"Well…in some things he looks like His Majesty and in others he looks like you…he makes some expressions like you" Aurea said looking at the baby in front of her, they both were sitting on the floor.

Gaia chuckled "Like which one?"

Aurea blew her bangs "The way he frowns"

Gaia laughed.

"And the way he smiles is from His Majesty" Aurea said.

Gaia stopped laughing and looked at the young maid sitting on the floor with her son "So, he has his mother's frowns and his father's charming smile…great"

Aurea laughed "But he has your eyes!"

"My eyes aren't blue, Eros's eyes are the ones that are blue" Gaia frowned.

"He has your hair!"

Gaia smiled "He's so big isn't he?"

Aurea nodded "He's going to be very tall"

Gaia eavesdropped "Like his father…"

Aurea laughed "It's a good thing for him to be tall! Or do you prefer to be short like..." she trailed off.

Gaia raised a thin brow "Like…."

Aurea blushed and looked down "Well…"

"Say it, like me" Gaia said.

"Well…yes…I mean, it is not a bad thing being short but…" Aurea tried to find the perfect words.

Gaia chuckled "Hey! What can I say! My mother is short"

Aurea turned to look at baby Endymion looking at his wooden horse with detail "I wish they could meet their grandson…"

Gaia widened her eyes in shock for what she just heard "Aurea..." she said softly.

Aurea blushed "I'm sorry Gaia…I know I shouldn't be saying these things but…they're missing so much! They're missing his laugh, his smiles, the joy of watch him grow everyday"

Gaia's eyes started to fill with tears "He has so much things from my father as well… he makes the same expression when he doesn't like something…I wish they could meet him too"

Aurea turned to look at the terran queen and saw her crying "Gaia! I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have said that…I'm so stupid"

Gaia shook her head no and dried her tears with a handkerchief "No Aurea, you're right, they're missing a wonderful grandchild, but…it's their lost not ours, we have him all to ourselves" she smiled.

Aurea smiled and nodded then turned to look at the baby who was watching her silently and with a serious face "We have more Endy for us! Yes we do, yes we do, yes we do!" Aurea started tickle baby Endymion again.

"Aurea, have you seen Marlo again?" Gaia asked sitting on the floor with them. Endymion as soon as he saw his mother sitting on the floor crawled towards her; Gaia held him and sat him straight, giving him his wooden horse again.

Aurea lowered her face "No…well…"

"Well…?" Gaia raised a brow "He seemed he was so interested in you"

"He was…until he met Irinda" Aurea said lowly.

"Who the hell is Irinda?" Gaia exclaimed unladylike.

"The baker's daughter" Aurea scratched her head.

Gaia placed a hand over Aurea's shoulder "You cared for him am I right?"

Aurea lowered her gaze and nodded "I thought he was really interested in me…"

"Well…" Gaia sighed "You can do better than him"

Aurea blinked a few times "What do you mean?"

Gaia smiled "I know of someone who is interested in you…"

Aurea's eyes widened in surprise "In…me?"

"That's right dear friend" Gaia smiled.

"Who is he?" Aurea scratched the back of her head softly.

"Leonidas" Gaia said.

"WHAT?" Aurea exclaimed.

"What?" Gaia asked.

Aurea stood up and started to walk around the living room "How do you know?"

"Does it really matter knowing how do I know?" Gaia rolled her eyes.

"Well…yes…that can be a joke" Aurea said.

"It's not a joke" Gaia said.

Aurea stopped and turned to look at Gaia "How do you know?"

Gaia sighed and stood up with Endymion in her arms "Aurea, I ask again, does it really matter? I know for a fact it is not a joke, why are you so worried?"

"It is not that I'm worried, it's just that… I'm surprised" Aurea said softly.

"Why? You're a wonderful woman, caring, honest, beautiful…" Gaia said.

Aurea blushed "I'm not as beautiful as you…"

"Aurea, you are beautiful" Gaia said.

"Leonidas…" Aurea said softly.

"He's a good man Aurea, a total gentleman, handsome, well positioned, honest and caring. He's better than Marlo, he would never play with your heart" Gaia said.

"But he looks so….serious all the time…" Aurea said.

"That's because he is Eros's right arm, he needs to be serious but I consist that he is a funny man, just like you" Gaia defended the general.

Aurea lowered her gaze "I don't know…"

Gaia placed a hand on the maid's shoulder "Come on Aurea, it's time for you to leave Marlo behind and start a new life, you deserve better. You deserve to be happy"

Aurea smiled "Thank you Gaia"

Gaia winked and switched Endymion to her left side "He's heavy"

"Oh…I need to check if the cook has dinner almost done!" Aurea said exiting the room.

Gaia chuckled and shook her head softly, seconds later Leonidas knocked on the door "Your Majesty"

Gaia smiled "Leonidas"

They stayed in silence for a few minutes "Yes, I told her" said Gaia.

Leonidas blushed "Did she say something?"

"She was taken by surprise, but, I know she will think about it…Marlo is…history" Gaia winked at the general.

Leonidas smiled "Thank you, Your Majesty"

"I will help you, only if you swear to me you won't hurt her" Gaia said seriously.

Leonidas lowered his head "I won't…I do care for her. I would never hurt her"

Gaia smiled at him "You better"

King Geb was sitting in his shrine thinking of his daughter. He remembered when she was born, how her eyes looked at him, how her little hands held his; a single tear ran through his cheek, Gaia was the best thing for him, and when he found out she was in love with a mortal she was so upset because he knew what that meant, he knew he wasn't going to see her again.

Then he thought about the crystal, the mighty stone she could control, the mighty stone she wasn't supposed to take to the mortal's realm.

Geb thought about what the higher gods said in the meeting, how all the gods and goddesses reacted when they knew his daughter gave birth to a child. **"The child"** he thought.

Geb stood up and started to walk around the open space where he was at; he ran his hand through his gray hair and sighed, a long time has passed since he last saw his daughter and despite the fact that he hurt her feelings, left her alone and didn't spoke on her behalf on the audience, he missed her. But his heart was too stubborn to accept the fact that what she did wasn't that wrong. That she just fell in love.

A dark gray shadow appeared in front of him, revealing a man with dark hair and dark eyes, his clothes were the color of charcoal.

Geb gasped in surprise, he didn't expect to be visited by a Higher God.

"You…previous protector of Earth" his strong deep voice echoed in the shrine.

"H-Hades…" Geb said dumbfounded.

"What…are you doing here?" Geb asked the God of the underworld.

"I needed to handle this situation by myself" Hades said looking his surroundings.

"What situation?" Geb asked.

Hades turned to look at Geb with a serious face "Your…distinctive family situation" he said with a cold voice.

"I have very clear what Zeus said in the audience…we are not to get close to Earth" Geb said.

"Do you?" Hades asked raising a brow.

"Yes" Geb said "We are not to get close to them, I have very clear I will not speak to her again"

"You said you would control the situation when we captured your dear son…and you let your sweet little daughter meet up with a mortal, bare a child and have the crystal" Hades said in a low voice.

"I never expected for her to fall for a mortal! And…"

"Silcence!" Hades interrupted Geb "I could take your soul to lie in the underworld for this, you knew she was taking the crystal and you did nothing!" Hades raised his voice.

"She placed another crystal in the black box with her belongings…"

"And you are really expecting me to believe you?" Hades asked.

Geb looked down and sighed "Zeus gave his orders to stay away, even Chronos agreed with him"

"I will never approve a disastrous thing like that, and not only you will follow his instructions but…you will get the crystal from her"" Hades grabbed Geb by his brown tunic.

Geb widened his eyes in shock "But if I take the stone from her she'll…"

Hades gave the former terran king a dead glare "That is not my problem"

"I can't kill my own daughter!" Geb said.

"No, it is I who can…and I already have control over her soul, I'm just waiting for the moment to take it to Lethe's river in the deepest of the underworld" Hades said, releasing his hand from Geb's tunic.

"Now, I will ask you nicely this time…but I won't do it twice. Get that crystal" Hades said.

Geb remained silent; Hades turned his back on Geb and in a cloud of gray smoke he disappeared.

Geb's dark green eyes started to fill with unshed tears, his fisted hands started to tremble for impotance.

"I need to take the crystal back…" Geb said to himself and turned to leave when Queen Nut appeared behind him.

"Geb, where are you going?" Nut asked him.

"I'm bringing the Golden Crystal back" Geb answered.

"What are you saying?" Nut exclaimed.

"Don't try to stop me this time Nut! It's something that has to be done" Geb said and disappeared.

Nut lowered her gaze and started to cry silently "I'm so sorry child…"

Leonidas left the room leaving Gaia alone with her son; she turned to look out the window and sighed; looking down at her son she smiled "How about we go out for a walk? The sun is lovely outside"

She stood up and then held Endy in her arms; walking through the hallways they arrived at the queen's favorite garden where she last saw her best friend.

Endy was making funny noises and made Gaia laugh softly "You like it here too don't you sweetie pie?"

The summer breeze caressed her face and in a slow motion her loose bun fell, making her raven hair dance with the soft wind and closed her eyes only to open them a few seconds later when she felt a strong energy behind her.

Gaia turned and widened her eyes in surprise and gasped.

* * *

A/N: _Thank you for reading the story, reading reviews from you always make me feel better, so thank you very much. Well, it's wednesday already and it's divinity's wednesday, I hope you enjoy this chapter and will be looking forward for your reviews. Have a good day._

_I do not own SM just this plot and some of the charaters. Thank you._


	8. Chapter 8

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter eight**

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**

Her eyes couldn't believe what they were seeing. Her father was standing now in front of her, but she knew something wasn't quite right.

"Papa…" she breathed.

Geb remained silent.

Gaia didn't know what to say or do, after everything that happened she was positive his visit wasn't just to catch up with her.

Geb dissimulated his amazement; he had a mix of feelings in his heart. The last time he saw his daughter she looked like a carefree girl, she was beautiful, yes, but not like the regal lady he had in front of him, she looked mature, centered and calm. Her skin had a light bronzed tone; her hair was longer than before and fell graciously in soft curls framing her oval and delicate face.

The deep purple gown made her look distinguished, elegant and regal. He could tell his daughter was a true queen; he was so entranced looking at his daughter that he barely noticed she was carrying something _or someone_ in her arms, instead of that he noticed something more.

Her eyes were a soft hazel tone; they were no longer prismatic, magical and ethereal.

Gaia smiled warmly "I'm so glad to see you are doing well…papa, after all that happened…I…"

"I'm not here to chat…" he cut his daughter's sweet voice.

Gaia's eyes widened in shock and noticed her father had a sword in his left hand "…Why are you holding a sword?"

Geb looked down at his hand then up to her "I told you I'm not here to chat"

"Are you out of your mind?" Gaia asked.

"Probably" Geb said nonchalantly "It seems it runs in the family…"

Gaia frowned "Why are you talking to me like that?"

"Because you think I didn't know anything, you thought I wouldn't notice…you treated me as your fool" Geb said.

"What are you saying, I never…"

"Silence!" Geb pointed her with the sword "You know exactly what I am talking about"

"I don't know…there are so many things I know" Gaia responded him the same way he was talking to her.

"Don't try to fool me Gaia…"

"I don't have a reason to fool you, it is you the one who's acting like this and threatens me with a sword. It was actually about time you came to do your dirty work in killing me, I think Ares didn't want to come here anymore" Gaia said with sarcasm.

"You took the crystal and brought it here…when you were supposed to give it to the Higher Gods" Geb said.

"Ah! That…so you are really here to try and kill me after all" Gaia said.

"You have to confront the consequences for your acts" Geb said.

"I have in case you didn't notice, but I still don't understand why you are here exactly" Gaia said.

"To have the Golden Crystal back"

Gaia looked at her father with hurt "Why do you still want to hurt me?"

"You hurt me everyday…first, you lied to me and to you mother; you said you were taking care of this planet when you were actually sleeping with a mortal, then you take the sacred crystal to this realm and use it as you please in front of everybody" Geb said.

Gaia's eyes started to shine with tears and fought with all her might to try to stop them from falling "Love happens father, it's a shame you think those things about me…"

"Give me the crystal Gaia and you will be left alone" Geb said.

"No" Gaia said.

"You can't win against me Gaia" Geb said.

"I won't give you the crystal, because I don't own it anymore" Gaia said.

"What are you saying?" Geb asked.

Gaia looked down "I don't own it anymore…"

"Don't play games with me" Geb said.

"I'm not…so, if you want to kill me, go ahead, kill me…leave your grandchild without a mother, but even if you do that, that crystal won't go back to you without a fight" Gaia said.

And there it was, Geb realized what Gaia was holding in her arms.

"I won't give you something that I no longer have" Gaia said.

"But I felt it, everyone up there felt it, you sealed the black witch with it…you fought Ares" Geb said.

Gaia remained silent.

"So it is true…it's your child" Geb said surprised and raised his sword at them.

Gaia didn't move.

"Aren't you going to defend yourself?" Geb asked.

"I could never win against you…I could fight and you would kill me…but do you really have the hurt to kill your grandchild?" Gaia asked.

"He has the sacred stone!" Geb said and was ready to attack.

Gaia closed her eyes; she couldn't hold her tears any longer and started to fall silently.

Geb stopped in his tracks a few feet away from her "Aren't you going to defend yourself?"

"I'm so tired of fighting…papa" Gaia whispered.

Geb looked at her with amazement, he was expecting his daughter's pride to be shown, he was expecting her to fight him and see who was the strongest, instead he was seeing his daughter cry with sentiment and hurt and that broke his heart making lower his sword.

"I'm so tired of you trying to get the crystal from me, from fighting…everything is still the same up there; you still fight for power… I accept my destiny in Hades' hands, I know what is going to happen to me, but why can't you just leave us alone, if you hate me so much why can't you leave me alone?" Gaia broke into tears.

Endy felt his mother cry and started to cry as well; Gaia opened her eyes and tried to calm her son.

Geb watched his daughter lull her son, no matter how much she hurt him, he couldn't kill his only daughter and grandchild.

"What is his name?" Geb asked, his voice was soft.

Gaia looked at her father "Endymion"

"Setting sun…" Geb said.

Gaia nodded "Do you want to meet him?"

Geb turned his back on her "I better not"

"He's your grandchild" Gaia said.

"You brought ruin to our lives…you dusted our titles and names…you're mother and I are the laughingstock in Olympus" Geb said lowly.

Gaia gasped "Is that what you think of me?"

"Your child will never be accepted" Geb said.

"You just came here to open old deep wounds, I understand you will think horrible things about me, but I will never accept the things you say about my son, I'm not giving you my child's life, the crystal or the benefit in ever knowing him…you are just like them, ambitious and hungry for power; I will only say this once, you will become a shadow in my life, just a memory, I don't know when will that happen, maybe that time will never come, because I love you with all my heart…but, one day I will cease to exist and sleep forever in a river but you…you will remember me for the rest of your immortal life" Gaia said hurt "Now, leave this place…since you didn't come here to chat"

Geb was crying silently, Gaia's words hit him in the heart, he did wanted to meet his grandson but he knew Hades would do something to him because he didn't brought the crystal back, whatever Hades did now to him, it didn't matter, he knew they would let her know he was hurt, but at least she wouldn't suffer much.

In a flash of light Geb disappeared leaving a broken hearted Gaia standing in the garden.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Geb arrived to his and Nut's shrine, his eyes were full of sadness and tears that seconds later started to fall silently. It was the last time he would see his daughter and the first and last to see his grandchild.

Nut came in to the spacious room minutes later and saw her husband cry "What happened? Did you get the crystal back?" Nut asked.

Geb raised his face and looked at Nut "No…" he said softly.

Nut sighed in relief "Did you see her?"

Geb nodded.

"H-How…is she?" Nut asked.

"Beautiful…" Geb said.

"Did you meet the baby?" Nut asked.

"I couldn't…" Geb said softly.

"Geb…"

"Gaia is no longer the carrier of the crystal…" Geb said.

"So, it is true?" Nut asked.

Geb nodded "Her child is Earth's new protector"

"What is going to happen now?" Nut asked worried.

"Hades wants the Golden Crystal…but I can't let him have it…I prefer if he hurts me and not them" Geb said.

Nut's hazel eyes started to fill with tears "What are you saying?"

Geb held his wife's hands in his "Hades wants the Golden Crystal, just like everyone else…but…Nut, seeing her, so mature, so regal…elegant, she's our daughter. I can't let them have the sacred stone; I will leave it to its new owner and let the Higher Gods decide what to do with me"

Nut broke in tears "Hades can kill you! You stupid god! What am I going to do without you?"

Geb smiled at her "I hurt her Nut…I asked Ares to kill her and I tried to kill her when I saw her, but...I can't make her suffer anymore"

Nut closed the distance between them and hugged Geb.

* * *

"There you are! I was looking all over for you"

Gaia raised her head showing her tear stained face.

"Gaia, what happened?" Aurea asked with concern.

Gaia looked down at her sleeping son "They think I brought ruin to their lives…they hate me Aurea" she whispered and her voice started to break again because of the tears.

"Who can think such a thing of you!" Aurea asked.

Tears started to fall again from the terran queen "My father…"

Area's eyes widened in shock "He was here?"

Gaia nodded "And tried to kill me…"

"Gaia…" Aurea kneeled in front of her queen and placed both hands on her knees "Why they can't just leave you alone?"

"They want the crystal Aurea…" Gaia said softly.

"And what are you going to do?" Aurea asked.

"They are not going to have it…it doesn't belong to them but Endymion" Gaia said with determination.

"But…they can get it…I mean…not that I want them to have it, but because you said Endy would never know his origins" Aurea trailed off.

"And he will not, I forbid you to tell him the truth about me, my past and about the blood that runs through his veins. He will not be a joke to them, he will be respected and become a living legend because this planet's life depends on him now" Gaia said.

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_A/N: Dear readers,_

_I don't know how much time I've been sharing this new adventure with you I want to thank you for being there, your reviews mean so much to me making my day a better one. Soon will be x-mas and of course you all will get your gift :) but for now, here's a new update, I hope you like it and as always... I hope to see some feedback from you ;)_

_I do not own SM just THIS plot and some of the characters, thank you._


	9. Chapter 9

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter nine**

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**

"We have to get yourself cleaned up!" Aurea tried to control one year old Endymion in the tub.

Endy was playing splashing the warm water and was getting Aurea all wet, between laughs and babbling he had his hair full of soap and played with the falling bubbles.

"I wish I could understand you Endy" Aurea wiped the soap of her face and continued massaging the prince's head with the soap.

"Endy"

Endy stopped playing with the soap and bubbles and turned to look at Aurea with a curious face, Aurea was amazed by his attention put on her.

"Today is a very special day you know…"

Endy blinked a few times and kept the curious stare, his intense blue eyes were looking at the brunette maid.

"A year ago…a very special little person was born" Aurea said with a soft voice "Do you know who he is?"

Endy smiled and handed Aurea the crystalline soap he had in his hands "Thank you" Aurea said.

Minutes later Gaia opened the bathroom's door and watched Aurea rinsing the soap off her son's head "He's quite an impish boy isn't he?"

Aurea took Endy out of the bath tub and started to dry him with his light blue towel "He is quite a spark, but it's good, we enjoy having our long conversations, don't we Endy?" Endy babbled and giggled in response.

Gaia laughed "He speaks as if he is from another planet"

Endymion noticed his mother standing behind Aurea and extended his arms out to her; a charming smile on his face.

"Let's get you dressed young man" Gaia came close and held his hand, once he started walking, he didn't like to be carried much, he was starting to act at this very young age in a very independent manner. He liked to have conversations with Aurea and Leonidas in his own language, enjoyed to pray with Obelix in the shrine, he started to learn how to use his special cup where he drank juice or milk every morning alongside his father while he drank his coffee, he loved to cuddle in his grandmother's arms and enjoyed playing with his wooden horses with his grandfather; but what he liked the most was to spend time with his mother in the garden, under the shade of a cherry tree.

"What is he going to wear today?" Aurea came out of the bathroom drying her wet hands with a small white towel.

"Well, since it's a special day, how about he wears a special outfit…" Gaia smiled and sat Endymion on his bed and started drying his hair in a playful circular motion.

Aurea went to take a small navy blue jacket, pants, a pair of socks and underwear from his drawers.

Gaia grabbed the clothes and started to dress her son.

"Are you going out?" The lunar king asked from the bed.

"Yes, I'm going to see Chronos and his child" Serenity said while brushing her soft lavender hair in her vanity.

"I see, what is her name?" Athan asked.

Serenity looked at her husband through his reflection on the mirror "Pluto"

"A moment in time…" Athan breathed "Makes sense…"

"She's a very calm little girl, she barely cries" Serenity said while doing her hair in her traditional style

"She's much like his father" Athan said.

Serenity smiled and nodded; standing up she went to her walk in closet to put on her dress, a few minutes after she came out wearing a one shoulder pearl gown with matching heels.

"Look at you…a true Goddess, who are you going to try to impress?" he asked in a playful manner.

Serenity cracked a soft laugh "Who knows…" Serenity walked to her vanity again and put a pearls bracelet on her right wrist and turned to look at her husband still on the bed "Are you going to stay there all day, you sleepy head?"

Athan laughed "Hm…that is not a bad idea at all…I could do that and wait for you to return"

Serenity walked to the bed and sat next to him "I won't take long"

"You better, I'll miss you too much if you leave for a long time"

Serenity chuckled "You're very lovable this morning"

Athan sat straight on the bed "Is is a bad thing?"

Serenity blushed and shook her head no "I like it" she came close his face and kissed him softly on the lips "I'll try not to take long so we can have dinner together"

Athan smiled "How about dinner in bed?"

Serenity laughed "You better are bathed by the time I get back"

Athan laughed "Why?… being dirty is the new thing"

Serenity laughed louder "Being dirty is just being lazy not new" she kissed him once again and stood up, leaving the room.

"No matter how much you try to make a modest birthday party it will never work, especially now that you are queen of a whole planet" Eros said.

"I know, I know…I just didn't want a ball, just a small dinner with close friends and family" Gaia said.

Both parents turned to see their son laughing with his grandfather on the table, Queen Narella gave him another bite of his food.

The royals from the three other points of Earth were joining the royal family in the prince's first birthday. The royal court will join them later that day for dinner and then take a small stroll on the city so the people can congratulate the young prince. Yes, it was going to be a long day.

"He's so big!" Queen Camila said, Gaia smiled and nodded.

"He's going to be very tall" Queen Eloisa commented.

Gaia noticed Queen Eloisa's personal maid Ianthe wasn't there "Eloisa, how is Ianthe?"

Queen Eloisa smiled "She's fine, but she decided to go back and assist the chef because of the schedule, attending me was quite demanding" the eastern queen chuckled.

"How's her mother doing?"Queen Camila asked.

"She's…well, ill, but better than before" Eloisa said before taking a sip of her tea "Oh my…I love this tea"

Gaia chuckled "And how's her child?"

"Oh! wonderful…I haven't met him yet, but they say he's adorable" Eloisa said.

"Oh, she had a boy as well? How wonderful!" Gaia said happily.

"Do you know what's his name?" Camila asked.

"It's a very peculiar name, Kun…I don't quite remember well" Eloisa frowned.

Gaia smiled knowingly "Kunzite?"

"Yes! That's his name!" Eloisa exclaimed happily.

Gaia turned to look at Obelix and smiled, the priest returned the smile and nodded knowing what his queen meant with that smile.

"Well, it's time to cut the cake!" Queen Narella said happily.

Aurea came in with a medium sized chocolate cake with a small red candle lit in its center; Endymion watched how the young woman placed the cake in front of him and watched the small candle with emotion.

Gaia and Eros stood next to him and got close the cake both clapping their hands "Happy birthday my little angel" Gaia said softly in his ear; Eros kissed the top of his head and smiled "Endy, blow your first birthday candle!" the terran king blew softly.

Endymion looked around and watched all the guests clapping and laughing with joy, but his eyes started looking for his special friend and by not finding him "Li!" he called out.

Eros and Gaia widened their eyes in surprise "Did he just say something?" Eros asked Gaia.

"Li!" Endymion called again this time more insistent.

"Li? What are you trying to say Endy?" Gaia asked her son.

"Li!" he said again.

"He seems to be looking for someone in particular" Eros said.

Endymion this time spotted the person in question and pointed him with his small index finger "Li!"

Gaia followed his pointed finger and watched with amazement he was calling "Obelix"

"Li!" he said again.

"He's calling for you" Gaia said to the priest.

Obelix hazel eyes widened in shock "Me?" he came closer to the young prince.

"You're Endymion's first word!" Eros said amazed.

Gaia smiled at the priest "Just like his mother…" she said softly.

Obelix eyes started to fill with tears of joy and came close to Endymion "Are you ready to blow your birthday candle?" Endy nodded happily.

"At the count of three" Obelix said "One…two...three!"

Endymion blew with all his might the small candle and laughed, clapping his hands.

"Hooray!" everyone said happily.

"It's time to open some presents!" Queen Narella said excitedly.

* * *

"It's been a long time since he came…" her dark voice echoed in the throne room "Every passing minute I despise you White Queen"

Neherenia stood up from her throne and turned to look at her black mirror and walked towards it, looking at her reflection she placed a hand over it "How can you be in love with that twit… how can you ignore such beautiful face…" her hand caressed her reflection in the mirror.

Fixing her eyes to the ones in the mirror she smiled "But once I get their Crystal…I'll be more powerful than anyone in the universe…and then you will plead to be by my side"

"All alone…all this time in this black hole, my voice is the only one that echoes in this room…I have no more dreams to pursue and accomplish, she took everything I had…" Neherenia said with hurt.

"But, do you know what she can't have?"

Neherenia stood away from the mirror in shock "Who said that?"

[chuckles] "My…don't you recognize your own voice?" the mirror said.

Neherenia looked in shock at the dark mirror "My…own…voice? Who are you, what do you want?"

"Your best friend…" the mirror responded "And what I want is to comfort you, beautiful Queen"

Neherenia stood still and came close again "Beautiful…you think I'm beautiful"

"Of course…the most beautiful Queen in this realm. But, your beauty might be affected if you continue letting the White Queen rule the kingdom that can be yours"

"How?" Neherenia placed a hand over the sleek surface of the mirror with no reflection.

The mirror showed the reflection of an old woman, with long white hair and a wrinkled face, Neherenia moved away from the mirror in horror "No!" she covered her face in fright "My beauty can't be touched"

"Then you need to move fast and get the Ginzuishou soon and destroy the White Moon Kingdom" the old woman in the mirror said "What better dream than to be an everlasting beautiful Queen?"

"What better dream…to be an everlasting beautiful Queen" Neherenia repeated herself "Everlasting beautiful Queen"

* * *

_A/N: Remember the bonus chapters? Well here's one! it's bonus saturday! Just because I felt it could be a good suprise, here goes an update. Thank you for your reviews, it really means a lot. Have a nice weekend, I'll be back on Monday with a new chapter._

_I do not own SM just the PLOT and some of the characters, thank you._


	10. Chapter 10

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter ten**

**

* * *

**

Serenity arrived at Chronos' palace and knowing her way to the living room she came in, when she got there she saw Ananké with her child in her arms and smiled.

"Serenity" she said softly.

Serenity smiled back "Is this a bad timing?"

"No, not at all…I was just sleeping Pluto" Ananké said "Chronos is in his study"

Serenity smiled and nodded "I just want to take a look to your gorgeous baby" she came close.

Pluto was beautiful; she had a soft olive skin, dark hair and a pair of burgundy eyes. She was the personification of mystery, named after the planet where they lived; the rightful princess of Pluto looked at the lunar queen.

"She's gorgeous" Serenity said softly.

Ananké smiled "Thank you"

"I'll go see Chronos" Serenity said, Ananké nodded "Feel yourself at home"

Chronos was sitting in his chair silently in the studio when he heard a soft knock on the door "Come in" he said.

The door opened and Serenity showed her face through the space of the open door "Good day"

"Serenity" Chronos smiled at her and stood up "Come on in, what a pleasant surprise"

Serenity nodded "Since you became a father, well, we haven't seen each other much, but you have a very good reason…Pluto is adorable"

Chronos chuckled softly "Thank you, please, sit…can I get you something to drink? I just ordered some tea"

"Tea is fine, thank you" Serenity sat on the chair in front of Chronos' desk "I brought her a gift, actually" Serenity placed a small box on the desk.

"You shouldn't bother little flower" Chronos took the small box and opened, he gasped in surprise "It's a very beautiful necklace, thank you"

"I think that color suits her perfectly…" Serenity said softly.

A maid interrupted them and came in with a silver tray with a matching pot and cups. Chronos took the tray from the maid's hands and placed it on the table near the window between two small couches "Thank you Isamiel" Chronos said, the maid bowed and turned to leave closing the door behind her.

"This place is better than the desk to have tea, I always sit here and read something when I'm not in Olympus or when Pluto is asleep" he joked.

Serenity moved from the chair to the small dark couch that contrasted with her white dress and fair skin "I'll serve you" she poured the tea in his cup first and to hers with grace.

"Thank you little flower" Chronos blew the steam coming out of his cup of tea and noticed Serenity was looking at him, he raised an eye brow "What is what you want to know?"

Serenity looked at him carefully "Why are you still trying to hurt Gaia?" she asked him "I thought you said you were going to leave her alone…"

Chronos frowned "Why do you say that? I would never hurt her; you know how much she means to me"

Serenity took a sip of her tea and placed it down on the table "I saw Nut the other day…she looked mortified, I had to ask her if everything was alright and she broke into tears"

"Nut?" Chronos frowned in confusion "I do understand she misses her daughter but, I don't see why you would ask me if we are still trying to hurt Gaia. I talked to Zeus until I could convince him to leave them alone…"

"She seemed worried about something, like if something was about to happen" Serenity said sadly.

Chronos sighed "There are some that didn't agreed to the treaty but they can't do much, Zeus gave an order we all have to follow, including you little flower"

Serenity gasped, Chronos looked at her seriously "I know you saw her"

The lunar queen lowered her gaze "I went to say goodbye…"

"And to meet her child am I correct?"

Serenity raised her face, her eyes shining with tears "I just couldn't believe what they were saying about that child was true, I still don't believe it…"

Chronos placed a hand over Serenity's "Little flower, I understand you miss her…but this time, you have to stop going to Earth…" the Lord of Time half smiled "Besides, that boy is under great protection"

Serenity half smiled "When I saw her carrying her child, she looked so beautiful…"

"Did you see the boy?" Chronos asked.

Serenity nodded "Gaia let me hold him and when I look down he was watching me with those deep blue eyes…that took my breath away, seconds after like if he knew who I was, he smiled at me"

"He is a kind boy…like his mother" Chronos said.

"But why then everyone is so afraid of him?" Serenity asked.

"Because…" Chronos said "Gods like to be superior…we cannot accept that link between that realm and this one, but one day they will understand"

Serenity smiled "I'm so glad I can talk to you…"

Chronos smiled at Serenity "Me too little flower, me too"

Chronos laid back in his seat and crossed his arms still with a smile on his face "You know…you look pretty good, things gotten better with Athan am I right?"

Serenity blushed "Yes… we talked and I decided to give him another chance"

"I'm glad, second chances can bring magical things" Chronos said.

"What do you mean?" Serenity asked.

Chronos came forward and rested his arms on the table "You just give some time to time and you'll see the magic develop"

* * *

"Oooh! What is this?" Gaia was sitting on the floor in the living room with Eros, Obelix, Aurea and Leonidas, the five of them were sitting there because Endymion called for them, everybody was shocked how he could recognized his closest companions with so accuracy.

"Wooden soldiers! Like papa and Leonidas!" Gaia cheered her son, Endy giggled and clapped his hands.

They had celebrated with the court, the three kingdom royals and strolled by the city, it was passed eight o' clock and there were only them enjoying of the young prince.

King Odell and Queen Narella were sitting on the couch in front of them, watching their grandson enjoy his presents, Queen Narella observed Gaia and noticed something was wrong with her, despite the fact she was laughing and cheering all day her eyes never lied. She was sad and she kind of knew why.

Gaia told her about her father's sudden visit and how he denied his grandson, what he came to do and what he said to her, she remembered her dear daughter in law crying. Eros knew as well about this, so as Aurea and even though it happened half a year ago, her heart was still hurt.

"A year has passed since this little angel came to our lives" Queen Narella said.

Gaia looked up to her and smiled "I know…and today he said his first word"

Eros chuckled "He likes Obelix, how wouldn't he? They pray together every day"

Endymion turned to see his father with curious eyes and smiled "Papa" he said and pointed at him.

Eros eyes widened in surprise, everyone in the room gasped "Did…he just …" he trailed off.

"He called you papa" Gaia said amazed, Eros eyes started to fill with tears.

Endymion then turned to see his mother with the same curious look and pointed her with his index finger "Mama" and walked towards her.

Gaia waited for him with her arms wide open; she hugged her son with all her might "My love…"

"He just said Obelix, Papa and Mama in one day, I guess you too had your birthday present" Aurea said happily.

Endymion started to play with his mothers hair, sign that he was feeling tired and sleepy, Gaia noticed it and smiled "It's mimi time for Endy"

"Is he playing with your hair?" Eros asked softly.

Gaia nodded "Yes and caressing my cheek with his other hand"

"Well then, I guess it's time to call it a day…we all need our rest" King Odell said rising from the couch, Queen Narella followed.

Aurea also stood up from her chair "Do you want me to help you Gaia?" she asked.

"No Aurea, I'll take care of him…he's practically falling asleep as we speak, I'll change his diaper and his clothes into something more comfortable, you go on and get some rest, you did enough for today, I'll see you tomorrow" Gaia smiled at her brunette friend, Aurea nodded "Very well"

Eros stood up as well and walked with Gaia and his son to Endymion's chambers, when he was passing through the door he padded Leonidas's shoulder encouraging to speak to Aurea, the general told Eros about his feelings towards Aurea and the king told him that the only way she could open her heart up to him open was him opening his hear up to her first.

Obelix was the last to leave the living room leaving Aurea and Leonidas alone, Aurea was feeling nervous by what Gaia had told her about Leonidas and to distract herself she started to pick up Endymion's toys from the floor.

Leonidas started helping her picking up some wooden blocks that were spread all over the floor, Aurea noticed "You don't have to do this General…" she said softly.

"No…it's not a problem for me to help you with this" Leonidas said sheepishly.

Aurea blushed, for the very first time she didn't know what to say or how to act near a man, she was always so honest with everybody and was never afraid to speak up her mind but this have never happened to her before.

The brunette maid nodded "Thank you…"

Leonidas smiled "My pleasure"

They continued picking up the wooden pieces when they saw the last piece and both walked to grab it and bumped in their heads by accident making Aurea fall to the floor.

Leonidas eyes widened in shock "I'm so sorry!" he extended his hand out to her.

Aurea took it "Thank you…" Leonidas nodded.

Aurea turned to leave when she stopped in her tracks and turned to look at the general "I always have a cup of tea before I go to bed…I was wondering if you would like to join me?"

Leonidas smiled at her and nodded "I would love to"

Eros was reading on the bed when Gaia entered the bedroom and went to the bathroom to put on her night gown. The terran king turned to look at his wife when she walked out of the bathroom and sit on her vanity to start brushing her dark hair.

"Did he fall asleep?" he asked.

"Almost immediately, he was very tired" she said to his reflection in the mirror.

Eros sighed and started to read again his book, Gaia watched him from the mirror on her vanity "What?" she smiled.

"Nothing…" the king said playfully.

Gaia walked to the bed where her husband was lying and watched him carefully, her hand caressed his face with tenderness "I know you too well Eros…"

Eros chuckled "I sighed because I'm the happiest man alive…we are together and have a beautiful and healthy son"

Gaia blushed "He called you papa today"

"That's the best word I've ever heard in my life…" Eros said happily.

"He's growing up so fast…" Gaia said.

"But we will enjoy every minute we have with him, watch him grow and become a man" Eros said softly and kissed his wife's cheek.

"I love you Eros, you and Endymion are my dream come true" Gaia said softly and snuggled next to her husband.

"And you are mine" Eros said softly, his hand played with her dark hair.

"I know you are sad because of what happened with your father" Eros said.

Gaia sat in front of her husband in Buddha style, Eros couldn't get enough of his wife, he looked at her delicate body, her perfect flawless skin, her dark hair framing her face and falling graciously down her back and to make the picture more perfect a strap of her night gown fell graciously from her shoulder.

"It hurts me, but I can't do anything about it…it's their decision" Gaia said softly "Like Aurea said, we have more Endymion for us" she giggled trying to light up the moment.

Eros chuckled "She's right, she adores him"

Gaia nodded "Yes…she's officially his nana"

"I think more than that, I think she's his godmother" Eros said.

Gaia smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear "Speaking of Aurea…do you think Leonidas will try to talk to her? I would love to see them together, she needs a strong man by her side and he needs a spark like her to spice up his life…"

Eros raised a brow "Spice up his life?"

Gaia nodded "Yes, I adore Leonidas, he's a wonderful friend…but, you must agree with me…he's a little bit dull"

Eros laughed "Dull…"

"Yes…" Gaia said.

"Well, comparing him to Aurea…he IS sure a dull person" Eros said.

"They're a perfect couple, if Aphrodite were here she would agree with me and actually be proud of me" Gaia said "She's Leonidas' perfect match"

"Don't jump to conclusions this fast, Leonidas is a little too slow…and Aurea a little too fast, so…let's just see what happens, so do not expect too much action from him these days…" Eros said.

"Let's just give time, some time" Gaia smiled.

* * *

_A/N: Sorry to update so late! but here it is and I hope you like it. Thank you for keep reading the story...As always I'll be waiting for your reviews, have a nice week and we'll se on wednesday for a new update ;)_

_I do not own SM just this plot and some of the characters._


	11. Chapter 11

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter eleven**

**

* * *

**

Several summers and winters have passed and the terran family was living in peace, the Golden Kingdom was indeed a land of dreams, people lived peacefully and the three strong points Her Majesty Queen Gaia like to call them reported them goods news with regularity.

Four years have passed since the terran goddess gave up her life as an immortal being, confronted her family and had a son.

"Did you find him yet?" Leonidas asked.

"No" Aurea sighed "He is getting better in hiding"

"He's a little mischievous" the general said.

Aurea turned to look at him with a stern look "A little?"

"Well, he's just playing…" Leonidas said while looked under the coffee table in the living room.

"Hmm… he knows there are times he has to behave…If I don't find him by dinner time his mother will strangle me and not to mention what his father would to…" Aurea said.

Leonidas looked at Aurea with special eyes, since that night when they had that cup of tea became closer friends although Leonidas would have liked to be more than her friend, he has been pretending her for the last four years and with no success but he is still going to fight for her.

"Why are you here helping me? This is not even your job, I'm the one who's Endymion's nana" Aurea said.

"You just said it before…if you don't find His Highness by dinner time his mother will strangle you and his father might cut your head off, and well, I don't want that to happen…" the general smiled.

Aurea turned to look at Leonidas and blushed slightly "General…we talked about this…"

Leonidas came closer and placed his hands on her shoulders "Aurea, you know how I feel towards you…if you could only give me a chance…"

Aurea looked at the general with wide eyes "I… can't…I told you before…"

"Just let me prove to you how much I care for you…" Leonidas came closer, Aurea was about to close her eyes and let the general kiss her for the first time when she saw a familiar boy running through the hall.

"A-ha!" Aurea pushed the general and ran out of the room "Endymion! Come here in this instant!"

Leonidas sighed "Someday…"

Aurea ran through the hall until she stopped in the main court, turning her head to both sides she spotted a familiar small body hiding behind a bush. Smiling she walked silently the other way around the bushes and stood behind the young mischievous prince.

In a swift movement she kneeled and held him close to her body "Found you!"

Four year old Endymion tried to free himself from her grasp but to no avail "You found me!"

Aurea chuckled "Of course I did, you can run but never hide from me little one"

Endymion sighed "I don' wanna" he said in a soft voice.

Aurea laughed "Sorry…a Prince has a big responsibility and that is to bathe!"

Endymion huffed and crossed his arms "No' fair"

"Sorry little one, your mama and papa want you to be clean by dinner time; you have been hiding all afternoon!" Aurea ruffled his raven hair softly.

"No' fair" Endymion said again shaking his head no.

Aurea kneeled in front of the young prince and half smiled "Why are you in a cranky mood today?"

Endymion lowered his gaze "I miss mama"

Aurea's gaze softened and felt a knot in her throat, the little prince felt his mother was absent for periods of time, like the doctor had said, her health was delicate and after a couple of years she started to feel sick constantly.

"I know dear, but mama is a little tired today, she's taking a nap" Aurea said.

Endymion sniffed softly "Is she sick?"

Aurea shook her head no "No dear…she's just a little tired. But if to take your bath we can go and wake her up, what do you say?"

Endymion raised his head to see Aurea and after a few seconds of silence, his adorable face lit up with a smile "Okay"

* * *

Luna walked through the halls and sighed with contempt. It has been a very peaceful time, Queen Serenity was always in a happy mood and that helped to the kingdom's development; the burgundy eyed girl's thoughts were interrupted by the queen herself.

"Good morning Luna"

Luna turned to see the white queen and smiled before she bowed before her "Good morning, Queen Serenity"

Serenity smiled "My, what are you doing up so early?"

The mauian girl smiled "I went to the kitchen to have a cup of tea"

"I see…" Serenity sighed.

"Is everything alright Your Majesty?"

"Yes" the white queen nodded "Is just that…time goes by very quickly…it's almost winter once again"

"The Lord of time must be up to something" Luna giggled.

Serenity chuckled "He's always up to something" she noticed the porcelain cup in Luna's hands "I think I'll have a cup of tea too, mind if I join you?"

"Not at all Your Majesty" the dark haired girl said.

They both walked to the palace's kitchen in silence, Luna noticed minutes later that Serenity came along with her to the kitchen, she turned wide eyed "Your Majesty, I didn't notice you were accompanying me to the kitchen! I'm so sorry…I can bring a tray to the tea room" she excused.

Serenity smiled "I don't see the harm in having tea with a friend in the kitchen; I remember how Gaia and I did this all the time"

Luna smiled and nodded; the white queen walked to the cupboard and grabbed two white porcelain cups while Luna placed the kettle on a bowl full of stars to boil some water for the tea.

"You go sit Luna; I'll take care of this"

Luna obeyed and sat on one of the bar's stools and watched at the white queen in amusement. Serenity moved with grace from one place to the other, the water soon started to boil and she took the crystal kettle and placed it over the bar, then the two porcelain cups and the golden leaves for the tea and a small bowl of lunar fruit very similar to earth's wild berries.

Serenity sat down on a stool next to Luna and poured the hot water on both cups and a couple of golden leaves with a berry to sweeten it, Luna smiled at her queen's gesture.

"I thought it was the first time someone brought you to the kitchen…" Luna said softly.

Serenity shook her head no "The greatest conversations I had in my life were here in this kitchen" she smiled at the memory.

Luna took a sip of her tea with care "With your long time friend?"

Serenity blew with delicacy the steam that came out of her cup and took a sip, placing the cup down she lowered her gaze "My long time friend…" she whispered and turned to look at Luna "When she stayed here, she always went to my room this early and woke me up, she would take out the pastries and fruit and I would put the water to boil and then we had a very long conversation, until the sun came up"

Luna smiled "Is she nice?"

After a small pause, the white queen smiled "Yes… she has a strong character but it's because she has to be like that because of the power she carried"

"Her child must be quite big by now" Luna said.

"Yes…" the white queen placed her cup on the bar "I think I understand her now…"

"What do you mean?" Luna asked.

"I understand Gaia's fears and dreams when she was expecting her child…the nervousness to become a mother" Serenity said softly.

"I don't understand Your Majesty" Luna said confused.

Serenity sighed and turned to see Luna "I'm expecting a child" she smiled.

Luna's burgundy eyes widened in surprise, her mouth formed a small O and when she wanted to say something she closed it again, not knowing what to say.

Serenity smiled at the young woman next to her "I still can't believe it myself…"

"Your Majesty…congratulations!" she stood up and hugged the queen happily "Does His Majesty knows?"

"No, no no no. I haven't told him yet, I just found out a few days ago…" Serenity waved her hands softly "It's a surprise, I'm waiting for the right moment to tell him, he will come ballistic!"

"Your Majesty…I feel honored, I'm the first one to know!" Luna said excitedly.

"Now I just need to find the perfect time to tell him" Serenity smiled.

"Like Higher God Chronos said, give time to time…" Luna smiled.

Serenity nodded "After a storm, always comes out a beautiful rainbow" the white queen lowered her gaze.

"What's the matter My Queen?" Luna asked at the queen's sudden change.

"I just wish I could tell my friend the news…"

Luna placed her hand over the queen's pale one and smiled kindly "Maybe you can go and tell her"

Serenity shook her head no "I can't anymore Luna"

Luna watched her queen with sad eyes "But you've done it before…without them notice"

Serenity chuckled "Dear Luna, they did noticed but they ignored it…but when they found out she had a child they strictly forbidden any contact with Earth"

"It's so sad…I personally don't think they can harm us" Luna said.

"Me either little friend, I know Gaia…she might be strong but she's incapable of doing harm to others" Serenity took a sip of her tea.

"I don't understand what is so special about her child…he's just a boy" it was the mauian girl to take a sip of her hot beverage.

Serenity sighed softly, her gaze staring at the kettle in front of her "A boy that has immense power"

"But…if he is a mortal child, why are the Higher Gods so afraid of the boy?" Luna asked.

This time, Serenity turned to look at her "As my advisor there are some things you should know about the Higher Gods"

Luna gave her queen a confused look "I do not understand Your Majesty…"

"You know the Higher Gods are the beings with stronger powers and the authority to decide what you can and cannot do in Olympus and this immortal realm. But like all, they too have weaknesses and they not approve the fact that a child born from the union of a goddess and a mortal can have as much power as them… they will always want more power than they already have and that child has it. Earth is a very strong planet, unlike us it has its own resources…they don't want him to come to this realm…they think he could turn like…" Serenity trailed off.

"Like who Your Majesty?" Luna asked.

"Like his mother's brother" Serenity said.

"In Mau we heard a myth of a God turning to the dark side" Luna said.

"It's not a myth Luna, that God does exist"

Luna's burgundy eyes widened in fear "He does? Is he hiding somewhere or does he live in the underworld with Hades?"

Serenity shook her head in denial "Yes…and he is this child's relative that is why the Higher Gods are making sure he does not cross the line between the mortal and the immortal realm"

"He does not live among us… he is too dangerous, he confronted the Higher Gods; Hades opened a dark hole in the deepest of the underworld and Zeus locked him with his thunder sword, Gaia fought him too and strengthened the seal. Metallia had connections with him before he was confronted, that is why she hated Gaia so much…because she blamed her of what happened to him"

Luna was still shocked by all this new information "I never imagined all this…but, do you think that child can be just like his uncle?"

"I do not… but that is why we can't go to Earth" Serenity said.

"Well then, we will protect the child that is coming to this kingdom" Luna said.

Serenity smiled and placed a hand on her still flat belly "We will protect with all our hearts this baby"

* * *

_A/N: Another wednesday, another chapter. Although I feel not too many people is following me in this part of the story I still enjoy posting and the reviews I get for every update. Thank you so much for following and I hope you enjoy this chapter and like always wait for friday's update :)_

_I do not own SM just this plot and some of the characters, thank you._


	12. Chapter 12

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter twelve**

**

* * *

**

"Mama…"

"Mama…pease wake up" Endy held his mother's hand softly, his deep blue eyes waiting for the moment to be met by his mother's green ones.

Gaia's health started to become weak; it took so much of her energy to stay up some days and others she could be better but still delicate. She started to move softly and a few seconds later she opened her eyes slowly and smiled kindly when she saw her son next to her.

"My little sun..." she whispered and ran a hand through his midnight hair.

"Mama!" little Endymion cheered and climbed up on the bed next to his mother "Let's go out to play!"

Gaia sighed softly "Mama is feeling very tired today dear"

Endymion lowered his gaze and sniffed a little; Aurea came in minutes later and watched the sad scene the little prince portrayed.

"Why don't we go and see what Leonidas is doing little prince?" Aurea asked him to try to lighten the mood.

Endymion shook his head no and wiped the tears off his eyes with his right hand. Aurea turned to look at Gaia with sad eyes, Gaia nodded and turned to look at her son "Endy?"

Endymion didn't move from his position, Gaia tried one more time.

"Endy? Why don't we go to see what papa and Leonidas are doing? I will join you later" she said softly.

This time Endymion raised his head and looked at his mother with wide eyes, a small smile started to form on his face.

Gaia sat on the bed and smiled "Why don't you go get your shoes to your room?"

Endymion nodded and turned to see a young maid waiting for him at the door to take him to his chambers and get his shoes.

Gaia placed a hand over her forehead and sighed; Aurea came to her side and sat on the bed "You are not feeling well right?"

Gaia shook her head no "This headache comes and goes, sometimes I feel suffocated…like I can hardly breathe…"

"What can be causing this?" Aurea asked concerned.

Aurea smiled and stood up "My pregnancy took almost all of the energy on my body to nurture Endymion, I knew this would happen" Gaia chuckled and turned to see Aurea "I believe the Higher Gods wants me to pay for my mistakes sooner than I expected…"

Aurea frowned "Don't you ever say that again!" she raised her voice. Gaia widened her eyes in shock.

"They are not going to take you anywhere!" Aurea raised her voice.

"Aurea, dear friend…" Gaia sighed "I don't know how much time they will let me stay here…but I'm glad I met you"

Aurea's eyes started to shine with tears; the terran queen wiped her falling tears off her face with her hand "I want you to promise me something…"

"Anything" Aurea said softly.

"If anything comes to happen to me…please, promise me you will look after my Endymion…" Gaia whispered.

"You don't even need to ask me that, I love him, I will protect him with my life if it's necessary"

Gaia smiled and sat on her vanity to start to brush her long black hair. Aurea stood behind her and took the brush away from her queen's hands and started brushing her hair with long soft strokes.

"Gladly, we live in a peaceful world now…we haven't had a disastrous event like the ones we had four years ago…"

Gaia looked down "Yes…" she said softly then saw her friend and personal maid her reflection on the mirror "But I don't think it will last long…"

Aurea widened her light brown eyes at her queen and stopped brushing her hair "What are you saying?"

Gaia kept looking at her friend on the mirror "I highly doubt the Higher Gods will be at peace knowing that someone with a very high power is here"

"But…they cannot attack if _that _person doesn't fight them back…" Aurea suggested.

"They don't need to be attacked to start fighting…" Gaia said.

"But, they would be contradicting themselves…"

"The Higher Gods are like that…" Gaia sighed softly "Besides…I don't think Endymion will last longer being just a boy, someday his power will manifest"

"That is why you will have to tell him the truth" Aurea started brushing her hair again.

"No…" Gaia said softly "Obelix is already starting to train him without him noticing…it's better is he teaches him how to pray this little so he will learn how to control his power without him knowing"

"You do see what you are doing, right?" Aurea stopped brushing her queen's dark hair once again.

Gaia raised a brow, Aurea sighed "You are treating your son like if he was dumb…he's far from being dumb…very far…"

Gaia made a stern face "I'm protecting my child"

"There are other ways"

Gaia stood up and walked towards her dresser in silence. Aurea stood with Gaia's golden brush on her right hand in shock by the queen's reaction "Gaia"

Gaia turned to see the maid with a serious face "You are not to tell me how to raise my son!"

Aurea's brown eyes widened in shock, never in her time knowing the queen she never raised her voice at her or got upset with her "I'm just saying…"

"You are crossing a very thin line Aurea between our friendship and our relationship as maid-queen" Gaia interrupted.

Aurea couldn't believe Gaia's reaction "Gaia, I'm just saying there are other ways to…"

"I will raise Endymion as I please! You are just my personal maid not my counselor, understood?" Gaia interrupted her again.

Aurea's eyes started to fill with tears, she never knew Gaia could be this cold when she was upset, she fought hard in not showing her hurt and her trembling lips "Yes, Your Majesty. My apologies"

Aurea turned to leave the room and closed the big doors behind her.

Gaia stood there, seconds later she realized what she had done.

* * *

Athan woke up and noticed his wife wasn't next to him "Luna must have called her"

He stood up and walked to the bathroom.

Serenity and Luna kept talking until the kitchen personnel started to walk in, Serenity turned to look at Luna with wide eyes "Time flew by!" she chuckled.

The maids and kitchen personnel watched in awe at the queen and her advisor in their nightgowns and tousled hair but bowed immediately "Your Majesty"

Serenity blushed and turned to look at Luna "I believe we have to get ready to start our day"

Luna nodded several times and stood up "Yes, yes…"

Both, queen and advisor left the kitchen quickly and once they were on the hallway they started laughing.

"Did you see their faces?" Serenity asked between her laughs.

"They were in shock!" Luna giggled.

[Coughs]

Luna turned to her left and widened her eyes "A-Artemis!"

Artemis stood there fully dressed, his fresh citric aroma filled air where they were standing, then he turned to see the queen and nodded his head "Good morning Your Majesty"

Serenity blushed and tried to cover her night gown with her silky silver robe but it didn't do much "Good Morning Artemis"

Artemis blushed softly when she saw Luna "Luna"

Luna was red as a beat and just nodded. Serenity interrupted "Well then, Luna, I will meet you both in the conference room in an hour for our daily meeting"

Luna looked at Serenity "Yes, Your Majesty" she bowed.

Serenity smiled and walked to her chambers quickly.

"Luna?" Artemis asked.

Luna turned to look Artemis "I'm going I'm going!.." she said softly and started walking to her chambers as well to get ready for the meeting with the queen.

"You look lovely Luna" Artemis said.

Luna stopped in her tracks, with her back at the young man in white she blushed a deeper shade of red "Don't be silly Artemis…" she trailed off.

"I'm just telling the truth…" Artemis said.

Luna turned over her shoulder not hiding her blush and smiled "Thank you…you too" and ran to her room.

Artemis stood there wide eyed and blushed.

Serenity closed the door behind her and noticed her husband was not sleeping anymore, walking to the bedroom she opened the balcony doors and let the lunar breeze enter the room. When she was about to go to her dresser and see what was appropriate to wear today Athan walked out of the bathroom.

"There you are!" Athan said.

"Here I am!" Serenity smiled and opened her arms.

Athan chuckled "Where were you?"

"I woke up early and went to have some tea" Serenity said.

"I missed you" Athan came close.

Serenity blushed "I missed you too…" she whispered and kissed him softly on the lips.

"We need to be ready for the meeting dear" Athan said.

"But it is later today…I just told Luna and Artemis"

Athan frowned "Dear, what are you talking about?"

"About our daily meetings" Serenity said.

Athan chuckled "No, dear, we have a social meeting in Olympus. It's Zeus's birthday"

"Ah?"

"So you need to get ready…" Athan said and turned to his walk in closet to look for his clothes.

Serenity stood there "I do not wish to go…"

Athan turned to see his wife from his space in the closet "What?"

"I do not wish to go…"

"Why?" Athan asked confused.

"I don't want to see… them…" the lunar queen lowered her gaze.

"Serenity…we talked about this…" Athan said.

"I know Athan, it's just that…" she trailed off.

"What is going on?" the king came close to his wife and places both hands on her shoulders.

"I just…wanted to have some alone time with you… there is…"

Athan smiled and walked back to his closet "We will be together at the party dear" he interrupted his wife.

Serenity sighed and walked to the bathroom "Yes…"

* * *

Eros walked into the room and finds Gaia sniffing on her vanity "Dear?"

Gaia turned her head away from her husband's face trying to cover her crying "Yes?"

"Are you okay?" Eros asked worried.

Gaia turned to see her husband with sad eyes "No…"

Eros walked up to her "Dear what's wrong?"

Gaia started to cry "I raised my voice at Aurea…I said horrible things to her…"

"That isn't something you normally do, why did you do that?" Eros held her hand.

Gaia looked into her husband's blue eyes "I don't know…I… I know she was just giving me her opinion…but I got so upset" she went to sit on the bed and sighed "I'm so tired of being sick, of not being able to be there for my son all the time, she's been the one who has taken care of him when I'm not feeling right…I'm so tired Eros, I'm so tired and so scared…" she started to cry again.

Eros kneeled in front of Gaia "Don't be…"

Gaia turned to look at him wide eyed "What?"

"Don't be scared… we are together, I am here for you, Aurea is here for you…you know that and whatever she told you, she didn't do it with bad intentions…"

Gaia nodded "I know…I better go look out for her, Endymion wanted to see you and Leonidas"

Eros smiled "I'll go look out for him, you go look for Aurea"

Gaia stood up and smiled, wiping the tears off her face she walked out of their chambers.

Aurea stopped in the rose garden and couldn't hold her tears anymore, her soft sobs echoed in the court.

"A penny for your thoughts" a male voice interrupted her.

Aurea turned to find Leonidas standing next to a tree "General!"

Leonidas walked closer and noticed Aurea's wet eyes "Aurea, are you crying?"

Aurea turned and wiped the tears off her face with discretion "No"

"Yes, you're crying!" Leonidas said with a hint of worry in his voice.

"I'm fine" Aurea said.

"What happened?" Leonidas tried to reach her face.

"Nothing happened General" Aurea tried to turn her face once again.

"Who is making you cry! Tell me and I'll go make that person pay" the general said upset.

"I said I'm fine…can't a girl just be here and cry a few tears once in a while?" Aurea sniffed.

"Beautiful girls should never cry" Leonidas said.

Aurea turned to look at the general with wide eyes and blushed "General, what are you saying?"

"The truth"

Aurea tried to look away but the general held her chin softly "Why are you doing this General?" the maid asked softly.

Leonidas watched in awe at the young woman in front of him "Because I love you"

"General, we talked about this so many times…" Aurea pleaded.

"Give me an opportunity" Leonidas said.

Aurea lowered her gaze "You can look for better girls out there! I'm just a simple maid and nothing else! You could find a refined lady, marry her and have a family, why me?"

"I don't want a refined lady, I want you… I want this honest girl who is not afraid to speak up her mind, this girl who gives her entire life to her queen and prince, this girl who has a pure heart, this girl who always has a smile on her face… I want this girl who is standing right in front of me at this very moment…" Leonidas said.

"General…"

"It's been four years Aurea…" Leonidas said.

Aurea sighed and new tears started to fall from her face in silence "I can't be the woman you want"

"Why not?"

Aurea raised her face, her tears were still falling "Because you deserve better"

"There is no one better for me than you!" Leonidas held her arms but the young woman broke free.

"Please…leave me, leave me now or I will never speak to you again!" Aurea said.

"Why Aurea?"

"I said leave me…please" Aurea said softly.

Leonidas nodded his head softly and turned to leave the garden, leaving a very sad Aurea behind.

"I'm so sorry Leonidas…" Aurea sobbed "I love you… but you deserve to be with a woman who can give you a family in the future not a simple girl who can't ever have a child…"

* * *

_A/N: Thank you so much for reading as always it means a lot. I love to read your reviews and always try to respond to them I felt so happy to see some of the reader's from the first season that totally made my day! yay! you are still there enjoting of the story. Thank you :)_

_I hope you enjoy this update and I will see you guys soon._

_Happy Christmas Eve! enjoy a lovely dinner with the people you love the most. _

_I do not own SM just this plot and some of the characters._


	13. Chapter 13

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter thirteen**

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* * *

**

Inside the cold and dark castle, Nehelenia waited for Athan to come back to her. Even when she knew he was under a spell of hers she missed the lunar king, his touch and kisses, the sound of his voice whispering in her ear.

"Stupid Serenity" she said from her throne "I'm sure you enchanted him with your beauty and sugary personality…"

Her voice echoed in the room, normally she was a lonely queen. Darkness was her only friend; she did not go out much because she was afraid to be seen with pitiful eyes.

She was about to go to her chambers when her mirror reflected a shadow "Nehelenia…" a voice echoed.

The dark queen turned to look the dark mirror with wide eyes "The mirror…" she trailed off.

Walking to the tall mirror she tried to recognize the reflection on it, but it was just a shadow with no form, no face and didn't recognize the voice at all "Who are you?"

"Poor Queen of Darkness…you are here, all alone…while the rest of the gods are having a wonderful time in Olympus" the shadow said.

Nehelenia fisted her hands "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you need to understand that being here will not make you destroy the lunar queen and her kingdom" the shadow said again.

The dark queen lowered her gaze "What do you want?"

"Do you know what could make you have the Silver Kingdom and eternal beauty? The dark shadow asked.

"Eternal beauty?" that caught Nehelenia's attention.

"Get the Golden Crystal from the Terran Goddess and you will destroy the lunar queen and have eternal beauty, you will be even more beautiful than Aphrodite herself"

"The Terran Goddess does not live here anymore" Neherenia said.

"It doesn't matter… she still has the sacred stone, so then tell me, how do you think she is so envied? Everybody want her to be with her or like her, the Higher Gods want to take her power, why don't you do that and become the strongest and most beautiful queen in the entire universe?"

"Golden Crystal…" Nehelenia said softly and then turned to see the mirror again "Who are you?"

"The one who will help you get what you want" the shadow said.

"Dreams are meant to turn into nightmares, never dream, and stay in reality" the sultry voice said before the shadow on the mirror disappeared.

"Dreams are meant to turn into nightmares, never dream, and stay in reality. Dreams are meant to turn into nightmares, never dream, and stay in reality. Dreams are meant to turn into nightmares, never dream, and stay in reality…" Nehelenia repeated herself.

One of her servants came into the throne room offering her something to drink, but when she saw the dark queen's golden eyes shining and looking absently into the mirror she started to get scared.

"Your Majesty…here is…" she trailed off.

Neherenia turned and sent her a blast of dark energy leaving the body lifeless and looking more like a lemure.

"Dreams are meant to turn into nightmares, never dream…" she trailed off.

* * *

"Let's all have a toast!"

"Let's all raise our glass for our High God Zeus!" said Eos, God of the Dawn.

The present Gods and Goddesses raised their glasses "Let's keep the celebration!" they all said in unison.

Athan and Serenity arrived to Zeus's Palace in Olympus, Hephaestus came to welcome them "I'm glad you came! Athan, Serenity"

Serenity nodded her head; Athan saluted the God of Forge "We were starting to wonder if you were going to come"

Athan smiled "We wouldn't miss it, right dear?" he turned to see Serenity standing next to him with a small smile.

"Of course…" she said softly.

"Come, join us! Hermes was asking for you a while ago" Hephaestus said.

Athan turned to look at Serenity "Is it okay if I go with them for a while?"

Serenity smiled and nodded "Yes, yes…. of course…" she said softly.

Athan walked with Hephaestus leaving Serenity alone, Aphrodite who was seating in one of the arranged tables saw her and immediately walked up to her.

"Serenity!" she said happily.

The lunar queen turned and gave the love goddess a sincere wide smile "Aphrodite, it's so good to see you here" she hugged her.

"I'm so glad you came" Aphrodite smiled at her "Come, join me on my table…Athena was sitting there with me"

Serenity smiled and followed the goddess of love to their table.

"Serenity!" Athena said happily, she stood up to hug the lunar goddess.

"It's good to see you Athena, you look great!" Serenity said.

"You too, you look different" Athena said.

The three goddesses sat on their chairs "Different how?" Serenity asked nervously.

"Like if you had a special glow"

Serenity chuckled "Athena, we all have some kind of a glow"

"No, no, this one is different…like if you…" Athena widened her eyes.

"Serenity! Long time no see!" the Goddess of Hearth, Hestia saluted.

Serenity smiled "Hestia, yes it's been long…"

Aphrodite widened her eyes and turned to look at Athena, which nodded her head, then turned to look at Hestia who shared a smile at the surprised goddesses.

"I'm glad you're doing fine, I'm sure your mother is feeling very proud of you" Hestia gave the lunar queen a warm smile, her rich chocolate brown hair fell graciously in big waves framing her delicate round face. Known as the virgin goddess, Hestia didn't have a very high profile personality, with being Zeus's younger sister was more than enough for her but everyone knew that when Hestia was around was because a new life is soon to be born into this realm. Mortals worshiped her and prayed to her when they knew a woman was expecting a child.

Serenity blushed and her eyes moistened with tears at the mention of her mother "I miss her terribly"

Hestia smiled and caressed Serenity's cheek "And she misses you, but you know how this is…don't worry dear, you are no longer alone"

Serenity's lavender eyes widened in shock. Hestia winked an eye at her and turned to look at Aphrodite and Athena "I better go back to my table next to my brother and his…uncomfortable…wife" she sighed.

Athena chuckled "Sweet Hera? That can't be!" the goddess of justice said with sarcasm.

Hestia rolled her eyes "You know how difficult she can be sometimes…but no matter how much she tries, my brother will remain the same…they are both difficult" she waved goodbye and went to sit next to his brother's wife.

Serenity turned to see Aphrodite and saw she still had a surprised expression "Aphrodite?"

"You're expecting a child" the love goddess said.

Serenity's eyes widened "What?"

"You are!" the blonde goddess said again.

"H-How do you know?" Serenity asked.

Athena chuckled "You should know better Sere, when Hestia is around it means a new life is coming soon to this realm"

"But it can be anyone…" Serenity said.

"Hmm… true" Aphrodite said "Poseidon's wife is expecting a child…"

"Is she?" Athena asked; Aphrodite nodded her head.

"Uranus' consort just had a child as well and named her after him" Aphrodite said.

"Chronos has his child, Pluto" Serenity said.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Zeus got pregnant another muse…" Aphrodite said.

Serenity chuckled "Yes, you're right"

"Hades finally married Perséfone…but I don't think she's expecting a child" Aphrodite said.

Serenity lowered her gaze and sighed softly; Athena saw her and placed a hand over hers "Is there something wrong Sere?"

"I wanted him to know this morning, I planned a special dinner so I could tell him but I forgot about Zeus' celebration"

Aphrodite smiled "So it's true Sere?"

Serenity raised her head and nodded "I found a couple of days ago…I am expecting a child"

Aphrodite covered her mouth with both hands; Athena gave the lunar queen a wide smile "I'm so happy for you"

"So, Athan doesn't know?" the love goddess asked.

Serenity shook her head no.

"Do not worry dear friend, you can tell him tomorrow" Athena suggested.

"Or maybe tonight" Aphrodite winked an eye at the lunar goddess which made her laugh.

"How are things doing with Adonis?" Serenity asked Aphrodite.

"Perfect" the blonde goddess said happily "We are living together"

"I already knew that" Athena took a sip of her red wine.

"How do you know?"

"Dear, you are the Goddess of Love…of course you are going to be driven by passion and excitement" the goddess of justice said nonchalantly.

"Oh…right" Aphrodite said.

"Do you know who I would like to meet?" Athena said softly.

"Who?" the lunar and love goddesses asked.

Athena came close "Gaia's child"

"I bet her child is lovely" Aphrodite said sadly.

"He is…" Serenity's words slipped but it was too late when she came to realize what she had said.

"Serenity, you didn't!" Athena said worried.

Serenity sighed "She's my friend Athena…do you really think is fair to deprive a child from his true origins?"

Athena sighed "Serenity…"

Serenity held her hands and looked at her with sad eyes "Is it?"

Athena looked at the lunar queen with a stern face "No…"

"That child is too far from being what everyone here think he is…" Serenity said.

"How do you know Serenity…Gaia does have a very peculiar familiar background…" Aphrodite said.

"She's a good mother; she would never raise her child to be destructive…" Serenity defended her friend.

"You have always been a very kind goddess…" Athena said.

Serenity blushed "I just know her and I know she is an excellent mother"

* * *

Gaia walked through the gardens looking for Aurea, she was about to go to her room when she saw Leonidas coming with a sad face.

"Leonidas" she called the general.

"Your Majesty" he bowed.

"Is something wrong, you look worried" Gaia asked.

Leonidas forced a smile "I'm fine Your Majesty…with all due respect, you look worried too, is there anything I can to help?"

Gaia nodded "I need to talk to Aurea but I can't seem to find her anywhere…have you seen her?"

"She's at the rose court…" the general answered sadly.

"Leonidas…" Gaia placed a hand on his shoulder "What is the matter?"

"I just don't know what to do anymore Your Majesty… you are aware of my feelings towards Aurea, but nothing I do can win her heart" Leonidas said.

Gaia felt bad for the general, she knew Aurea's true reasons of why she tried to stay away from him "Aurea can be very hardheaded sometimes you know how she is…"

Leonidas nodded his head.

Gaia smiled and hugged the general making him startle "Just give time to time and you'll watch how the magic develops right in front of your eyes…"

Leonidas smiled "Thank you, Dea"

Gaia was about to leave when she turned to see the general again "Take that advise very seriously…a very wise friend of mine told me that"

Leonidas smiled "I will…"

Gaia winked her eye and left to the rose court.

Aurea was sitting on a bench; her tears fell silently from her eyes, Gaia walked into the court and immediately saw her between two trees, next to the yellow roses.

"Aurea…" Gaia said softly.

Aurea wiped the tears off her face with her hands as soon as she heard Gaia's voice "Your Majesty" she said, standing up and nodding her head.

"I'm sorry Aurea…" Gaia said.

"No…Your Majesty…I am the one who should be asking for your forgiveness…I crossed the line, I shouldn't ever said how you should raise His Highness"

Gaia took Aurea's hands and without noticing, her eyes started to fill with tears "No, Aurea…You have all the right to tell me anything…you have been with me since the first day I got here, you accepted who I was and have taken care of me and now you take care of my child…"

Aurea watched in awe at her queen "I would do anything for you…His Highness is like a son to me as well…"

Gaia smiled "I know…" she sat on the bench pulling Aurea with delicacy to follow her and sit next to her "That is why I want you to keep being there for us, we love you, I love you my dear friend"

Aurea's eyes started to shine with fresh tears "Your Majesty…"

"Gaia" Gaia interrupted "Please Aurea, forgive me for my former behavior"

Aurea smiled "You are accepting the fact that you need me" she joked.

"Yes Aurea, I need you" Gaia chuckled.

"I'm glad…Because I need you too" Aurea hugged her friend and queen.

Gaia sighed "I saw Leonidas moments ago…he looked terribly sad…"

Aurea lowered her gaze "I know…"

"What happened?"

Aurea turned to see Gaia "I asked him to stop pursuing me"

"Why? Don't you have feelings for him?" Gaia asked sadly.

"I do…but we need to be realistic, I cannot give him what he deserves" Aurea said sadly.

"And what is that?" Gaia asked.

"I'm not educated like the court girls…he could marry any girl he wants, a girl who can wear those lovely dresses, a graceful girl, a girl who can give him a family in the future" Aurea looked away.

"You need to tell him the truth, you love him!" Gaia said.

"And it's because I love him the reason why I want him to be happy" Aurea started to cry once again.

"Aurea" Gaia held her hands "He has the right to know this…and the right to make a decision. He's brokenhearted"

"I can't…"

"Aurea, if you don't tell him you will never know if your love was meant to be, is he goes away you'll know he wasn't the man for you…but if he stays, you'll know he loves you and doesn't care about the rest of the world…"

Aurea sighed "I'm scared…"

"I once told Serenity something" Gaia raised her head to see the blue sky.

"What is that?" Aurea asked.

"Don't worry too much for what might happen if you don't do something you are supposed to do, however, life brings you opportunities and if you don't know how to find them and know which ones are the ones that will bring you joy and happiness then you'll live in eternal misery and doubt…" Gaia said softly.

"Did she?" Aurea asked.

"What?" Gaia asked still watching the sky.

"Stopped worrying and took the opportunity that was in front of her?"

"Yes" Gaia said and turned to see Aurea with a smile "And she let love rule her life, took her chances and fell in love, married the man she loved and even though she has fought in many ways to stay strong, she has a man by her side that loved her the same way she loves him…"

Aurea stood up and hugged Gaia "I love you, dear friend" and went to look for Leonidas.

Gaia watched her friend leave and smiled to her, remembering her good friend she raised her face to watch the sky and sighed "I miss you dear friend, I hope you're well and happy" she said softly to the soft breeze of the day hoping that her message somehow reaches her heart.

* * *

_A/N: Merry Christmas! this is my way to give you a gift, a bonus chapter. Thank you for being so wonderful :) Happy Holidays!_

_I do not own SM just this plot and some of the characters._


	14. Chapter 14

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter fourteen**

**Note: Bold means thoughts.**

**

* * *

**

Athan was talking with Hermes and Ares in another table when he suddenly felt a dense energy, an energy he knew well, turning to both sides he tried to find the owner of that perfume that intoxicated him several times.

"Athan, is everything alright?" Hermes asked.

Athan turned to see the messenger of the gods and nodded his head "Yes, I'm fine…I just thought I saw somebody"

"You're probably imaging things" Ares said.

"Yes…" Athan ran a hand through his hair "Can you excuse me? I'll go look for Serenity" and left the table.

"Sure" Hermes said and turned to look at Ares "That was odd"

Ares frowned "I'll be right back; I'll go get another glass of wine"

"Very well" Hermes said and turned to talk to another god that was next to him on their table.

Athan walked out of the ballroom and walked through the halls until he reached a large balcony, he couldn't resist that strong energy forcing him to follow it.

When he didn't see anything or anybody standing there he smiled to himself "I must be imagining things…"

"I do not think so…" a woman's voice interrupted his thoughts.

Athan knew that voice very well, all made sense now, that energy and perfume; he turned to his left and saw her standing there, his blue eyes widened in shock.

"Nehelenia" he breathed.

Her dark hair and black dress made a drastic contrast against the light surroundings; her pale skin seemed to glow under the sun, her red lips curved into a smile "I knew you were going to find me"

"What are you doing here?"

Nehelenia looked up at the sky and cursed the sun, moving to a shaded place she turned to look at the lunar king "I came for you"

"What?" Athan asked shocked.

"You never came back to my palace…" the dark queen said softly.

"I told you I wasn't coming back" Athan responded.

Nehelenia's smiled faded "Because you prefer the lights and fame a crown can give you, don't you?"

Ares followed Athan and hid behind a pillar at the balcony's entrance **"Athan, what are you doing here with her?"** he thought.

"I told you...I love her" Athan said.

Nehelenia smiled again "You do? Because you didn't acted like you did when you were with me…" she came close "When you kissed me so many times…"

Ares's eyes widened in shock** "It can't be!"**

"You just wanted to use me for your evil purposes" Athan said.

"I just want what rightfully belongs to me…and I want to share it with you" Nehelenia placed both hands on Athan's face.

"Tell me Athan, do you really want to live your eternal life next to a weak and childish Goddess?" Nehelenia asked seductively.

"**You're having an affair with…Nehelenia"** Ares thought.

"She's not weak and childish" Athan said.

"No? So then why can't she give you a child?"

Athan turned his face "She will, eventually"

Nehelenia laughed "Eventually…so I am right, you are with her because of her power…not because you love her…"

"I love her, we've been very well for the past years…why have you come back to haunt me? Athan asked frustrated.

Nehelenia's face became serious "Because I will begin a new life, I've been given advice, power and more beauty"

Athan made a confused face "What?"

"I am going to get what is rightfully mine and because of that, I want you to join me…because once I become the strongest queen of the universe there will be no turning back"

"Turning back from what?"

"Think about it Athan…and when you have decided you know where you can find me" Nehelenia turned and disappeared.

Ares stood there shocked, his friend's husband was having an affair with the black witch, everything seemed to fall in place for Ares now, why he felt Serenity was cold in the meetings, why she had red and puffy eyes, why her aura felt weak and sad. It was because of her husband.

The god of war sighed "Serenity…"

Athan was about to return to the party when Ares came out from behind the pillar, with a stern face.

"Ares! What are you doing here?" Athan asked.

"I was about to ask you the same thing" Ares voice was low.

"Artemis came to deliver a message to me" the lunar king said.

Ares nodded his head "Don't lie to me Athan…"

"What?" Athan asked shocked.

"I saw you with Nehelenia" Ares said "How could you do that to Serenity?"

"At first I was angry…because we couldn't have a child, then, it was custom, then…I don't really know"

"Are you really that stupid?" Ares snapped "To be angry at such lovable and beautiful Goddess for not giving you a child at the time you wanted?"

"I don't know why I was so upset…I made a mistake by going with Nehelenia, but I told her that I loved my wife and never came back, it was until today she appeared once again! Serenity and I have been perfectly fine for the past four years, I don't know why Nehelenia is looking for me" Athan defended himself.

"No matter how much you try to run Athan, your past will always catch up with your present and it can affect your future…don't you see? You went to sleep with the black queen, the black goddess…" Ares said.

"You say that because the Terran Goddess memory still haunts you in your dreams?" Athan said.

Ares remained silent "My feelings for Gaia are not of your business" the god of war turned to leave but stopped and turned to see the lunar king still standing on the balcony "But I want to make something clear, just like it's not of your business my personal life it is not mine yours, I won't tell Serenity what I just saw today…but if she finds out the truth and asks me to help her…be sure I will ignore the fact that we attend to meetings together and the fact that we are friends. Serenity comes first" Ares walked back to the ballroom leaving an astonished king behind.

ooooooooooooooooooo

"I wonder where Athan is…" Serenity said softly.

Athena chuckled "Calm down sweetheart, he probably went for another drink…"

"He's not with Hermes" Serenity said and stood up, walking around the ballroom looking for her husband she saw Ares coming in.

"Ares" Serenity's voice was sweet.

"Little flower, how are you?" Ares said kindly.

Serenity widened her eyes in surprise when she heard Ares's sweet words, she knew they were good friends but it was very strange to hear those words escaping his lips "You used to call Gaia little flower" Serenity smiled.

Ares smiled "No, she was little sunshine"

Serenity chuckled and seconds later her face turned into one of worry again "Ares, have you seen Athan? I can't seem to find him anywhere…I thought he was white Hermes"

Ares felt his body freeze at the mention of her husband "No, I got up to have another drink, then have a little tour outside and just came back, he was indeed talking to Hermes but he probably went to get himself another glass of wine, don't worry"

Athan appeared between the dancing crowd and noticed Serenity was talking to Ares, Ares felt his presence and turned to look at him "There he is" he pointed with his glass of wine.

Serenity turned and smiled at her husband and gave him a peck on his cheek when he caught up with them "I was looking all over for you"

Athan looked down at his wife and smiled.

"I told her you went to have another drink" Ares said with coldness in his voice.

"Yes, Ares is right dear. I told Hermes I would be coming back, after I had another glass of wine" Athan said.

The beauty in white smiled "I was starting to get worried" she turned to look at Ares and then to her husband and frowned "What is the matter with you two?"

"What do you mean?" Ares asked.

"You…look upset…" Serenity said.

"Me? Why would I be upset?" Ares asked.

"Well I don't know…you two are too quiet" Serenity said.

"I'm fine little flower, I'm fine…" he watched his wife sitting alone at their table and sighed "I left Eris alone for too long, I'll go sit with her, it was nice seeing you Serenity" the god of war smiled at her, then directed his gaze to the lunar king "Athan…" and left.

Serenity watched Ares leave with a warm smile, then turned to look at her husband "Dear, there is something I want you to know…"

Athan looked down at his wife and kissed her on the cheek "Can it wait until we get home?"

Serenity's smile faded "Sure…" she said with a sigh.

Chronos spotted the lunar couple standing at the ballroom entrance; he recognized that sad look on the white queen's face, immediately stood up and kissed his consort on her cheek and walked towards Serenity.

"Serenity"

The beauty in white turned to look at the Lord of time and smiled "Chronos, it's been so long…"

"I know, time seems to be going faster little one" Chronos smiled and turned to look at her husband "Athan, it's good to see you too"

Athan nodded at him.

"Pluto is so big and gorgeous" Serenity commented.

Chronos chuckled "Thank you, when I least expect it I will be training her"

"Training her?" Serenity asked curious.

Chronos nodded "Yes, to take my place at the time gates"

Athan turned to look at Chronos "So are you really going through that plan?"

"What plan?" asked Serenity curious looking at both men.

"They are planning to train their children into warriors of the galaxy…" Athan commented "Are you going to do that with Pluto?"

"I think it's for the best, she has the strength to be at the time gate" Chronos said.

"Warriors of the galaxy…" Serenity said softly.

"Sailor senshi" Chronos said.

"Mother talked to me about them…but I thought she said there weren't many as before. I personally thought they were a myth" Serenity placed a hand over her mouth in thought.

Chronos chuckled "Selene wasn't mistaken little flower, the Sailor Senshi have been around for many many centuries, they were the ones in charge to protect the galaxy with their mystic powers. When the battle with Gaia's brother began, he made sure to kill them one by one leaving only a few who managed to escape…but we are trying to rescue that myth and protect the universe with new senshi"

"What happened to the ones who could escape from him?" Serenity asked with concern.

"They are still out there protecting their jurisdiction. But they have been there for so many years…it's time for the new ones to be born and restore our universe's safety. With incidents like the ones we had with Metallia…we decided it was time to start looking for the chosen ones to be the next generation of sailor senshi" Chronos said.

"Pluto is one of the chosen ones then" Athan asked with interest.

Chronos nodded "She has the blessing of Pluto, which is why she was named after it"

"The new generation of Sailor Senshi…" Serenity said softly "And what does Ananké says about it?"

"She knows it will be hard to see her child going away to take my place at the Gates of Time but, she also knows Pluto is very strong and has the character to be a senshi" Chronos said.

Serenity watched Pluto hug her mother with tenderness and her eyes started to fill with tears "She will be an exceptional warrior"

* * *

_A/N: I hope you like this new chapter, we are getting close to new year's eve, isn't that exciting? Anyways, I was writing this afternoon one of the chapters (I won't say which one hehe) and I came to realize this sotry will be longer than the first season, I guess it's because it's the one with more content and excitement? lol (I hope so)_

_I want to thank you for your reviews, thank you very much._

_Well, enjoy and stay tunned for wednesday's chapter :)_

_I do not own SM just this plot and some of the characters._

_p.s. I was just thinking, I don't know if you'd like, since it's xmas and new year's eve I was thinking in posting new chapters a whole week as a gift to you...I don't know if it's a good idea, well...let me know 'kay?. Have a good Monday (even though I dislike mondays to death... XD)_


	15. Chapter 15

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter fifteen**

**

* * *

**

"What are you doing here little Princess?"

Gaia turned her face to meet Obelix who was standing next to her near one of the trees "Obelix"

"I was actually going to your chambers to see how you were doing but it's good to have found you here, where's the little Prince?" Obelix sat next to her on the marble bench.

Gaia smiled "He's with his father, you know he is so interested in what his father does and since Leonidas is like his new best friend well…they're babysitting him" the terran queen chuckled.

"How are you feeling?"

"Tired…you know how this is…" Gaia said sadly.

"If there is anything I could do…" the priest trailed off.

Gaia placed her hand over his "We knew this could happen…but we never imagined this could actually happen this soon"

"I wish I could speak to somebody from up there, Lord Chronos maybe?"

"No Obelix, nobody is going to talk to anybody…" Gaia stood up and stood under the sunlight, basking herself in its warmth "No matter how hard this is…it was my decision, I broke their rules, they sentenced me and I have to accept it"

Obelix lowered his gaze and remained silent. Gaia turned to look at the priest "Obelix?"

Obelix curled his hands into fists on his lap, she noticed they were trembling, the priest raised his head and Gaia noticed he was crying.

"I can't just sit here and watch you die" Obelix said.

Gaia stood in front of the priest and watched him in silence, she understood him. Obelix has been her priest, her friend and like a second father to her.

She held his hand and caressed it "Dear friend" she kneeled in front of him "I am not going to die anytime soon…you still have to see me grow old" said softly.

Obelix watched her with kind eyes "With wrinkles and grey hair"

Gaia nodded her head "I am going to be here to watch my son grow old"

Obelix smiled "Yes, so do I"

Gaia lowered her gaze and sighed "Dear friend, let's forget about that, let's forget I have a weak heart, let's forget about everything and let's enjoy our present"

Obelix watched her with amusement "You have matured so much"

Gaia chuckled and sat next to the priest again "I don't know if I have but I have to be a good example to my son"

"He's a fast learner. He already memorized most of the prayers with so much easiness" Obelix said.

"He is, his mind is like a sponge, he takes in every little detail" Gaia said with amazement.

"I think he will have to start his lessons very soon" the priest said.

"Indeed. He also knows how to say several words in ancient tongue"

"You learned very fast as well"

Gaia turned to see the priest and laughed "Because Father had this very rare teaching method"

Obelix laughed "The books on your head and the fountain rail?"

"Hey! Walking on that fountain rail with heavy books on my head was so difficult" Gaia defended herself.

"Did you ever fall?"

Gaia smiled "Oh so many times…" the terran queen sighed softly "I miss them…"

Obelix placed his arms around Gaia's shoulders "I'm sure they miss you too..."

"Winter is near" the priest said happily.

"It seems Hades is taking Persefone down to the underworld again…" Gaia said.

"So it seems…" Obelix said.

"Now that I'm a mother I can understand Démeter's hurt" Gaia said softly.

"Because she can only see her daughter for a brief time?" the priest asked his queen.

"Because a male being came and abducted her daughter and took her with him to the underworld" Gaia said.

Obelix sighed "Yes, I believe you are right"

"How bittersweet" Gaia breathed.

"What?" the priest raised a brow.

"She is the Goddess of the stations and Queen of the dead…"

"Now that you mention it…it is bittersweet" Obelix said.

Gaia stood up "A little too complicated don't you think?"

"When have you been easy to understand?" Obelix joked.

Gaia laughed "I better go see what Endymion is doing; you never know with him"

"Have you heard about the chosen little ones?" the priest asked his queen.

Gaia nodded "They are all doing fine, they soon will meet…the attraction between them is inevitable"

Obelix smiled "When the time is right they all meet"

Gaia nodded "We will meet them one day"

Obelix nodded "True, I'll go to the temple then" he got close her and kissed on the forehead "Take care"

Gaia smiled "I will"

Ooooooooooooo

"You need to sign this papers Eros" Leonidas came into the studio where his king was playing with his son.

"Papers?" Four year old Endymion asked curious.

Leonidas smiled at him and nodded.

Eros stood up and walked to his desk, sitting on his chair he took the papers from Leonidas' hand and started to read.

"Everything seems to be under control then" Eros mumbled.

Leonidas smiled "I'm glad"

Eros proceeded to start signing the papers; Endymion from his seat on the floor watched him with amazement, immediately stood up and went to stand next to his father.

Eros sensed his curious son beside him and look down at him with a smile he seated him on the desk, Endymion looked at the papers in his father's hand "What are you drawing?"

Eros chuckled "I'm not drawing son, I'm signing this papers Leonidas brought me to read and approve"

"Approve?"

Eros looked at his son and smiled "Yes, when you are king you have to carefully see what's best for the people living with you"

Endymion widened his stormy blue eyes in amazement "I 'now what is good for all" the young prince raised his index finger in the air.

Leonidas widened his eyes in shock; Eros made a surprised face "What is that son?"

"Candies!" Endymion gave his father a wide smile.

Eros chuckled and looked at Leonidas then back at his son "Candies?"

"Yes! 'erybody is happy eating candies" Endymion said happily. His innocence amused him to no end.

Eros looked at his son for several minutes in silence and rested his elbows on the desk, after a few more minutes he smiled and nodded his head "That is a terrific idea"

Endymion smiled widely.

"You are quite something special little one" Eros said to his son.

Endymion looked down at the papers on the desk "Can I draw too?"

Eros smiled "I'm afraid you cannot draw on these papers yet little one, but you can draw on these" the king gave his son a few sheets of paper and a feather pen to draw.

Endymion grabbed the pencil and started to do some random doodling on the sheets of paper then raised his head "Say, when can I draw on those?" his index finger pointed at the papers in his father's hand.

Eros chuckled "When you grow up a little more"

"But…I'm already a big boy" Endymion said.

Eros looked at his son with a smile "When the time comes for you to draw on these papers you will be wishing to be little again"

Leonidas chuckled "That might be true"

Endymion looked at both men and made a confused face "You are too strange"

Leonidas and Eros watched at the drawing prince with a shock expression, Eros turned to look at Leonidas like trying to tell him something but Leonidas started to laugh.

"You are finally meeting your equal"

"I never thought I could" Eros said amazed.

* * *

Serenity was literally falling asleep on the table she shared with Aphrodite and Athena, Athan was again with Hermes and a very serious Ares.

"How much longer is this celebration going to take?" Serenity mumbled.

Aphrodite chuckled "Oh by all heavens…I don't know. But I'm tired too"

"Serenity's fatigue is understandable but yours Aphrodite?" Athena asked.

Aphrodite turned to look at the Goddess of justice and frowned "I don't know…but I'm terribly tired"

Athena chuckled "My…you are acting like if you…" her red wine eyes widened in shock "Oh my…"

Serenity sat straight on the chair "What?"

Athena kept looking at Aphrodite with a shocked expression.

"What?" Aphrodite looked Athena with a quizzical face.

"You are acting like if you were expecting a child" Athena said.

"WHAT? No!" Aphrodite raised her voice.

Serenity's eyes widened in shock "Aphrodite…are you sure?"

The blonde Goddess turned to look at Serenity "You too?"

"I'm just saying, I mean, you barely drank anything, you didn't eat and now you're literally falling asleep" Athena said.

"I'm like this because this party is starting to get long and boring" Aphrodite sweat dropped.

"Actually, this party is starting to get boring…" Serenity said.

"When are you going to tell your husband about your pregnancy?" Athena asked.

"When he decides to listen…" Serenity said with sadness in her voice.

Aphrodite stood up "Well, I think I'm going to leave…"

"Are you really that tired?" Athena asked her.

"Well…this party has no fun and yes, I'm tired" the blonde smiled "Besides…I have someone waiting for me at home"

Athena laughed "You should have told us that from the beginning!"

Aphrodite blushed "I'll see you soon" then turned to look at Serenity "And I will want to know everything when you tell Athan the big news!"

Serenity smiled at her "I will…"

She stood up next "I think I'm going home as well"

"By yourself?" Athena asked.

Serenity faked a smile "Yes…I'm tired and well, Athan seems to be having a good time. I'll see you soon"

Athena nodded "Take care…"

Serenity turned and left the ballroom quickly.

Athena shook her head softly "Be strong Serenity…" she said softly.

* * *

_A/N: Well I got wonderful reviews and they all told me to post a new chapter the whole week, thank you so much. I couldn't be happier, it's 2010 final week so, it's a special deal. Let's call it our Divinity's Holiday week._

_I honestly will say how in love I am with Endymion right now, I must confess I always had some kind of a crush on him when I was in junior high and watched the series and I always wanted to see him more and to see his character being more...I don't know, developed. That changed when I found the manga online and read it and of course...I loved it even more than the anime series. So, to me, this story is very special because I'll try to portray a more centered, smarter, challenging, adventurous and aggresive Endymion and a more delicate, centered (as well), lady like, passionate, smarter and graceful Serenity. So, yes. When you least expect it, you'll start to notice how they will start becoming the new center of the story without leaving the rest behind. I once told you Divinity will start being about our favorite's couple families and some details to be explained and then it would change to a dramatic, romantic story with Endymion and Serenity. Ooookay so now I'm talking to much but it is maybe because I'm excited and totally inspired and I am actually writing a chapter as I am posting this...so that has to mean something, right? lol._

_Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter and i will see you guys tomorrow for a new update ;) _

_Let Divinity's Holiday week...begin._

**_I do not own SM jus this plot and some of the characters._**

**_p.s. _**_Now you have a very good reason to keep reviewing! :D_


	16. Chapter 16

Divinity: A qustion of Honor

Chapter sixteen  
**[bold letters means thoughts]**

* * *

"Athena, have you seen Serenity?" Athan asked the goddess with a worried voice, he have looked for her and didn't find her anywhere.

Athena watched Athan with a stern look "She went home, she was tired"

"What? She didn't tell me anything…"

Athena took a sip of her wine "She didn't want you to interrupt your talk with Hermes and Ares"

Athan lowered his gaze "Well, I'll go home now. Thank you Athena"

"Athan…" the goddess with dark purple hair called him making him turn.

"Yes?"

"Take care of her" Athena said.

Athan nodded "Of course"

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

Serenity was lying on the bed; she had washed her face and had changed her gown to her night gown. She was about to fall asleep when she heard Athan come in and light on a candle.

"Serenity?" he called.

Serenity opened her eyes "Athan?" she sat on the bed and looked at him.

"Why did you leave the party without me?" Athan came to sit on the bed.

Serenity smiled "I didn't want to interrupt your talk, I'm sorry…I was so tired"

"You seem to be tired all the time now" Athan said with nuisance.

Serenity's eyes widened "You say it like it bothered you"

"It's just strange, you sleep until late in the morning and you are always tired, lazy…I don't know"

"Lazy?"

"Since when are you leaving your responsibilities aside?"

"What?" Serenity asked shocked "My responsibilities? It's both. Can't I feel tired once in a while? I have all the right to feel tired"

"Here we go again…I thought we went through this and overcame it" Athan rolled his eyes.

"Are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Serenity asked.

"I don't listen when you are trying to have a discussion with me…" Athan said and stood up.

"Athan, please…" Serenity breathed "There is something I need to tell you…"

"What is it?" Athan asked.

Serenity lowered her gaze "I have been trying to tell you this for several days now but something always comes up"

"What is it?" Athan asked again.

Serenity raised her head to look at him "I'm pregnant"

Athan eyes widened "What?"

Serenity smiled "We are going to have a baby"

Athan was in complete shock, he couldn't believe what he was hearing, after all this time his wife was expecting a child "Are you positive about this?"

Serenity nodded her head; her loose hair fell graciously around her like a lavender cascade.

Athan's eyes were moist by tears and went to hug his wife "We're having a baby!"

Serenity hugged him back and started to cry tears of joy "Yes…our love proof"

"The heir of this Kingdom" Athan said.

"I will train our son to be the greatest warrior of all times" the lunar king smiled.

Serenity chuckled "How do you know it's a boy?"

"I can feel it!"

"And what if it's a girl?" Serenity asked "Aren't you going to love her and protect her?"

"Well, yes but… if she's a girl it will be very hard to find her a good suitor, one can actually protect her" Athan said.

Serenity raised a brow "How do you know it will be very hard to find? The universe is quite enormous"

"No dear, let's be realistic" Athan said and entered the bathroom.

Serenity placed a hand on her belly and smiled "No matter if you are a boy or a girl, I will love you with all my heart"

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Watching through the window of his chambers Ares was thinking about what he found out today at the ball.

Flashback

"_I told you...I love her" Athan said._

_Nehelenia smiled again "You do? Because you didn't acted like you did when you were with me…" she came close "When you kissed me so many times…"_

End of flashback

Ares lowered his gaze and sighed **"How could you do such thing Athan…to have an affair with her…"**

The God of War turned to look at his wife on the bed asleep and directed his gaze to the stars once more **"Gaia why aren't you here? Serenity misses you and she needs you to be here…I miss you terribly…I can't get you out of my head no matter how many times I've tried…"**

Eris opened her amethyst eyes and watched her husband look outside the window in silence "Ares?"

Ares turned to see Eris "Yes?"

"What are you doing up? It's late"

"I'm not sleepy"

Eris sighed "You've been acting very strange, what's wrong?"

"Nothing…" Ares turned to look out through the window.

"You're thinking about her again…" Eris stood up.

Ares turned to look at her "What?"

"Do you think I don't notice when you are thinking of her? It is quite obvious Ares…" Eris stood in front of him.

"Eris…"

Eris raised a hand and motioned him to stop talking "She has become a ghost in our lives and I cannot fight a ghost Ares…I've been trying for four years and you still think of her the same way you did when she was sent away"

Ares looked at Eris "You don't understand…"

"You're my husband now Ares…do you really think she is doing the same thing you are? She decided to live away from us; she got married and now has a child…" Eris got close to him.

Ares placed a strand of dark hair behind her ear "You look beautiful…"

Eris purple eyes started to shine with tears "Liar"

Ares's eyes widened in shock "Eris…" he trailed off.

"I know I'm not like her, I know I don't have her power or beauty…but I've loved you since I met you…but…"

Ares closed the gap between them and kissed her passionately, Eris ran her hands through his lose sandy hair and returned the kiss. His hands roamed her body like if he wanted to memorize everything about her, like he never has kissed her before.

Eris opened her eyes and met his "Let me be the woman in your thoughts…" she breathed.

Ares closed his eyes and carried her to the bed.

* * *

"It's late…" Leonidas said looking at the window.

"Yes, so it seems" Eros said "Once Endymion stops talking is probably because it is late" he chuckled and turned to see his son on a couch asleep.

"He's very smart" the general said.

Eros nodded his head "I think it's time for him to start his lessons"

"I can start looking for a teacher tomorrow morning if you like" Leonidas said from his seat.

"Don't worry, I'll ask Aurea to look for a proper teacher" Eros said and put the papers the general gave him aside.

Leonidas sighed "Of course"

Eros reclined on his chair and crossed his arms "Things are the same with her I suppose…"

"I've tried so many times…I think I'm going to stop pursuing her"

"Definitively?" Eros blue eyes widened.

Leonidas nodded "If I continue I might lose her as a friend and I love her too much, I couldn't stand being near her and not being able to talk to her"

Eros shook his head "She must have her reasons…"

"She claims I'm too much for her, that I should find a woman from court" Leonidas ran a hand through his brown hair.

"But you aren't looking for a court girl…" Eros said.

"Exactly! But she doesn't understand that…" Leonidas sighed and stood up "Do you want me to help you with something else?"

"No Leonidas, I'm fine…I'll take Endymion to his chambers and then I'll go to bed" Eros said from his chair.

"Well then, I'll see you tomorrow morning" Leonidas nodded his head and left the study.

Eros sighed and smiled "Love is a very strong feeling…"

Leonidas closed the door of the study behind him and turned to leave.

"General…"

Leonidas turned to see Aurea standing in the hallway alone.

"Aurea…what are you doing here this late?" the general asked worried "Are you okay?"

Aurea lowered her gaze and smiled "I'm fine General…"

Leonidas came close "Can I help you with something?"

"Do you mind if we talk somewhere else?"

The general shook his head no and walked towards the small court with flowers and a small fountain.

"What did you want to talk with me?"

Aurea raised her face at him "I've been lying all this time to you General…"

Leonidas frowned "Lying? I do not understand…"

Aurea looked at his medals on his chest "I lied when I told you I didn't love you…"

"I do not understand…what…" Leonidas trailed off.

Aurea walked near the fountain "I've been trying to avoid this feeling but I cannot do it anymore"

Leonidas stood near a tree in silence, his eyes taking Aurea's petite figure in.

Aurea turned to look at him with teary eyes "I can't do it anymore…"

Leonidas walked close her and placed his hands on her shoulders "Are you telling me…"

Aurea nodded "I love you…terribly"

Leonidas's brown eyes started to shine also with tears "Then, if you have loved me all this time why haven't you accepted me?"

Aurea lowered her gaze "Because…I know you would like to have a family in the future, watch your children grow old and teach them everything you know…and I can't give you that"

"What do you mean?"

"I can't have children General…and it's not fair to you to be with somebody who can't give you a future…a family"

Leonidas lifted her face up with his hand on her chin with delicacy "I don't care about that Aurea…what I care about is being with you…"

Aurea's eyes widened "Aren't you bother by the fact that if you stay with me you won't have a family?"

Leonidas smiled "Aurea…that doesn't bothers me at all, what I want is a partner who I can share my life…if we ever want to have a family we could find the way…"

Aurea started crying tears of joy and chuckled "Are you saying this because you know we look after the prince, don't you?"

Leonidas chuckled "We are his godparents…of course we will always look after him" smiling at her he placed a hand on her cheek "Well then; I need to ask you something My Lady…"

Aurea blinked a couple of times "M-My Lady?"

The general went down on one knee and held her hand "Would you make me the happiest man alive by taking your hand in marriage"

Aurea's eyes widened in surprise "General…"

"What do you say?" Leonidas asked.

Aurea gave him a wide smile and nodded, kneeling in front of him she place her arms around him "Yes"

Leonidas smiled and parted from their hug; closing the gap he kissed her softly on the lips.

"We will marry under one condition…" he said softly.

"What is that?" Aurea asked.

"That you will stop calling me General…" Leonidas chuckled.

Aurea went red like a beat and nodded "Leonidas…"

"Yes?"

"I love you…" she breathed.

The general smiled "I love you too…" and kissed the love of his life once again.

* * *

_A/N: It has starting to become a tradition but, everytime I'm writing a new chapter I take a moment to re read an old one, fix some details and post it. I honestly like Aurea, when I first thought about creating a companion for Gaia (like, a friend) I was talking with a friend called Nancy and i felt inspired. So, a lot of Aurea's behavior is a lot from my friend, I guess that is why I like her and even more because Gaia has some things I do have...like, how stubborn she can be sometimes lol, since today is my third year anniversary I think this chapter fits perfectly, well, I hope you like this chapter and I will see you guys tomorrow for another update. Remember, this is our special Divinity's Holiday Week._

_I do not own SM just this plot and some of the characters._

_P.s. I love you dear readers and I hope to read some reviews from you :)_


	17. Chapter 17

Divinity: A question of Honor

**Chapter seventeen**

**

* * *

**

"Sit, there are some news I would like to share with you…"

"What is it?"

"Come…sit" Aphrodite sat Serenity in one of her cushion chairs.

"What is going on, Aphrodite you are scaring me?" Serenity asked with worry.

Aphrodite sat across her friend "Well, remember Zeus's party? Where Hestia talked with us and all?"

Serenity nodded "What about Hestia"

"Well…it seems she wasn't talking about you!" Aphrodite said.

"Then who she was talking about?" Serenity asked perplexed.

Aphrodite made a stern face "Me"

"You?"

"Yes"

"Wait… let me see if I understand…are you telling me that you are…"

"Expecting…" Aphrodite said.

"Are you?" Serenity asked wide eyed.

"I am" Aphrodite said.

"Oh my!" Serenity stood up in a swift move.

"Does Adonis knows?"

Aphrodite smiled "Yes, as soon as I found out I told him…" she coughed softly "I also have the same time as you…"

"Four months?" Serenity asked amazed "And you didn't notice?"

The goddess of love shook her head no "Well you know how…distracted I can be sometimes…" she giggled "But I'm so happy!"

"Our babies are going to have the same age..." Serenity trailed off and sat back down on the white sofa.

"What's wrong? Aren't you happy?" Aphrodite asked.

"Of course I'm happy…is just that, I remembered something I talked to Gaia when she was still living here" Serenity said sadly.

"What was that?" Aphrodite asked with a sad voice.

The moon goddess raised her face and smiled "That our children would be best friends"

Aphrodite went to sit next to Serenity on the couch and touch her hand "I know I'm not her but, we've become very close and I hope our children can be close friends too"

Serenity smiled "Aphrodite, you don't need to be her to be my good friend…Gaia will always be my best friend because we shared so many moments good and bad, but that doesn't mean I cannot have another best friend. I would be more than happy to see our children run around the palace"

Aphrodite hugged Serenity for a brief moment "You are my best friend too" she smiled "Gaia's child must be quite big by now right?"

"I believe so…he must be breaking some hearts already" the lunar queen smiled.

Aphrodite smiled "Do you know what I think?"

"What?" Serenity looked at her friend with a curious look.

"I think you'll meet that boy one day once again…" Aphrodite said.

00000000000000000000000

"You haven't accomplished anything..."

Nehelenia place a hand over her face and turned to the mirror "But I will…"

"You keep dreaming, that is the problem…" the voice from the mirror said.

"Dreaming?" Nehelenia asked "I've been here for years alone! I don't have nothing to dream about, you stupid shadow!" she sent a blast of energy at the mirror which was only returned back at her.

"You are in love Nehelenia… what is wrong with you all? You fall in love and you act like stupid" the sultry voice from the mirror said.

"In love?" Nehelenia chuckled "That is impossible…"

"I'll prove it to you…you are here, still waiting for the lunar king to stand before you asking you to kiss him…instead, he is at his white palace with his sweet pregnant wife"

"Pregnant?" Nehelenia turned to the mirror; her golden eyes went wide "That is not true"

"Not true? See it for yourself…" the mirror portrayed an image of Serenity with a small bump on her belly.

"No…NOOOO!" Nehelenia threw another blast of energy at the mirror but to no avail.

"An heir to the White Moon Kingdom is going to be born very soon and you are still here waiting for him to come and live with you…"

Nehelenia looked at her reflection in the mirror "But that doesn't mean I cannot dethrone Serenity and kill her child…"

"I will be eternal…" she repeated herself "Eternal"

0000000000000000000000000

Aphrodite placed her white tea cup on the table next to her "Oh, I forgot to tell you…"

Serenity was drinking her tea with delicacy and raised her brows in a matter of questioning her friend what she was saying.

The blonde goddess smiled "Guess who is also expecting a child?"

Serenity's eyes went wide "There is someone else?"

Aphrodite nodded "Mhmm… Eris"

"Really?" Serenity asked happily "That is wonderful, so that means…Ares is going to be a father"

"Isn't that bizarre?" the love goddess asked.

"Why?" Serenity raised a brow.

"Well…because we all know each other from a long time and now we are all having children…we are getting old" Aphrodite said.

Serenity placed her porcelain cup on the table "His child maybe is one of the chose ones"

"Chosen ones?" Aphrodite raised a brow.

Serenity nodded "Chronos told me about the chosen warriors"

"The sailor senshi?" Aphrodite asked.

"Yes…Pluto was chosen to be one…" Serenity said softly.

"Who knows…maybe your child is a senshi too" said the blonde.

"I don't know…Athan is reluctant to the idea of our child being a girl…" Serenity sighed.

Aphrodite frowned "What do you mean?"

"He yearns for a boy"

"Maybe is your imagination… Well a senshi is not exclusively to girls…there are male senshi" Aphrodite waved her hand.

Serenity eavesdropped "He already has several things for the baby but…very boy like"

"Have you thought of names for your baby?" Aphrodite asked happily, trying to change the subject into something sweeter.

Serenity smiled "I have…but, I think I want to honor my mother and grandmother and name her Serenity if she's a girl"

"You are trying to keep the tradition! That is a very sweet thing to do" Aphrodite giggled.

"And if the baby is a boy…I guess it will depend on Athan…" she sighed softly.

"Are you…" Aphrodite trailed off.

"Having problems, again? I don't know… he's been acting strange lately, distant, but not like before…just thoughtful" Serenity lowered her gaze.

Aphrodite held her friend's hand "Don't worry…I'm sure it's nothing"

Serenity gave her friend a weak smile "Yes…maybe you're right"

* * *

Four year old Endymion started moving in his bed to one side and another, opening his eyes he started to feel strange and dizzy, opening his eyes and saw nobody was around he sniffed. Stepping out of his bed he went to his parent's chambers in silence, opening the door he walked pass through the living room and into the bedroom; standing next to his mother he moved her arm softly.

Gaia moved softly and opened her eyes "Endymion, what are you doing here?" she asked with worry.

Endymion stood there and started to rub his eye with one hand "I feel bad mama"

Gaia sat on the bed and moved aside allowing her son to hop on the bed with her, placing a hand on his face she felt his cheeks burn "Dear, you're burning in fever"

"My head hurts mama" he said.

Gaia kissed his forehead "Let's go to your room and treat you that fever" Endy nodded.

The terran queen stood up from the bed and carried her son to his chambers in silence, on his room she laid him on the bed and put some pillows around him and an extra one under his head, then walked to his bathroom and moistened some face towels.

"How long have you been feeling like this?" she asked softly, sitting next to him on the bed.

"I don't know, I started feeling very cold and then my head started to hurt…" Endymion said softly.

Gaia smiled at him and place one moistened towel on his forehead "This should help lower the fever…"

Endymion looked at his mother "Mama?"

"Yes?"

"Are you going to leave me alone?"

Gaia blinked a couple of times "Absolutely not. I won't leave my baby alone and sick" she went down and started to give him butterfly kisses on his cheeks making him giggle a little.

"Mama?"

"Mmm?"

"Can you sleep here with me?"

"You don't have to ask me that dear…" Gaia smiled and laid down on the bed next to her son.

"Do you think papa will get mad?" the prince asked with a timid voice.

"Why would he get mad?" Gaia asked her son.

"Because you are going to sleep here with me?"

Gaia chuckled "Dear, why are you asking me that? Of course not"

"Because he told me I was a big boy and that big boys should sleep on their own" he turned to look at his mother.

Gaia smiled and ran a hand through his midnight hair "He didn't tell you that because he didn't like you to go and sleep with us, but because he wants you to know that you can be okay by your own sometimes"

Endymion smiled at his mother "I helped papa today"

Gaia gasped in surprise "You did? What did you do?"

"I helped him draw"

Gaia raised a brow "You helped him draw? What did you draw?"

" 'Nidas gave him a bunch of papers and I helped him draw on them" Endymion said happily and cough a little.

Gaia smiled "You've been helping him very much lately. I'm glad, papa has too much work"

Endymion nodded "Yes, and I told him I wanted to draw on those papers too, he told me that someday I will…"

Gaia nodded "That's right; when you get older you are going to be able to draw on those papers just like him"

The terran queen admired the beauty and sharpness her son had, he was incredibly smart and tenacious and showed a big and kind heart. She watched his breathing go slower and caressed his cheek with the back of her hand.

She was incredibly grateful to be able to be free and be loved by someone who actually corresponded her feelings and to have a son like Endymion. She remembered all her son have given her, it didn't matter her health was as weak as a leave on a tree in winter time, her son was her life force and to see him well was all that mattered to her.

She took the towel off his forehead and noticed the fever had diminished.

"Mama?"

"Yes dear?" she dried his forehead softly with a dry towel.

"I love you"

Gaia smiled, her eyes started to fill with tears.

"I love you too…my setting sun" she bent and kissed his cheek softly.

* * *

_A/N: I'm soooo tired :( but here it is! another chapter, I hope you like it. I don't have mych to say thi time but to enjoy reading it and that I'm very very happy when i get to read reviews from you :)_

_I wasn't expecting to go out of town by new year's but my sister came to visit and I'll go to california to spend some time with my family. I will post tomorrow's chapter...well...thursday's chapter... the sad thing is that I won't be able to post friday's update but I will be back on Monday with a fresh new chapter and more suspense ;)_

_I do not own SM just this plot and some of the characters._


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: **_Happy New Year! I wanted to say hello to all of you first, this is a new beggining, a new year to start working in new projects, a new start...think of it like a piece of white paper that is ready to be written or why not? painted. I hope you all had an amazing time and well, now back home and reality it's time for me to post a new chapter. It's monday so...here it goes. Enjoy!_

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter eighteen**

**

* * *

**Eros woke up the next morning and noticed his wife wasn't there next to him, founding it strange he put on his dark green robe and walked out of the room.

He walked to Endymion's room to see if she was there by any chance, opening the door he passed the small living room and entered the bedroom. He smiled at the sight.

Gaia was under the covers hugging their still sleeping son, Eros walked to the bed and sat next to his wife, rubbing her back she moved softly; she opened her eyes and noticed it was already morning, turning to her side she saw Eros sitting on the bed.

"Good morning"

Gaia smiled and rubbed her eyes with her hand "Good morning"

"I woke up and noticed you weren't there, what happened?" Eros asked softly trying not to wake his son.

"Endymion came to our room last night and woke me up; he was burning in fever so we better came here so I could put cold towels on his forehead and check if the fever lowered. It did eventually after a while" Gaia whispered.

"I'll go take a shower then, do you want me to send you some breakfast?" Eros asked softly caressing his wife's face.

Gaia smiled "That would be perfect, Endymion has to eat and some herbal tea to treat his throat, he cough a little in the middle of the night"

"Very well my dear" the king bent and kissed his wife on her cheek and left the room.

Aurea came in minutes later with a small tray with a tea pot and two cups "Good morning" she whispered.

"Good morning Aurea" Gaia said from the bed.

"His Majesty told me what happened to Endy…" Aurea said in a worried tone of voice.

"Yes…he went to my room and woke me up and told me he wasn't feeling well. He was burning in fever"

"Aww poor little thing…he must be tired because he is still asleep" Aurea ran a hand through his hair.

"Yes…the fever returned like two times after he told me he wasn't feeling well, that is why I preferred to stay here with him and not in my room" Gaia said looking at him and sat on the bed with the covers up to her waist. She watched Aurea smile while she was pouring tea to a cup which later handed it to her with care.

Gaia raised a brow "So?"

"What?" said Aurea happily.

"Did you talk to Leonidas?"

Aurea blushed "I did"

"And…?" Gaia asked wanting to know more.

"I told him the truth…"Aurea said softly then blushed "I told him I couldn't give him a family but he didn't cared..."

Gaia gave her friend a wide smile "Aaaaaand?"

"He went down on one knee…" Aurea trailed off.

"Aaaaaaah!" Gaia said but as soon the expression left her mouth she covered it with her hand.

Aurea giggled "You are going to wake him up!" she whispered, pointing at the sleeping prince.

"Leonidas proposed! And what did you say?" Gaia asked excitedly.

"I said yes…I'm getting married!" Aurea said.

Gaia shook her hands "Ah! Finally! You two belong together"

Aurea blushed "Actually…I was going to ask you if you could be my witness?"

"Aurea, you don't need to ask me that! Of course I will, I would love to" Gaia said happily.

"After we talked he asked me to follow him to his room, of course I waited outside…when he came back out he gave me this" the young woman showed Gaia the golden band on her finger, it had small diamonds all around the delicate band.

"Aurea, it's beautiful…and it fits perfectly" the terran queen smiled "Have you thought on a date?"

"No…not yet, but he wants it to be soon" Aurea blushed once again.

Gaia held her friend's hand "I'm so glad that you are finally going to be together, so please, don't feel inferior to any girl in the court, you are to become a Lady, which it's silly because to me you have been a Lady since I met you"

"Thank you Gaia" Aurea smiled at her queen.

Gaia smiled "We have to start preparing your wedding" the terran queen took a sip of her tea but her eyes never left Aurea's.

Aurea's eyes widened in surprise "M-My wedding?"

"Of course, do you really think Eros and I are going to let you get married in secret?" Gaia said softly.

"But…I" Aurea trailed off.

"If the court is what is making you feel uncomfortable we can plan a celebration with only the members of the family" Gaia said and turned to see if Endymion was still asleep, then again turned all her attention to her friend "Obelix can offer the ceremony like he did with us" Gaia smiled.

Aurea smiled sheepishly "I don't know what to say…this is all…too much"

"You deserve to be happy" Gaia placed a hand over her friends.

Queen Narella appeared at the bedroom entrance "Good Morning" she said softly.

Aurea stood up immediately "Good morning Your Majesty" she bowed before the senior queen.

Narella smiled at Aurea "Good morning Aurea" then walked to sit on the bed next to her grandson "Eros told me what happened, how is he doing?"

"Better" Gaia said softly "Last night he was burning in fever, I don't know how much he dealt with the fever before he went to tell me he was feeling sick. I spend the night here with him, the fever came to him three more times but it seems to be better now…" the terran queen rubbed her son's back with tenderness as she spoke to the queen.

Queen Narella ran a hand through his midnight hair "Poor little thing, he must be exhausted"

"Narella, I must tell you the good news" Gaia said smiling.

"What news?" Narella asked with wide eyes.

Gaia turned to look at Aurea and then to the former queen again with a big smile on her face "Aurea and Leonidas are getting married"

Queen Narella gasped and brought her hands to her mouth, bringing them down she smiled "Oh my! Congratulations dear!" she said softly.

Aurea blushed again "Thank you Your Majesty"

Gaia patted the bed so Aurea could sit next to her "I was telling her minutes ago that Obelix can do the ceremony and it can be only with us"

"Of course, that is no problem at all…" Narella lowered her gaze "We need some happiness"

Aurea and Gaia exchanged looks and turned to look at the older queen "Narella..?"

Narella sniffed "Its Odell dear…his health has diminished considerably"

"No…" Gaia breathed "is it his heart?"

Queen Narella nodded "The doctor said he needed to rest, he's very weak…" the queen sniffed again "I do not know what am I going to do if he…" she trailed off.

"No…" Gaia held her hand tightly "Let's think it is not yet his time…" Gaia lowered her gaze "If only I were still a Goddess…I could talk to Chronos and ask him for more time…"

Queen Narella raised her gaze at her daughter in law "We were talking last night, Odell is grateful to the Gods for letting him know his grandchild"

Aurea turned to look at both queens "We better postpone the wedding…I don't think this is a good timing"

Queen Narella wiped the tears from her face "Absolutely not Aurea" she stood up and walked up to her, placing her hands on her shoulders she smiled "I've heard Leonidas has been pursuing you for so long and I think it's time for you to know the true feeling of love…"

Gaia smiled "We have to be together, no matter what"

Aurea nodded.

* * *

Serenity walked in to the study, wearing a gorgeous ivory one shoulder gown, imperial wasted that hid perfectly her belly. Her lavender hair was in her usual style with some pearls pins on it. Her makeup was light and natural, the only touch of color was on her lips, a soft pink gloss.

Luna and Artemis were waiting for her, as soon as they watched come in they stood up and bowed "Your Majesty" they both said.

"Good afternoon" she smiled softly and motioned them to sit on their chairs. Walking to her desk she sat on the other side of it.

"Some members of the army from Andromeda are interested in join their forces with the Moon" Artemis said, starting the political matters.

Luna looked at Artemis with a confused face "Wait, Andromeda? Isn't that…" she trailed off.

"Athan's home place, yes Luna" Serenity assured looking down at some papers on her desk.

"I thought they were part of the Alliance already…" Luna commented.

"They are, but not the army since Athan stop being their commander" Serenity said.

"Is His Majesty joining us to this meeting?" Artemis asked.

"No Artemis, he's in Olympus in another meeting with Ares…apparently there have been some rumors that there has been a chain of events that are disturbing the peace" Serenity said.

"Do you think the Alliance will need more support?" Luna asked.

"Well, this seems to be something apart from the Alliance, am I correct Your Majesty? Otherwise the Andromedian army wouldn't be giving us their support" Artemis said.

Serenity crossed her hands on the desk "We have to be realistic; we know the lunar kingdom is one of the strongest in the universe because of the Holy Stone. I am still unaware of who is the being who is trying to cause war with us and the rest of the planets that have joined the Alliance…"

"Please forgive my intermission in this matter but, the lunar kingdom doesn't have an army…am I correct?" Artemis asked.

Serenity lowered her gaze and sighed "We do have an army, but it's not as strong as it should be, maybe because it doesn't have a commander…that is also another thing we are settling with Andromeda"

"But King Athan was their commander, he has the basics and the strategies to train this army and help protect this kingdom" Luna suggested.

Serenity turned to look at Luna "Andromeda has a very…_strange_ way to lead an army"

"Maybe with the new generation of warriors the Alliance can be protected" Artemis suggested.

"Yes, its true Artemis but we still don't know who is part of the new generation of senshi" Serenity said.

"I've heard one of the chosen warriors was born not too long ago" Luna said softly.

"Chronos's daughter, Pluto you mean?" Serenity raised a brow.

"No, a new chosen warrior" Luna said slowly.

Artemis widened his blue eyes in amazement "So it is true?"

Serenity looked at both mauians with a strange face "What are you talking about?"

Luna turned to look at the lunar queen "There have been some rumors saying that High God Zeus had an affair with an amazon from Jupiter and well, she gave birth to a very strong child and has the planet's name, just like Pluto"

Serenity rolled her eyes "Why I am not surprised of Zeus's doings… but you say this child is a chosen one?"

Luna nodded "She's quite strong and has the blessing of the thunder, but Zeus will not recognize her as her child…"

Serenity leaned back on her chair "The child is under the blessing of thunder you say, then that means he has recognized her but…I highly doubt Hera will accept her near her father"

"The warrior of Jupiter" Serenity whispered.

"All warriors carry the name of their planets…is it a coincidence?" Luna asked.

"When they are born if the symbol of their guardian planet appears on their forehead it is because they have been chosen, that is why they are named like that" Artemis said.

"We must be prepared" Serenity said.

"What do you mean Your Majesty?" Luna asked.

"There must be a good reason why a new generation of warriors coming to this era" the lunar queen said softly.

"Maybe something important will happen that will need serious protection" Artemis said.

"A destiny that will change our lives forever…" Serenity whispered and remembered Chronos's words.

* * *

**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters. **

**I also want to thank my readers of this and the first season, I still get reviews from new readers who are giving Divinity a shot. I love to read your comments, so I invite you to leave a note...as always it will be very appreciated.**


	19. Chapter 19

_I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters._

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter nineteen**

**

* * *

**

"I thought we talked about this…" Athan rubbed his temples.

"I'm offering you a life of power, isn't that what every male being wants…power, strength?

The lunar king walked to the stairs of the throne room and sat, covering his face with his hands he sighed. Nehelenia was standing on the opposite side of the room watching him doubt; walking towards him she then kneeled in front of him.

"I know you have feelings for me, otherwise you wouldn't be here…"

Athan moved his hands away from his face and looked at her "I won't deny you are indeed beautiful, you are an enchantment to anybody who lays eyes on you, your voice hypnotizes me" he turned his face away from her "But I already told you I love my wife…and she is now expecting a child"

Nehelenia lowered her gaze; her fisted hands were shaking because of the rage she was feeling "I could have given you that heir"

Athan stood up "Stop insisting Nehelenia, what we had was just an affair, you filled the necessities I had for a while…but the one I have always loved was Serenity"

Athan's words hurt Nehelenia's pride; they felt like a thousand cold knives digging into her heart, she stayed on her knees on the floor in silence, her pale eyes holding their tears that were threatening to fall in any minute.

"So I hope you understand this time…Don't look for me again. What we had is over" Athan said before turning to leave.

"Tell me, does she know you are here?" the dark queen asked slowly.

Athan blue eyes widened "Stop this Nehelenia"

"You came here because you can't stand being there…say it! You love me!" Nehelenia raised her voice.

"Are you out of your mind? I love Serenity…" Athan lowered his gaze "You are just her shadow…"

Nehelenia froze "Her shadow…"

"Leave us alone Nehelenia, continue your lonely immortal life with someone else…not me" Athan turned and walked away.

Nehelenia stood up minutes later; her tears were falling silently smudging her makeup, she wiped them off with the back of her hand and started to walk to her chambers in silence, the echo of her heels were her only company.

Walking to the large mirror in her room she leaned on it and caressed her reflection with her cold hands. Tears started to fall again from her eyes.

"I won't look for you anymore… pitiful Lunar King…instead, I will kill your heir, your stupid wife and you. You are going to be sorry for what you just did to me…You will pay… I SWEAR YOU WILL PAY!"

A dark energy started to surround the New Moon's Queen, embracing her like a blanket. She started to hear whispers in her room. Parting from the mirror she turned to see if someone was there.

"_Kill them, kill them all…"_

"Who is there?" she called out.

"_Kill…kill….kill them all…"_

"What do you want?" she yelled.

"To kill them all…"

Nehelenia heard a sultry male voice and turned to the mirror and gasped at the reflection "Who are you?"

A man in shadows, a hood was covering his face and body. Behind him she could see an infinite place full of smoke and darkness.

"Kill the Lunar Queen and all her subordinates… they only laugh at you…kill him, kill them" the voice said.

Nehelenia lowered her gaze "Kill them…" she trailed off.

"Turn the most beautiful queen of the entire universe, dethrone the Lunar Queen and then get the Golden Crystal"

"The Golden Crystal and the Ginzuishou….together…" she whispered.

"Make him pay…prove him that you are more powerful and beautiful than her…Once you become the strongest being in the universe he will come back begging you to forgive him…" the shadow said from the mirror.

"Why do you want me to become the strongest?" Nehelenia turned to look at the shadow in the mirror.

"Because…you have been forgotten … and to prove to you I am willing to help you…I'll give you this to start your revenge…" the shadow gave her a dark crystal orb.

"What is this?" Nehelenia looked at the orb floating in the palm of her extended hands with wide eyes.

"It's a sphere with a considerably amount of power…that will potencialize your hatred towards the people of the White Moon Kingdom…"

"My hatred…" Nehelenia whispered.

The shadow chuckled _"Tenebrae Nocturnus…" _his sultry voice commanded making the sphere glow in front of the dark queen.

The energy inside the sphere started to drip out of it and crawled up her arms like vines. Nehelenia watched in awe and felt the dark liquid fill her body with an intense energy.

"I can feel it…" she whispered.

"I am giving you the power to become a stronger Queen…" said the shadow.

"Yes…I can feel it!" she said louder.

"Now all you have to do is break the sphere…so you can release all your anger and with that your revenge will begin"

"Break it…" Nehelenia said softly.

"Make them pay…break it!" said the shadow.

Nehelenia watched the sphere in silence.

"Break it!"

"Break it…" Nehelenia repeated.

"Break it…break it….break it now!" the shadow raised its voice.

Nehelenia raised the sphere and crushed it with her hands making it break into thousands of pieces that went directly to the mirror.

"Good girl…your revenge has started, Oh beautiful Queen Nehelenia…" the shadow said and disappeared, leaving a dark queen standing in front of it with her head low. After a few seconds she started lo laugh.

"Kill them all…" she whispered "I will kill them all…"

oooooooooooooooooooooo

Serenity was sitting on a chair in one of the inner gardens of the palace; her meeting with her advisors had been over a while ago. It has been eight months since she found out she was pregnant, her divinity made her pregnancy develop quickly and with no problems, her hands were on her belly; closing her eyes she remembered the time when she found out she was finally expecting.

Flashback

_The Lunar queen walked to her bathroom in a hurry and washed her face with cold water._

"_Dear, are you feeling alright?" she heard her husband's voice from the bedroom call her._

_Serenity dried her face and tried to fix her hair do and walked to her bedroom again "Yes I'm fine, I just… felt a little dizzy, I have been feeling like if I had a hollow head, every noise seems to bother me…" placing a hand on her forehead she sat on a chair in the room._

_Athan walked up to her and kneeled in front of her "You are probably working too much, you need to distract yourself, leave the political matters to me"_

_Serenity smiled "We both have political matters to solve, we have been attending the meetings together…but maybe you are right, I'm adding too much work to my to do list"_

_Athan nodded "I'll go to Olympus to have lunch with Ares and Hermes who just had a daughter"_

_Serenity's eyes widened "Really? What's her name?"_

"_Mercury…" Athan sighed._

"_What?" Serenity placed a hand on her cheek._

"_Too many girls don't you think?" Athan said._

_Serenity's smile faded "You say it like if it's a bad thing…"_

_Athan stood up and chuckled "No, it is not that is wrong or anything but…well…nevermind" he bent to kiss her on her forehead._

_Serenity watched him with a serious face "Would you find disastrous to have a girl?"_

_Athan stopped in his tracks and turned to look at his wife "No, not at all…" he sighed softly "But I would like to have a son first"_

_Serenity's face remained serious "Why?"_

_Athan kneeled in front of her again and placed his hands on her knees "Think about this dear, if we have a son first he could train and become a strong commander for an army… Ares could train him and he could follow our steps and rule a strong kingdom if we have a girl, she will lead a kingdom full of dreams and innocence, we don't need that dear…"_

_Serenity frowned "I am running a kingdom and I think I'm doing a good job"_

"_Yes you are dear, but, think of this…if we have a boy he can protect our little princess" he said softly, standing up he turned to leave._

_Serenity sighed, stood up and walked towards the door, closing it behind her she started to feel a strong headache and fainted._

_When she opened her eyes she found herself in her bed, Amadis was by her side "Your Majesty…"_

_Serenity tried to adjust her eyes to the light "What happened?"_

"_You seemed to lost control and fainted" A woman with long brown hair said._

_Serenity widened her eyes and gasped "Hestia!"_

_The Goddess smiled from her chair and motioned the young maid to leave them alone._

"_I don't understand…" Serenity said softly._

"_There's not much to understand…" Hestia came to sit next to Serenity on the bed._

"_Not that I don't like you to be here, but…why are you here?" the lunar goddess asked._

_Hestia chuckled "Dear Moon Goddess...I'm just here doing my job"_

_Serenity's eyes widened "Are you saying that…" she trailed off._

_Hestia smiled "A little light called for me to protect its soul until its birth"_

_Serenity placed her hands over her belly "Since when…?" she trailed off again._

"_Three months…" the goddess of hearth stood up and walked around the room "But it is not part of my jurisdiction to tell everyone about my visit that is something you will have to do"_

_Serenity blinked a few times "Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?"_

_Hestia smiled "You will have to find out when the Chronos decides it's time for your child to be born. My visits are short, it's my time to leave, I have other visits to make…" The goddess in a red and gold gown turned to leave._

"_Wait…" Serenity tried to stop her._

_Hestia turned to look at her "Yes?" her almost seductive voice said. If you could put a flavor to Hestia's voice it would be cinnamon, dark, strong and yet feminine a complete opposite of Serenity's sweet vanilla like voice._

"_Do you know if they are beings chosen to be warriors?" the lunar queen asked._

"_No dear, I only help them to get here safe…that's just destiny" she smiled and left the room._

_Serenity placed her hands on her belly and started to cry tears of joy "My little piece of heaven…"_

End of flashback

"What are you doing here all by yourself?" a strong voice interrupted Serenity's thoughts.

"Ares!" Serenity said "W-What are you doing here?"

Ares chuckled "My…I see you are not that happy to see me"

Serenity waved her hands "I'm sorry, that's not what I meant…is just that…I wasn't expecting you…I thought you were at Olympus with…Athan"

Ares made a confused face "Um…no, I had no appointments there until this afternoon"

Serenity looked at him "I'm sorry I'm so rude, please, sit"

Ares smiled and sat on one of the garden chairs across from her "You look confused…"

"No…I just… well, I clearly heard Athan tell me he had an appointment with you in Olympus…" Serenity said slowly.

Ares sighed **"Athan, you better not be with her…" **the god of war looked down and thought the possibility to tell his friend about her husband's affair.

Serenity raised her face and smiled trying to hide her hurt "What brings you here? I must congratulate you first…"

"Congratulate me?" Ares asked confused.

"I heard the news…You are going to be a father" Serenity smiled.

Ares nodded "Thank you, I have to say that I'm still surprised myself…"

"There she is my little flower" Athan appeared in the garden with a smiling face, but it soon faded when he saw Ares there "Ares…" he said slowly.

Serenity gave her husband a serious look "Where were you Athan?"

Ares gave Athan a dead glare "Yes Athan, where were you?" he asked with sarcasm.

* * *

_Hello, already wednesday...how quick. Well, here it is, super fresh chapter for you; I hope you enjoy it and well tell me what you think._

_I like the fact that you enjoy reading long chapters, I personally when I read a story I like the chapters to be long and since this story is constantly updating three times a week I want like to keep the story warm and going (you know what I mean? lol) if it was for me I would make them longer but I don't want to tire you so I guess this is fine._

_About uploading two chapters at a time: I actually do that, I tend to upload the chapters that I will post on each week so no worries, I have plenty of back ups you won't be left without any new updates. I would like to post two per day but I guess that it is not quite possible for me to post and for you to read since it's quite a lot, I don't know, I want this story to take it's own course and flow slowly... that is something I learned on my cinematographic classes on my university, I remember when I wrote a script for the class and my teacher was like, with stories like this...you need to give some gaps between chapters so the public can get hooked and would like to know more, I really enjoyed my days in college it was fun...but I guess I'm walking too much on memory lane and too away from the main point. I will continue posting three times a week and of course there will be more surprise bonus chapters any now and then so, stay tunned._

_I can't believe I am still getting reviews from Divinity, I am soooooooooooooooooo happy and excited, reading from you guys make my day :) thanks a lot._


	20. Chapter 20

_A/N: the third post of this new year, wow... thank YOU so much for your support, your good ideas and comments, without you guys I wouldn;t be here still writing and posting new chapters for you. I even got a petition to write a third part of Divinity ;) Enjoy! (Bold means thoughts, remember?)_

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter twenty**

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"Well, are you going to tell me where you have been?" Serenity asked again.

"I should better go Sere…" Ares was saying when Serenity interrupted him.

"No Ares, stay" she said a determinant voice not breaking eye contact with her husband.

"I was in Olympus, like I told you" Athan said.

"I don't remember having an appointment with you today Athan…" Ares said lowly.

"Yes…I remembered that when I got there" he let out a nervous laugh "But I saw Hermes and well…he started talking about his child and how proud he was that she was a chosen one and all…"

"I see…" Ares said and turned to look at Serenity who had the same expression.

Serenity ignored his words and turned her attention back at Ares "So how is Eris doing?"

Ares turned his attention to Serenity as well and smiled "Fine, you how she is…her same old complicated mood"

Athan stood there a few more minutes before he left them alone.

Serenity sighed and lowered her head "I'm so sorry you had to see that"

Ares gave her a sympathetic smile "It's okay…you have seen many bad things about me as well, but I want to leave something clear here, if you ask me to help you I will. You and your child are more important"

Serenity held Ares' hand "Thank you" she sat straight on her chair again "Ares I do have something to ask you…"

"Anything" Ares said.

"I would like for you to train my child" Serenity said.

Ares widened his grey eyes "To train you child?"

"Yes, Athan think it would be best if we had a stronger army…he wants our son to be the head of the army…you know, follow his steps" Serenity said.

Ares frowned "I don't think that would be necessary…but if that's what you want, I'll do it"

"Why?" Serenity asked.

"Well, because…for instance you have a strong stone that eventually your child will have to learn to master, you are not like the rest of us gods"

"Gaia had a stone which is very strong as well and you trained her" Serenity said.

Ares smiled "Gaia had no other choice but to be trained, her father was a warrior, her brother became a monster and that crystal is to be taken seriously…without the specific knowledge it can destroy a galaxy in a blink of an eye"

"Do you miss her?"

Ares lowered his gaze and smiled "I will always miss her little flower…always. I should have act sooner but, it's been a long time now and well, she is now happily married…with a mortal, but happy and has a child…"

"You don't think he should die…do you?" Serenity held his hand.

Ares shook his head no "I don't think they can…" the god of war raised his face "If he has his mother's same character he will fight back"

They both chuckled "Why is it so important to you to have a son?" Ares asked.

Serenity turned her face "It is not important to me…but to Athan is" she stood up "I would be happy to have a daughter and raise her the same way Mother raised me" she smiled.

Ares frowned "I still don't understand why it is so important to him…"

Serenity turned to see Ares "He says it would be good for the Kingdom to have a male heir"

"Andromedians…" Ares sighed and also stood up "Don't you worry about it…it is not you the one who decides that. It's destiny"

Serenity nodded and smiled "I believe you're right"

00000000000000000000000

Athan was in his chambers looking through the window "I hope Ares doesn't tell her anything…" he said to himself **"But I had to see her and tell her to stop looking for me…this just had to stop"**

The door opened revealing a very pregnant, very serious Serenity walking towards him.

Athan turned to look at her and smiled "Dear, Ares left so soon?"

"Are you going to tell me the truth now?"

Athan's blue eyes widened by his wife's sharpness and cold words "Serenity…what are you saying?"

"Where were you? Tell me the truth…" Serenity crossed her arms and waited for a response.

Athan sighed "Are you really questioning me where I was? What do you want to know exactly Serenity, perhaps if I was being unfaithful to you?

"If you've done it before, then why wouldn't you do it now?" Serenity said.

Athan let out a sarcastic laugh "I can't believe this… we are expecting a child, how could I ever cheat on you?"

"You are not answering my question"

"NO Serenity! If you want to know if I was with another woman you're mistaken!" the lunar king raised his voice making Serenity take a step back.

Athan ran a nervous hand through his blonde hair "I'm sorry…I didn't want to yell at you…" he sighed "I told you, I forgot the appointment with Ares wasn't today when I was already there…I saw Hermes and he started talking about his family…"

Serenity lowered her head "I'm sorry…" she walked away and out of their chambers.

"I'm so sorry Serenity…" Athan said softly.

The lunar queen walked through the halls fighting the urge to cry, supporting herself in one of the pillars she breathed and started to cry in silence unaware that was somebody there.

"Your Majesty?" Luna asked worried.

Serenity sighed and dried her tears with the back of her hand, still not looking up "Yes, Luna?"

"Are you alright? Are you feeling unwell?" the mauian advisor asked very worried.

"Yes Luna, I'm fine…tell me, what can I do for you?" Serenity raised her head this time.

"Goddess Aphrodite's personal maid came to ask for you, I told her you were busy at the moment and asked me to give you a message"

Serenity became impatient "What is it Luna, is Aphrodite okay?" she asked with worry.

"She's about to give birth…" Luna said "It seems her baby is about to be born premature"

Serenity's eyes widened "Oh my! I need to go to see her!" she said alarmed.

"But you can't go on your own…your pregnancy is very advanced!" Luna pleaded.

"Then you will come with me…" Serenity held the advisor's hand and walked to the Palace's exit.

000000000000000000000

"Can I get you anything Aphrodite?" Adonis asked his consort.

"No…I'm okay, I'm just sleepy" the Goddess of Love said.

"Your Majesty, I gave Queen Serenity's advisor your message. They should be here any minute now…" the young blonde assistant said.

Aphrodite nodded, like a true Goddess of love; she was lying down on her bed covered up with silk soft orange sheets. Her bed had four posts were golden shimmery fabric fell graciously.

Another maid came into the room after she knocked "Your Majesty, Queen Serenity is here"

Aphrodite smiled and turned to look at Adonis "How do I look?"

Adonis handsome face went into one of surprise "Like you're about to give birth?"

"That is not what I meant! Do I look pretty? Exhausted? Drained? Ugly?...how?" Aphrodite asked again.

Adonis chuckled "You are never going to change, dear you look beautiful…as always"

The goddess of love smiled "That's what I wanted to hear" she turned her gaze to the young girl standing next to the door "Let her in"

Serenity came in with a worried expression "I came as soon as I got your message, how are you feeling?"

"Tired…I've been here for hours, Chronos is really enjoying this…he's giving me too much time…" Aphrodite said.

"What happened? why are you going to give birth now?" Serenity asked worried.

"I guess it's time…" Aphrodite smiled.

"Are you scared?" Serenity held her friend's hand.

Aphrodite shook her head no "This is something that has to happen…I want to meet my baby"

Serenity smiled and noticed Adonis was sitting on a chair next to her bed "Adonis, I'm so sorry…I didn't see you" she stood up and gave him her hand.

Adonis smiled "It's okay, is understandable"

"Are you excited?" Serenity asked.

"I am and nervous…" Adonis said.

Hestia walked in a few minutes later "I believe I am just in time…Chronos let me know" she smiled.

"I knew Chronos made those decisions too…" Aphrodite said sarcastically.

Hestia turned to look at Serenity and smiled "You should be resting…"

"But I just have eight months…" Serenity excused herself.

"Just?" Aphrodite chuckled "You are almost going to have your baby as well"

Hestia came close to Aphrodite "It is time for me to help you give birth…your child is ready to come to this realm and you need to be calm" the mature woman turned to look at everyone in the room "This is a time I need to be with Aphrodite alone"

Serenity and Adonis nodded and left the room.

"What happened Your Majesty?" Luna asked in a low voice.

"Hestia is with Aphrodite, she is going to help her have her baby" Serenity whispered.

"There's too much silence in there…" Adonis said.

"Everything will be okay…" Serenity assured.

Sitting in a chair next to the door, they waited for a while in silence until they heard any signs that the baby was born.

"I'm worried…it's been a long time now since she asked us to leave the room" Adonis said from his seat.

"Everything will be fine we just need to wait a little bit longer…" Serenity said.

Minutes later they heard a loud cry coming from the room, startling them and making Adonis stand up "Is that…?"

Hestia opened the door "Your baby has come to this realm safe…" she smiled.

"Can I go in?" Adonis asked.

"Of course…" Hestia said softly and turned to look at Serenity "You too, little one"

Serenity smiled and nodded, standing up she heard Adonis astonished voice "Is she…"

When Serenity came into the room she gasped in amazement. Aphrodite had her child in her arms, a soft golden aura enveloped them like a soft and warm blanket. The scene made Serenity want to cry.

Aphrodite raised her head after admiring her baby for several minutes now and smiled at the lunar queen "It's a girl…"

Serenity couldn't hide her emotion and started to cry tears of joy, Aphrodite knew Serenity wanted to know what they have been talking about since they found out they were expecting, with an assuring look she nodded.

Serenity's eyes widened in shock, knowing perfectly what her friend meant "Aphrodite…" she breathed.

Aphrodite gave her friend a small smile "Come dear friend…"

Serenity got close to Aphrodite and sat next to her on the bed and looked at her friend's newborn.

Aphrodite smiled again "Serenity, I want you to meet…Venus"

* * *

**I do not own Sailor moon, just this plot and some of the characters.**

**The magic link is under this words ;) reviews are always welcome.**


	21. Chapter 21

_A/N: Ok, so I don't know what happened but I thought I already have posted chapter twenty and now I realized I didn't...so...I don't quite remember if I posted friday's chapter or not, according to my agenda I didn't, so here it goes friday's and today's chapter. A moment many of you have been waiting, just like the last story...the juicy part is about to start. Thanks for reading. See you on wednesday. Enjoy._

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter twenty one**

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**

"Venus…" Serenity whispered and watched in awe the venusian symbol on the child's forehead.

Aphrodite smiled and turned to look at her consort Adonis "She's more beautiful than me…"

Adonis chuckled "You both are"

Serenity wiped a few tears off her face and smiled kindly "I will leave now; you need your privacy…"

Aphrodite turned to look at the moon goddess "I don't want you to leave…"

Serenity nodded "It's alright Aphrodite; we will meet once you feel rested"

The love goddess smiled and nodded "Thank you dear friend"

"For what?" Serenity's voice was soft.

"For being here at such an important time for me…" the blonde goddess said.

"You don't have to thank me" the lunar queen left the room.

00000000000000000000000

Athan was sitting in one of the living room chairs anxiously, he searched for his wife everywhere but with no luck, he asked Artemis if he knew where she was but he didn't get a positive answer.

"Ares…you said you were going to keep your mouth shut…" Athan said softly. He was about to start looking for her again when he heard a very familiar heel echo on the main hall, standing up we walked to meet with the sound, hoping it was indeed his wife.

"I'm glad you're here, I was worried about you…"

Serenity frowned, shaking her head softly she crossed her arms in front of her chest "I don't see why…"

Athan's blue eyes widened by her response and scratched his head softly "You left and you didn't tell me where you were. I thought something had happened to you…"

Serenity started walking again towards her chambers, her husband followed behind "Aphrodite asked me to go see her, that's all"

"Oh, how is she?"

Serenity opened the door of their room and turned to face her husband with a serious expression.

"What?" Athan asked surprised.

Serenity tilted her head to a side and half smiled "Nothing, it is just so strange you ask how my friends are doing…" she walked into the room and sat on the bed "She gave birth"

Athan leaned on one of the pillars and crossed his arms "Oh really, Adonis must be very happy to have an heir"

Serenity half smiled again "Yes, they had a gorgeous baby girl…"

"Oh well, they'll have to keep trying…"

Serenity turned to look at Athan with a shocked expression "What did you just say?"

"Well…Every man's desire is to have a boy…I mean…" the king trailed off.

"You are doing that again" Serenity looked at him with serious eyes; she started to fight the tears that were threatening to fall. There he was, manifesting his apparent dislike for baby girls, and made her wonder how would their life be if they have a baby girl.

"What am I doing?" Athan asked, raising his voice.

"Athan, why does it bother you so much that everyone is having a baby girl? Why is it so bad to have a daughter? What if we have a daughter, wouldn't you love her, adore her and look out for her?" Serenity stood up, her tears couldn't hold anymore and started to fall.

"Of course I would! I'm just saying that having a boy is every man's dream…don't cry" he wiped the tears off his wife's face with delicacy. Holding her hands they walked back to the bed and sat "Now tell me, how is Aphrodite going to name her daughter?"

Serenity looked at him "Her name is Venus"

Athan's eyes widened "Venus. That means that…"

Serenity nodded "She's another chosen warrior"

"Have you talked to Chronos lately?" the lunar king suddenly asked.

Serenity shook her head no "He's been quite busy…why?"

"It just makes me wonder why so many chosen warriors are being born, I know we have to be protected but it seems there is something else and we must to be careful"

Serenity lowered her gaze "I'm worried…"

"No, dear…don't" Athan placed his hand softly under her chin and raised her face to meet his eyes "We will be prepared. I already talked to the Andromedian army. They will support us in anything we decide to do"

Serenity nodded her head softly.

"I won't tolerate any harm done to my family…" the king said with reassurance.

The alarm of a disturbance in the immortal realm was still in the air, even though the Higher Gods have reassured to everyone that they have been taking care of the situation, they still had meetings with Ares and of course with the lunar royals to strengthen the Alliance in order to protect every being in the universe.

At least three times a week they would meet to talk about the threats they were still receiving, threats that with time started to get more and more disturbing. Because of these threats, Athan ordered to have at least three guards always following the queen wherever she went and asked her to stay in the palace as much as she could. They all knew that whatever this evil being was knew of the existence of the Ginzuishou and that had its eyes on it.

"Where is she?" the god of war asked.

"She at the palace, I do not want her to go out until everything is under control, I do not want to expose her and my child" Athan responded.

Athan was worried, very worried; the threats seemed to be more focused in hurting Serenity than other being of their realm and to him it was very frightening to think who was behind all this.

Nehelenia stopped looking for him and she even seemed to be missing. After that day he never heard of her again but somehow her name still send shivers down his spine and made him think she could be sending the threats; he knew she was hurt for what happened, he knew she developed feeling towards him and even he didn't want to admit it, he cared for her but the one he truly loved was his wife.

"Serenity is a very strong Goddess, she and the sacred stone must be under protection" Ares said.

"Yes, the palace is full of guards. I can't let them harm her, my child and take the sacred crystal" Athan said with concern "Luna and Artemis are with her at all times when I'm not there…"

"That is good to know…" Ares said with a low voice.

Athan sighed "I know I made mistakes before, but believe me, Serenity is the most important thing in my life. I would do anything to keep her safe"

"Anything…" he whispered.

Serenity was in her chambers looking through the window in silence, her hands were absently caressing her small belly; these past days have been difficult, she knew things were a little complicated for the anonymous threats they were receiving. Athan had taken measures in order to protect her and her child along with the holy stone they kept on the praying room.

Her lavender eyes looked out the stars hanging in the sky, shining like diamonds she thought; then her gaze stopped on the blue marble in the distance **"So beautiful…"**

Earth was like their Moon, it was inevitable to look at the sky and not see the beautiful blue planet hanging in the vast sky like a crystal ball, but unlike the moon, Earth was self sustainable; it had real trees and water, soft perfumed breeze and was full of color.

"I wonder how are you doing dear friend…I wish you were here right now, I miss you terribly" she said softly.

She remembered their last encounter like if it was yesterday; she remembered her kind smile and words. She remembered holding her child and the way he looked at her and smiled.

"Is there anything I can do for you Your Majesty?"

Serenity turned to the door "Luna…" she smiled "No, I'm fine…thank you"

Luna was with her the most time she could. Knowing Serenity could get easily tired of being followed all day so she sat on a chair in the living room and read something to entertain herself and give the queen some privacy.

"If you need anything, please, don't hesitate to ask me" Luna said softly and bowed.

"Thank you Luna…" Serenity sighed.

"Are you feeling alright?" the dark haired girl asked.

Serenity nodded "Yes…I'm just…tired, that's all" standing up she went to sit on the bed "Come sit with me Luna…I do not wish to be alone…"

The mauian girl walked to her and sat next to her "What is wrong Your Majesty…please tell me"

Serenity smiled and tried to hide her tears "Something very silly…"

"Whatever it is, please tell me. Maybe I can help you"

Serenity lowered her gaze "I'm worried, for everything that is happening"

"That is not silly at all Your Majesty. Fortunately there haven't been any attacks but we must be careful and take care of you and your baby"

Serenity winced and lowered her head.

"I know it must be very uncomfortable to have me at all times with you Your Majesty I wish nothing that is not peace and good things for you…I" Luna trailed off and blushed "I'm sorry…I'm overwhelming you with my words…"

Serenity shook her head, still her head down "No, it's not that…" she said softly.

"Your Majesty?"

This time Serenity raised her head and turned to look at Luna "I think it is time…" she smiled faintly.

Luna's burgundy eyes widened in shock when Serenity's words fell into place "Oh my!" standing up she started to walk around the room "What should I do?" she placed her hands on her face "I do not want to leave you alone…"

"I will take care of her little one…" a low feminine voice was heard. Serenity knew whose voice was it and smiled.

* * *

Aurea walked into the living room with a tray with biscuits and hot tea.

"Thank you Aurea" Gaia smiled when her friend put the silver tray on the table in front of her.

Aurea smiled "You're very welcome"

Gaia moved forward and placed two cups upside up and started to pour the hot liquid in them "Join me for a cup of tea"

The brown haired woman sat next to her on a chair and grabbed the cup of tea; she blew the soft steam coming out and took a sip in silence.

Gaia sighed and looked down; placing her hot tea on the table again with delicacy she placed her hands on her lap and started to play with the soft fabric napkin "I'm so sorry the wedding had to be postponed" her voice was soft, almost a whisper.

Aurea raised her head at her and shook her head so softly. Placing the cup on the table as well she smiled at the queen "It is not your fault, King Odell needs to recover, family is more important than those kinds of celebrations"

Gaia half smiled "I'm glad he's finally feeling better…"

Aurea grabbed her tea cup again and took a sip "And when a couple is living together, there is no need to be sad…" she said between her sips.

Gaia's green apple eyes opened wide in surprise, her soft pink lips formed a perfect O, then made a devilish smile "Aurea…are you living together?"

Aurea choked on her tea and blushed a deep shade of red "Huh?"

"You are!" Gaia whispered "Good for you…"

Aurea was looking at her tea, when she heard Gaia's word immediately looked at her "What did you just say?"

"Good for you…" Gaia repeated and took another sip of her tea. Aurea blinked a couple of times and remained silent, making Gaia chuckle.

"I am not going to judge you, I know you two have been in love for a long time" Gaia looked at her friend.

"I won't say it doesn't make me feel a little bit awkward" Aurea put her cup down making a soft noise with the porcelain and looked at the terran queen "Leonidas is a man with a range and well…to be in a relationship with a maid and now trying to live with her without being married well… the court will have a lot to talk about"

Gaia sighed; she knew what Aurea was talking about. Even when she lived on the immortal realm muses and goddesses loved to gossip as well about the lives of everybody.

"The court doesn't have to know if you are married or not"

Aurea smiled "The right time will come. There's a reason for everything"

The terran queen lowered her gaze "Yes…" she said in a sad tone.

"What's the matter?" Aurea raised a brow.

Gaia looked at Aurea with sad eyes "Nothing, it's just that…I miss Serenity, that's all"

Aurea stood up and went to sit next to her friend and queen, placing her hands over Gaia's she smiled "I know…she must be missing you as well, but, maybe one day…you two will meet again"

Gaia patted Aurea's hand and smiled "Maybe…one day"

"I've been thinking so much about her lately…I hope she's okay" Gaia's voice was full of worry.

"She's strong and very smart. Everything is going to be okay" Aurea reassured.

Gaia smiled "She is very smart…thank you"

"So, where is Endymion?" asked the maid trying to lighten up the mood by changing the subject.

Gaia chuckled "Studying…he's been quite engrossed with his lessons"

"Did he..." Aurea looked both sides and placed a hand on her mouth "You know…have noticed about his…gift?"

Gaia shook her head "He hasn't mentioned anything and you know he always speaks up his mind when it comes to something new" she chuckled.

"Obelix is teaching him how to use the crystal…" Aurea whispered.

Gaia nodded "Well, he is teaching him how to pray. He's too young to start the concentration and channeling process…"

"Time is going very fast…he's so big" Aurea said with amazement.

"Time never stops…" Gaia breathed and looked out the window **"Time will give the opportunity to meet again my dear friend"**

"What's wrong Gaia?" Aurea patted her hand softly.

Gaia turned her face at Aurea "Have you noticed how bright the moon hangs in the sky on day time? It amazes me…"

"Yes, I have seen the moon on day time, but not like this before…do you think it means something?" Aurea asked curious.

"I don't know…maybe it's about to happen something important, something mystical" Gaia smiled.

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**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters. Thank you.**

**This author really, really, really likes to read reviews :)**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N:** _Thank you for reading my story, here it goes a moment most of you have been waiting...Enjoy._

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter twenty two**

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"I'm glad you could come, sister"

"You know it is always my pleasure…" the goddess in red and gold sat on a chair.

Chronos stood still in front of Hestia a smiled was plastered on his face "I think you already know why I have called you"

Hestia smiled and rested her chin on her hand "I can imagine why, but you must admit you called me as well because you missed me" her dark brown hair fell in lustrous big curls.

The god of time chuckled "That too…"

"Talking serious, I do know why you called for me; you think it is time, don't you?" Hestia's deep voice echoed in Chrono's throne room. "It's time for a very special star to lighten up this realm. I think so too…the new keeper"

Chronos's side smiled and crossed his arms "You are well informed then"

Hestia chuckled "I know very well every soul that is about to come and live on this and on the mortal's realm. And I do know that a new generation of warriors is being born as well as I am aware of the demigod"

Chronos nodded "Her child is made by the dust of the stars; her ancestors are mythical and mystical. And it is time for that little new soul to come and refresh this realm"

Hestia made her brother's same sided smile "Call it done" she stood up and disappeared right before her brother's dark eyes.

"It is time…" Chronos smiled and walked to his throne.

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"Your Majesty, are you alright?"

"I feel very soared…I feel dizzy as well…there's a warmth I cannot explain…" Serenity moaned and placed a hand on her belly.

Luna's burgundy eyes widened in fear "I don't want to leave you alone…but I need to tell His majesty"

"It's alright Luna; Amadis will let him know…" Serenity turned her face to the other side and closed her eyes; she was lying on her bed, she hadn't been feeling well since she woke up and asked Luna to stay by her side.

"Do you want me to bring you anything?" Luna asked concerned.

Serenity shook her head no softly "No…I don't feel like having anything…I couldn't even stand up today and dress up"

Luna smiled "If I'm allowed to say Your Majesty, your hair looks very pretty down"

The lunar queen chuckled "You are very sweet Luna…very sweet"

Luna blushed. Minutes later Athan walked into the room with a worried expression, holding her hand he looked at Luna and then at his wife.

"Dear, are you okay? Amadis went to look for me and told me you couldn't stand up"

Luna bowed and walked to the door.

"I'm just tired…and a little dizzy…nothing bad" Serenity's voice was very soft, almost like a whisper.

Athan smiled and nodded "Why don't you rest a little, I will stay here and watch your sleep"

"But…what about your meeting?" Serenity asked weakly.

"It can wait…"

"Luna has been taking care of me" Serenity whispered.

Athan nodded "Yes, I know…"

Serenity turned her head to the other side and then to him again "Where is she?"

"She went out to give us privacy" the lunar king said.

"No…I want her to be here with me…" Serenity whispered.

"Shhh…dear, I'm here. You are not alone" Athan said softly.

Luna was resting her back on the door and watched several maids walk by through the corridor "I wonder how she is feeling right now…I hope she is well" she said softly to herself.

In a flash on red and golden leaves a beautiful woman appeared at the entrance of the Moon Palace, smiling she walked in looking for someone who could tell her where the queen was. She knew Serenity might be feeling tired and dizzy, that was the effect she caused when she was near and about to do her job, but it was something she only knew.

A guard at the entrance stopped her with a sword "May I help you?"

Hestia had a sensual smile, a smile that could captivate even the bitterest being in the universe. The goddess of hearth gave the man that smile "I'm looking for Queen Serenity"

"What matter brought you here?" asked the man in armor.

Hestia side smiled "Destiny"

Luna was walking to see if she could find Artemis somewhere but instead of that she saw the brunette goddess talking to one of the guards King Athan brought from Andromeda, walking quickly towards them she bowed.

"Goddess Hestia…"

Hestia smiled at the young woman "The petite woman from Mau, I remember you…"

Luna gave the goddess a kind smile and blushed "Can I help you?"

"Yes. Take me to see Serenity" Hestia said.

Luna's burgundy eyes widened in shock, somehow she understood the goddess determinant words and nodded.

"Right this way" Luna started to walk towards Serenity chambers.

Serenity moaned softly "I'm so dizzy…I do not feel well…"

Athan held her hand and moved her bangs aside "I don't know what is happening…" he whispered.

A soft knock interrupted his thoughts and walked towards the door "Luna…" he said.

Athan's eyes widened in surprise when he saw the regal goddess in red and gold behind the petite woman with black hair.

"Hestia…"

"Good afternoon Athan, King of the Moon" Hestia smiled.

"What are you doing here?" the lunar king asked confused "Serenity isn't feeling well today…"

Hestia's smile didn't fade away and walked closer "I know that…that is why I am here" without more explanations she walked to the bedroom and stood next to Serenity who was half asleep on the bed, kneeling she caressed her face with her hand making the lunar queen wake up and turn her face to see her.

"Hestia…" she breathed.

"You know why I am here, right?" Hestia's warm voice said softly.

Serenity nodded her head "Is it time?"

Hestia nodded "Your child is made from the dust of the stars and the blessing of this planet. I know, you will take care of this child with all your heart" her hand moved her bangs softly away from her face "Your ancestors have a strong power that have been passing over generations, under the protection of the sacred silver stone…it is time to bring your child to this realm"

Serenity sighed softly and nodded her head.

Hestia stood up and turned to see Athan standing at the door with a worried expression "I need you to give us some privacy…" she said softly.

"Is she alright? What is happening?" the lunar king asked concerned.

Hestia smiled "Everything is alright. I am here to help your child be born"

Athan's blue eyes widened in shock "What…"

"Come, Your Majesty…" Luna said softly closing the doors of the bedroom behind her.

"Is everything alright..?" Serenity asked weakly.

"Yes dear…everything is alright" Hestia answered softly.

"I don't feel well…I feel very dizzy…"

Hestia smiled "I am the reason why that happens little flower" the goddess of hearth chuckled "That is why there are goddesses who doesn't want to have children…"

Hestia helped Serenity sit on the bed "I need you to breathe…and when the time is right, you will give a strong push"

Serenity nodded.

Hestia closed her eyes and brought her hands together "Dear brother Chronos, God of time, grant me this moment to bring a new life into this realm, guide this small and fragile being into the timeless world we all live in. Under the blessing of the Moon illuminate this child's path and let destiny run its course…"

"I Hestia, call for you little one to come and illuminate with your pure light this place. Come, it's time. We are all waiting for you…"

Serenity opened her lavender eyes, she felt it, the energy that was about to leave her body. Like Hestia have said, it was time.

"Serenity I need you to give a strong push, now" Hestia said and Serenity followed her command.

The warmth she was feeling was suddenly leaving her body. The room started to fill with a soft white light which faded seconds later because of a soft crying.

Hestia held the new heir of the moon throne in her hands, smiling she gave her blessing and proceeded to clean the baby. After a few more minutes she placed the baby in her mother's arms.

"Serenity, meet your new baby girl. The princess under the blessing of the Moon"

Serenity's eyes started to fill with tears when she saw her baby girl in her arms crying softly "My baby…my baby…" she whispered.

Hestia smiled "She's beautiful…"

Serenity's tears fell silently on her face "My little angel…I have never seen a girl as beautiful as you in my life…"

Hestia watched the scene happily "I need to tell you something important Serenity…" the lunar queen raised her face up to the goddess in front of her and nodded her head.

"Your child has the blessing of the Moon, which means she is a new carrier of the silver sacred crystal. I believe in your good judgment but please protect your lovely jewel from harm that is everywhere out there…your child holds a very strong mystical powers. Have your eyes always wide open, because this child is a light of hope. Congratulations" Hestia went to Serenity's side and kissed her softly on her forehead.

Serenity looked at Hestia and smiled "Thank you…so much"

Hestia nodded and went to open the door; Athan stood up immediately, a worried expression on his face. Luna followed suit, her face was full of curiosity to know if the baby was a boy or a girl, if her queen was right, if the baby was right. She wanted to meet the baby.

"Is she…" Athan trailed off.

"She's fine…you can see her now" Hestia walked to the door, Luna followed her. Hestia turned to look at the mauian girl and placed a hand on her shoulder "Take care of her…she's a beautiful jewel" walking out of the bedroom she directed to the lobby where then she disappeared in a soft flash of red and golden leafs.

"I will take care of her…" Luna's burgundy eyes widened in shock "_Her…"_ she said to herself "It's a girl!" Luna said loudly.

"What did you say?"

Luna turned to find Artemis standing behind her with a curious expression "Artemis! There you are…where have you been all this time?"

"I was with His Majesty before Amadis told him Her Majesty was asking to see him. But you just said something…"

"The Queen just had her baby!" Luna said happily.

Artemis's blue eyes widened "Really?"

Luna nodded and walked to stand outside the queen's chambers, Artemis followed and sided his head "Aren't you going to come in?"

Luna shook her head no "His Majesty is inside"

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"Serenity?" Athan's voice was soft, coming inside the room he saw his wife sitting on the bed and looked ethereal. In her arms was their child.

Serenity turned to look at him and smiled "Athan…"

Athan sat next to her on the bed and looked at the child in his wife's arms, his blue eyes widened "A girl…" he said softly.

"Our girl Athan, our little jewel…our precious little Serenity" the queen sighed with contempt.

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**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters. Thank you.**

**The magic happens when you click on the 'review' link ;)**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N:** Friday's update is here, late but here. I don't know why but I think you will like this chapter. Enjoy!

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter twenty three**

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Athan looked marveled the child his wife was holding in her arms "Serenity…" he whispered, his was trying to resist the urge to touch the little angel. Serenity noticed it.

"Why are you holding back?"

Athan sat on the bed and sighed, running a hand through his lose blonde hair he looked at her with tired blue eyes "I don't want to hurt her…"

Serenity smiled "You won't…"

Athan lowered his gaze; this wasn't what he was expecting; he was sure he was going to have a boy, he wanted to have a boy, but when he turned his face towards Serenity he watched his daughter a few more minutes and sighed. He was in love. The resistance was there, but he couldn't help being in love with that little girl, she was his and she was gorgeous.

She opened her eyes immediately showing a beautiful light blue, the same pale blue he had on his eyes, and her long dark lashes framed them perfectly. Her skin looked like it was made out of the finest porcelain; her cheeks had a slight pink blush, her hair unlike her mother was platinum blonde like if it was made out of the moonlight.

Athan extended his arms, he couldn't take it anymore, he needed to have her in his arms. Serenity handed her to him and watched in awe at the new father with his daughter; her worries vanished away, their discussions of what he wanted, his plans, why he wanted a boy disappeared the moment he laid eyes on her.

Athan looked at his daughter with melancholy and sighed, his hand caressed her cheeks softly "You are so beautiful…so beautiful that you will steal every man's breath. Lucky is the man that will have you"

Queen Serenity chuckled "Dear, she only has a couple of hours from being born and you are already marrying her"

Athan broke eye contact with the child in his arms and looked at his wife "She deserves to be with the best of the best. I won't allow her to be with just any man…this beauty must be protected" he cooed the last words.

Serenity was amazed by his sudden change, her daughter was indeed a jewel, she was a dream come true.

"I will protect you…I will protect you with my own life if it's necessary" Athan whispered softly to his now sleeping beauty.

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Nehelenia took another sip of her dark red wine, her long red tainted nails made a soft noise against the fine crystal of the glass. Her pale golden eyes were looking at the nothing, it have been months since her revenge started.

Taking another sip, her lips curled into a devilish smile. All the events that were happening and had every god and goddess in alert was because of her, her low profile protected her, they knew she existed but never imagined it was her the one that could be doing all this.

She already caused the death of several muses which made Zeus go crazy. Death was inevitable, immortals could die as well by taking their whole energy, the core of their bodies they would simply disappear forever. Gods could cause pain and they could cause death between them but they rather the exile option before actually kill an immortal being.

The walls in her bedroom were covered in dark cloths, not a single ray of light filtered the enormous space, and in front of her was the mirror. Her only friend, The object that told her the truth about her beauty.

Nehelenia watched her reflection on the mirror from her place on the bed "I wonder if you still think of me…" she whispered.

Like if her words were enchantments, the energy in the room started to feel dense, that sultry smell started to fill the dark queen's nostrils. The mirror suddenly stopped reflecting her image and a dark shadow appeared.

"He does not…" the sultry deep voice answered her thoughts.

Nehelenia widened her eyes in shock "What are you saying?"

[chuckles] "Do you really think that he is going to think of you when another woman has entered his life, and this time forever?"

Nehelenia's grip on her glass of wine became stronger "What are you saying?" she repeated, this time raising her voice.

"The White Moon has a new heir, a princess. Called the jewel of the realm" the mirror projected a reflection of the king holding his daughter in the garden with Serenity by his side, both smiling.

"You have been replaced…now, what are you going to do?" the sultry voice asked her.

Nehelenia stood up and walked up to the reflection her eyes were fixed on the happy image of the royal family "So much light…hurts my eyes…" she whispered.

"The Moon princess is born under the protection of the White Moon, that means, the crystal can respond to her as well"

Nehelenia was brought back from her thoughts "The crystal…"

"The Ginzuishou…the silver sacred stone that brings eternal beauty and an incredible amount of power…so strong that could do anything you want" the voice explained.

"If I get both…I could be invincible" the dark queen said softly.

The shadow chuckled again "My…you are Queen Serenity's relative and have not being invited to meet her baby"

Nehelenia walked back to her seat on the bed "That child stole the love he had for me…"

"They are laughing at you…look at them…he has been enchanted by them" the voice said.

"I will have to pay a lovely visit to them then" she took her glass of wine again and took another sip.

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"She's beautiful Serenity" Aphrodite said with Venus in her arms "Athan is truly changed, he's in love"

Serenity smiled and turned to see her husband playing with his daughter "He truly is…he already said she would only marry the best"

Aphrodite giggled "Well, too bad Ares is a proud father of a lovely girl"

Serenity looked at her friend again with wide eyes "Eris gave birth?"

Aphrodite nodded "She's beautiful and looks a lot like her" she giggled "I'm afraid she's going to have her father's character"

"Oh, that is something big" Serenity chuckled "What is her name?"

"Mars" the blonde goddess said simply.

"She's another chosen warrior" Serenity took a sip of her golden leaf tea "Makes sense, she's the daughter of the God of War"

Aphrodite nodded "It would be lovely if…you know who could meet her"

Serenity smiled sadly "I would love that too Aphrodite" the moon queen raised her gaze up to the skies and watched the blue sphere at the distance "But in order to protect them I need to stay away…"

"What do you mean Serenity?" Aphrodite asked curious.

Serenity lowered her gaze and looked at her friend "I will protect Earth from a distance, without anyone knowing"

"Isn't that too dangerous?"

Serenity took another sip of her tea "I will manage"

"You are a very good friend Serenity" Aphrodite said softly.

"She helped me so much when she lived here, I could always go and talk to her and no matter how busy she were, she could always have time to hear my thoughts" the moon queen said.

Serenity turned to look at her now dancing husband and smiled.

Athan had changed so much since Serenity's birth, it had only been a few months but he wanted to stay present at all times. He wanted to bathe her, feed her, dress her and every morning he would wake up and lay her between them on the bed. Their relationship as a couple became stronger. Athan was a man deeply in love.

"Well, I should go. Adonis must be waiting for me to have dinner" Aphrodite stood up and chuckled "I don't know what is with men that have daughters; they fall in love with them and can't stand being away"

Serenity laughed "Imagine how Ares is right now"

"Oh…I bet he's under his daughter's spell as well. But that's a must see" Aphrodite winked "I will see you soon Serenity"

The moon queen waved her hand and watched her friend leave the court with Venus in her arms.

"Athan, we should go back inside. It's getting dark" Serenity said out loud.

Athan turned and smiled "Yes, you're right. We should probably get inside" he followed his wife inside the palace.

"You were supposed to be mine…" Nehelenia said from behind a tree and watched the lunar royals walk through the corridor. Coming out from behind the tree she stood there still, looking at the palace basking with the light of the stars, with Earth as their view. The moon kingdom was indeed a beautiful place.

Her nails dig on the tree's trunk and her eyes started to fill with tears.

"I am going to be queen of this all" she let out an evil laugh.

Serenity gasped "Is something wrong dear?" Athan held her hand on the dinner table.

The lunar queen lowered her eyes "Yes…I just felt like if somebody else was here"

Athan frowned "Somebody else?"

Serenity smiled at her husband "I'm probably just imaging things"

Athan looked away **"I hope it's not you the one that's near…Nehelenia"**

Endymion was in his chambers playing with his wooden horses in silence, Aurea was there with him. She watched him and found it strange that he wasn't making any noise like he normally did when he played.

"Endy, are you alright?"

The young prince turned to look at her and nodded his head, but then lowered his gaze once again. Aurea knew something wasn't right, he was never this quiet. Sitting next to him on the carpet she ran a hand through his dark hair and smiled.

"Did something happen today while you were with Obelix?"

Endymion stayed silent and stopped moving his hand that was holding a wooden horse "No…" he said softly.

"Dear, you know you can tell me anything…right?" Aurea asked and placed her on his shoulder. The young prince nodded his head.

"I would never judge you…never, ever" Aurea said softly and sat back on her chair.

Endymion turned to see the flickering fire at the hearth that was in his room "I hurt Obelix today…" his voice was full of sadness and worry.

Aurea stopped reading the book she had in her hands and watch the young prince with a serious face "What do you mean dear?" she kneeled again next to him.

Endymion lowered his face, Aurea could see a tear running through his cheek "Endy, please tell me"

"I was with him today…and he was teaching me a new prayer but I couldn't stay still on the position he asked me to be so I fell, he tried to stop me and I held his hand and sparks came out of it, I hurt Obelix's hand"

Aurea tried to hide her shock and placed a hand on his shoulder again "Did Obelix tell you something after what happened?"

Endymion shook his head no softly, his head still low "But I felt very strange…like if I provoked the sparks that came out of my hand…"

"Dear, that happens often…" Aurea said, not sure what she was about to say next.

Endymion raised his face "Often? Has it happened to you too?" he asked with interest.

Aurea waved her hand "Of course, of course!" she let out a nervous laugh "It happens to me _all_ the time!"

The young prince frowned "Why does it happen?"

Aurea's eyes widened "**This boy is very sharp" **"Um…well…" and then a good reason came to her mind "When you cause some friction with your body it can cause electricity, and it looks like you are producing some kind of sparks" she sweat dropped.

Endymion stayed silent for a few minutes making Aurea feel worried; if he came out with another question she wouldn't know what to say to him to explain what happened to him earlier that day. Endymion looked at his small hand and then back at Aurea. After a few more seconds he gave her a big smile.

"I didn't hurt him then"

Aurea shook her head no "No dear, that is a normal thing"

Endymion stood up and hugged her "I love you Aurea mama" she said softly.

Aurea's eyes started to fill with tears and returned the hug "I love you too…" she saved the day for today. The prince's powers were starting to manifest, just like Obelix told Gaia they would eventually. She felt bad because she had to lie to him but it was Gaia's decision after all.

Serenity was in a rocking chair in her chambers singing a lullaby to her daughter, the sun had hidden already and the sky was full of stars. The small candle lamps on the walls were lit giving a soft glow to the room.

"You are so beautiful…" the queen whispered.

The candles started to flicker and soon the fire died leaving the room in complete darkness. Serenity gasped and turned quickly "Yes, so beautiful…"

"Athan?" Serenity asked with a trembling voice.

A deadly and cold laugh echoed in the room making baby Serenity cry "Who's there?" Serenity called out loud.

The candles lit again in one swift movement revealing a woman in black near the window, Serenity eyes widened in shock "Nehelenia…" she said.

The dark queen gave the white queen a devilish smile "Your beloved is not here, but me"

Serenity brought her daughter closer "What do you want!"

"Oh, did I wake your baby up?..." Nehelenia chuckled.

"I asked what do you want. What are you doing here!" Serenity asked.

Nehelenia smiled "I came to meet your lovely daughter, I didn't get an invitation..." she started to walk around the room "And well…we are relatives after all"

"You are not any relative of mine" Serenity snapped.

"Don't deny your own family Serenity…things could get ugly…" Nehelenia threatened "I heard your child is beautiful…"

"Leave this place immediately!" Serenity raised her voice.

"Is this how you treat your guests? No tea? Ho hugs?" Nehelenia chuckled.

Athan walked into the room minutes later, the dark queen turned and a smile plastered on her face "My..." she said.

Athan's blue eyes widened in shock "You…"

"Long time no see…" Nehelenia said softly.

Serenity looked at her husband and then at the dark queen "What?"

Nehelenia turned to see the white queen and smiled "It's a shame you didn't send me an invitation to meet your dreadful daughter. After all we are family…and we keep things between family" Nehelenia turned to see Athan "Right Athan?"

Athan remained silent, Serenity looked at her husband "What does she mean Athan?"

Athan gave Nehelenia a dead glare, making her laugh "Yes, Athan…what do I mean?"

Athan stayed silent and knew it was no turning back.

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**This author is a little sad today, what can cheer her up? Oh! I know...a review :)**

**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters.**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: **_A special thank you to the people who have reviewed the last chapters, I was thinking the other day of all the readers who reviewed the first season and started to wonder if they were still there reading this one, I know... reviews are not important for a story but anyways...I just wanted to let you know that I have you present in my mind everytime I post a new chapter and if you are there, reading this second part od the story I just want to tell you, Hi and thank you :) Enjoy._

**Previously on chapter twenty three**

_Athan's blue eyes widened in shock "You…"_

_"Long time no see…" Nehelenia said softly._

_Serenity looked at her husband and then at the dark queen "What?"_

_Nehelenia turned to see the white queen and smiled "It's a shame you didn't send me an invitation to meet your dreadful daughter. After all we are family…and we keep things between family" Nehelenia turned to see Athan "Right Athan?"_

_Athan remained silent, Serenity looked at her husband "What does she mean Athan?"_

_Athan gave Nehelenia a dead glare, making her laugh "Yes, Athan…what do I mean?"_

_

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**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter twenty four**

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"What are you saying?" Serenity asked again.

Athan remained silent, his eyes fixed on the dark queen who was enjoying the moment, turning to see the white queen she smiled "Did you ever wonder why Athan acted so cold sometimes towards you?"

Serenity's eyes widened "What?"

"Stop this Nehelenia!" Athan raised his voice.

"I want you to suffer the same way I did…because of you" Nehelenia said to Athan with a cold voice "While your husband slept with you he was thinking of me…while your husband said he was at meetings he was with me"

Serenity gasped, her eyes went wide in shock "What are you saying?" she asked with a trembling voice.

Nehelenia turned to look at the white queen and smiled "I am the woman who slept with your husband all this time…"

Serenity's eyes started to fill with tears "That is not true…that is not true! You are lying!" she yelled, exasperated, angry. The words from the black queen filled her mind like a cold dark cloud and inside her chest she could feel her heart breaking in thousands of pieces. Her husband had betrayed her, the love of her life, the man who swore to protect her for the rest of their lives broke her heart.

Nehelenia laughed "The perfume on his clothes…that perfume was mine"

Serenity held her child with all her might "No…" she breathed, with tears on her eyes.

"Serenity, don't believe her!" Athan said out loud.

Nehelenia turned to look at him "I told you how much you were going to regret it, that is what you deserve for having abandoned me"

"You damned witch…" Athan said lowly.

Serenity started to tremble with her child on her arms. Athan saw she was about to break in tears "Serenity…"

"How could you?" Serenity raised her face, her lavender eyes were full of hurt and tears that were threatening to fall.

"How could you do this to me? To our daughter?" Serenity said.

"Everything was going fine until you got pregnant with that stupid child!" Nehelenia raised her voice, raising her arms she started to create a dark aura around her and that soon started to fill the room.

Luna opened the door and gasped by what she saw "Luna, get out of here! Alert the guards! Go find Ares!" Serenity yelled.

Luna's burgundy eyes widened in fear and tried to run to the door when Nehelenia closed it in one swift move "You are not going anywhere…you all are going to die" she turned her face to Serenity "And that child goes first"

"Don't you dare to touch my baby!" Serenity yelled.

"That sacred stone is going to be mine! Everything will be mine!" Nehelenia raised her hands in the air, Serenity started choking because of the black magic.

"Serenity!" Athan called her out loud and tried to stand up.

Luna managed to get close the queen, Serenity looked at her "Luna, take Serenity and hide"

Luna shook her head no "Your Majesty…what about you?"

"Don't worry about me, do what I say!" Serenity handed her daughter to Luna and turned to look at Nehelenia "You leave this place immediately!"

Nehelenia laughed "What are you going to do little cousin? Put me on the dark side of the moon just like your mother did?" her cold hand grabbed her neck with a strong grip "It's time for you to give up your crown…and your husband"

Serenity tried to release herself from Nehelenia's grip, Athan stood up and ran towards the dark queen "Release her!" putting his sword on her neck.

Nehelenia noticed the deadly blade cutting her skin "Take that blade away from me"

"Release my wife!" he said in a deadly tone"

"Remember all the nights we spent together? We can have that once I kill this pest and that dreadful infant" Nehelenia said.

Athan pressed the sword against her neck with more force "I said release her"

"Never! I want her to die!" the dark queen's grip became stronger on Serenity's neck making her cough "I've had enough of you" she threw the white queen away from her and turned to attack Athan, pushing the blade aside she sent a dark blast at him causing to fall a few meters away from her

"Haven't you noticed yet, how pitiful you are?"

Athan started to cough blood, Nehelenia kneeled in front of him and grabbed him by the hair "I will make you pay for what you did…and you know how? Killing your child and then your wife" she let go of his hair and walked to where Luna was hiding.

"Don't think you can hide from me…" the dark queen said while she got closer to her.

Dark spider webs started to form on the walls, the windows were sealed, the room turned pitch black and only the soft light of the candles were the one illuminating the room but still the room had an evil presence.

Serenity tried to stand up but she was very hurt "Luna…" she managed to say.

Nehelenia stood in front of Luna and looked at her with evil eyes, then looked at the child in her arms "Finally…my revenge will be complete! I will kill you in one swift move and the sacred stone, the royal crown and the entire universe will be mine!" the black queen laughed.

Athan raised his head and watched in horror what Nehelenia was about to do, stretching his arm he tried to grab his sword.

"Goodbye little niece…" Nehelenia said softly, a dark shard of glass appeared on her hand.

Serenity tried to stand up but she could focus well, tears started to fall desperately from her eyes "Serenity!" she yelled.

Athan moved his fingers trying to get his sword while Nehelenia was ready to kill the baby.

"Stay away from her!" Athan said making Nehelenia turned to see him giving Luna the opportunity to run next to Queen Serenity.

"Queen…" Luna whispered, Serenity managed to sit on the floor and checked if her child was fine "She's okay Your Majesty" Luna said, Serenity nodded her eyes were full of hurt, sadness and she was silently crying.

"What are you going to do? Kill me?" Nehelenia laughed and turned to stab the shard of glass on the princess which didn't found because Luna had run away.

"Where are you?" Nehelenia cursed.

"Run Luna…" Serenity coughed.

Luna's eyes were full of fear but did what Serenity asked her to do and ran to the other side of the room. Nehelenia disintegrated and appeared in front of her "Who do you think you are mocking?" Nehelenia raised her hand; pointing at them she laughed "DIE!"

Athan ran as fast as he could and pushed Luna with the baby aside and took the stab for them, Nehelenia's eyes widened in shock "WHAT!"

Serenity watched her husband being stabbed with horror eyes "ATHAN!" she yelled.

Athan looked at the shard of black glass filling his body with venom and dark energy and fell on his knees to the ground.

Nehelenia walked away from him "What have you done?"

Athan looked up at her "I promised my daughter I would protect her even if I had to do it with my own life…" she coughed and fell to the floor.

Serenity stood up and started to walk towards her husband "Athan…don't close your eyes…"

Nehelenia was about to send a blast at Serenity when Athan threw his sword at her, stabbing her on the stomach "AHHHGH!"

Nehelenia looked at the sword on her abdomen and took it out, laughing she turned to look at Serenity "It's over…" she said.

"No…it is not over" Serenity raised her hands and closed her eyes, before her a scepter appeared.

Nehelenia's eyes widened "What are you doing?"

"What Mother should have done since the beginning…" Serenity started to summon the power of the Ginzuishou.

"Sacred stone, bless me with your power and help me vanish the darkness form this place. In the name of the moon…you are punished!" Serenity threw a blast of white energy at Nehelenia.

"NOOOOOOO!" the dark queen yelled.

"GO BACK TO WHERE YOU BELONG…THE DARKNESS…" the mirror in front of Nehelenia started to move, the dark queen watched it with horror "NO…DON'T...NOOOO!"

The mirror started to suck like a black hole of the dark energy that was surrounding the room, the webs and finally Nehelenia's body "I CAN'T LIVE THERE! NOOOOO" she tried to send a blast of dark energy but the power of the sacred stone was too strong that started to fill the entire palace.

"What is happening inside the Queen's chambers?" Artemis asked to the guards.

"We can't go in!" the guards said after they pounded on the door.

Inside the room, the white light started to fade; Luna came out from where she was hiding and made sure the princess was alright.

Nehelenia tried to get out of the mirror, her hair was disheveled and her deep red blood soaked the front part of her dress. Her pale eyes watched with delight the scene before her and let out a chuckle.

"You may have put me on a seal stronger than your mother's…she chuckled "But here is my present to you Queen of the White Moon"

Serenity turned to look at the dark mirror in front of her with horror eyes.

"Darkness will rise once again and death will chase the Princess's life. The heir of the White Moon shall meet darkness and will never get to wear the royal crown as Queen. That is my curse, that is my present for you… little cousin" Nehelenia said with a sultry voice before her figure vanished in the darkness inside the mirror.

Serenity's pearled mirror soon cracked and fell into millions of little pieces impossible to get back.

The white queen swallowed and tried to wipe the tears off her face, Nehelenia's words still echoing in her head.

A few things were broken and the furniture was all around the room, Serenity walked to where Athan was lying and kneeled next to him, her tears couldn't hold any longer "Athan…" she called softly "Athan…please…wake up…"

Athan turned his face towards her and looked at her with sad eyes "S-Serenity…are you…alright?" he said softly.

"Athan…" Serenity moved his blonde bangs away from his blue eyes "Everything is going to be alright…I'll summon the power of the Ginzuishou once more to heal you…"

"No…" Athan said.

"What?" Serenity gasped.

"It is too late…" Athan whispered "This can't be healed"

"Athan…you are bleeding too much…I have to…" Serenity trailed off.

"If you use the crystal once again…your energy will run out…and you need to be alright…"

Serenity's eyes widened in fear "What are you saying? We are going to be alright…for Serenity…"

Athan smiled at his wife, tears started to fall from his eyes "My beautiful Serenity…I fell in love with you since the day I laid eyes on you…"

Serenity started crying "Athan…don't talk like that…you are going to be fine…"

"Where is Serenity? Is she alright?" the king asked between coughs.

"She's with Luna…she's safe" Serenity said.

"Serenity…listen to me…" Athan started to cough blood "I will always love you…I know I failed you…I know I made you cry countless times…please…forgive me…"

"Athan…"

"Please, forgive me…" Athan said again.

"I forgive you…I love you…" Serenity said between sobs.

"Take good care of our daughter…and let her be with a good man..." Athan said.

"I promise…" Serenity said.

"I…love…you…" Athan whispered and sighed for the very last time.

Serenity's eyes widened in shock "Athan…wake up Athan…ATHAN!" she cried.

Luna's eyes started to fill with tears and turned to the door that opened minutes later, Artemis was the first to walk inside and spotted Luna then turned to see Serenity and the dead king.

Guards came in after Artemis and fell silent when they saw the queen on the floor crying.

"Artemis…" Serenity said between sobs "Go and call for Chronos…please…"

Artemis's eyes were full of horror, nodding his head he walked out of the room and went to do what he was asked.

"Your Majesty…" the second in command of the army said.

Serenity turned to look at him "Please, leave us…until High God Chronos gets here…" she said with a sore voice.

The guards left the room closing the door behind the last man Luna stood there crying in silence, Serenity turned to look at her "Take Serenity to her chambers and please, stay with her…"

"Your Majesty…" Luna called softly.

"I need to be alone with my husband…I need to say goodbye…" Serenity said.

Luna calmed the princess and walked out of the room as well closing the door behind her.

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**The author has been having some hard times, **

**If you liked it, why not? write a small review ;)**

**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: **_Thank you for all your reviews, I really would like to read more from you... and like you said, Athan was kind of a jerk to Serenity I know...but well, death is always unexpected and unwanted. A new stage is about to begin...so stay tunned. Enjoy._

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter twenty five**

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Artemis's steps echoed on the floor, walking past the two tall doors he entered the Lord of Time's throne room, swallowing hard he kept walking until he stopped a few meters away from Chronos' throne.

The Lord of time smiled slightly, knowing who the man in white tunic was "You have come all over from the Moon, what you have to tell me must be very important"

He knelt before the God of time and lowered his head in respect "Her Majesty Queen Serenity asked me to call for your assistance to the White Palace"

Chronos frowned "I do not sense any paradox in time…is she alright?" his voice was full of concern.

"King Athan is dead…" Artemis's voice echoed in the room, causing Chronos to stand up immediately.

"What are you saying?" the Lord of time lowered his gaze.

"We were attacked…and…" Artemis trailed off and raised his head "Queen Serenity is devastated"

Chronos turned to the doors behind him and closed his eyes **"You need to be here, your presence is required with urgency"**

In a flash of deep blue and black a man in a black attire appeared. A man with black hair, tied up in a low ponytail; his grey eyes soon after opened revealing all the depth he represented.

Artemis tried to dissimulate his fear for the God of the Underworld; he had never seen him in his life and heard he was a man with a complex character.

Chronos turned to look at him "Did you feel it?"

"A new soul has entered the underworld, it is still trapped" Hades deep voice echoed.

"Are you aware of which soul are we talking about?" Chronos asked.

Hades turned to look at Artemis kneeling on the floor "The Moon Kingdom has lost its King…" then turned to look at Chronos "I will have to go to take the rest of his body so his soul can be judged and taken to the place it belongs"

Chronos nodded and turned to look at Artemis "We will follow you, Artemis…"

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Serenity caressed his face one last time and kissed his forehead, her tears fell on his face "I always loved you…and always will…"

The Gods of Time and Death walked through the long corridor behind Artemis, several men from the army were standing outside the royal chambers. Artemis stopped in front of the door and hesitated in opening it.

"We will take care from here Artemis…" said Chronos with his hand on the knob, Artemis nodded and waited outside like the rest of the army.

Both High Gods entered the room, Chronos looked around and saw the mess, walking further more he saw Serenity sitting next to her dead husband; feeling their strong presence she raised her tear stained face at them.

"Chronos…" she whispered.

Hades walked to them without saying a word and looked at Athan's lifeless body, closing his eyes he placed one hand on his forehead and opened them minutes after and turned to look at Serenity.

"His soul will rest in the underworld and will drink of Mnemosyne's fountain water so he can be sent to rest in Eliseus Fields" Hades said and placed his hands on the king's chest, a strong energy started to flow from them and filled Athan's lifeless body with it turning it into a sphere of light blue energy.

Serenity watched how her husband's body disintegrated, her eyes started to fill with hot tears again. Hades stood up with the energy made from his soul in his hands. It was time to say goodbye.

Serenity stood up next and looked at it and then directed her gaze at Hades "Thank you…" she whispered.

Hades nodded "It is very ironic how an immortal can actually cease to exist. But one thing is life and the other is the energy that nourish it, if one thing is taken away from the other there is a misbalance…and turns into a mere mortal body. In the end, our immortality cannot be eternal…"

Serenity watched the blue sphere on Hades' hands "We Gods have an uncertain life…"

Hades sighed and looked at Chronos "It is time…"

Chronos moved his staff and opened the link that connected their realm to the underworld with the help of Hades the room started fill with a dark blue light; a hole underneath their feet was formed. Hades turned to look at Serenity "He will rest in peace…" walking to the circle on the ground he soon disappeared. With a swift movement, Chronos closed the gate again.

"Athan…" the lunar queen sobbed.

Serenity's face was swollen for so much crying; her eyes were red and incredibly puffy, her usual style was down and her dress was wrinkled and stained.

Chronos hugged her tight and let her cry her heart out for another while. He knew that she called him not because she couldn't ask for Hades but because she needed him to be with her; he would be the one that could help her deal with the pain she was having, but he needed to know what happened.

"We need to get out of this room" Chronos' deep voice reached Serenity's confused and hurt heart.

"I can't Chronos…If I leave…I don't think I would be able to return and that means I'll have to leave what we had here…all those memories…" Serenity said softly.

"Serenity…"

Serenity raised her face at her friend "What am I going to do now Chronos? He was my husband, my friend…the father of my child…" the white queen gasped "Serenity…"

Chronos sat Serenity on a chair; kneeling in front of her he moved her bangs away from her face "You have your daughter that is going to need all your protection and guidance"

"He had an affair…" her voice was raspy and cold, new tears started to fall from her tired eyes.

Chronos looked at her with wide eyes "What are you saying?"

"I suspected it… we had so many difficult times…but I never imagined who might be the woman sleeping with him…"

"Why do you know all this?" Chronos wanted to know what happened, placing a hand on the white queen's shoulder "Serenity…what happened? Who killed Athan?"

Serenity stood up, wiping the tears off her face with her hands brusquely "Nehelenia…"

"What?" Chronos stood up "What was she doing here?"

"She came to meet Serenity…but she had so much hate towards me, my daughter and my mother…and…"she trailed off.

"And…?"

Serenity lowered her gaze "Athan had an affair with her…"

Chronos remained silent with wide eyes; he didn't know what to say. Serenity walked around the room and started to pick some things from the floor.

"Nehelenia was the woman who stole his thoughts those hard years I had with him. Nehelenia have always wanted this kingdom…her ambition took her very far… when she appeared here, she looked hurt and couldn't stand the fact that Athan and I were having a wonderful relationship and now had a child. She couldn't stand it and ended up killing him…" Serenity placed a broken vase near the hearth of her chamber's living room.

"I don't know what to say…I thought his behavior was because of Metallia…" Chronos said, helping her move a small couch back to its normal position. He knew she was doing that to distract her mind; the room didn't have any blood traces, just misplaced furniture and broken glass.

"She cursed Serenity, that is what worries me… even though I managed to use the sacred crystal and sealed her away on the mirror, she still cursed my child…" she sat on one of the small couches, Chronos followed.

"We all take care of you…you are now the head of the Alliance"

"I don't care about the Alliance anymore Chronos…that's something I built with him…and now that he's…" her voice was starting to break again and her eyes started to fill with fresh tears.

"Now it is more than ever that you have to keep the Alliance going…protecting your child was his last wish…we all going to fulfill that wish" Chronos held Serenity's hand.

"I will go and talk to the High Gods about what happened and start to prepare the funeral ceremony" Chronos stood up "Please…don't be alone in this room"

Serenity raised her head and looked at him "Take me with Luna and my child…please…" Chronos nodded and extended his hand.

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"We got another announcement letter from Olympus…" Eris said with a soft voice while holding her child.

Ares raised his head and extended his hand "Did you read it?"

The dark haired woman shook her head no slowly "No…but its seal is black…"

Ares' grey eyes widened in surprise "Let me see…" he took the letter from Eris's hand, breaking the seal he started reading its content and paled "Oh…God…no…"

Eris noticed his sudden change of mood "What does it say?" asked with worry.

The piece of parchment fell from Ares' hand "Athan is dead…"

Eris' dark violet eyes widened in shock "It can't be!" her voice was full of surprise "H-How…" she trailed off.

Ares stood up immediately and went to change his clothes "I need to go to the funeral ceremony…Serenity must be devastated…"

Eris sat on the bed "Serenity needs a friend to be with her…" her voice were full of sadness.

"I will go as well…" Eris stood up and lay Mars on the bed and went to change her clothes as well.

Ares turned to the window of their chambers and sighed, his eyes were fixated on the blue planet hanging in the dark sky **"She needs you beautiful…she needs you to be here…"** he thought.

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Serenity arrived at Olympus, she was wearing a half sleeve dark silver dress, her hair was down and tied in a low ponytail her hair was so long it almost reach her ankles. In her arms was Serenity asleep rolled up in a blanket with the same color as her mother's dress. Her heels clicked on the marble floor softly, Luna and Artemis walked behind her in silence.

Aphrodite saw her arrive and immediately walked up to her "Serenity…" she breathed.

The lunar queen tried to smile at her friend but with no avail, she felt empty inside "Aphrodite…" she whispered.

"Serenity…I'm so sorry for what happened…" Aphrodite placed a hand on her shoulder "Is there something I can do for you?"

Serenity looked at her with a sad expression "Nobody can bring him back…" her voice was full of hurt, she lowered her head and sighed "I'm sorry…I'm just…"

Aphrodite smiled "I understand Serenity…I know that no matter how many words we tell you, the wound in your heart is very deep…" Aphrodite turned to look at baby Serenity and cooed "Look at you… a beautiful pearl"

Serenity kissed her friend on the cheek "Thank you…" she said softly, walking to the audience room she took her sit on her silver chair with her daughter on her arms. Luna and Artemis sat next to her.

The Higher Gods were seated on their respective seats but this time Hades spoke first.

"I was very shocked when I learned that someone I knew personally had passed away. As you all know by the letter we sent to you notifying the circumstances of this small reunion, the White Moon Kingdom has lost its King…they were attacked unexpectedly and this cause the King's sudden death. To let his widow know, Mnemosyne has his soul as we speak and soon it will be taken to rest to Eliseus Fields next to the fallen but most honored warriors."

"To one honorable King who died protecting his family and Kingdom…" said Zeus "As he would have liked, the Alliance will strengthen making the Moon Kingdom the strongest and head of the Alliance"

Serenity stood up, her child on her arms "I want to thank you for your condolences, your support is what is going to keep me moving forward and the strength to protect my child…and it's because of this miracle of us, my daughter, Serenity…the link I will always have to his memory, that I will take care of this Alliance the same way he would have taken care of…that is why, in his name I call this era, the Silver Millennium…and it will be, the era of change, hope and success…"

Every god present started to clap their hands in a way to give Serenity's their support and acceptance of the new Alliance.

Serenity lowered her gaze and looked at her sleeping daughter "I will always love you Athan…no matter how much it hurts me being without you…but I swear to dedicate my life to protect this alliance and our precious child…" Serenity whispered to the air, hoping her late husband could hear her in his eternal resting place.

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**Dear readers thank you and please keep giving me your support.**

**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters. Thank you.**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N:** _This might sound weird but I totally forgot yesterday (yes, because it is 12.36 am right now, ups!) was friday and if it wasn't for princesa de la luna I would have keep thinking that today was friday and not saturday...my mind has been elsewhere lately, sucks, but oh well, a day isn't much a difference so here it goes a very juicy chapter...and when I say juicy I really mean it because it is a little longer than usual. I hope you like it. Enjoy._

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter twenty six**

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The warmth of the sun started to feel with more intensity, summer was close to arrive on earth which meant another year was passing by very quickly. If there was something that didn't stop was time and for some it was something that it was just supposed to happen, a new beginning while to others it was only a way to heal deep wounds.

The Golden Kingdom was finally at peace; the terran queen's past finally seemed to be guarded and forgotten, as she would say "Everyday is a new beginning for some and a new opportunity for others" and in some way she was right, but she didn't know something greater was about to happen very soon.

In a large room near one of the gardens known as the pebbled room, was Leonidas teaching the prince some of his basic lessons in sword fighting.

"You need to be aware of your opponent, now lower your weapon and turn to the other side" the general said out loud.

Endymion turned and fell, his hand unwillingly let go of the wooden sword he was holding "Uhg!" crouching, he sighed in frustration.

Leonidas chuckled and walked closer to him "Are you alright?"

Endymion raised his head and frowned "Yes…it's just that I cannot do what you are asking me to do"

"You need to be well aware of your surroundings, listen and concentrate…Obelix's lessons should be of help" Leonidas extended his hand to help the prince stand up. The prince always showed a special interest in sword fighting and asked his father to teach him a few maneuvers constantly but unfortunately because of his lack of time he couldn't teach him as much as he would like to, so he asked Leonidas if he could train with him.

Since Leonidas started teaching him the basics he knew Endymion wasn't an ordinary boy just starting to learn how to fight, there was something in him that even when he fell and had flaws in his movements, he could become more than just a prince with a sword. He knew he could become an ultimate fighter, it was something that was in his blood, the same passion his mother had when she fought the Lord of war many years ago; wiping the sweat off his forehead with his forearm the general smiled at the prince.

"You are very skilled, you just need to practice a little more" Leonidas positioned again "You have excellent aiming"

The prince nodded not trying to lose his focus; the sweat made his bangs stick to his face and a few droplets of it could be seen falling all the way through his cheeks, gasping for air he positioned again and ready to make the first move he took hold his weapon again and looked at the general with a serious face "Beware of my…wooden weapon" he said with sarcasm, pointing at Leonidas.

Leonidas laughed "The sword is not what is going to give you the power"

Endymion arched a brow "Excuse me? The weapon is what hurts you"

Leonidas chuckled "Are you positive about that?"

"Yes…" Endymion ran to the general and tried to attack him but Leonidas moved faster blocking his blow with his own wooden sword.

"You are too desperate Endymion. You need to be calmer" the man spoke again, this time with a tone of warning.

Endymion turned and tried to attack him but again his blow was blocked "How do you do that!" he asked in frustration.

Leonidas chuckled "I had to study and practice…just like you are doing it right now"

Endymion walked around the general "Papa is incredibly fast as well…" he sighed and turned again to attack the general. The two wooden swords crashed together making a hollow sound.

"You need to be aware of your surroundings and study your opponent's technique so you can attack your enemy right where his flaws are" a feminine voice distracted the prince.

Endymion turned when he heard the sound of heels clicking against the pebbled floor; Leonidas smiled and bowed his head "Your Majesty…"

Queen Gaia smiled at the general "Good afternoon Leonidas"

"H-How do you know that?" Endymion asked still amazed, lowering his sword he looked at his mother walk closer to him.

Queen Gaia walked over her son and took his hand positioning in a the better way for defense and attack "This is how you hold a sword" she said softly.

"Mama…do you know how to fight?" Endymion asked, a mix of curiosity and surprise in his voice.

Leonidas turned to see Gaia and smiled, Gaia returned the smile and turned to look at her son "Your father taught me a few things"

"This is too hard…" Endymion sighed, lowering his arm.

"Dear, you need to master every movement when it comes to sword fighting" Gaia said, resting her arm on his shoulders.

Leonidas chuckled "Your mother is right Endymion; let's call it a day, shall we?"

Endymion sighed "Fine…"

"We will train early tomorrow again" Leonidas said taking the prince's training sword away from his hand.

"Don't look disappointed dear" Queen Gaia placed a hand on her son's face.

"It's just that…I want to become a good fighter" Endymion's young voice said with a hint of sadness.

Gaia smiled "I like that spirit in you and that is why Leonidas is training you. You have learned so much…but sword fighting isn't just taking a sword and attack an enemy; you need to make a strategy and think what is best for you to do" the terran queen held his hand "Mind to walk with me?"

Endymion smiled at his mother "No mama, let's go"

"We will see you later Leonidas" Gaia said to the general, the man nodded and bowed his head again in respect.

They walked out of the training room towards the main court and to their usual spot under the cherry tree "Mama, you know too much about being a warrior"

Gaia smiled and sat on the marble bench under the tree's shade with care of not hurting herself, her health had become incredibly delicate, the once strong mighty Titan, Goddess of Earth was now a paper leaf that needed to take care even from the air.

"Well…I have been married with your father for quite a while now…and well, you are only fifteen years old, you still need to grow older to know more things"

Endymion sat next to her and lowered his head "I wonder if I'm good at this…"

Gaia raised a brow "What do you mean?"

The young prince raised his head and sighed "I don't know…I want to be a good prince…I want to be able to protect you…"

Gaia placed a hand on her son's shoulders "You are a wonderful prince and you take good care of me. Your love is what keeps me well"

Endymion smiled sadly "I just don't like to see you ill…"

Ill. That was something she couldn't help, Gaia was responsible for the kind of life she was now living because of her decisions. From being a strong goddess she was now a woman with a weak heart but very much in love; she couldn't tell him the whole truth. Truth, if he only knew that becoming a fighter was in his veins; Gaia looked at her son and admired his pure heart and beauty and knew he wasn't destined to be like her brother, her father or even her but something greater.

Gaia raised her head and looked up to the sky "When you grow older…well, things certainly change. But that doesn't mean you are less good than you are now"

The young prince turned to see his mother, a kind smile was formed on his face "I will be a good warrior one day I promise, I will always going to protect you"

"And I will always going to protect…you" Gaia touched the tip of his nose with her index finger and in a quick move she placed a hand to her mouth and started coughing.

"Mama? Are you feeling alright?" Endymion asked worried placing his arm around her shoulder protectively.

Queen Gaia nodded "Yes dear, you know how this is…"

"Let's go inside. You need to take your medicine" Endymion stood up and extended his hand out to his mother, Gaia took it and walked slowly back inside the palace.

Aurea walked to the queen's side in a hurry through the long open hall "There you are! I was looking all over for you!"

Gaia's eyes widened "I needed to take a walk"

Aurea frowned "What you need is to take your medicines"

Endymion chuckled "It's my fault Aurea, I was training and when I saw her I couldn't let pass the opportunity to walk with her"

Aurea's expression softened "Who wouldn't like to have a walk by your side?"

Endymion blushed "Aurea…" he hushed.

"What?" Aurea asked.

"Remember I'm a tough warrior..." his boyish voice echoed in the hall.

"My, is this were we all reunite from now on?"

Gaia chuckled "We just happened to coincide"

Eros walked and kissed his wife on the cheek. His features just like Gaia's have matured, soft wrinkles started to frame his blue eyes and his once dark chocolate brown hair was now tainted with some grays. But that didn't seem to bother him much; age and genes had made a marvelous work on him, his age was just an accessory to his handsome face.

"What were you doing?" he asked with a mischievous smile.

Gaia chuckled when she saw his face "I just needed to take a walk…and I found this gorgeous boy that happens to be my son and couldn't resist the urge to go and talk with him"

Gaia features changed into a more sophisticated way. Her once dark hair was now more a chocolate tone; her once golden green eyes were now a soft hazel color. Even though she didn't have wrinkles, she did look older; her beauty only accentuated instead of doing the contrary.

"Dear, you know you have to rest" Eros said.

"It's my fault papa, I know I should have taken her back to your chambers but I couldn't say no to her…" Endymion said making his father smile, placing one hand on his son's shoulder he chuckled.

"I understand son, your mother is enchanting. When I met her…" the king turned to look at his adorable wife "…I knew she was the one and since then I couldn't let her leave my side"

Gaia blushed and held her husband's hand "And I couldn't leave yours…"

"Well too much for a mushy moment, you need to take your medicines anyway. So, off we go" Aurea interrupted the romantic moment and hurried the queen to walk with her back to her chambers.

Gaia laughed softly "What is it with you today?" she asked while walking with Aurea through the long hall.

Eros blushed and coughed a little "How was your training today son?"

Endymion sighed and looked down "Hard"

Eros smiled and placed a hand around his son's shoulder "It was hard for me as well when I started training…"

"Did grandfather train you?" Endymion asked curious looking back at his father.

Eros smiled and sighed "Yes a little, then I was sent to the army"

Endymion's eyes widened in interest "The army?" he turned to look at his father. The word army caught his full attention.

"Yes, I met Leonidas there" Eros said smiling "Don't worry son, you will learn eventually; sword fighting is about strategy, skills and intelligence and you have all the above, besides, Leonidas is very good he will train you well"

"That's what mama said!" Endymion said excitedly.

Eros smiled at his son "You will learn everything you need to learn"

Endymion nodded and smiled "I think I'll go practice some more…" he turned to leave to the training room again.

Eros nodded and patted his son on the shoulder "Do not exceed to much in your movements…" the terran king sighed while he watched his son walk away; he was impressed by Endymion's consistency, there was no doubt that he was their son. Chuckling to himself Eros returned to his duties at the study.

The double doors of the royal chambers opened and the terran queen walked inside followed by her personal maid and friend.

"Aurea, I told you I felt fine today…" Gaia sighed, Aurea turned to closed the door but she only pushed it, leaving it half closed without her noticing.

The brunette woman sighed and placed a hand on her forehead, this happened very often now, she would discuss with her over her health and her stubbornness "Gaia…you know your health is not to be taken for granted. You need to take care…"

Gaia sat on a deep red couch in the small living room and looked at Aurea while she walked around the room looking for her pills "I know I'm sick most of the time, but that doesn't mean I have to stay here all day, everyday"

Aurea sat next to her and placed the pills on Gaia's hand while she held a glass of water "We want you to live long enough. We want you to be safe"

"Hmm…" Gaia muttered and put the pills inside her mouth, taking the small crystal glass of water she took a sip to swallow the medicines with more ease.

Aurea arched a brow "Let me see"

Gaia frowned "What?" she gave back the glass of water to Aurea.

"Let me see if you swallowed them…" Aurea tried to open Gaia's mouth with her index finger.

The terran queen moved Aurea's hand away "What? No!..."

"I need to make sure you are taking them!" the brunette said with more insistence "It's for your own good…the other day I found the pills I gave you in the morning rolled on a tissue"

Gaia pursed her lips and rolled her eyes "Those pills make me feel tired…"

"Open it" Aurea said not really listening to the queen's complaining.

Gaia sighed and had no other choice but to open her mouth slightly "Don't treat me like a child" she said pretending annoyance.

"Don't act like one" Aurea responded.

After a while practicing his new lessons, Endymion decided to go to his chambers to take a bath and have some rest but he remembered his mother needed to take her medicines and now with more reasons because he saw her coughing constantly when they were on the garden, on his way there he took a red flower from one of the vases in the hallway, when he was about to enter he noticed the door was half open and overheard his mother talking to Aurea in a very serious tone.

"That doesn't depend on me or us Aurea…you know that…" the terran queen sighed.

Endymion frowned, he knew that overhearing other people's conversations was rude but hearing his mother speak with so much worry in her voice worried him, standing next to the door he remained quiet to hear what the two women were saying.

"But we can do as much as we can…think about your husband, think about your son" Aurea said with worry.

Endymion frowned while he listened Aurea speak.

"I knew this perfectly before having Endymion, we were very aware of what could happen to me if I had a child. To them is an opportunity to have me controlled"

Endymion's blue eyes widened **"What could happen if she had…me?"**

"Yes, giving birth to Endymion brought you to this state, but that is why you need to be careful…that is why we are all so worried about you. You cannot fight them, we cannot fight them…that is why you need to be healthy and we need to look after you" Aurea's voice was determinant.

"Aurea…I don't care, I love my son with all my heart…but I prefer being hurt myself rather than him. I made a promise to him when he was in my arms the day he was born, I will protect him…no matter what" Gaia said softly.

Endymion couldn't believe what he just heard. He was the reason his mother was the way she was, he brought her illness and that made him feel guilty and angry to himself, shaking his head softly he walked away from the door, his eyes were starting to tear and didn't know how to react, he was hurt, if something ever happened to his mother he couldn't stand it; leaning on a pillar he took a few long breaths to try to calm himself before taking a decision. Once he regained his composure he towards the study where he knew his father was working with Leonidas.

Stopping a few meters away from the door he rested his back on a pillar nearby, again, tears formed in his eyes and this time he couldn't fought the urge to cry "It's because of me…you are sick because of me…" he whispered, his fisted hands pounded the pillar behind him.

Raising his head he dried the tears off his face abruptly with his hand, he decided this would be the last time he would cry and stop being just a prince, he wanted to be something more in order to protect his mother.

"I am the one who will protect you mother…I don't know who are _they _but they will not come close this place or you" his voice was determinant.

Walking to the study he knocked on the door and opening it slowly "Can I come in?" Endymion asked.

"Sure, come on in Endymion" Eros answered from his desk.

Endymion closed the door behind him and walked to his father's desk in silence, sighing he gave his father a serious glare "I need to talk with you…"

Eros noticed it was something serious and turned to Leonidas "Could you give me a moment to talk to my son?"

Leonidas nodded and was about to leave the study when Endymion held the general's arm "I want you to be here as well Leonidas. I want you to hear as well"

Leonidas brown eyes widened in surprise and turned to look at the king who had the same expression, Endymion wasn't known to be this serious, he was known to be kind and a very gentle prince. They were well aware he had a strong character underneath his soft demeanor but it was rarely shown.

Eros put his papers aside and stood up "What do you want to talk about with both of us?"

"I want to join the army" Endymion said with determinacy.

Leonidas' eyes widened once again "The army?" and turned to look at Eros.

Endymion nodded not breaking eye contact with his father, Eros looked at his son with concern "Why would you do that? You are learning everything you need here with Leonidas. Obelix is training you as well…why do you want to join the army?"

"The army is not a place you join just for fun Your Highness…and it's not easy either…you won't have the facilities you have here" Leonidas said, trying to reason with the young prince.

"I know and I don't care. If father could do it, then I can do it too…why am I going to have facilities when the real warriors don't have them?" Endymion asked both men.

Eros looked at his son with a serious face "Endymion…being in the army it is not easy at all. You won't be able to have contact with us while you are in training and that could take up to ten years depending on the situation you could be in..."

"I don't care, I'm willing to take the risk" Endymion said again.

Eros sighed and sat on his chair, he knew his son was competitive, smart and strong and that fighting was in his veins, but he wasn't expecting to hear him to take a decision like this with so much seriousness. If Gaia knew of this, she would probably break into tears because this what she was hoping for him not to do. This was what she didn't want him to do, running a hand through his brown hair he lowered his gaze in worry "I need to talk to your mother about this"

"No" Endymion said "No matter what Mother says…I am going"

"What is wrong Endymion? Why this sudden change? Why are you requesting this?" the terran king asked confused a frown marking his handsome face "You cannot take this kind of decisions out of nothing. Does this have something to do with what I mentioned earlier?"

"No father, I want to become a true warrior and the only way to become one is acting like one. I do not want to be a spoiled boy who had everything easy…there are thousands of people fighting out there to keep us safe and I want to be one of them, that is a prince's duty!" Endymion turned to look at Leonidas and then back at his father "That is all I needed to say, I am not asking you to let me go, I'm saying I will go. Good night" the young prince turned and left the study without saying another word, leaving the king and his general surprised by his decision.

"What was that?" Leonidas asked to the king.

Eros sighed and lowered his gaze "What we feared it could happen…this will break Gaia's heart but the truth is... we cannot fight against the inevitable, Endymion is destined to be a warrior"

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**More than three thousand words deserves a review ;) (just kidding, if you want to leave a review awesome if not...well maybe next time although, I would really like to read from you)**

**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters. Thank you.**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N:** _I'm sorry, I tried but I couldn't. I've been having a tremendous load of designing work that it is making my back scream for some rest. Well, here it is what was supposed to be yesterday's chapter, I hope you like it and to read some reviews...this is a 4000 thousand words chapter! I'm amazed of myself. Well, I'm off to keep working...(and it's 11.39 pm ...sucks!) Enjoy! and don;t worry, I'll post on thursday or friday another chapter for you._

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter twenty seven**

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After the talk with Endymion, Eros felt tension in the air and couldn't concentrate in his work; Leonidas tried to calm his thoughts with positive words and even when Eros tried to dismiss the topic it always found its way back to hunt his thoughts.

Deciding it was best for him to left his paperwork for the next morning, he walked back to his chambers in silence stopping a few times to look out the windows from the hallway. He strongly hope his wife was asleep so he could talk to her in the morning or not mention the topic at all, maybe Endymion just said what he said because he mentioned his training days early in the afternoon. Opening the door he entered as much quiet as he could trying not to wake her up but instead of that he saw his wife brushing her dark hair in front of her vanity; the king walked inside the room trying to avoid eye contact with Gaia because he knew she knew him perfectly and that any sign of worry it would affect her.

Sighing, he took his jacket off and hung it along with his cape on the rack across Gaia's vanity; Gaia noticed his serious demeanor and turned to look at him, the king turned his back at her.

"Eros dear, what's the matter?"

Lying was not of Eros' best abilities; closing his eyes, he thought once again if it was a good idea commenting what their son said with such determination and remembered the seriousness in his boyish voice.

Eros sat on their bed with his elbows on his knees and his hand on his face; taking a deep breath he lowered his hands and opened his blue eyes, he had to tell her, otherwise it would be worse for her "Endymion wants to join the army" he said slowly.

Gaia stopped brushing his hair and placed the brush on her vanity "What?", her husband's words made her feel like if her heart had stopped, turning to look at Eros she blinked a couple of times and looked at him with a shocked expression, almost as if she was upset.

"Endymion wants to join the army" the king repeated.

Gaia stood up quickly "You prohibited him to do that, right?" her voice was more an affirmation than a question.

Eros looked at her and frowned "What?" his voice was full of confusion "Gaia…no matter how much we try to protect him, we knew… you of all people knew this would eventually happen"

The queen shook her head in denial "Endymion can't go to the army…" sitting next to her husband on the bed she placed her hands on both sides of her head "He can't…he can't go!"

The king held his wife's hands down and tried to calm her down "Why are you so afraid of him going there?" he asked, trying to reason with her.

Gaia turned to look at Eros with a worried expression "He would be away for so many years…if he leaves, I am not going to be able to protect him, what if his powers manifest…what if he confronts something they send from the heavens? What if…"

Eros placed his index finger on her lips "Endymion is fifteen years old, he's old enough to decide what to do…no matter how much this worries me as well, I have to let him take his own decisions and learn from his experience. I didn't have the opportunity to choose…I think I'll give that opportunity to our son"

Gaia frowned "How can you say that? Is our son we are talking about! You know how much we have fought to keep him safe, to keep us all safe! Why are you doing this to me Eros?" she asked frustrated and hurt. Eros rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed "Gaia, I do not know what happened to him, I do not know what made him take that decision so drastically… but he was different, like if he was hurt, like if he was angry…"

"So are you letting him act out of frustration? Out of anger? What kind of reasonable decision is that? He is fifteen years old!" Gaia raised her voice, tears started to threaten to form in her hazel eyes.

Eros looked at her with a serious expression "Because he is fifteen years old, he needs to make his own decisions, Endymion has the skills…he is better than I ever was when I had his age. The only way to protect him is by letting grow, he is not a child anymore…"

Gaia lowered her head, her tears couldn't hold any longer; Eros knew this hurt her terribly, not because she didn't trust their son but because who he really is and what he represents in this and the immortal realm. Eros rested his arm around her shoulders and tried to comfort her "You should have seen him…he spoke with so much determination, Leonidas was impressed. He reminded me to you when you went to the Southern Kingdom and asked Isra to stop the war he was leading against us"

Gaia turned to look at Eros, her hazel eyes showed hope and a hint of what it seemed resignation "I don't want him to get hurt"

"Nobody wants that dear" Eros moved his face closer to hers "But I think it is normal to be worried, we are his parents…our job is to always be worried about what it's best for him… and we know the truth about you…about him…when he was speaking it was like he was another person, so strong and regal…there is no doubt he is a Prince and a warrior " the king ran a hand through her wife's long and wavy hair, knowing that it always worked to calm her down "He was right in something he said"

Gaia wiped the tears off her face with delicacy and sniffed softly "What…did he say?"

"How he can be a good example to the people who are out there training and risking their lives when he is in the palace with so many facilities…" Eros said slowly, his hands still played with Gaia's hair.

Gaia blinked a couple of times "He said that?" she asked surprised and inside her she couldn't deny she felt proud of him.

"Impressive isn't? That is why I cannot say no to his petition… we have to let him go. Obelix has trained him well enough as well…"

The terran queen stayed silent for a couple of minutes while looking down, she was astonished and at the same time she was hurt. It didn't matter how much she tried to give keep him inside the palace grounds, his destiny was made to be different, the decision she would make next would change her and Endymion's life, sighing she turned to look at her husband with sad eyes "We will have to talk with him tomorrow…" her soft voice almost reached Eros' ears.

Eros knew how hard this was for her, for hi it was as well but since the beginning he knew this moment would come. Gaia was the only one that wanted to fight against the inevitable, but that fight was not meant to be won. Turning to see his wife, he smiled at her and placed a strand of hair behind her ear with delicacy.

"We will dear but, now we need to get some sleep. It's late" Eros kissed his wife on her cheek; Gaia nodded and followed her husband to pull the silky sheets of the bed.

The white queen walked through the gardens looking for her daughter, watching her playing outside near the fountain she smiled. It's been a very peaceful time and she was glad Serenity could enjoy her childhood with no worries or remorse. Queen Serenity stepped down the four stairs to the court and stood in front of her beautiful little flower.

"Serenity is time to start your lessons" Queen Serenity said softly.

11 year old Serenity turned to look at her mother with sad eyes "Can't I play a little longer?"

Queen Serenity shook her head no "Dear, you need to prepare so you can be a regal lady…you can play in some other time"

Princess Serenity sighed and lowered her gaze "Yes mama" the little princess stood up and brushed the dirt off her white dress, she looked lovely, her lace dress made the little girl look like a porcelain doll; her hair was below her waist and had a silver sheen that made her look even more angelic.

Queen Serenity looked at her daughter in silence and admired her young beauty; her small pouty lips had a gracious heart shape and fit perfectly in her delicate oval shaped face, her little nose was like it was molded by hands but what captivated the queen the most was her beautiful icy blue eyes; a mix between light gray and baby blue always so full of emotion. Every time she looked at them, Queen Serenity could feel as if Athan was watching her, her daughter had the same exotic eyes.

"Good girl, the tutor is waiting for you in the study. When I get home, we will have dinner together, alright?" Queen Serenity caressed her daughters' cheek.

"Are you leaving again?" Serenity asked sadly, looking at her mother with her enchanting eyes.

Queen Serenity kneeled in front of her daughter "I have to dear; it is a very important meeting, Luna will be here with you the time I'm away, but I promise to be home early"

Serenity smiled at her mother "Okay…"

"Study hard little flower" Queen Serenity winked her eye at her child.

Serenity chuckled "Um…yes, I will"

The queen stood up and walked to the palace's entrance where Artemis was waiting for her, in a flash of silver they went to Olympus.

It had been eleven years since Athan had passed away and Serenity took full control of the Moon Kingdom and the Alliance now called Silver Millenium; the first year after Athan's death was the hardest for her because she had to prove to herself she could take the role of queen and mother at the same time. Fortunately, Luna was with her all the time and helped her take care of Serenity when she had to go to meetings or had to attend to the Higher God's audiences.

After the incident with Nehelenia, she mourned the loss of her husband for a small period of time and made a big effort to take control over her life again and regain the confidence she needed to control the lunar kingdom. With the help of Luna and Aphrodite she could come back to her senses for the sake of her daughter; there was no doubt that Serenity was beautiful in every way and proved to be a very sensitive girl and of course this couldn't be left without negotiatios, Queen Serenity had many visits with possible suitors asking for a marriage arrangement for her in order to strengthen the alliance but the lunar queen dismissed them, she knew it was also because they all were well aware of the sacred stone Serenity someday would learn to master, to every suitor that went to the Lunar palace, she said the same thing. "She is too young to be arranged to somebody"

Always remembering Athan's last petition "Let Serenity marry only with the best of the best"

Serenity entered the conference room alongside Artemis where the Higher gods would be probably already waiting for her. "Good day" Queen Serenity greeted, Artemis bowed in front of the gods.

"I'm glad you could be present in this meeting" God Zeus spoke from his seat at the head of the long table "It is an important matter what we would like to discuss with you…"

Serenity nodded "What is it?" the lunar queen took her seat on the table.

"We have learned over the past years about the mystical power your daughter holds. A power that has been envied for so many…"

"Yes, eventually she will learn how to master it. Once she is ready to become the new Queen of the Moon" Serenity said.

"What we are we saying is that, your daughter will need protection. We believe there is a reason why there is a new generation of warriors. Since you are the head of the Silver Alliance we think it is convenient to train these warriors to protect the galaxy and of course your daughter" Chronos said, looking at his dear friend; his dark eyes were full of concern.

"Since we are all part of an Alliance, we believe is the right thing to do" Zeus said again "They will receive the training they need to fully control their powers and they could help protecting the Princess"

"I wasn't aware of this matter…I'm surprised" Serenity said.

"We believe it is for the best, that way our Alliance will be in better terms since we all are helping protect it. There are nine warriors in this solar system; four of them will be guarding the galaxy from outside, the ones with a different kind of power, while the other four will be protecting the galaxy from the inside, the inner senshi. Your daughters' guardians"

Ares turned to look at her "We will not let another tragic incident happen again"

Serenity frowned slightly and coughed a little "When you say the ones with a different kind of power, what do you mean?"

Chronos smiled warmly and crossed his hands on the table while he leaned forward "A new generation of guardians has born all over the universe, the ones we call protectors of their planet. There are nine senshi born in this galaxy, those warriors are divided in two groups. The inner and outer senshi"

Queen Serenity nodded while listened with interest "Why are they have been divided?"

Chronos nodded "The outer senshi are warriors with a specific power and duty. They are meant to protect the galaxy from a distance because of their mission. The inner senshi are the ones born with a gift and a quality that can help protect you, your daughter and the Silver Crystal"

"I see…" Queen Serenity said softly.

"They will not be seen like the inner senshi" Zeus said.

Queen Serenity frowned "What do you mean?"

"They are trained to work by themselves, not in teams because of their duties as guardians of the outer galaxy"

"You said there were nine warriors…" Serenity said.

Chronos nodded his head, Serenity frowned "But, I am only aware of seven warriors…"

Chronos smiled at the white queen "The missing two warriors could be called as the strongest in the galaxy for the power they hold"

Serenity looked at the Lord of time with a confused look "But you said…the strongest were the outer senshi...is Serenity one of them?"

Chronos chuckled "Your daughter is not a senshi…but a light of hope"

"I do not understand" Serenity said, ignoring the rest of the gods.

Chronos smiled this time "There are some times when a strong senshi is meant to have a low profile because of it's power and duty"

"You said this galaxy had two of them…who are they?" Serenity asked curious.

Chronos smiled again "Someday you will know"

The prince of earth appeared in a rush and bowed his head softly in respect to his parents "Good morning" Endymion entered the dining room "Sorry I'm late…"

"Good morning son" King Odell said from his chair next to Queen Narella; Gaia was sitting next to Eros next to King Odell.

"Good morning Grandpa', Grandma'" the young prince went to kiss his grandparents of the cheek.

"My, you woke more handsome than yesterday" Queen Narella said, patting his cheek softly.

Endymion blushed "Grandma'…" sitting on his chair he took a sip of his orange juice.

Worry was eating Gaia's heart, she couldn't sleep the night before thinking of her son's sudden decision, placing a hand on her mouth, she coughed softly "Endymion…I…"

"I don't think this is the right time for that dear" Eros said softly to Gaia, not parting his eyes from his cup of coffee. He didn't want to be part of a family discussion this early in the morning and with his parents present.

Queen Narella turned to look Gaia and Eros "Is something the matter?"

"No Mother, don't worry" Eros said again, taking another sip of his coffee.

"Well…Endymion is incredibly serious this morning…something must have happened" King Odell said.

"Endymion wants to join the army" Gaia commented and took a sip of her hot tea.

Queen Narella turned to look at her grandson with wide eyes "Is that true dear?"

"Why is it so bad? I talk to Father yesterday about it" Endymion said, looking at his father.

"The army…" King Odell raised his brows in surprise "You want to train with them?"

"Yes Grandpa" Endymion answered.

"So you want to follow your father's steps?" King Odell asked the young prince.

"Yes. Besides, I think it is better"

"Why are you thinking on doing that?" Gaia put down her fork next to her plate, causing the metal of the fork make a loud noise "Why are you so insistent about this. Leonidas is training you already and so is Obelix, why… why do you want to go there and risk your life, why are you being a masochist?"

"Gaia" Eros turned to look at his wife with wide eyes, she had never reacted this way before and that shocked the terran king. Her words were cold and angry and it probably would hurt Endymion.

"Because Mother, I want to be a good soldier!" Endymion said, trying to remain calm.

"Well, you don't have my approval" Gaia said upset.

"I'm not asking for your approval Mother. This is my decision, this is what I want to do" Endymion said with determination, fixing his intense blue eyes at her.

"I thought you were going to forget about this but it seems you're not" Gaia said moving her plate aside "What is wrong with you?" she placed her hands on her head.

"No, what is wrong with you?" Endymion raised his voice at Gaia.

"Endymion, I won't let you talk to your mother that way" Eros raised his voice.

"First I put you in that state of yours and when I want to help you, you act like this…this is nonsense!.. excuse me" Endymion stood up and threw his cloth napkin on the table and turned to leave the room.

"Endymion, where are you going?" Eros asked and stood up.

"To my room, I lost my appetite" the prince left the dining room leaving everyone in the table in shock.

Eros sighed and sat down again; pushing his plate aside he rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. King Odell started to chuckle making Eros, Gaia and Narella look at him with strange eyes.

"What is with you? What's so funny?" Narella asked.

Odell wiped a tear off his eye "Endymion reminds me of you when you were younger…you were exactly the same. You used to lose your appetite so suddenly and went to your room, five minutes later you were stuck there starving, but with your pride well up high"

Eros sighed "Father…this is _not_ the time…" the king ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

Queen Narella chuckled and turned to King Odell "Dear, remember when he made quite a tantrum because he didn't want to go out with one of the girls of the court?"

King Odell continued laughing softly making Eros remember his absurd behavior and smiled "I wanted other things for myself…"

"Yes, like be out all day" Queen Narella said, turning to see Gaia she smiled "Why does it upset you so much?"

"I don't want him to go" Gaia said softly.

Queen Narella looked at her with kind eyes "He will leave someday…he's not a kid anymore dear…that's part of being a parent, to let your children make their own decisions" the former queen placed her hand over Gaia's.

Gaia lowered her gaze; Aurea came in to the room and noticed Gaia's serious expression "Are you feeling all right?"

Narella turned to look Aurea "She needs you to talk her out of her senses…"

"Why? What happened?" Aurea asked.

"Endymion wants to join the army and Gaia is upset about it" Eros said taking his cup of coffee again.

"Ahh…so that is why Endymion had that…big frown on his face" the maid said, her hand on her chin.

Gaia raised her face "Did you see him?"

"Walking up the stairs to his chambers, yes" Aurea said "Your Majesty…you knew this eventually would happen. It's in his blood"

Gaia sighed "I need to take a walk" standing up from her chair she walk out of the room.

Eros sighed "I told her it wasn't the right time…" he turned to look at his father.

"The boy has courage…" King Odell said.

Narella looked at her son "You need to understand her dear, he is her miracle… she didn't expect this to happen so soon"

"I just…I don't want her to suffer…" Eros said looking out the window from his seat.

Obelix was doing his normal routine, after he prayed for the safety of the planet he started to light a couple of white candles to its protector when he heard some steps coming towards him.

"Good morning little princess" the priest said with a soft voice. Obelix never raised his voice, it was always warm and kind and today was no exception.

"How did you know it was me?" Gaia stopped in her tracks, surprised.

"So many years knowing each other and you still wonder?" the priest smiled and turned to face her.

Gaia smiled, lowering her head she sighed "Are you doing your morning prayers?"

"Yes…"

The terran queen walked over the center of the room to see the lit candles; she watched the fire dance gracefully and sighed softly, she felt remorse and guilt.

"This was destined to happen little princess" the priest walked over to stand next to her.

Gaia turned to look at the priest with wide eyes "What?...How do you…"

"Know why are you like this? There's only one person who can actually worry you this way…" Obelix smiled.

"He wants to join the army Obelix…" Gaia went to sit in one of the temple's benches.

"Well, then let him" the priest followed her.

"No! Why is everybody okay with this?" Gaia raised her voice in frustration.

"Why aren't you?" Obelix looked at her.

"Because…" Gaia trailed off "Because...I don't want him to leave...I don't want him to be in danger" her voice started to break.

"In danger he will always be little princess because of his origins, the main reason you don't want him to go is because you don't want him to leave your side…"

Gaia's hazel eyes widened.

"Aren't I right?" the priest smiled, Gaia remained silent.

"No matter how much you try to stop him, his true self will always come out. Look at his background little princess, his grandparents are gods, his mother a goddess, he, carries one of the strongest crystals in the universe if not the strongest and is the chosen protector of this planet. Of course he will want to be a warrior"

"But…" Gaia was out of words.

"He's very well prepared and he will learn what he needs to learn. Let him go…let him do what he is destined to be…a warrior" Obelix placed his hand on her shoulder.

Gaia looked down "He's mad at me…"

"He's determinant. He got that from you, no doubt" Obelix said softly "He's not mad at you, he is just frustrated. He wants to do more than just being a pretty prince. He wants to protect you and that's normal, it's in his blood…"

Gaia nodded "I believe your right…I just…I just didn't him to live the same way I had to live because of my duty as protector"

Obelix nodded in comprehension "He is not a little boy anymore…"

Gaia sighed again and lowered her gaze.

"What does Eros say?" Obelix looked to the distance.

"He says it is fine for him to go…practically he told me almost the same things you just told me" Gaia said softly.

"With all due respect little princess…you are the only one clinging to your own ideas. Everyone is seeing what's logical" Obelix placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled "Don't fight destiny little princess…it might surprise you"

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**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters. Thank you.**


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N:** Yay! so... my overnight work paid off lol, finally I finished the designs my boss was asking me to do and well...I'm now up to do the documentary for the gallery...(a lot of work to do but I love it) and well I wanted to share the good news with you all and soooooo here it goes another chapter yay! (I know, today's thursday) but well... this will make up for monday's missing chapter ;) Enjoy.

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter twenty eight**

**Bold means thoughts.**

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After her talk with the priest, the terran queen stood outside her son's bedroom; lowering her gaze he looked down at her trembling hands. She thought of what everybody said to her and came to the decision to stop fighting what it was meant to be.

She had tried to stop the dynasty of warriors protecting earth and the sacred golden crystal, she wanted to be the last one with that duty but it no matter how much she tried, her son was chosen to protect this planet just like she was once chosen by her grandfather.

She stood there, in front of the large doors in silence. Gaia was thinking in the precise words she could say to her son, it was the first time they had an argument and it broke her heart to know her son was there alone starving and upset because of something she said to him.

Obelix's words still echoed in her mind "Don't change destiny…it might surprise you…" Gaia sighed and knocked the door.

"Endymion, are you here?" she opened the door and walked inside the room, she found him reading a book on the windows rail. He closed the book and he turned to look at her with a serious expression. The queen felt nervous and lowered her gaze for a second, walking over a chair she sat slowly and stayed silent for a few minutes.

Endymion pursed his lips, his dark hair covered his hypnotic eyes; he was still young but his attractiveness was obvious "I'm sorry for what I said downstairs…" his young and still soft voice lighten up the mood in the room.

Gaia smiled and walked to sit next to him "No dear, I'm the one that should be apologizing" she placed her hand over his.

Endymion turned to look at her with a startled expression, even though she was always sweet to him and his family, he was well aware she had a tough character underneath "What?"

Gaia sighed "I know you want to do other things now not just sit and stay with me all day…so, that is why…I'm letting you go" she tried to hold her tears.

"Mother…I…wasn't…" Endymion trailed off and placed his arm around her shoulders.

The queen smiled "Endymion, you are my life and I wouldn't take losing you…I know you weren't asking for my permission, but I have a pride you know?" Gaia said softly.

Endymion lowered his gaze "I want to become the greatest warrior so I can be able to protect you…it is because of me you are sick all the time"

Gaia widened her eyes in shock "What? That is not true!"

"I heard you mother…I heard you talking to Aurea about it…" Endymion looked at her with his deep ocean stare.

Gaia sighed and came close to her son, placing her hands on his face she smiled "Endymion listen to me, having you…was the best thing that could ever happen to me, yes, I have a delicate health but that is not because of you…when I learned I was expecting you I couldn't ever feel happier, you are my everything…I promised to you to take good care of you, and this is my way…"

Endymion blushed and smiled at his mother "Mother…"

Gaia used her hand as a fan to try to dry her unshed tears and chuckled "I will let your father deal with my emotions later" her face became serious again "Promise me one thing Endymion…"

"Anything…" Endymion said.

"Be the best of all" Gaia smiled, her eyes shone with fresh tears again, this time she couldn't hold them anymore and one ran through her cheek.

"I promise mama" the prince said softly and hugged his mother "I promise"

Gaia hugged her son and wiped the tears of her face with her hand "Your father already talked to the person in charge who take the groups to the training field. The last group leaves tomorrow"

"Tomorrow?" Endymion asked surprised.

"So it seems you better start packing what you'll need" Gaia smiled and turned to leave her son's room.

"Mother…"

Gaia turned to look at him "Yes dear?"

"I love you…"

Gaia smiled "I love you too…oh, and dear?"

"Yes?"

"Please keep calling me mama" Gaia said softly.

Eros entered the large study and sat behind his oak desk in silence, his long time friend, advisor and guard followed him inside the room and closed the large door behind him.

"Is he really going?" Leonidas asked shocked, breaking the silence.

"Yes" Eros started reading some papers "He leaves tomorrow"

"How did you convince Her Majesty?" Leonidas sat on the chair across the desk, looking confused and surprised.

"I didn't" Eros stopped reading and looked up at the dark haired man sitting in front of him. After all these years, the general was the only friend he could really count and trust. Since he was a young prince, everybody wanted to be friends with him or to marry him in order to have an easy access to his power and/or crown, women wanted to be with him while men wanted to be him, but the only one that stayed true because of his honesty was Leonidas.

He remembered the first time they talked to each other, he was sent to the army by his father's order against his will and while staying in his cot he saw a very poor looking man sitting in his looking at a picture with a sad expression.

"She was lovely" that's all he said and turned to look at him. After those words they started a friendship that it was still strong.

Leonidas sweat dropped and scratched the back of his head "Don't tell me it was Aurea…"

Eros chuckled "No, she tried but…this time she didn't, it was Obelix"

"Do you want me to inform you of his progress? I can always contact Rumalos at the camp" Leonidas asked the king.

"I think that would be appropriate" Eros said looking down at his papers "Time really goes fast" he sighed.

"Remember when we met? You didn't want to be there at all!" the general laughed.

"Training there is extremely hard, I don't think Endymion is well aware of that but that is his choice" Eros said.

"But it is fun…" Leonidas leaned back on his chair and looked up to the ceiling, like if he was remembering something good.

Eros raised a brow "Fun?"

"You have to admit that! We had fun" Leonidas chuckled "It was very hard but we had our moments of fun, like when you got drunk…"

"Yes, once I understood the dynamic there…and of course you accepted me" Eros said.

Leonidas laughed "You were quite lazy…"

The king frowned "I was not"

"You flirted with the girls our superiors used to take to their tents…" Leonidas laughed.

Eros smiled "When you are a boy and there are hundreds of men around you…you start to feel desperate and want flirt on any girl"

"Oh…yes…we met too many lovely ladies" Leonidas sighed.

"Yes, you devil…I wonder how Aurea will react if she knows any of this…" Eros smiled.

Leonidas' eyes widened "Oh no you wouldn't…"

Eros laughed "Hmm…who's laughing now?"

"Please! but if you tell Aurea I will tell Her Majesty as well"

It was Eros's time to widen his eyes "We better start working on this papers…tomorrow will be a very busy day"

Leonidas laughed.

The vision in front of her eyes was like a dream, the little girl playing in the gardens with her white dress and barefoot she looked like an angel. Queen Serenity was at the court watching Princess Serenity play near the fountain, she was marveled by her daughters' beauty and bubbly personality, she was grateful to have a daughter like her, she could always melt her worries away with just looking her smile.

"She is beautiful…" a deep voice interrupted her thoughts.

Serenity turned to her side and saw Chronos standing next to her "Chronos!" she smiled.

"I know I should have told you I was coming…" the man in dark green said.

"Don't be silly Chronos, you can come by any time" Serenity smiled and motioned him to sit next to her on a chair.

"I didn't know what you thought about what we talked in the meeting the other day" Chronos took his seat and turned to look at the white queen.

"I feel very grateful, that you want to protect my child as well" Serenity said softly.

"We won't allow Nehelenia's curse come true, we are aware that there is evilness out there and that is why we need to protect her and you little flower…" the man turned to look at the little girl playing in the distance.

Serenity sighed and smiled softly "It's been a long time since…" she trailed off.

Chronos kept looking at the small princess "How are you?" he asked softly.

Serenity turned to look at Chronos "I miss him, it will always hurt no matter how many years pass…I will love him and his absence will always hurt me but I have to hang on, I have to be strong, I have to be okay for her…she's my reason to live, it is because of her I regained my life…"

"Being a parent certainly changes your life" Chronos smiled.

"Chronos…do you know anything from Gaia? How's her child?" Serenity looked at him with a worried expression.

"I am not allowed to talk about them little flower…" the god of time's words made Serenity lower her head a little, Chronos knew Gaia was important to Serenity and that no matter how much time had passed they were still the same friends "But I will tell you anyways…"

Serenity turned to look at him with wide eyes "Chronos…" she breathed.

Chronos smiled "Gaia's health is delicate…her mortal body is weak, but she's happy"

"And her son?"

"Her son…has a very strong aura and of course they are aware of that, of course the Higher Gods consider him a threat" Chronos voice was deep but soft.

"Do you consider him that way?" Serenity raised a brow.

"I think he will change many lives…he's strong and he's destined to be a myth" Chronos said turning to look at Serenity "I know you want to protect earth from a distance…I know of your plans, you know you can't do that"

Serenity pressed her lips and looked away making Chronos realize she will always be his sweet little flower and smiled "But we can keep it a secret"

Serenity turned to look at him with wide eyes "What did you say?"

"Gaia is like a little sister to me. I love her too…but because of my position I can't do much" Chronos said.

The white queen's eyes moistened with tears"Thank you Chronos, for not judging me…" Serenity placed her hand over his.

"No, thank you for reminding me how to be kind" Chronos smiled at the lunar queen "But we will keep that a secret too"

Serenity giggled "Very well"

The terran royals were at the entrance doors of the palace with Endymion "Are you ready?" Eros asked his son.

"Yes" Endymion smiled.

"Remember to do your prayers every morning" Obelix said.

"I will Obelix" the prince smiled again.

"I'm very proud of you son" King Odell said, patting the prince's shoulder.

Endymion blushed "Thank you Grandpa, I'll make you feel more proud when I come back being a great soldier"

King Odell smiled and nodded his head. Queen Narella smiled "Please keep in touch with us dear, write us as much as you can…Oh, I am going to miss you so much!" she came close and kissed him on the cheek.

"I will Grandma" Endymion smiled.

"Please, be careful" Gaia said softly, Endymion nodded and hugged her tight "I will fulfill my promise Mama…" he whispered in her ear. Gaia's eyes started to shine with tears and nodded her head "I'm proud of you"

Endymion turned to look Aurea "Please take good care of her while I'm gone…"

Aurea placed a hand on his cheek "Don't worry; I will make sure she takes all her precautions. Have a safe trip and we will be waiting for your return"

Endymion nodded his head and looked at them all "Well…I will see you soon…" he smiled and stepped in the carriage with Leonidas and another soldier.

"I will make sure he gets safe" Leonidas said to Eros, the king nodded. The general smiled at Aurea which blew him a kiss; stepping in to the carriage he gave the signal to start their journey that will definitely will bring back a very different prince.

"Well…there he goes. He will be a man by the time he returns…" Eros placed an arm around his wife's shoulders.

Gaia sniffed "What am I going to do without him now?"

The king smiled and kissed Gaia's on her forehead "Don't worry dear, we will be in touch"

"It's not the same…" Gaia sniffed again.

"I know what can you do right now…" Aurea said making Gaia turn to see her "Yes, what?"

"Have lunch and take your medicines…"

"Argh… Aurea!" Gaia rolled her eyes.

"I just promised your son I would be taking care of you! So…let's go" Aurea pointed the entrance door with her index finger, motioning the queen to follow her.

Eros chuckled "She is following Endymion's orders. Let's go dear I will join you"

Gaia turned her face to the path the carriage had left and sighed **"I'm proud of you dear, please be safe and we will be waiting for your return…"**

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Don't be mean, I am celebrating a triumph... join my happiness by leaving me a review ;)


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: Thank you for hanging in there with the story...I know, last week was crazy and this one is too but I couldn't leave you without a new chapter, well here it is...I hope you like it and leave me a lovely review. hugs and kisses for you all and again, thank you for being there...at hard times like this for me it really means a lot.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter twenty nine**

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The afternoon sun danced across the sky slowly, the young prince stared at the white clouds come across the warm star blocking the bright rays for some small periods of time. He sighed for the tenth time, Leonidas turned to see him and smiled to himself; he could tell the young boy was nervous and didn't know what to expect of the place he was heading and knew he was not going to go back home for a long period of time; interrupting his thoughts, he cleared his throat.

"We are almost here…" Leonidas' strong voice startled Endymion's thoughtful state.

Endymion tried to look at the surroundings from the small window of the carriage but saw nothing but the deep woods. It had been almost eight hours of journey and they seemed to be finally at the camp, a few minutes later Endymion watched with awe all the people he could see training near a large lake while others were seemed to be doing some meditation.

The carriage finally stopped; Leonidas was the first to step down and saluted a man who was already waiting for them at the entrance of the camp.

"General Leonidas, long time no see" a man with a dark beard and a low ponytail said.

"Rumalos, yes it's been a while" Leonidas answered and smiled at him. The other man smiled in return when he saw the young prince step out of the small carriage "So it's true, His Highness was sent to train with us"

Leonidas nodded and placed his hands on the prince's shoulders "Your Highness, this is General Rumalos, third in command of the Royal Army and he also is in charge of training new soldiers. He is your new authority"

Endymion nodded "Good day, General" the young man said. Rumalos arched a brow and nodded "Your Highness" and then turned to see Leonidas "For how long is he going to stay here?"

"All the training" Leonidas said.

Rumalos pursed his lips and turned to see the prince "Once you enter this training camp your title will disappear"

Endymion looked at the man with a serious expression and nodded, his nerves were trying to betray him. He was starting to wonder if his decision was the best he could ever made in his life, the man in front of him seemed everything but nice and he was almost positive that his title would not completely disappear in this place, in fact it could be used against him.

Rumalos seemed like he was a tough man, his features were rough. A tall and a little bigger than Leonidas and his father, his dark green eyes showed years of experience and so a small scar he had on his right brow; Rumalos had square shaped face and a strong jaw, thin lips and a slight sided nose, maybe because it was one of his war wounds. Even though he had a dark beard he had reddish brown hair that contrasted with his tanned skin.

Chuckling he placed a hand on Endymion's shoulder as a welcoming gesture "Well…I guess it is time to say goodbye to General Leonidas as well, you won't be back to your precious home for quite a while"

Endymion turned to look at Leonidas and smiled "Thank you Leonidas…we will see each other soon"

Rumalos turned to look at one of the sergeants who were standing behind him "Take His Majesty to his tent"

The sergeant nodded his head and led Endymion to where the others were resting in their tents, Leonidas watched Endymion walk away with the sergeant and felt some kind of emptiness in his heart, he felt like he was leaving something very dear to him. Endymion was after all, his godchild, but if he was feeling that way he could imagine how his parents were feeling specially his queen.

"I want to talk to you before I leave…" Leonidas said.

"Of course" Rumalos crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"His Majesty wants to be informed of his progress, I will be coming without the prince knowing of course… in order to not disturb his training" Leonidas said.

"Of course, I shall inform His Majesty of any detail but I must be clear with something" the man said.

"Yes?"

"His Highness will be treated like any other soldier in here, there's no special treatments for anybody…just the same way they did with His Majesty… you know how this is…King Odell's orders" Rumalos scratched his nose.

"He is aware of that and wishes the same thing" Leonidas reassured.

"Very well, so then…leave everything in our hands" Rumalos said, extending his hand out to Leonidas which he took in gratitude before turning to go back to the carriage that would take him back to the palace.

Endymion entered the tent after the sergeant and took in his surroundings "This is where you will be sleeping" the tall man said "Make yourself comfortable tonight because tomorrow will be a long day" the blonde man left the tent.

The prince walked to his assigned cot and put his bag on the floor, watching in awe at all the people that was there waiting to be a soldier just like him. Rumalos caught up with him minutes later "Your Highness, welcome to your new home for the next several years"

"You are aware this is a place where you won't receive any special treatment just because you are our Prince…don't you?" the man asked.

"Yes General I am aware of that…" Endymion said as serious as he could.

"Very well, because in this place you won't sleep in comfy beds or eat glorious food. You barely sleep and you eat what you can so…this is real training" Rumalos said and gave him his new uniform.

Rumalos turned to look at the other young men inside the tent "Listen up, this is Endymion…he's our new soldier, so you will share your tent with him from now on, I expect a good behavior from all of you"

"Yes General!" six boys said in unison.

"The sun is starting to set, we will continue our training tomorrow at dawn so you better start sleeping" Rumalos said, his strong voice echoed the light tent and left.

"Yes General!" everyone said in unison again.

Endymion sat on his cot and took off his shoes in silence, two boys walked up to him "You better keep your shoes on…"

Endymion turned to look at the boy who said it "They tend to wake us up in the middle of the night when they hear some strange noises" the boy had short blonde hair and green eyes, he seemed to have Endymion's same age or even a little older. Endymion put his boot on again and smiled "Thank you"

"I'm Jadeite" he extended his hand out to the prince, Endymion shook his hand "And this is Nephrite" the blonde boy pointed with his thumb at the brown haired boy next to him "Hello" he said "I didn't hear your name well, you are...?"

"Endymion" the prince said, looking at the two young men with curious eyes.

"Hey! Just like the Prince" Jadeite said.

"That's because he's the Prince Jadeite" another person joined the conversation.

Endymion turned to look at another boy around his age as well; he had tanned skin and a very light hair color, like silver. His grey eyes gave the young man and the prince a cold look.

Jadeite turned to look at Endymion with a shocked expression "You are Prince Endymion?"

Endymion rubbed the back of his neck "I rather be called Endymion…"

"Hm… I wonder how much are you going to last in this place…" the young man said coldly.

"I plan to stay all the time I need to stay" Endymion answered the same way; he wasn't sure why he was being so rude and without knowing him. True, he couldn't expect to have friends right away because he never had friends of his own age and because of that, he was always in his own world studying and learning everything he could learn.

The white haired young man crossed his arms in front of his chest and laugh with sarcasm "I don't think a prince like _you_ could actually hand all the tasks they give us…I think you will receive a special treatment just because you are a royal" his voice was so cold that it could be compared to a blade.

"I won't receive any special treatment and I don't want one, I'm just another soldier, just like you" Endymion snapped, he was starting to get annoyed but this boy's attitude.

The young man raised his brows in surprise and chuckled "Oh? so you have a temper…I am by far the best soldier in this training camp and I highly doubt you will ever surpass me" the young man turned and left the tent.

Jadeite rolled his eyes "That's Kunzite…he's always like that, very competitive…"

"Tell me about it… it seemed like he didn't like me to be here" Endymion said looking at the tent's entrance.

"Nah, don't worry…he's always like that, I think he just felt threatened" Nephrite said, moving his hand as a gesture to try to dismiss Kunzite's harsh words.

"I don't see why, I am like any other person here…" Endymion said, his eyes were still looking at the tent's entrance and tried to understand why somebody could be cold like him, he thought he could never ever be like him.

Nephrite sat on his cot next to Endymion's one, his chocolate brown hair was long and curly, his eyes were green as well but only a darker shade of green compared to Jadeite's light ones, he had fair skin and compared to his comrade Jadeite who was younger and had a funny personality, Neprhite seemed to be a little older than the prince.

"I'm so tired…" Jadeite laid on his cot and crossed his arms behind his head.

"Yes, me too" the prince sighed and covered himself with one of the blankets and quickly fell asleep.

The next morning a general went to each tent and woke the boys with a loud yell "It's time to wake up, up, up, up!" the man clapped his hands to make even a louder noise. All the boys in the tent woke up knowing their usual routine, except one.

Endymion opened his blue eyes and sat on his cot quickly gasping and startled, he got scared by the general's loud yell and noise, putting a hand on his chest he tried to calm down and then remembered he was no longer back at home, Endymion flinched a little and rubbed the back of his neck making him also remember he was no longer in his very, _very_ comfortable bed.

"Here we go again…" Nephrite said with a sleepy voice while rubbing his eyes, Endymion did the same and tried to adjust his eyes to the light of the candle that one of the generals lit "You're the new one?" asked the man when he returned to the tent to make sure everybody was up "Here" the man left a small package on his cot.

Endymion nodded and frowned a little "What is this?" he asked.

"Your uniform…its cold but you'll get used to it" Jadeite said.

Endymion frowned "But I already have one..." he grabbed the tunic and pants and felt the stiffness in them, gulping he said slowly "It is cold…"

"The uniform you say it's your 'formal' uniform, you will use it in special occasions and once we get out of here" Nephrite said "This one is the uniform we use to train"

"Oh" that's all Endymion could say and looked again at the uniform in his hands "I believe I do not have another option then…"

Jadeite laughed, he was putting on his own light tunic and tied a knot on his waist with his dark blue belt that came along with the uniform "I know…it is raspy as hell, but it's better than being naked"

Endymion sweat dropped "I believe so…"

Nephrite was tugging his pants under his brown boots "And you have to dress very fast before the sergeant comes back" he chuckled.

Endymion sighed and took his own clothes off and put on the stif and raspy uniform. Yes, he was now officially a soldier in the royal army.

The general did what Nephrite said he would do, once he made sure everybody was dressed he motioned them to walk outside the tent. The morning breeze was cold since it was still dawn; the sun hadn't come out yet and they were already starting their usual routine. Endymion walked out of the tent with Jadeite and Nephrite and joined the group that was starting to get ready for their usual excersices.

"Well, well, well…the prince had to wake up this early?" a cold and sarcastic voice said, Endymion recognized it and turned to look at Kunzite "Is this how you are every day?" Endymion frowned.

"I am how I need to be, so bug off" the young man with white hair passed by, pushing the prince with his shoulder.

"You are being way too harsh Kunzite…remember he is after all our prince" another blonde soldier said.

Kunzite sighed "I do not care much about that, in this place he is like everybody else…besides I do not need to be sweet and be friends with spoiled people"

The blonde boy shook his head "If he's here it must be for a reason…it's strange, I feel like I need to go and talk to him" he said softly and slightly confused, it was some kind of attraction, like a need to look after his safety.

Kunzite turned annoyed "What are you saying Zoicite? He's just the prince…no big deal…"

Zoicite shook his head softy and frowned "No…it goes way beyond the fact that he's a royal…it's a deeper issue, it's a feeling I have inside my chest…I don't know how to explain it" the blonde man turned to look at the prince with a serious expression "…besides he doesn't look like he's spoiled at all" Zoicite said again.

"What is wrong with him?" Endymion look at Kunzite and then back at the brown haired man next to him.

"Kunzite is being ridiculous" Nephrite said, the blonde boy at his side shrugged his shoulders "He's always like that when someone new comes in" Jadeite pursed his lips.

"You mean he acted the same way towards you when you got here?" Endymion asked curious.

Jadeite placed his index finger on his mouth and made a thoughtful frown "Um, now that you mention it…no"

Endymion sweat dropped "Oy…Jadeite, then why do you say he is always like that when somebody new comes here?"

Jadeite chuckled and scratched the back of his head "Well…he is a very strange man…"

"Stop the chit chat and let's start with our training" General Soufalos said out loud, his long sandy hair was tied in a low ponytail "Off we go, start walking!" he yelled.

Hundreds of young men were training to become the new generation of warriors, the new army who would protect the Golden Kingdom and Earth. Every morning it started with a two hour long walk no matter the weather conditions, they had to keep their training; one day it could be raining while another day could be extremely hot or even snowing. Not everybody could keep up with the rhythm of the exercises and many of them stopped in the middle of the training to try to catch back their breath.

Half the way many had stopped because of the exhaustion, others were panting "Come on you lazy cows move on! Move on!" one of the generals said out loud. Endymion for the very first time was starting to learn that a warrior was more than just a man with a sword in his hand, ready to attack.

Days could be gone as they come, quickly and unnoticeable because of the extensive routine. The first months they would walk for hours and practice concentration exercises, one of them was to get in the freezing water and concentrate to its maximum level until they stop feeling the cold water numbing their body. Of course, the first times Endymion felt like the freezing cold water were like knives cutting through his body and almost thought he could never overpass the test, but after several times, he learned.

After a while, Endymion entered the tent soaked and trembling, Jadeite laughed "Concentration exercise?"

"Damn! They put me under the waterfall and its freezing!" Endymion said while drying himself with a towel. Since the day he got there Jadeite and Nephrite were his tent mates and started to become close friends, they forgot about the fact that he was the earth prince and started to treat him like one of them. But there was still some rivalry with Kunzite and every time he had to join the same practice as him there was trouble, guaranteed.

It didn't matter how many times the young prince tried to settle a truce with the white haired man but it never worked, Kunzite was too stubborn to actually think he could be friends with him, month after month and year after year he tried but with no avail until one day Endymion got tired and simply stopped trying.

Three years have passed since Endymion joined the army; the first one was crucial and deadly to him because he was new to all the tests and training methods; the soldiers treated him differently because he was the Earth prince and they thought he was another spoiled brat, nobody would speak to him and much had to do with Kunzite of course, but Jadeite and Nephrite have become close since that day, with time they all started to notice he was just a normal boy who went there for the same reason as them and started to become accepted and treated him as an equal.

Kunzite still gave him the cold shoulder and did some things to him, the first year he would hide his clothes or his shoes making the prince go out and train barefoot or without a shirt and get punished because of that. On the second year, Kunzite became one of the best soldiers in the army and of course that gave him a certain range and helped some of the generals with the group training, so when he could, he would give everybody a recess while he ordered the prince to run a few more laps or do a hundred more pushups, on the third year the rivalry got more physical and had a few fist encounters. What Kunzite didn't know was that with those pranks, Endymion was starting to become stronger and one day he would get his revenge.

Endymion couldn't understand why Kunzite was a cold man; sure, the man was very talented and he was the best of the army so far, he had perfect skills in sword fighting, he was good in concentration and excellent in martial arts; Kunzite was starting to become what Endymion wanted to be, an ultimate warrior.

"You still can't get used to that freezing water don't you?" Nephrite said from his cot, chuckling.

"It was worse when I first came here…" Endymion sighed and started to change his clothes to another set of pants and clean dry shirt.

"I heard they are going to give Kunzite a medal…" Jadeite whispered, rolling his eyes.

"Oh wopee…" Endymion said sarcastically, sitting on his cot.

Jadeite laughed "It seems he has done another thing to you…"

Endymion sighed and ran a hand through his dark and wet hair "You know…the usual"

"But you can't deny the man is good" Nephrite said.

"He's very good if he's not the best" Endymion said slowly.

"Do you really think he can do better than you?" Nephrite asked the prince with a frown, leaving his book aside.

"I don't know if he can, but at least it shows…" Endymion laid on his cot and sighed "I need to try harder…"

"Why does this means so much to you Endymion? I mean... it is understandable for us but… _you_? You could have trained at the palace, sleep in a comfy bed without the necessity of being put under a freezing waterfall" Jadeite asked confused.

Endymion sighed; looking at the tent's ceiling he smiled "I think we all are the same… I could have trained that way but what kind of example would be to the ones that are here trying training asses off to become the best. I didn't want that…"

Nephrite smiled "Hey Endymion, how does it feel to be a prince?"

Endymion turned to look at Nephrite with wide eyes and shrugged his shoulders "Nothing, really. Just like any other person, I must live under certain rules…"

"Is it difficult?" Jadeite asked curious "I mean, they must be watching everything you do…"

Endymion chuckled "You get used to it…and you learn how to find time for yourself"

"Dinner will be served in five minutes!" a man opened the tent to say to the men inside and walked away.

"Finally! I'm starving!" Nephrite stood up quickly from his cot, Jadeite and Endymion followed.

"Mmm I can already smell the sweet taste of an uncertain meal" Jadeite said, rubbing his stomach. Nephrite turned to look at the blonde man and laughed "What are you saying?"

"The food they give us here can be really disgusting sometimes, admit it. It can easily be confused with vomit sometimes" the blonde soldier commented.

"That's disgusting Jadeite…besides you eat it anyways" Endymion laughed.

The three formed the line where they were serving the food and took a wooden like plate "I don't care if its vomit, I will eat it anyway…I'm hungry" Nephrite whispered.

"You guys are quite disgusting" Endymion said, while he waited his turn.

"Oh come on Endymion, don't tell me it doesn't look like vomit!" Jadeite said out loud pointing at the spoon one of the cooks had in his hand.

"And you will eat it all or I will shut it through your butt hole!" the cook said and served the food on his plate.

Endymion and Nephrite held the urge to crack laughing at what the cook said to Jadeite "Alright, alright…I'm hungry anyways…" Jadeite muttered.

The three went to sit near the fire, Nephrite was playing with his food and sighed "I think I was overreacting when I said I would eat anything…"

Endymion took the first bite and closed his eyes, Nephrite looked at him with wide eyes "What are you doing?"

Endymion chewed a couple of times and swallowed it, opening his eyes he looked at the man with brown hair "What does it looks like I'm doing? I'm eating…"

"Is it good?" Nephrite asked.

"No…" Endymion made a disgust face and chuckled.

Jadeite scratched his head "Then why are you eating it?"

"Because I'm hungry! I spent I don't know how many hours under a freezing waterfall…" the prince said laughing.

"Sometimes I truly forget you are a prince at all" Jadeite said looking at his food and did the same thing his friend was doing.

"Hmm…well now, aren't the prince and his servants? How are you taking it _Your Highness_…eating crappy food, sleeping on crappy cots under a cold tent, are you planning on leaving us soon?" Kunzite chuckled.

Endymion rolled his eyes "What do you want?"

"I'm just asking…there is no need to be mad…" Kunzite stood in front of the prince, Zoicite appeared next and sighed "Kunzite come on, leave him alone…"

"Zoicite?" Kunzite turned to look at the blonde man "Are you defending the brat?"

"Hey! Have some respect!" Nephrite raised his voice.

"I won't have any respect for a brat who is here pretending to be a soldier…who claims to be my prince!" Kunzite spat on Endymion's boot.

"Kunzite, stop it already!" Zoicite said.

"You are on my seat, now fuck off!" Kunzite said with a cold and threatening voice.

Endymion looked at him with a dead glare "I've been taking too much shit from you over the past three years and I'm getting sick of it"

"Oh? and what are you going to do? I'm better than you. You are a prince and are below me…how pity…now, move out of my way!" Kunzite raised his voice this time.

"Make me!" Endymion said.

"Fine!" Kunzite threw his plate and punched him in the face, sending the prince fall on his back.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" a soldier said from behind and in a matter of seconds everybody was watching the two men fight against each other.

Endymion stood up and realized his lip was bleeding and looked at the white haired man standing proudly in front of him "I'm sick of you!" Endymion threw one fist landing on Kunzite's cheek, making him bleed as well.

"You will be sorry!" Kunzite threw himself against the prince and started the exchange of fists.

Jadeite and Nephrite tried to break the fight while Zoicite tried to hold Kunzite "Kunzite come on, stop it!"

"I will kill this bastard! Nobody hits me in the face and lives enough to tell somebody!" Kunzite kept saying while he was fighting with the prince.

Rumalos appeared minutes later "What is going on here?" he yelled and stepped into the fight, stopping Endymion's fist with his hand.

"Kunzite started" Nephrite said.

"I don't care who started…you both will have a punishment for this behavior. To the waterfall!" Rumalos ordered.

"But General, the water is freezing there right now! It's colder than it normally is!" Jadeite tried to reason with the general.

"I don't care, they should have thought of that before starting this nonsense. I'm the one who gives the orders here; you both will go to the waterfall and stay there until I call you back!" Rumalos said, looking at both men.

Endymion stood up and started walking to where he was ordered to go, Rumalos put a hand on his shoulder "Your Father will know about this tantrum of yours" Endymion felt his heart skip a beat by the mention of his father and felt ashamed of himself and thought about what he would say, what his mother would say, knowing this it would break his mother's heart because he made a promise to her before coming to this place.

Endymion and Kunzite started to walk to the waterfall in silence; Rumalos followed them "You will get in there with everything on"

"But my boots will get soaked!" Kunzite discussed.

"And do you think I care?" the general said "That is what you get for fighting like wild animals"

Endymion sighed and walked silently to the river and stood under the freezing water of the waterfall without saying one word or complains; Kunzite widened his eyes in shock and had no other option but to follow him.

"I will come back to see if you already cool down and I hope to find you the same way you are right now…because if I find you fighting again you will pay the consecuences" the general said with a cold voice and started to walk back to the camp, leaving Endymion and Kunzite alone under the running water.

"You will pay for this…" Kunzite said trembling.

Endymion had his eyes closed and didn't look like he was freezing at all, Kunzite looked at him amazed "Aren't you freezing?"

Endymion opened his eyes and turned to look at Kunzite "I'm here all the time; I'm used to it already"

Kunzite frowned "Are you here all the time?"

"Yes, thanks to you" Endymion said and closed his eyes again; Kunzite analyzed his words and widened his eyes in shock. The prince was stronger than he thought, but in a matter of seconds the jealousy and bitterness filled his heart and dismissed the thought. He tried to close his eyes but he couldn't help it, the water was too cold to let him even think, opening his eyes he turned to look at the prince again in his serene state.

"Ugh…" Kunzite sighed and tried to wait with patience the moment to step out of the water.

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**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters. Thank you.**


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: Thank you for your kind reviews, it's always good to know what you thought of the chapter, well, here it goes wednesday's chapter of Divinity. Enjoy.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter thirty**

**[bold means thoughts]**

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Time seemed to be frozen just as they, it had only had passed a few minutes since the fight the prince and the soldier had, the white haired man fidgeted under the water and grumbled at the same time; in all his time here training he was never punished for something and that made him dislike the prince more.

"How much longer are we going to stay here, dammit!" Kunzite muttered.

Endymion opened his eyes and turn to look at him "Until Rumalos decides it is time for us to get back to the camp"

"This is all your fault!" Kunzite said, moving away a strand of white hair from his face.

Endymion frowned "My fault? You were the one who offended me, what did you want me to do? Just stay still and keep listening to your nonsense?"

Kunzite spit some water that entered in his mouth "You will pay for this…someday, you will"

Endymion sighed "Why do you hate me so much? Since I got here you have done nothing else but to molest me…I would like to know why?" his voice sounded tired.

"I hate the fact that you are here…pretending to be something you are not" Kunzite said simply.

"Something I'm not? You don't even know me!" Endymion frowned.

Kunzite turned to look at the prince "I don't need to know you and I don't want to know you…"

Endymion rolled his eyes and turned to the other side "Fine, I don't want to know you either…"

"My medal is going to rust…" Kunzite looked down at the medal on his cotton shirt.

"You are really good in sword fighting, right?" Endymion asked closing his eyes once again.

"The best that can be out there…I will prove him I am worthy, he'll be sorry…" Kunzite muttered.

"Who are you talking about?" Endymion asked, opening his eyes he turned to look at Kunzite once again.

"It's not of your business" it was Kunzite's time to close his eyes, even though he couldn't concentrate under the freezing water he would pretend.

The soldier held a difficult past and he was well aware of everything, he knew his mother worked to give him and his sick grandmother something to eat every day and it hurt him knowing his father was out there somewhere knowing he has a son and have not tried to contact him, it hurt him finding out he was an abandoned child and felt anger inside his heart; he have known how hard life can be and the worst thing that could ever happen to him when he was little was to see his mother cry every night because of the memory of his missing father.

He had grown up to be a decided young man and promised to himself that he would help his mother no matter what and prove his father that he can do better than him. Kunzite learned to overpass the feeling of anger towards his father and the kind of life he had or at least he thought he had. Everything changed when Endymion came into the picture, his picture. Kunzite felt resentment towards him and the fact that he could have everything whenever he wanted, to him Endymion was just a spoiled boy who wanted to be here just to pass have something else to do.

Endymion sighed and remained silent the rest of the time they had to be there ignoring Kunzite was next to him muttering words.

"Do you think they will stay there for too long?" Jadeite asked with worry.

"Knowing Rumalos…they can stay there all night" Zoicite said from his seat across Jadeite and Nephrite.

"How can you stand Kunzite?" Nephrite asked annoyed, looking at the blonde man.

"He's not as bad as he pretends to be…he just had a hard life…" Zoicite said, his blue green eyes stared at the fire in front of them, his long wavy hair was tied up in a low ponytail. Zoicite was known to be a close friend to Kunzite but he wasn't as hard and cold as him and did not like the way how he treated the prince.

"But he hates the Prince…" Jadeite turned to look at Nephrite.

"He's like that when he feels threatened. Endymion came to the picture and a lot of the people here wanted to become his friend. He says he pretends to be something he's not" Zoicite sighed "But he'll come around…someday" his thin lips formed a slight smile.

"Someday? It's been three years!" Nephrite said, looking at the blonde man.

"Too much chat already, time to go to bed!" General Rumalos said out loud.

"Are Endymion and Kunzite coming General?" Jadeite asked.

"They will return to their tents when I tell them to do that" Rumalos said in a serious tone.

"But they can catch pneumonia!" Zoicite said worried "The water is freezing at this time of the night, Sir"

Rumalos arched a brow "What are you now, a doctor?"

Zoicite's eyes widened "N-No, Sir…" he trailed off.

"They should have thought of that before attacking themselves like wild animals" the general said "I will decide when they can come back to the camp, now…go to sleep" the man's voice sounded tired. The rivalry between Kunzite and Endymion was starting to become an annoyance to him.

Jadeite, Nephrite and Zoicite along the other young soldiers went back to their respective tents "Do you think they'll stay more time over there?" the blonde soldier asked the dark haired man when they entered theirs.

"I can't imagine what Endymion might be thinking at this point…all your thoughts erase in that cold water" Nephrite said, sitting in his cot.

Rumalos walked back to the waterfall where he had the two soldiers under the water "Are you already refreshed?" he asked sarcastically "I hope to see a better behavior from you two…you are getting off my nerves. Get out of the water and go to you tents, we have training to do tomorrow"

Endymion and Kunzite walked back to their tents in silence followed by the general. The dark haired prince was the first to enter his tent, a few seconds later he sneezed "Dammit!" he muttered.

"Endymion?" Nephrite asked in the dark.

"Yes, it's me…" Endymion sniffed a little "I need to find a towel…soon"

Nephrite stood up and handed him one "I thought you might look for one and the lights might be gone out by the time you were here…"

"Thank you Nephrite…" Endymion started to dry himself with the towel and went to change his wet clothes.

"Is Kunzite still pissed off?" Nephrite asked softly trying not to wake up Jadeite and the others.

"He will always be pissed off" Endymion whispered while putting his dry clothes on.

"He's bitter…" Jadeite muttered.

"I thought you were asleep" Nephrite whispered, turning his head to where he knew Jadeite's cot was.

"I was…but I heard Endymion's voice and woke up…how did it go? Did you actually stand under the cold water?"

"Shhhhhhhhhhh!" someone from another cot hushed.

"Yes…" Endymion whispered.

"Was it cold?" Jadeite asked again.

"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" again, he was interrupted by the hush.

"What kind of question is that Jadeite?" Nephrite frowned.

"I was asleep! My brain is not thinking right" Jadeite snapped.

"SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Endymion chuckled "You are going to wake the rest of the guys up…yes Jadeite, it was cold" laying on the bed, he covered with his blanket and sighed "We better go back to sleep…tomorrow we have to keep training"

"Yes, your right…see you tomorrow" Nephrite said.

"SHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Alright, alright, alright!" Nephrite said out loud.

ooooo

The next day's sun reached the skies on the Moon, it was early morning and the lunar queen was already working on some matters concerning the alliance and her kingdom.

"Serenity" Aphrodite greeted the lunar queen with a big smile.

"It's always good to see you Aphrodite" Serenity said softly and extended her hand motioning her to sit on the chair in front of her desk "We haven't being able to talk since that meeting with the Ares…"

Aphrodite waved her hand and chuckled "Don't worry about it, I know you have been busy with the Alliance and raising your little girl, I know how that is"

Serenity chuckled "Well, she's not so little anymore…she's almost fifteen" the lunar queen moved the papers she was reading aside to give her full attention to the blonde beautiful goddess.

"To us they will always be our little girls…" Aphrodite smiled.

"How is Venus doing?" Serenity asked curious.

Aphrodite sat straight on her chair and crossed her legs "That is why I'm here; I want to talk to you about Venus…"

Serenity made a confused look "Of course…is something wrong?"

"No" Aphrodite coughed a little "I know she'll be Serenity's guardian once she turns fifteen and she's quite happy about it even when they do not know each other much, I would like to know if she'll live here with you…"

Serenity rested her back on her chair "I would love to have her here, but if her training interferes with it then we would have to think of something else"

"Serenity has many suitors now and she doesn't even has the age to be married, the Silver Millennium is the strongest Alliance ever created and gives the Moon Kingdom a very high power…it is crucial to have our guardian daughters looking out for the Princess…" Aphrodite commented.

"I don't want to portray an image of weak women and that we need protection because of that, I believe that is why I haven't insisted in this matter. But you are right, Serenity needs to be protected…she's starting to become envied…" Serenity said, resting her elbows on her desk she smiled "I already talked with Ares and Hermes…I want the Amazon girl to be in the royal court as well…I talked to Zeus and he was surprised at first, Hera of course made a fit about it but…do you think I care what she thinks?" the lunar queen giggled.

Aphrodite laughed "I don't think so; her jealousy makes her commit too many stupid things…"

Serenity nodded her head "It's decided then, when Serenity turns fifteen the royal guardians from the inner planets of the galaxy will come to live on the Moon Kingdom"

Aphrodite moved her head to her side "Has she kept asking you about…her father?"

Queen Serenity lowered her eyes and sighed "It is normal she wants to know about him..." she trailed off

"But?" Aphrodite asked.

Serenity looked back at her friend in front of her "I will tell her, but I think she is too young to know what really happened. She knows he died, but she doesn't know how"

"She is beautiful…inside and out" Aphrodite smiled.

"Yes…I don't want to taint her pure heart by telling her what really happened to him…Nehelenia is her aunt wherever we like it or not"

Aphrodite pursed her lips "Yes, her evil, envious and insane aunt"

Serenity smiled "Aphrodite…" she said in a warning tone.

Aphrodite raised her hands in defense "Fine, fine…I'll leave like that"

ooooooo

On Earth, it was dawn and as usual the soldiers were already starting their routine "Is that everything you have?" one of the sergeants said out loud "Concentrate on what you are doing, look at where you are aiming!"

Endymion turned and tried to hit his opponent just like he did when he trained with Leonidas, he was definitely improving his skills in sword fighting but still, he wasn't what he wanted to be, taking a wrong step he tripped and fell giving his opponent the winning.

"Dammit…" the prince sighed and closed his eyes.

"Stand up, you aren't done" the sergeant said.

The prince nodded and tried to stand up, he placed both hands on the ground for support and in a flash millions of images started to run through his mind, one of them was his grandfather in bed, startled he opened his eyes and gasped "Grandpa…" he said softly.

"I said stand up!" the sergeant ordered again "There's no time to waste!"

Endymion tried to stand up but started to feel dizzy "I can't…stand…up" he said softly.

"There is not time to be weak! Stand up!" the man said again, this time more authoritative than before "I won't tolerate any laziness"

Endymion managed to stand up and grabbed the long thin stick he was had as weapon and started to fight his opponent with a sudden rage, one strike after another he made the other soldier fall on his back and surrender.

"That was what I was talking about!" the sergeant said, now with a calmer voice.

Kunzite in a small hill watching the prince fight with several opponents with a strange force he knew wasn't usual in him. One of the sergeants walked to the one who was giving that day's lesson and gave him a letter and whispered something in his ear then turned to look at the prince. The white haired man frowned in curiosity "How strange…" he said to himself.

"Endymion, a letter has been delivered to you from the Golden Palace…you are excused for a moment" the sergeant said.

Endymion walked over to his superior and took the letter from his hand and walked back to his tent, entering the empty tent he sat on his cot and looked at the wax seal with the symbol of his home on its back, tearing the seal apart he unfolded the piece of paper immediately and started reading.

_My dear son,_

_It has been long ago since we heard from you, I hope you are taking everything you can from your training, we know how strong and capable you are to accomplish your dreams._

_I must inform you with great sadness that your grandfather's heart has become weak and couldn't hold any longer and passed away this morning, your father and Leonidas will be arranging the funeral ceremony to bid him goodbye. I know this will be difficult for you and we understand you can't be here with us because of your training, but please know that he left in peace. Remember that he will always love you and that no matter where he is right now, he is very proud of you._

_We love you and miss you,_

_Your Mother._

Endymion's eyes started to fill with hot tears, he couldn't believe what he was reading, his grandfather was dead.

The prince stood up and walked around the tent with his hands on his head. He loved his grandfather very much and remembered how he always had faith in him no matter how many times he failed in his trainings; he always encouraged him to continue dreaming and believed he was going to be even better than his father.

Tears started to fall from his eyes silently and did not tried to wipe them off his face, first it was finding out about his mother's delicate condition and now this, things would never be the same once he returned to the palace, his grandfather will not be waiting for him near the ocean or have breakfast with them every morning, he would never hear his laughter again. His grandfather was gone forever and he didn't have the chance to say goodbye.

Zoicite watched Endymion walk into his tent; wondering why he hadn't come out he walked inside and was surprised to find him crying desperately.

"Are you alright?" the blonde man asked concerned, he walked to stand next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Endymion turned to look at him with a sad expression "No…somebody very close to me has passed away…" his voice was raspy and full of hurt.

Zoicite's blue green eyes widened "I'm so sorry to hear that…"

Endymion turned and lowered his head, Zoicite was not very sure of what to say, he had the urge inside him again to help him "Is there anything I can do to help you?" he asked, concerned.

Endymion shook his head no "There are things nobody can do to help them from happening…" the prince walked back to his cot and sat, he rested his hands on his head again.

Zoicite was surprised by the deepness in the prince's words, he was right, sometimes no matter how much someone tried, some things could not be helped.

"If you need anything…don't hesitate to ask" Zoicite said softly.

"Are you being nice to me because of what I just told you?" Endymion asked slowly, his voice was cold and distant.

Zoicite sighed and took a step forward "I know what you must be thinking; I have been present every time Kunzite did something to bother you and I didn't do anything to stop him. I apologize for it and I want to let you know that I don't have anything against you…I actually hope we can be friends…" the blonde said kindly.

Endymion turned to look at him with a serious expression and nodded his head "Thank you, Zoicite"

The blonde soldier half smiled and nodded his head "Well…I better go back to the training field before Rumalos sees me here and orders me to stand under the freezing water" he pointed with his thumb the exit.

Endymion chuckled "Yes, I believe you better go" this time, he wiped the tears off his face with his hand.

Zoicite smiled again and turned to leave the tent leaving Endymion alone once again, the prince lowered his head and saw the letter in his hands, the ink was smudged by his fallen tears "I will make you proud Grandpa…" the prince extended his palm and a soft golden spark came out of it "I do not know how can I do this…"

Endymion sighed and sat on the floor and placed a hand on his head "Why am I feeling like this again?" he said to himself frustrated. Placing his other hand on the ground he closed his eyes and easily could feel the sadness around for the loss of a great king.

"It's this strange feeling again overflowing me, the strange sparks, the warm energy all over me…the visions…" he muttered "Why do I feel this way?...what the hell am I?" he asked.

"**With time, these sensations have become stronger and often. Like premonitions…I don't know why it happens to me…Obelix told me it was fine…that it was normal for me to be having this **_**gift**_** I needed to keep to myself…"**

**Flashback**

"_You need to concentrate and channel all your energy to your core…breathe and let the air out" the priest said softly._

_Adjutorium nostrum in nomine Domini._

_qui fecit caelum et terran_

_Dominus vobiscum_

_Et cum spíritu tuo._

_Endymion whispered several times the prayer Obelix have taught him when he felt a warm energy flowing inside him like a warm blanket. Opening his eyes he watched golden sparks coming out of the palm of his hands and millions of whispers echoed in his head, like prayers from other people; suddenly the wind blew with a stronger force and could feel the ocean's hidden emotions and Earth's eternal joy. He could feel a strong connection but yet didn't know what was happening. Endymion opened his eyes in shock._

_Obelix watched in awe the successions and tried to take the prince's hands when suddenly a flash of gold stroke him sending him a couple of feet away from him. It wasn't the first time this kind of event had happened._

_Endymion lowered his head again in shame and hid his hands behind his back "I'm sorry Obelix…" he said softly._

"_Why are you sorry?" the priest stood up, brushing his white tunic._

"_Because I hurt you once again…" the prince said sadly._

_Obelix smiled "That is normal young prince…its part of the meditation…" he went to sit next to him again._

"_I don't know what is it…" the prince sighed "But every time this strong feeling overcomes me it is like I can't help it from happening…" Endymion said looking at his hands._

"_What you have is a blessing, a gift… a gift no one have but you need to keep it to yourself" the priest said "Not because nobody can know a thing about it, but because it is something that comes within you and you need learn how to control it…" he placed a hand on his shoulder._

_Endymion looked at Obelix and made a confused expression, looking at his hands once again he frowned "A gift…what kind of a gift is this?"_

_**End of flashback**_

Endymion looked at his hands the same way he did when he was with the priest.

"A gift…what is this I tend to have? …What kind of a gift is this?" he asked frustrated and confused.

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**You can always leave a lovely review for me :)**

**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters. Thank you.**


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: I hope you like it.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter thirty one**

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**

A wave of excitement filled the Moon Palace; it was a moment the queen was waiting for. Finally, her daughter will meet her guardians and hoped they could be her friends as well, she knew her daughter was an angel and it wasn't good for her to be alone most of the time. She hoped she could find good friends like she did.

"Dear…they're here" Queen Serenity smiled at her daughter.

Princess Serenity turned her face away from the mirror in her vanity and smiled at her mother, her grey blue eyes glittered with joy and excitement when she heard her mother's words "Do I look pretty?" she asked happily.

"You look beautiful" Queen Serenity said extending her hand at her daughter "You don't need much to look pretty dear"

The young princess stood up and adjusted her very pale pink dress, her dress had half sleeves and girly accents like small flowers at the helm of the gown. Her light blonde hair was styled in her mother's same style, a small bun on each side of her head letting the rest flow on her back like a silky cascade.

"I'm nervous…what if they don't like me?" the princess asked softly, rubbing her hands.

Queen Serenity smiled and caressed her cheek with her hand "Don't worry about that, who wouldn't like you! Besides…they're very nice girls"

Princess Serenity smiled and nodded "Let's go then!" she said happily.

"Alright" Queen Serenity smiled and walked with her daughter towards the study room where their guests were waiting for them. They walked down the hall in silence, Princess Serenity started to feel her hands getting cold and her heart beating faster; the queen and her daughter stood in front of the large doors of the study and waited for the guard open them.

"Good day" Queen Serenity smiled at their guests.

oooooooooooo

Leonidas went to visit Rumalos at the training camp to have their usual meeting and to hear from the royal prince. Rumalos sighed and scratched the back of his head in frustration "We need to start preparing ourselves…they're raising again and want to fight us…we need to start preparing them for war, they've trained enough"

General Leonidas raised a brow "What do you mean?"

"The Zubarbs are rising again and with stronger allies against our Kingdom" General Rumalos said.

General Leonidas sighed and stepped away from the table where Rumalos had extended some strategy maps "They are like if they were sent by the same Gods…I do not believe they're human…"

Rumalos sighed and shrugged his shoulders "I don't know if they're human or not but our King must be prepared and so the army and this soldiers in training, they have never accepted the Golden Kingdom existence and our Mighty Queen's origin"

Leonidas turned to look at Rumalos with a stern face "Our Queen's true origin was swore not to be mentioned"

Rumalos waved his hands in defense "I know, I know about that…we as part of the court and army are not allowed to talk about that…but since you are the King's right arm and advisor you need to inform him of these incidents that have been happening and let him know that if the residing army at the palace can't handle all of them we will need to send this boys to fight as well" Rumalos said to Leonidas.

Leonidas sighed and turned his back at Rumalos again "How is the Prince responding to the training?"

Rumalos pursed his lips "The kid is good, very good…he has excellent aiming, but he's kind of a rebel…he needs more discipline"

Leonidas walked to the tent's entrance and moved the fabric slightly aside to watch outside "What do you mean?"

Rumalos walked over to stand next to the general "Well…he seems to have some kind of rivalry with one of our best soldiers…and that makes him lose control most of the time…he has excellent concentration skills and has quite a character, but still he needs to keep practicing"

"King Odell's death affected him greatly…I do not doubt he's good…" Leonidas said.

"That seemed to bring him down on his performance" General Rumalos said.

Leonidas turned to look at Rumalos and walked back in "I do not know if it's a good idea to see him"

"I don't know what to say about that…remember when we were training, things suddenly changed for everybody…the kid will not be the same you brought here three years ago…"

Leonidas sighed "I know…he's already a man"

"He's still a kid in a way, he's very carefree" Rumalos chuckled "But, if these events keep happening and help is required we will have to send him to fight…"

"The King is aware of this matter already, but not the fact that his son could be involved…I will talk to him about this as soon as I get back to the Palace" Leonidas sat on a chair and sighed "Just what exactly does this tribe wants?"

Rumalos served gin in two cups and passed him one to Leonidas, taking a drink he made a face and then sighed "They claim to be the real owners of this planet. They call themselves the true chosen royals of the Golden Kingdom"

Leonidas took a drink of his gin and made also a face "That's nonsense…"

"Even if we live in a peaceful kingdom there are still people who will always be against it and will want to make things their way" Rumalos said.

Leonidas lowered his head and finished his drink "I want to see Endymion"

"Are you sure about that?" Rumalos raised a brow "You care for the kid too much, right?"

Leonidas smiled "I do, I was surprised when he asked his father to send him here…"

Rumalos finished his drink and served himself and Leonidas more "Wait, wasn't the King the one who sent him here?"

"Well, yes, but because the Prince asked him to do it" Leonidas took another quick drink of his beverage.

"That changes everything…" Rumalos said and had another drink.

"What do you mean?" Leonidas raised a brow.

"The Prince is smarter and tougher than I thought…" Rumalos said.

"Don't underestimate our Prince Rumalos…" Leonidas smiled and stood up "I want to see him"

Rumalos sighed "Very well…I'll tell one of the sergeants to call for him, he's at the field right know…" the red headed general stood up and walked to the tent's entrance "Oy! Priam"

The blonde sergeant walked to where Rumalos was standing "Yes General?"

"Bring the Prince to my tent"

The blonde sergeant nodded and went to get Endymion.

Rumalos went back to the tent and sat on his chair "He'll be here in a few minutes"

Leonidas nodded and smiled "How about another shot of gin?"

Rumalos chuckled and poured more gin to Leonidas' cup "For the old times…too bad Eros is King and can't be here"

"We had very good moments here despite the hard work…" Leonidas chuckled.

Sergeant Priam stopped at the field and looked for the prince between all the soldiers who were there practicing, he walked closer to him "Soldier" he called out.

Endymion was winning the sword fighting practice when Priam interrupted "Yes Sergeant?"

"General Rumalos wants to see you" the sergeant said.

Jadeite was next to him and turned to look at Zoicite "What do you think he wants?"

Zoicite shrugged "I don't know…maybe he wants to send him to the waterfall and stand on the freezing water once again" he joked.

Endymion followed the sergeant to the general's tent "Here's the soldier" Sergeant Priam said out loud to both generals.

Endymion walked in and noticed General Rumalos and another man sitting on a chair with his back at him "You wanted to see me General?"

Rumalos gave Priam a signal to leave them alone and then turned his attention to the prince "Yes, well…not me exactly but him" the general pointed the man sitting near him.

Leonidas stood up and turned to look at him "I am the one who asked to see you"

Endymion's blue eyes widened in surprise "Leonidas…" he said softly.

"I'll leave you two alone" Rumalos said and left the tent.

"What…?" Endymion trailed off.

"Aren't you happy to see me?" Leonidas asked.

Endymion blinked a couple of times and smiled "I am…it's just that…I was making sure I wasn't imaging things"

Leonidas chuckled "Come here!" he hugged the prince tightly.

"Wait…what are you doing here? Is everything okay? Is Mother and Father okay?" Endymion asked.

"They're fine"

"How is my Grandmother?" the prince asked with sadness.

Leonidas sighed "Come, sit…" the general sat on a chair, the prince followed and sat on another in front of him "Queen Narella is fine, she's sad…but she knew that moment would come eventually….King Odell's heart was too weak to keep up"

Endymion lowered his head "I couldn't say goodbye"

Leonidas placed a hand on Endymion's shoulder "I know how hard this is for you…"

Endymion sighed "Everything seemed to come at the same time…" he rested his head on his hands.

"What do you mean?" the general asked worried.

Endymion raised his head and turned to look at Leonidas "You will say I'm a freak"

Leonidas placed a hand on his shoulder "You know you can trust me"

Endymion smiled and lowered his gaze "I've been having these…strange dreams…and to be even more strange I have these…feeling of…warmth inside me that I cannot understand"

Leonidas widened his eyes in shock, he knew why Endymion felt that way but he swore his queen not to say a word in order to protect him "Warmth?" he tried to sound worried.

"Obelix told me once this was normal in me…but, it keeps coming stronger and sometimes I feel I cannot control it, it overcomes me" Endymion said softly.

"Do you know what I think? I think Obelix is right when he said you were special, I think you feel this because you are becoming a better soldier and there is a great amount of determination in your heart" Leonidas said.

"But what am I going to do if I cannot control it?"

"You will always be stronger than that. Believe in yourself"

Endymion turned to look at the general "What?"

"You've been struggling with your training lately but that is because you don't believe in yourself enough to prove you how much potential you have" Leonidas said with a serious tone.

"Leonidas…" Endymion trailed off.

"Your family is very proud of you…they know you will be the best. But again, you need to believe in yourself" Leonidas patted Endymion's shoulder. The prince smiled "How's everyone back at home?"

Leonidas sighed and rested his back on the chair "Well…Your mother misses you to death and sometimes she starts to cry, but she has your father there always consoling her, Obelix is training a boy to become a priest, Queen Narella is sad, but your mother keeps her company most of the time and well…she knew he would leave this realm one day…"

"I wish I could be there and see them…but I do want to finish my training" the prince said.

"I've heard you have some sort of rivalry with one of the soldiers…"

Endymion rolled his eyes "He doesn't seem to like me…"

Leonidas chuckled "That happens to every royal that comes here to train, they get free enemies"

Endymion sighed "How's Aurea?"

The question startled Leonidas "Aurea?"

"Yes…she's part of my family and you didn't tell me how she is" Endymion looked at the general.

"She's missing you dearly and she's always there for your mother, just like you asked her to" Leonidas smiled.

"Tell them I miss them and that soon, I will come back…" Endymion smiled.

Leonidas nodded and stood up "I better be going now, I need to get back to the Palace" Endymion followed "Thanks for coming Leonidas…it really made me feel better to see someone from home"

Leonidas hugged the prince "Remember we all have faith in you…forget about everything and concentrate on being the best" Endymion nodded, Leonidas was about to leave but stopped in his tracks and turned "And kick that kid's ass" the general whispered.

Endymion's eyes widened in surprise and chuckled "I will…"

oooooooo

Everyone in the room stood up immediately when they saw the two lunar royals, Chronos was the first one to break the silence "It's good to see you Princess Serenity"

"I'm glad to see you all here today" Queen Serenity smiled when she walked in to the conference room with her daughter behind "Serenity will be joining us today"

Serenity blushed and bowed her head. Queen Serenity smiled at the girls standing next to her long time friends. To her, everything was strange and amazing at the same time.

Hermes smiled "Queen Serenity, May I present to you my daughter, with the blessing of wisdom and the protection of the planet of water, Mercury" a girl in a royal blue gown with long sleeves and a V cut. Mercury bowed and smiled "Your Majesties" she had a dark blue shade and short hair that framed graciously her face, her fair skin and soft blue eyes made her look ethereal and kind.

Queen Serenity nodded and smiled at the girl and turned to look at her friend, Ares, who was standing next to Hermes "The day has come" he said softly. Queen Serenity nodded "It has indeed…" she whispered.

"Under the protection of the planet of fire and war and with the blessing of divination, this is my daughter, Mars" Ares said in a low voice. Deep inside, the Lord of war was proud of his strong daughter.

Ares' daughter had a special and strong aura around her; she definitely had her mother's physique and elegant features, dark hair, fair skin and big deep violet eyes. You could tell by only looking at her she had a strong character; she was wearing a deep red half sleeve gown with matching slippers "Good day Your Majesties" she bowed as well.

Queen Serenity smiled at her in response and turned to look at Chronos who was standing next to a tall girl in a deep forest gown. Her hair had the color of chocolate and her eyes were a lovely shade of green. Chronos smiled at the lunar queen and turned to look at the girl standing next to him "This is Jupiter, with the blessings of thunder and courage"

Queen Serenity walked to the girl and smiled, then turned to look at Chronos "She's…" she trailed off.

Chronos nodded "He gave her his blessings but you know how this is…" Serenity nodded knowing what he meant. Zeus had a problem, he had too much pride and didn't want to show too much affection for anybody; he was known to be a womanizer and for having too many children, but never imagined to have a strong daughter like Jupiter. When he found out he was the father of a chosen warrior of the universe he couldn't say no in helping his daughter despite Rhea's opinion and tantrums. Yes, it was because of her he wasn't there presenting his daughter.

Queen Serenity caressed the Amazonian girl's cheek softly "You're beautiful…" she breathed.

Jupiter smiled and nodded her head "You're too kind Your Majesty" she said softly.

Queen Serenity turned to look at her friend and smiled "I'm glad to see you here Aphrodite"

Aphrodite was wearing her royal golden orange gown, representing true beauty as she is, she placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders and smiled "Venus, under the protection of the planet of love and beauty, the soldier of enchantment"

Queen Serenity nodded her head "I'm happy to have you all here with us" she walked over her daughter.

Serenity looked at the blonde's deep orange dress and was amazed by how beautiful she was, then turned to look each girl and noticed how different they all were from one another, this meant another chapter in the princess' life and she was excited, happy and nervous at the same time.

The four girls took a step forward and bowed "We couldn't be happier to be with you, Princess Serenity, Queen Serenity"

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**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters. Thank you.**


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N: I hope you like this chapter. Reviews are always welcome, c'mon don't be mean let me know how many out there are reading my story.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter thirty two**

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After the formal presentation of the senshi with the lunar princess, they were guided to the tea room so the girls could start knowing each other better. Princess Serenity wasn't sure of what so say or do, she heard of these girls and was very aware of their strength; deep inside her heart she wished they could have more than just a guardian-princess relationship. Queen Serenity asked Luna to do all the arrangements and to settle the tea room for them to have some liberty to talk.

Serenity looked at the four girls in silence; the princess was known to be friendly and kind but this time she was very nervous. Venus was sitting across the lunar princess and gave her a curious look "Are you nervous?"

Serenity widened her eyes in shock by the blonde girl's boldness "I-I…" she trailed off; taking the porcelain tea pot she started to pour some hot tea in each cup in silence; when she was about to pour tea on hers she spilled some of the hot liquid on her dress and the table making her stand up quickly "Oh!"

"Are you okay Your Highness?" Mars stood up quickly.

Serenity tried to wipe the tea stain off her dress with a cloth "Yes…I'm sorry…I was distracted…I am so sorry" she comented.

"Princess, don't you worry…it's just tea, we can help clean it" Mercury said standing up and wiping off the tea on the table with another cloth.

Jupiter smiled "We all have a little klutz in us, like me for example, I always trip with these gowns"

Venus laughed "Oh I know, I always fall off the bed when I have a strange dream!"

The girls laughed, Mars chuckled "The other day I was training with my father and trip and feel on my face! It was so embarrassing!" the raven haired girl put a hand on her face, showing her embarrassment.

Serenity chuckled; she was starting to feel more comfortable with the girls now that they were starting to break the ice. Mercury was about to sit on her chair again when she moved the tea pot with her arm causing more tea to spill on the table; the girls started laughing at the same time.

"Even Mercury has a little klutz in her" Jupiter dried a tear from her eye.

"You see Princess? We all are the same" Venus winked.

Serenity smiled and nodded "I'm so happy to have new friends"

"You probably have so many friends Princess" Jupiter said softly.

Serenity lowered her gaze and smiled "Why do you think that?"

Jupiter blinked a couple of times "You are known as a very kind and friendly princess"

The princess sighed sadly, startling the four girls around her; Mars looked at her with worry "Is something the matter, Your Highness?"

Serenity looked up at them and half smiled "I do not have any close friends; you would be the first ones"

The four girls gasped, Venus immediately felt sympathetic towards the silver haired girl, smiling she reached for her hand across the round table "You are no longer alone"

The lunar princess smiled, her eyes shone with tears "Thank you"

The sound of the metal clashing against metal echoed in the training field. Endymion was having a practice battle with one of the soldiers, he moved his sword to the left then to the right, his opponent was moving slower than him but still had his guard high. The prince turned and confused the soldier making him fall giving the opportunity to win.

"You're very good" the soldier said from the floor.

Endymion smiled and scratched his head "You are good as well" the prince extended his hand out to the soldier.

"Good work" Rumalos said from behind, walking closer to the prince and the other soldier he smiled "You have improved considerably"

"But he isn't good as I am" Kunzite said short after.

Endymion rolled his eyes "What do you want?"

Kunzite walked over them and gave the prince a sided smile "To prove to you how good I am"

Endymion sighed and held his sword's handle tighter, Rumalos noticed there was tension in the air "Are you going to start again?"

Kunzite turned to look at the general "I was just saying General…"

"You are just saying nonsense to pick up a fight with me" Endymion snarled.

"Like if you were so damn important. You are nothing but a brat who was sent here to fulfill your father's wishes" Kunzite snapped.

Endymion dropped his sword and tried to come close to Kunzite but Rumalos stopped him, placing a hand on his chest "What do you know? You don't know anything about me!"

"Nobody wants to know anything about you!" Kunzite said louder.

"Nobody wants to know about you either and yet, you keep bragging all your lame achievements" Endymion raised his voice as well.

Kunzite's face flushed in anger and his eyes showed hurt, Endymion's words hit a soft spot, turning to see the general he frowned "I want to fight him general"

Rumalos stayed calm and with a serious expression "What are you saying?"

The man with white hair turned to look at Endymion "I want to prove to you, him and everybody I deserve to be the leader of this army"

"So you need to prove it?" Endymion raised a brow.

"You two need to calm down…" Rumalos said "I don't care about your stupid fights. I need good soldiers for what is about to come, I don't need two girls fighting over a candy"

"I will prove to you how good I am General" Kunzite looked at him "Let me show you I can be a leader"

General Rumalos closed his eyes and smiled, like he knew something nobody else did, opening them again he sighed "I don't have time for this soldier…I have better things to do"

"He has better things to do…" Endymion repeated in a humorous tone.

Kunzite gave the prince a dead glare then turned to the general "I am the warrior you need for the army!"

Rumalos watched the white haired young man in silence, his determination amazed him but something didn't seem to be right with him, his need to prove he was the best always was more noticeable when the prince was around.

"Endymion take your sword" the general commanded.

Endymion gave the general a confused look "General?"

"You are fighting with Kunzite" the older man turned to look at Kunzite "Prove it then"

The prince sighed and walked to the arena , he picked his sword from the floor and took his position; Kunzite did the same with a smile on his face **"I'm going to win this fight…"**

"Fight!" Rumalos said out loud.

Kunzite ran to where Endymion was standing and made the first strike; Endymion responded quickly and blocked his blows every time Kunzite tried to attack him.

The white haired man jumped and stood behind the dark haired prince "This battle is mine"

Endymion turned and blocked again his strike pushing Kunzite a few feet again with the force he was making with his sword. The fight alerted the rest of the soldiers that were training around them and went to see the challenge, Jadeite, Nephrite and Zoicite were the last to join the mass of people yelling at the fighting men.

"What is going on?" Nephrite asked.

Zoicite's blue green eyes widened when he saw what was happening "They're in a match!"

"Who are…" Nephrite trailed off, his eyes widened in shock when the words fell into place "Oh…"

"What? I have to see this!" Jadeite asked surprised and made his way to the front to see what Zoicite said, his eyes widened in shock when he saw his friend and Kunzite fighting a match with General Rumalos supervising them.

"You better surrender now!" Kunzite said between his teeth.

Endymion blocked another blow from Kunzite "I don't care if I win or not, I just want to kick your butt"

Nephrite and Zoicite soon appeared next to Jadeite "They're good" said the brown haired man.

"Yes…I did not know Endymion was _that_ good" Jadeite said surprised.

Endymion was aware Kunzite was by far the best swordsman of the army but still he didn't want to lose and he was going to try until the very end to win this match, he was about to make a move but Kunzite moved faster and pushed him making the prince lose his balance and fall.

Kunzite at this point stood in front of him and pointed his sword on Endymion's heart, indicating he had won the match.

"I told you I was the best" Kunzite chuckled and kept pointing his sword at him.

Endymion gave him a dead glare and for the first time noticed they were surrounded by a crowd, Kunzite then turned to see General Rumalos up the small hill where he was standing and smiled; Rumalos stayed silent with a serious expression on his face and a few seconds later he turned and left the area.

Jadeite, Zoicite and Nephrite ran towards Endymion; Kunzite turned to look at Zoicite with a stern face "Now you are friends with him?"

"You are taking this rivalry too far Kunzite…" Zoicite said with a low voice "Why do you hate him so much?"

Kunzite rolled his eyes and walked away, Zoicite sighed and walked towards Endymion "You did well Endymion…"

Endymion sighed "He's very fast"

"Don't worry Endymion…" Nephrite said placing a hand on his shoulder, Jadeite kneeled in front of the prince "Kunzite's crazy…you know how he is…"

Endymion lowered his gaze "You don't know, how much this means to me…" he raised his head showing a strong emotion in his eyes, making them a deeper shade of blue.

"You already know how Kunzite is, he's an angry person and he has tried to make your life miserable since you came here" Jadeite said again.

"Jadeite is right; Kunzite is an angry person…" Zoicite said softly.

Jadeite looked up at the blonde man and made a frown "You probably know why he is like that"

Zoicite looked down at Jadeite "Why should I know that?"

"Because you're his friend…" Nephrite said.

"Actually, I don't know why he is like that…but one thing I am sure, he is _like that_ when Endymion is around" Zoicite said.

Jadeite laughed and patted Endymion's shoulder "He feels threatened by you"

Endymion rolled his eyes at his friend "Bottom line, he hates me and honestly I don't give a damn, I'm not here for him" the black haired prince stood up and brushed the dirt off his shirt and pants.

A familiar bell sound was heard in the distance, Jadeite immediately rubbed his stomach "Uh dinner time, finally!"

Zoicite gave him a funny look "You learned to love that strange food don't you?"

Jadeite chuckled "After three years, you learn how to eat that thing and not get poisoned" the three soldiers laughed except for Endymion who was very into his thoughts.

Leonidas walked into the study where King Eros was sitting behind his desk, a serious expression marking his face "Eros…" he closed the door behind him.

"What happened Leonidas?" Eros stood up quickly, his fisted hands were against the wooden desk "Did you see him?" he asked anxiously.

The general nodded "But we need to talk about what could happen"

Eros sat back on his chair with a serious expression "What did Rumalos said about the Zubarbs situation?"

"They're starting to attack the surroundings" Leonidas turned and walked over a bigger table next to the desk and extended a map, Eros leaned on the table observing the map with caution.

"They're here right now" Leonidas marked an area with his knife "Near King Bernard's kingdom"

Eros sighed "The army is not too far away from there…"

"Rumalos says that if the army we have here right now can't handle them he will have to send the boys to fight"

Eros lowered his gaze back to the map "They're not ready to go to war"

"Rumalos think they're well prepared…" Leonidas said in a serious voice.

"How is Endymion?" Eros looked back at Leonidas.

"He's well, but very affected by King Odell's dead" Leonidas sighed and sat on a chair near the table.

Eros walked around the study, a hand on his chin and deep in thought "Gaia will not like to hear this…"

"Rumalos said he's seen an amazing potential in him, but still needs to practice more. Finding out his grandfather's dead affected him greatly on his concentration skills"

Eros sighed and sat on a chair next to the general "The ones called _genus della terra_ are very strong… Rumalos needs to wait for the army we have here fight them in case they try to invade us"

"But what if he decides to send them to fight…" Leonidas trailed off.

Eros turned to look at Leonidas "Endymion will have to stop being a soldier and become a warrior"

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**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters. Thank you.**


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N: I want to apologize to all of you who read my story, I've been in the middle of a crisis (I should say...) that has me quite worried/busy most of the time, but please don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you all, here it is another chapter and I will see you guys soon.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter thirty three**

**

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**

After dinner time; Endymion was heading back to his tent. He was about to enter when he saw a familiar guy sitting in a rock looking at the horizon in silence. In a daily basis he wouldn't go and talk to him but something inside told him something was wrong with him.

"Kunzite…" Endymion said from behind the soldier. The white haired man turned to look at him with a serious expression "What do you want?" he snapped despicably.

"Are you okay?" Endymion asked, ignoring Kunzite cold ones.

Kunzite's eyes widened in shock, of all things they always said to each other every day, this was something he wasn't expecting "I asked you what do you want?" his voice echoed.

Endymion crossed his arms in front of his chest "I believe we will never get along…" the prince sighed and closed his eyes.

"Your guess is right, I will never be friends with you" Kunzite said bitterly, not looking back at the prince.

"Why are you so angry at me?" Endymion raised his voice in frustration and waited for a response but got none, realizing he wasn't going to solve things with him he sighed again "Forget it" he turned to walk away.

Kunzite turned to look at the prince with a stern face and frowned "Why do you care? We are supposed to be rivals…" the white haired man said slowly.

Endymion stopped in his tracks and turned his face over his shoulder "We are rivals because that is how you want it to be…" with nothing else to say he started to walk back again, leaving Kunzite alone and confused "A soldier will never get along with a prince…" Kunzite muttered.

oooooooooooooo

The priest as reading a book in the temple where he spent most of his time now, more than paying attention to his reading he was deep in thought, his now long and white hair was tied up in a low ponytail; a strand of hair covered his left green eye. Closing the book he sighed and looked up to the smithy door and smiled "What a pleasant surprise little princess" Obelix said from his seat near the fountain that was at the middle of the temple.

The terran queen walked in, her long sleeve deep purple gown contrasted the light colors of the shrine and the silk material hugged every curve the right way. Gaia could never look bad even if she tried to, her dark hair was styled in a low lose ponytail; her golden tiara with a deep blue stone on its center shone brightly on her head.

Taking a seat next to the older priest she sighed "It's been long since I came here…" her voice was soft.

Obelix smiled and lowered his gaze "This place reminds me a lot to your previous shrine"

Gaia closed her eyes and leaned on Obelix's shoulder "I remember it very well…all the fresh flowers, the garden, the throne room, my room…"

"You sound like if you miss it" Obelix chuckled; Gaia sat straight again "I will always miss it, but I like it better here because I have my husband by my side, I have a beautiful family, I still have you here with me… I have a wonderful son which I miss dearly by the way…" she chuckled.

"How are you handling it?" Obelix asked concerned and frowned. Gaia gave a longer sigh and lowered her gaze "It's been so long since he went away…"

"He must be so big" Obelix said "I hope he's doing well"

"Yes he is…Leonidas went to see him, Eros is well informed but still it is not the same…I'm worried all the time…and now I have more reasons to be worried" Gaia placed a hand on her face.

Obelix frowned "What do you mean?" Gaia stood up and started to walk towards the fountain "It seems a war is approaching…"

Obelix widened his hazel eyes and stood up "A war? Sent by whom?" Gaia turned to look at him "They call themselves the true owners of the planet"

"Do you think they are an invention from…them?" Obelix pointed his finger to the skies. Gaia sighed again "I don't know…but if there are not enough soldiers here to fight them…they'll send the ones that are training as we speak" her voice started breaking, Obelix walked to Gaia "Little princess…"

"I told Eros to go and get Endymion but he said he couldn't do that! That was why I didn't want him to go there!..." Gaia broke into tears and covered her delicate face with her hands.

"Little princess look at me" Obelix said softly and placed a hand on her chin, lifting her face to meet his "He is a warrior no matter how much you are afraid of what could happen to him…remember he was the one who made the decision to go there and train…remember the blood that runs in his veins"

Gaia lowered her gaze, her lashed were so long that some of her tears were trapped between them "No matter how much I tried him to be a normal boy he's destined to be something bigger"

Obelix nodded "That is why you need to be calm and be proud of him because once he returns; he will take charge of this dynasty alongside his father"

Gaia smiled and hugged her priest and dear friend "No matter how old I am getting, you are always taking care of me"

Obelix rubbed the queen's back in soft circular motions "To me, you will always be my little princess"

Gaia smiled and hugged Obelix "I love you so much…did you know that?"

oooooooooooooo

Serenity and the girls were starting to know each other, each and one of them were different in their own way but it seemed they were getting along; the now called senshi had their own personal room in the Moon Palace and assisted Serenity in everything she needed. The princess however, didn't want to be treated like a piece of crystal anymore and despite her mother's wishes to be careful she wanted to be free and she wanted to have friends.

The lunar princess was sitting in one of the benches in the main court playing with a flower in her hands; her fingers caressed softly the white petals of the little flower. By each day that passed Serenity turned more beautiful than the day before, today was the day she turned fifteen years old and she wasn't feeling very excited about it.

"Princess there you are! We were looking all over for you…" Venus said cheerfully.

Serenity turned to look at the four girls wearing a soft cream colored dress, the dresses were in different styles but they all held in their waist a small silver chain with a stone of their respective planet color.

"We were starting to get worried Your Highness" Jupiter said softly.

Serenity smiled then sighed softly and looked at the flower in her hands again without saying a word, Mars noticed there was something bothering the girl and sat next to her moving aside her platinum blonde hair "Princess, what is bothering you? Is it us by any chance?"

Serenity turned to look at the raven haired girl with wide eyes "Not at all!" she exclaimed and lowered her soft blue gaze "It's just that…I feel lonely"

"But today is your birthday Princess! You should be feeling excited" Mercury said softly.

Venus kneeled in front of the lunar princess and placed a hand over hers "Why do you feel lonely? ...you have us"

Serenity looked up at the blonde young beauty "I'm tired of feeling I'm just being guarded like some piece of glass…I know Mother asked you to come and live here not to be my friends but my guardians"

Jupiter smiled and moving aside the small tail of her dress she sat on Serenity's other side and placed an arm around her shoulders "I'm here to be your guardian_ and_ your friend"

Serenity turned to look at the Amazonian girl with wide eyes "Jupiter…"

Mercury came to stand next to the brunette beauty "You are too sweet Princess, there is no reason why we wouldn't want to be friends with you" she smiled and placed a lock of her dark blue hair behind her ear.

"Not to mention funny" Venus added cheerfully.

Serenity looked at Venus and smiled "Venus…"

"Of course, you are a little distracted but who isn't? That makes you unique Princess" Mars said.

Serenity giggled "I do am one distracted girl"

"But despite that, we do want to be your friends…these couple of months lately have been well...difficult because it was strange for us to finally meet and then leave our homes to come and live here" Mars said again "And not to mention our training" Jupiter blew her bangs.

"We had to adjust ourselves to this great duty. We swore to protect your life no matter what, Princess" Mercury said softly.

Serenity smiled and nodded "I'm sorry you have to take care of me…I promise I won't give you any hard times"

Venus chuckled "Well, you will be if you keep thinking we don't want to talk to you. Come on, cheer up! It's your birthday! And everybody from Olympus will come to congratulate you!"

Serenity giggled "Alright"

"Good! That's more like it!" Venus winked her eye at her "So, what are you wearing for tonight?"

"It is the perfect occasion to wear a gorgeous gown with beads, crystals and all" Jupiter said in a dreamy tone "I know right? I would definitely wear something red" Mars said.

"Of course, you're Mars!" Mercury giggled.

"I would wear something with yellow roses" Jupiter said.

"Roses?" Serenity asked.

"Yes, haven't you seen them?"

"No…"

"Ow…those flowers are exquisite" Mercury said sitting down next to Venus on the grass.

"How do they look like?" Serenity asked curious.

"They're like made of the finest satin" Mars commented "Let's see…they're like…" she turned to look at Jupiter and smiled "Like Jupiter's earrings!" she pointed them.

"Oh that's right! My earrings are roses" Jupiter giggled and took one off and gave it to Serenity to look at it.

"Do roses have a smell?" Serenity asked, looking at the earring in her hand.

"Yes…a very sweet scent" Venus said "Those are gorgeous flowers…very elegant; too bad they only grow in one planet"

"Really? Which one?" Serenity asked.

"That one" Venus pointed the blue planet "It is the only planet were they grow naturally"

"Have you ever been there?" the lunar princess widened her eyes in shock.

"No…but for example in Jupiter it grows a similar flower"

"There are legends that say that they used to bring seeds from roses to Jupiter to grow more here in the galaxy…" Jupiter said.

"And what happened, why they don't do that anymore?" Serenity scratched her head softly.

"Well…we are not allowed to go there" Mercury said.

Serenity looked at the blue sphere hanging in the sky "Since I have memory…I like to look up at that planet, it is so full of enchantments and mysteries"

"Well now Princess…we must go and get you ready for your ball!" Mars said excitedly and stood up.

"Mars is right!" Jupiter stood up next "Come Princess!"

Serenity nodded and turned to look at the blue planet again "So full of enchantments and mysteries…" she breathed.

oooooooooooo

The sun had set on the blue planet, from a guarded and secret place a tall man walked through the bushes and calmed down a mob of people in front of him "We are getting close to our victory; we have more followers every day that passes"

The mob started making loud noise and cheering, all raising their swords and torches, the man with dark hair moved his hands silencing them again "It's our time! Our time to rule the kingdom that holds all the richness of this planet!"

"But what about the royal army? What about the King and Queen?" one man asked.

"We will fight them and win! We will dethrone the King and Queen!" said the dark man making the noise come again louder than before "We are _Los Genus della Terra_! And the time for us has come!"

"Duellum!" the man raised his sword.

"Duellum! Duellum!" said the mob, raising their swords and torches.

The man chuckled for himself "This time…we will win this war…" he said slowly and in a threatening tone.

* * *

**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.**


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N: I hope you like this new chapter, sorry for not being as excited as usual but, I'm really having a hard time lately. Anyways, I hope you like it and it would be lovely to know what you think.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter thirty four**

**

* * *

**

The next day had started the same way every day began, all the soldiers would wake up early in the morning and start their warming training, then an hour of meditation, everybody were used to it already, even the constant fighting between two of them.

"Get out of my way!" Kunzite raised his voice.

"Walk to the other side!" Endymion responded.

"You conceited brat!" the white haired soldier gritted his teeth.

Endymion rolled his eyes "I'm getting sick of you…"

"Really? Because I got sick of you five minutes after you arrived here" Kunzite snapped.

"Leave me alone Kunzite" Endymion tried to walk away from him, but Kunzite pushed him making him fall and hit his head with a rock, the prince immediately placed his hand on his head where the rock hit him and widened his blue eyes when he saw the blood in his hand.

Kunzite chuckled "Your friends aren't here to defend you"

Endymion gave Kunzite a dead glare "How low do you have to go to be on top of everybody?"

"I am the best soldier here…you are just a boy who came here because the king asked you to"

Endymion started to look double and closed his eyes "Whatever you say…" and flinched in pain.

Kunzite watched him in silence; he was confused and angry. His heart told him he had gone too far with the prince but he couldn't help feel angry at him, he knew it wasn't Endymion's fault to be who he is but he thought of all the things he had to live with his mother and sick grandmother, he knew his father had abandoned them and he had too much regret. Every time he saw the prince he saw a spoiled boy who never had to cry for food, a boy he never had to work since very young to help his mother with any debt she had to pay in order to eat, to have clothes on them or to have the medicines for his grandmother.

That was what angered him. The fact that a boy like Endymion had everything while someone like him did not; when he joined the army he was decided in become the strongest soldier of all so his father one day could see what he could achieve without his help and had the power to help his grandmother and mother with everything they needed.

Kunzite had walked for a while and noticed Endymion wasn't near, worrying, he walked back to see if the prince was fine **"I better go check if he's fine"**

Endymion was leaning on a tree, the dizziness wasn't exactly going away but he knew he needed to keep walking in order to go back to the camp "Dammit" he whispered, placing a hand on his injury he closed his eyes and started to concentrate his energy. A soft golden light started to come from his hand and miraculously started to heal his wound.

_"Aequam memento rebus in arduis servare memntem" (Calm your mind when the times are being difficult) _Endymion repeated himself like a mantra. Kunzite was watching the prince in awe; his icy blue eyes were wide in shock, he never expected him to have _that_ kind of power.

Lowering his gaze he remembered he had something similar, since he was little he always felt he had something inside him nobody else had and sometimes it manifested coming out of his hands. Looking at his hands he turned to look at the prince again "You have something too…" he whispered.

The golden light form his hand died seconds after it healed the wound on his head, the prince opened his eyes and walked in the opposite direction from where Kunzite was hiding behind a tree.

"Could it be…" Kunzite trailed off, his eyes widened in shock.

oooooooooooooo

"This should be perfect!"

"No I think this is the one"

Serenity watched the girls discuss about the perfect dress she should wear for the ball her mother organized for her fifteenth birthday, she was sitting on her bed looking at the girls coming in and out of her walk in closet with a new dress.

"Princess! You have so many dresses!" Jupiter said.

"I know, she has more than me" Venus joked and chuckled.

"Have you worn them all already Your Highness?" Mercury asked curious.

Serenity smiled at the blue haired girl and shook her head no softly "I know there are too many balls but I never get to use them all…"

"They're all very beautiful" Mars breathed while caressed the soft silk of one of them "I wish my father would let me wear one of these"

The four girls turned to look at the girl in a red dress with a curious expression "What do you mean Mars?"

Mars went to sit in one of the chairs in the princess chambers and sighed "Well, Father is a very strict man…he says I need to concentrate on my strength more than my beauty"

"That's harsh" Venus sat on a cushion in the floor "My Father is a very nice man, he always gave me flowers when I lived with them"

Mars smiled "I know, Father can be very strict most of the time but he is a kind man…when I was little he used to tell me stories until I fell asleep"

Jupiter sighed and walked back to the walk in closet "Well I only met mine once and I believe that will be the only time I see him"

Serenity watched Jupiter's strong character vanish slowly, inside that tough girl there was a heart of gold and a very kind young woman, standing up she walked up to the tall Amazon girl and hugged her. Jupiter's green eyes widened in surprise "Y-Your Highness?" she stuttered.

"I understand Jupiter…" the white princess whispered and took a step back; a soft smile was caressing her face.

"Princess…" Jupiter breathed "You…" she trailed off.

The rest of the girls fell silent and watched the scene in awe, they knew the Lunar King died when the princess was very young, they didn't know or understand how he died because they were not allowed to know much but they felt sympathy for the Amazon girl and the girl in white.

"I'm sorry Princess…" Venus breathed.

Serenity turned to look at the girl in a pale orange gown sitting on a pile of cushions nn the floor and gave her a smile "It's fine girls…" she said softly "My father…I never met my father…I cannot feel bad for somebody I never knew…right?" she tried to mask her hurt.

Mars looked at her princess in silence, she could tell she was sad, she could tell her princess had so many questions, doubts about her family, about who her father was and maybe she judged her unfairly and thought she was too innocent or too soft to handle this kind of conversations, but the way she held her own feelings amazed her in some way. Trying to lighten up the mood, she smiled "If I wear a dress like this I would probably trip and fall, look at its long trail!"

Mercury noticed what Mars was trying to do, following along with her plan she smiled as well "I once wore one gown with a trail in a party and I had to walk down the stairs of my palace…it was the first time I wore one so I tripped and fell in front of everybody! It was so embarrassing…"

The girls started laughing, Venus wiped a tear off her eye with delicacy "Oh my! If we continue being these klutzy girls then we will never get married!"

"Married?" Serenity asked astonished.

Venus nodded and smiled "I think that is something I would like to do. Definitely"

"Ohhh no… that is certainly not in my plans…" Mars stood up from where she was sitting and walked to hang the gown she had on her hands inside the closet.

"Why not Mars?" Venus asked with curiosity.

The raven haired girl walked out of the walk in closet with another gown in her hands and let out a sarcastic chuckle "No, I've seen how marriage change beings…"

"What do you mean?" asked Jupiter taking Mars previous seat.

"My parents barely talk to each other. I would never want that" Mars said.

"Really?" Venus said, leaning her arm on Serenity's bed.

"My father is a very… serious…God and my mother is always upset because of it. I really don't understand much" Mars said softly.

Venus stood up and sighed happily "I don't care…I want to meet a wonderful and strong man and fall in love"

"Fall in love…?" Serenity asked.

Venus turned to look at her princess with her same happy and dreamy expression "Yes! Being in love is the best feeling in the universe…"

"Have you ever been in love?" the white princess asked curious.

Venus sweat dropped and giggled "Well…no…but someday I will"

Serenity tilted her head to the side "Then how do you know falling in love is the best feeling in the universe?"

"Touché" Mars said.

Jupiter and Mercury giggled "Our Highness got you on that Venus" Mercury said.

Venus blushed "But I sure can tell when somebody is in love!"

Serenity smiled "Then you will help me when the time is right and mother wants me to marry somebody if he is really in love with me or not"

Venus smiled and nodded "Of course I will. I'm the daughter of the Goddess of Love and Beauty, it's my job"

Jupiter laughed "We have ourselves a guru of love"

"That's right!" Venus cheered and walked to stand next to Mars "And I think you should wear this gown tonight Your Highness"

Serenity smiled and nodded, Jupiter stood up, Mercury followed "Well, now that you have decided, it's time for you to take a nice and warm bath" Jupiter said happily.

Serenity turned to look at them "Wait, but what about you? You need to take a warm bath too!"

"Do we stink or what?" Venus asked.

Serenity laughed "No, but…if I will be going to the ball then…" the princess trailed off.

"Well technically that ball is in your honor for your birthday, Your Highness" Mercury said softly.

"I know, but…" the princess blushed "I want my friends to be there with me"

The four girls smiled "Say no more! Then we will go and get ourselves ready as well" Venus said happily.

Serenity nodded and smiled "You are so very nice to me"

"And you are very nice to us, now…off we go to take a bath!" Mars said smiling.

Serenity giggled and walked to her bathroom.

The four girls walked out of the Princess' chambers, Jupiter sighed happily "This would be my first ball ever, I'm so happy!"

"Our Princess is sure a very kind Goddess" Mercury said softly.

"And that is why we will fulfill our promise and protect her" Venus said and then her eyes lit up with excitement "But now, we must go and get ready because an amazing party awaits us!"

The girls giggled and walked to their respective chambers to get ready.

oooooooooooooo

Leonidas' face turned into a frown, his worry was clearly evident, he had been in the study with the terran king almost all morning and afternoon deciding what strategy should follow in order to protect the kingdom and the soldiers in training where the prince was at.

"They're entering our grounds Your Majesty"

Eros ran a hand through his dark and gray hair "Where are they exactly?" his voice sounded tired and frustrated. The simple thought of his son being far away, the worry this caused his wife mortified him the most, her heart wouldn't take it if something happened to Endymion.

Leonidas walked to the large table of the study were they pinned a map of their kingdom and the three strong points of Earth, three other generals followed Leonidas and the King to the table, with a piece of chalk Leonidas started to trace lines around the kingdom where these unexpected warriors were standing at the moment "They have divided themselves in groups, according to our sources they're groups here, here, here and…here" Leonidas circled the final place.

Eros's blue eyes widened when he saw where the last was group "No…" he whispered.

Leonidas turned to look at the king with a worried expression "We have to divide the army and leave more soldiers here to protect this Kingdom" he encircled the place he was referring to.

"But if we do that, if we divide the army then there would not be enough soldiers to fight this area" Eros pointed his finger on the circle Leonidas traced seconds ago.

"We will have to talk to General Rumalos…" one of the generals said.

Leonidas stayed silent, he knew what that meant and he knew what that might cause "It's your call Your Majesty" he turned to look at him.

Eros sighed and closed his eyes. He knew that ordering to call Rumalos and gave him the order he would send the soldiers to fight the enemy but that meant sending his own son to fight very strong warriors and like every parent, he was afraid and he knew Gaia would be worried and that might affect her health even more.

"Is a part of our army fighting them right now?"

"They are Your Majesty, we sent them as soon as they were near the Kingdom" Leonidas said.

A knock on the door interrupted their serious talk, one of the soldiers who were sent to fight the nearest group asked permission to come in and speak to the generals and His Majesty.

"Your Majesty…" the soldier said weakly.

Eros walked to the soldier "Tell me bluntly" the king said in a serious tone.

"They're very strong…they have already defeated several of our best soldiers"

The room fell silent, Eros brought a hand to his chin, closing his eyes he sighed for the third time and turned to Leonidas and the other generals "Send the alert to Rumalos, send them to fight"

Leonida's eyes widened in shock "Eros…"

Eros raised his head and opened his eyes "Send the alert now"

* * *

**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.**


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N: I hope you like this chapter, thank you to the people who have been reviewing, it means a lot to me, thank you.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter thirty five**

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Soft cries echoed inside the royal chambers, the terran queen was sobbing desperately and frustrated by the news her husband just gave her.

"No, no! You can't do that!" her voice broke again into tears and desperation.

"Love, I had no other choice…please understand me!" Eros raised his hands in defense, his voice was full of worry; he knew this would upset Gaia greatly.

"We have too many soldiers to fight them…you had no right! You had no right to do that without telling me first!" Gaia walked to her husband and started to pound Eros chest with her fisted hands.

Eros held her wrists "Gaia please, you need to understand!" he raised his voice, frustrated.

Aurea, Queen Narella, Leonidas and Obelix watched the sad scene in silence. Gaia's worried expression and desperation broke their hearts, they knew how difficult this was for the royal couple and were aware of how dangerous this was for them. Gaia wanted Endymion to be safe and protected like every mother would do with their children, this wasn't because the secret they have been guarding for years, this was about a mother worried about her son who was about to be sent to fight a very strong enemy.

Gaia couldn't take it anymore and fell to the floor crying desperately, Eros kneeled in front of her "This wasn't an easy decision for me to make…this is a strong enemy and my son is near them, but I believe in him and the new soldiers" he placed his hands on her shoulders.

Gaia's sobs started to calm down "This is not about the enemy…it is about my son, our son…"

Obelix walked over the Queen and kneeled next to her, looking at Eros he made a gesture that he would take care of her, Eros stood up, Queen Narella went to hug him next.

Obelix placed a hand on her queen's shoulder "Little princess…" he whispered "Little princess you need to calm down…"

Gaia sobs weren't as loud as before but she was still crying; her hand pounded the wooden floor several times in desperation "How can I do that Obelix? Is my son we're talking about!"

"I know little princess but you need to calm down, it's not healthy for you to stress this much" Obelix rubbed her back softly "His Majesty had to make a decision, do you really think he would do that just to hurt his own son?" the priest whispered.

"He could have thought of something else, he's a warrior…he knows well" Gaia's voice was cold and hurt. Raising her head, she looked at him with an angry expression. Eros looked back at her, unlike Gaia's, his eyes were full of hurt.

"So are you and so is your son" Obelix said.

Gaia's sobs died and turned to look at the priest, Obelix rubbed her arm "You seem to forget that very often little princess…"

"I stopped being a Goddess a long time ago…" Gaia said softly, her hurt was still evident.

"Because the Prince took your place" the priest said "This wasn't because the King wanted him to fight, this is because this planet need it's protector to rise and fight to protect it, this kingdom and all of you. That is his destiny and it is time to leave him be what he really is…you have brought a gifted child to this world and he was chosen, you can't fight against that fact"

Gaia looked at the priest with a sad expression "I wanted him to have a normal life…" her angriness started to dissipate.

"And you also wanted him to become the best" Obelix said "And once the time is right for him to come back home he will want to see you happy and doing well"

Gaia remained silent; Obelix placed his hands on her shoulders "You need to open the seal that's limiting him. You need to let him wake up…_Adversus solem ne loquitor (Don't fight against the obvious)"_

Gaia lowered her head and closed her eyes "_Age quod agis filius, Amat victoria curam" (There are things to be done my son, victory favors those who take pains) _she whispered, inside her she felt something inside her break releasing her from all she was holding on. Her heart no longer held what she knew it was holding her prince back. She was letting destiny take it's course.

ooooooooooo

Endymion was sitting near the waterfall washing his hands, the cold water encircled them and with such delicacy refreshing his skin, the prince started to feel something in the water, like it had a different movement to its normal way. Closing his eyes he let them float and move along the soft waves trying to figure out something he wasn't even sure that was happening.

"_Altissima quaeque flumina minimo sono labi" (The deepest rivers flows with the least sound) _he whispered to the water "_Aqua forta…aqua pura…aqua regia…aqua vitae _tell me what's troubling you…"

His heart started to pound fast when he sensed like if the water was trying to warn him about something, the transparent cold liquid started to move faster and in circles around his hands. For many years he found out he had some sort of connection with the elements, with the planet, like if they all responded to him. When he was a child and found out about it he preferred to keep it to himself in order not to scare his parents or even Obelix who was a more open minded person about this.

He knew something more happened to him but instead of trying to fight against it he better embraced it and gave him incredible benefits to his concentrations skills. Endymion was the terran prince and somehow this power of his made sense to him.

The air started to blow faster and colder as if was agreeing with the water dancing in his hands, making the prince open his eyes and run quickly back to the camp.

00000000000000000000000

A man with a short brown ponytail arrived at the camp "I have a message from His Majesty King Eros to General Rumalos"

The soldiers guarding the entrance let him in and another one led him to his tent "General, there is someone that wants to talk with you"

"Who is it?" General Rumalos said not looking at the soldier at the entrance.

"A messenger from the Golden Palace…he says he has a message from His Majesty"

The words caught Rumalos attention, looking at him he motioned to let the messenger enter "You say you have a message for me?"

"From His Majesty the King" the messenger said and extended his hand with the letter.

Rumalos took the letter and hesitated a few seconds, then opened it breaking the seal, after a short thought he read the few words the king wrote in the paper and looked up "Mater Santa…" turning to look at the messenger he nodded "Tell General Leonidas and His Majesty the King that I will follow his command right away"

The messenger nodded and started to leave "Wait" Rumalos said and walked with him outside his tent to one of the guards "Go with him to the Palace, guard him. He needs to deliver a message to the King"

The soldier agreed and moved on with the messenger. Rumalos stayed with a shocked expression "I can't believe he's risking him…" turning he walked quickly to give the alert to the soldiers.

Prius was standing next to the general when he grabbed the horn "Are you sure about this, General?"

"I'm only following orders" taking the horn he blew three times, calling all the soldiers to meet where he was standing.

Zoicite, Jadeite and Nephrite were sitting near the fire with Endymion when they heard the noise from the horn. The long haired blonde turned to look at them with a questioning look "Did you hear that?"

"Yes, it seems to be coming from Rumalos' tent" Nephrite said.

Endymion turned to look at the fire and noticed how it wasn't dancing like it normally did and knew this was something that could change their lives forever "We need to go and see what this is about"

"Just when I was about to eat my dinner…" Jadeite muttered.

Just like the rest of the soldiers they walked to Rumalos' tent in silence.

General Rumalos stood on a small hill with the long horn in his hand and waited for the enormous group of soldiers gather in front of him, when he knew it was the right time he coughed a little "You have been training for four years and the time to serve your Kingdom has come"

Several soldiers started to whisper, confused by the general's words. Rumalos frowned "We are under an attack, the royal army at the Palace can't fight them all by themselves, we were asked to wait to help but today I got a message from King Eros and asked me to help fight this war that is approaching"

"Wait, your father is sending us to war?" Jadeite whispered to Endymion, Nephrite turned to look at the prince with a shocked expression as well, this was something nobody was expecting, the prince looked at Jadeite with wide eyes "It seems…" he answered.

"We will leave tonight and move away from this camp. Start preparing your weapons and wait for the last horn I will make, that will be our cue to leave" General Rumalos walked away from the small hill and went into his tent again. Kunzite couldn't wait anymore and followed him.

"General…what is happening?" Kunzite asked in hesitation.

Endymion was shocked with the news and walked to the general's tent as well, entering he saw Kunzite asking the general the same thing he was about to ask. Rumalos chuckled when he saw both soldiers standing in front of him with the same expression on their faces.

"I knew you were going to come" Rumalos said with a knowing smile.

"General…" Endymion walked pass Kunzite ignoring him completely "May I know what is happening?"

"What is happening is what you heard, we are at war…the army needs reinforcements and the King ordered me to send you to fight along"

"So we are prepared then?" Kunzite asked.

Rumalos looked at both men "You two will need to get along to fight this…training is over, this is the real thing"

"Let me be in charge of one group" Kunzite suggested, but sounded more like an order.

"You are not going to give any orders here, I'm am your General and you still are a will follow my orders, understood?" Rumalos approached Kunzite.

Kunzite lowered his head "Yes, sir"

"Now get out of my sight and start preparing your weapons" the general said.

Both, Kunzite and Endymion nodded and turned to leave, Rumalos waited for the white haired man leave the tent to call the prince "Endymion"

The prince turned to look at the general "Yes, sir?"

Rumalos walked and stood in front of him "You are one of our best man and I am aware your father knows it, don't think your father is sending you without thinking about your safety"

Endymion nodded "I have my flaws General, Kunzite is a better swordsman than I am"

"You're wrong young Prince; that is what you want to believe. The last time you fought against him you almost won…you fell because you wasn't aware of your surroundings" the general placed his hands on Endymion's shoulders "Don't limit yourself anymore, your father believes in you and so am I. Concentrate and fight with the heart and with intelligence" the older man tabbed Endymion's forehead with his index finger.

Endymion smiled and nodded "I will sir"

ooooooooooo

"_Absens haeres non erit! (An absent person will not be an heir!)" _the man with beard said out loud to the mob of people with their torches and weapons ready to attack.

"We have defeated great fighters from the royal army; we are getting close to what we want to achieve…the crown!"

"What if someone comes to attack us and is stronger than us?" a man asked from behind.

"There is no one stronger than us! We have a great warrior in our side, the royals only have a mob of people with swords…they don't have a warrior…don't have mercy! Kill them all!" the bearded man said.

"YES, SIR!" the crowd responded in unison.

Endymion walked inside the tent and started to pack his things, Jadeite noticed he was kind of nervous because of his trembling hands and constant droppings.

"Hey, Endymion…are you alright?" the blonde man asked.

Endymion didn't turned to look at Jadeite "Yes…I'm fine"

Jadeite continued packing his things "You seem nervous"

Endymion stopped "I…" he trailed off.

Jadeite looked up at him "What? You never expected this time to come? That's why we were trained for"

Endymion nodded "I know…and that's not exactly what is making me nervous, it is the fact that I don't know what to expect"

"You mean like who are these people who are fighting us?"

"Yes…"

"Peace never last long, not for us soldiers" Jadeite started packing again and looked at the prince with a stern face "Why did you join the army Endymion?"

Endymion finished packing and looked at the blonde man in front of him "To become a warrior so I could protect my family"

"Everybody thinks you are just fulfilling your father's wishes" Jadeite sat from his cot.

"Everybody thinks what they want to think" Endymion sighed "It was my decision to come here and train not my father's"

Jadeite smiled "Yes, like Kunzite for example, he thinks you are just a brat"

Endymion rolled his eyes "I don't really care what Kunzite thinks about me" it was the prince's time to sit on his own cot "You never told me why you joined the army…"

"I never found something that could actually please me, when I knew I could train to become a soldier and serve my Kingdom I didn't think about it twice and enlisted, it's also a good opportunity to meet pretty women in the future" Jadeite chuckled.

Endymion shook his head and chuckle "Womanizer"

Jadeite laughed "What can I say? I love women, don't you?"

Endymion blushed and lowered his gaze "Well…I have never been with one…" the prince trailed off.

"WHAT?" Jadeite raised his voice.

"What?" Endymion frowned.

"You've never been with a woman before? … You are the Crowned Prince of Earth and have never been with a woman before? You have got to be kidding!" Jadeite stood up.

Endymion raised a brow "How do you expect me to be with a woman if I have been spending my years training in this place?"

"Well…I wasn't referring here, but…before you came" Jadeite said.

Endymion shook his head no "You truly are a womanizer…"

Jadeite shrugged his shoulders "I was just saying"

The horn was heard in the distance, letting the soldiers know it was time to leave the camp; Jadeite grabbed his things and turned to look at Endymion "The time we all have been waiting for…"

Endymion watched the soldier with a serious face and nodded his head. Walking out of their tent with their weapons ready they walked towards General Rumalos' tent again, another soldier stood up next to Endymion and started to crack his knuckles anxiously.

The prince turned to look at him "Are you nervous?"

The soldier turned to look at the prince and smiled "Just a little bit…but we will win, I know it" the soldier looked down and searched for something in his bag "Look" he said showing the prince a letter "It's from the girl I love. She kept writing me letters and although I always wrote her back I could never find the way to send them out to her"

Endymion smiled "You must really love her then to keep writing her unsent letters and keeping hers like solid gold"

The soldier nodded "She's my treasure, once we get back and finish our training I will go and ask her hand in marriage"

"That's nice" the prince smiled again.

General Rumalos, alongside the sergeants and guards started to divide the army in groups, the redheaded general raised his right hand, ready to give an order "We will leave this place right away but first we will split in several groups so the enemy can't fight us all" Rumalos said.

Several sergeants started to forms the groups and after half an hour they were ready to go, Rumalos gave the signal to the first group to leave the camp and walk to the woods and so that happened every ten minutes. Now, their only guide was the moonlight and their faith was in the hands of destiny.

* * *

**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters. Thank you.**


	36. Chapter 36

**A/N: Thank you for reading, a special thank you for your reviews. Enjoy.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter thirty six**

* * *

The night sky looked like a diamond covered blanket, such beauty contrasted with the difficulty of being in war. several groups were walking separately so they could be protected against any attack from the enemy.

Nephrite looked up to the sky and watched the stars "Astra inclinant, non necessitant (the stars incline, they do not determine)" the dark soldier said.

"The stars are laughing at us..."

Nephrite turned to look at Zoicite who was walking beside him in silence "Why do you say that?"

Zoicite smiled "Every time I look up to the stars I feel like they are laughing at us, they twinkle and hold so many secrets…secrets we will never know"

Nephrite smiled "Maybe you don't want to know"

Zoicite's eyes widened "Do you know how to read them?"

"Not exactly, it is like if they tell me everything by the way they shine or in the position they are…I have always found amusing watching the night sky" Nephrite whispered.

"You are a gifted man then" Zoicite said very low.

Nephrite smiled and noticed that Endymion and Jadeite were not in the same group "I hope Jadeite and Endymion are well"

"I hope that as well…we don't know what to expect at this point" Zoicite said softly.

0000000000000000000000

On another group, Endymion was walking in silence when suddenly somebody crashed by accident with him "Watch it!" he heard the other person said not loud enough for everyone to hear.

Endymion rubbed his head and opened his eyes only to roll them immediately "This can't be happening…"

"Good grief…you are in my group? Can't you just find yourself something more to do than to follow me?" Kunzite asked annoyed.

Endymion cracked a sarcastic laugh "Yes, like if you were_ that_ important. Can't you see we're in the middle of a war? "

"I hear voices, shut up" the sergeant who was guiding the group hushed "And I kind of know who are the ones that are talking"

Kunzite smiled "A war I am going to win of course"

"Of course" Endymion muttered.

The sergeant hushed at them again and made a signal to stay still and quiet, he was starting to hear strange noises "Be prepared…" he whispered.

All started to uncover their swords and be in alert. At the distance they could hear the group in front of them started to fight "They're here!" the sergeant told the other one who was guiding the group were Endymion was in "Fight!" the sergeant said out loud.

Several men with torches immediately ran after them and fought hard against the soldiers, Kunzite ran towards them and started to fight back. Endymion on the other hand ran to where the sergeant was when he saw he was in trouble; uncovering his own sword he made the first move against the attacker, hurting his arm and releasing the sergeant, giving him the chance to uncover his own sword and start to fight.

"Thank you" he said and turned to his match.

Endymion turned and prepared for battle, the so called genus della terra started to come from different places, like if they were just waiting for them to come across them. An incredible amount of men started to attack and for a moment Kunzite felt nervous, this was completely different from what he had thought and no matter how much he fought there were more men coming to fight him.

Rumalos unshed his own sword and started to fight as well and heard one of them yell "Kill them with no mercy!"

Nephrite and Zoicite teamed up and protected each other's back "Die!" one of the enemies tried to burn them with his torch.

"They're too strong!" Nephrite muttered and concentrated on fighting.

Zoicite heard several of the soldiers scream in pain "We need to keep fighting! Nephrite, stay alert!"

Like demons of the night the enemy warriors could hide behind or in between the trees and not be noticed, the clouds hid the moonlight's shine making it more difficult; Kunzite walked carefully and sensed several bumps in his way but tried not to imagine what they were.

Soft movements were heard around him and strengthening his grip on his sword he turned and started to fight with one of the shadows behind him. The echoes caused by the sword fighting filled Endymion's head, trying to not lose control he kept fighting one of the shadows he knew was one of the enemies.

"I know who you are…" the man suddenly said "Your head costs pure gold"

Endymion stayed silent and moved his sword to his left and then abruptly to his right causing the other man lose control, the prince moved quickly away knowing the man started to ran behind him, jumping he tried to attack him with his sword but the prince managed to dodge him again. Several hours have passed and the enemies seemed to multiply instead of minimizing, the prince kept fighting against the man that told him how much he was worth, but always in silence protecting his self from him.

Jadeite also moved fast, surrounded by four men he threw a knife attacking them at the same time, taking his sword he started to fight with another man that was behind him and tried to burn him with his torch.

Rumalos yelled from his place "Keep fighting!"

While the other man yelled "No mercy, kill them all!"

The sun was starting to come up giving a soft light to the new day and allowing them to finally meet face to face. Endymion was still trying to control his sword and protected himself from the man's attacks.

"We need to get out of here!" Kunzite yelled.

Endymion turned to look at him quickly "You need to go south Kunzite! Go south!"

"I won't take orders from you!" the white haired man yelled.

"This is no time for you to fight against me, go south!" Endymion yelled at him again.

"Not because you are the prince that means I'll have to listen to you" Kunzite moved to the opposite direction.

"I finally see your face!" the man laughed "And as I thought, you are the so called prince" Endymion looked at the man with wide eyes and tried to move away quickly.

oooooooooooooooooo

"It is my great honor to have you all here, in this very special night. My daughter is now turning fifteen years old, she is now a true lady" Queen Serenity said from her throne.

The rest of the guests raised their crystal glasses "For Princess Serenity"

Serenity smiled and sat on her throne, watching the guests enjoy of the music and wine for a moment she wanted to share this special night with somebody special, she wished for so many things; she wished she could know more about her father, she wished she could be free.

The princess turned to look at her mother who was more than happy for her daughter's birthday "Are you happy dear?"

Serenity smiled and hugged her mother "Yes mother, very much"

ooooooooooooooooo

"What do you want?" Endymion finally asked, moving his sword quickly.

"To kill you all" the man said "I thought you were weak but never imagined this much" he laughed again. Endymion was having a hard time holding the sword away from his face from the force the other man was putting against him.

"Do you know what I am going to do once I kill you?" he made another move and put his foot making the prince trip and fall "I will look for your mother and cut her head off" he laughed.

Something inside Endymion lit up, closing his eyes he felt his hidden force unleash and run through his veins, some sort of knowledge and strength and for the first time he knew what Obelix, Leonidas, Eros and Rumalos said to him. He had to believe in himself. Opening his eyes they turned a darker shade of blue "Not if I cut yours first" he said in a dead and cold voice.

The man noticed this sudden change and jumped away to one of the trees, Endymion's grip on his sword tightened; standing up he tried to find the man in question. Closing his eyes he linked his energy with earth's and concentrated, he listened to every single sound of his surroundings and studied well, in a matter of seconds he knew where the man was standing. The man jumped back down and tried to make his final attack with his sword ready to cut the princes' head off but Endymion opened his eyes and turned, taking a knife from his belt he threw it at the man causing it lose his balance and fall.

The prince walked towards him, the older man stood up and tried to jump but the prince stepped on his arm. The red haired man laughed "You are not that bad… but I said I was going to cut your head as a souvenir for your mother"

Endymion side smiled "The head that will be delivered to them as a souvenir will be yours, not mine" the prince jumped and raised the sword above his head and in a swift move he dig the sword in his stomach, making the man fall to his knees still conscious; placing a hand on his wound he watched in shock his blooded hand "You will pay for this!" he tried to stand up.

Endymion walked up to him and smiled at him "No, you will pay for threatening my family and my Kingdom" he raised his sword once again and cut his head off.

The moment the prince made the lethal move, everything seemed to pause, his mind blocked away every sound and movements, he was aware that there were hundreds of soldiers fighting around him but the feeling he had inside him was overwhelming, a mixture of justice and revenge of unbelief and a hint of regret. Endymion had taken a life by his own hand, he watched the corpse on the floor, the man's blood tainting the grass beneath his feet, closing his eyes he shook his head trying to dismiss the feeling he had in his chest.

"Retreat!" Endymion heard at the distance; turning his blood stained face he watched the enemy ran away leaving the woods in a matter of seconds. He turned again to look at the dead body in front of him and as if he came back to his senses his sword fell from his blood stained hands. His eyes widened in shock by what he have done and stayed there frozen for a couple of minutes analyzing what just happened.

Minutes later he watched Kunzite was still fighting with a group of the genus and noticed he was already tired, the prince joined him to fight them and attacked two of them; thrusting his sword on the same place he attacked the last man.

"I said retreat for now!" they head again.

Endymion started to run south when he watched the same soldier he talked to the night before was being attacked, immediately he came to his rescue and trusted his own sword of the enemies back, making them fall.

"Hey!" the prince kneeled next to the fallen soldier.

"Hey…" the young man said softly "I didn't keep my guard up"

"No, no…you did fine" Endymion tried to encourage him and watched how the young man started to cough blood.

"They're too strong…" the dark haired man said.

"We will win this war…" Endymion said "I'll help you get out of here" he placed an arm on his back and tried to lift him up.

Kunzite watched them from afar while he was fighting another enemy warrior "What are you doing?" he asked out loud.

Endymion tried to heal the soldier the same way he did with him but the bleeding was too much "Let's go back to the camp"

The soldier shook his head "No…prince…I'm not going to survive…"

Endymion frowned "Don't say that, you have to go back to…what's her name?"

"Gredel" the soldier said.

"You have to go back to her and ask for her hand in marriage, come on Daivius" Endymion tried to lift the soldier.

"You have to leave me here and continue fighting prince…" the soldier said.

"I cannot leave you here!" Endymion looked down and saw the soldier's wound on his chest, his bleeding wasn't controlling.

"I couldn't make it Prince…" the soldier coughed "But I need to ask you for one thing…"

Endymion kept making pressure to his wound "Anything Daivius"

"Give her my letters…you know where they are…give her the letters…and tell her….I love her…with…all… my heart" the soldier coughed one last time and died in Endymion's arms.

"Daivius!" Endymion called him but to no avail, his soldier friend passed away; the prince closed the soldier's eyes with his hand carefuly and rested his head on the ground.

Standing up he turned to see his surroundings and froze when he saw all the dead bodies all over, enemies and soldiers from their army, it was a blanket of bodies and blood.

"Endymion!" General Rumalos yelled from a few feet away "We need to keep walking!"

The prince kneeled one again and grabbed the soldiers small bag and moved along with it, leaving the honorable soldier rest in peace.

ooooooooooooooooo

Serenity looked beautiful in her soft pink gown with pearl incrustations on it. Her platinum blonde hair was styled in their characteristic form, her makeup was subtle and sweet, her long dark lashes framed her pale blue eyes and her lips had a soft pink gloss. Even though she just turned fifteen she was beautiful.

The ball was going smoothly, and just like her mother wanted every God and Goddess was invited to the celebration; a long buffet table adorned with silver ware and the white flowers gave a distinctive and delicate touch, a tall fountain of white wine poured from it. The room was adorned with white fabrics and flowers, alluring the importance of her age.

Her four guardians were with their respective parents at the time while Serenity was sitting next to her mother in her throne.

"Are you having a good time dear?" asked the white queen.

"Yes mother, very much. Everything is lovely" Serenity smiled.

"It's wonderful how everybody came for your birthday" Queen Serenity smiled.

Serenity nodded "I wasn't expecting this much"

Queen Serenity smiled and kissed her daughter's cheek "I'm glad you are enjoying it"

"It's sad that Father can't see me" Serenity breathed.

Serenity's comment hit a soft spot in her mother's heart; lowering her gaze she fought the tears forming in her eyes "I know he is…" the queen stood up and walked down the stairs in silence and grace. Serenity watched her mother move with such grace around the room.

"Mama…" she breathed.

Queen Serenity walked out of the ballroom and leaned on one of the pillars outside, taking a deep breath she let the tears fall silently from her eyes "I wish you could be here Athan…our little princess is so beautiful..."

"Serenity…"

The white queen turned to see who was calling her "Ares…" she breathed.

The God of War walked towards her and dried the tears from her face with his thumbs "I'm sure he knows how beautiful she is"

Serenity lowered her head "I know Serenity wants to know more about her father…but I can't tell her the truth of how he died…it could hurt her terribly"

"Your daughter is very smart and strong…she can understand" Ares said softly.

"She has never been in love, she cannot know her father was killed by her own aunt because she was in love with him" Serenity whispered.

"Someday you will have to tell her, she is going to be the future Lunar Queen and for her, it is unbearable the fact than an immortal being died…" Ares told her.

Queen Serenity nodded her head "She knows we too can die…under different circumstances, but we can die"

"But she doesn't know anything about her father" Ares said softly "With telling you this I am not saying I approved Athan's behavior, he had no excuse to do what he did…but he's your child's father"

"I cannot hate him Ares… no matter how many difficult moments we lived together, we married in love, created the Silver Alliance together and started to try over again…" Queen Serenity wiped off the tears that kept falling silently.

"Are you okay Serenity?" a feminine voice interrupted their talk.

"Aphrodite…" Ares said softly.

"I saw Serenity walk out of the ballroom…what's the matter did something happened?" the blonde goddess look radiant in her dark orange gown, her hair was styled up in a high up do with some curls framing her face.

Ares walked close to her and whispered in her ear "She's not feeling well, talk to her…please" the god of war left them alone right after. Queen Serenity couldn't keep holding her tears no matter how much she wiped them off "I'm sorry you have to see me like this Aphrodite…"

Aphrodite walked close and hugged her friend "No, you don't have to be sorry…but why are you like this?" Serenity separated from the love goddess and looked at her "I miss Athan...and I wish he could see how beautiful our daughter is"

Aphrodite brushed Serenity's bangs away from her face with her hand "I know he can…somehow" the blonde goddess lowered her gaze "You haven't talked about him much since that incident"

"I tried to move on with my life…but it is really difficult when you have loved so deeply like I did, when everything here reminds me of him, when looking at my daughter's eyes I can see his…now that she is turning fifteen, this should be a special moment and I'm here sad, depressed because I know she wished to have him here with her by her side, to have met him…"

Aphrodite placed a hand on Serenity's shoulder "I can see you are still deeply in love with him, but his death is a mystery to many of us. You locked your heart to yourself and now your daughter wants to come in…but you are not letting her"

"Ares told me the same thing, that I should tell her the truth…" Serenity said softly.

"You will have to tell her eventually Serenity…"

"I don't want her to be disappointed, I don't want her to know that her father…" the queen trailed off.

Aphrodite sighed "I know it is not an easy thing to say…maybe it is still not the time to talk to her about that, but you have to start thinking how you are going to tell her"

"Tell me what mother?"

The lunar queen and the love goddess turned wide eyed to see Princess Serenity standing near them "What is that you have to tell me?" she asked with a curious tone in her voice.

* * *

**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters. Thank you.**


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N: I know, I know... many of you want to know when the big BIG moment will come, all I have to say is to please, (pretty please with a cherry on top) to be patient. Antoher thing is, that, please...if I take some time to post a new chapter don;t think I'm forgetting all about you, I will NEVER do that, writing this story has helped me so much during this hard times and I WILL continue posting but maybe because of my work it will sometimes be in random days like tuesdays or thursdays or even maybe saturdays or sundays. I will keep posting, do not worry. I want to thank you for reviewing, it means the world to me, thank you to my new followers, thank you to the ones who have been reading since day one, thank you all.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter thirty seven**

* * *

Goddess Aphrodite pursed her lips and turned to look at the Queen Serenity with a worried face, both goddesses weren't aware Serenity was near them when they were talking about her father's truth. Queen Serenity arched a brow and fought the urge to cry.

"What is it what you have to tell me?" Serenity asked softly.

The dim light of the hallway allowed the queen to completely wipe her tears, smiling she walked over her daughter and placed both hands on her shoulders "I was saying to Aphrodite…that I wanted to tell you…how proud I am of you"

Serenity moved her head to a side and smiled "You are mama?"

Queen Serenity caressed her daughter's face with her hand "Of course, I always have but tonight…you are turning into a lady"

Aphrodite walked up to them and smiled faintly "I better go back to the party and bid Venus goodbye"

Princess Serenity held the love goddess' hands "Thank you so much for everything"

Aphrodite smiled warmly "You are more beautiful with each day; the man that gets to capture your heart will be the luckiest being in the universe"

Serenity blushed and lowered her gaze "Thank you…"

The blonde goddess turned to look at the lunar queen "Take care dear friend, I'll talk to you soon…"

Queen Serenity smiled and hugged her friend "Thank you…for everything"

Aphrodite nodded and left the two lunar royals alone. Queen Serenity turned to look at her daughter "Are you tired?"

Serenity smiled "Yes. A little…"

The queen smiled "I must admit that I am tired as well…let's go thank our guests for coming"

ooooooooooooooo

The air felt thick and dense, Endymion's eyes took in all the images of dead bodies sprawled on the field. Comrades and enemies were lying lifeless on the grass, some of them on the creek nearby and others resting their backs on the trees, the prince tried to hold the tears forming in his eyes; never in his life thought there could be so much pain involved in his fight for peace.

Jadeite joined him; his arm was slightly hurt "Endymion…"

The prince turned to look at his friend with a serious face "You're hurt"

Jadeite looked down at his arm "This? It's nothing…I tried to fight but one of them moved faster"

Endymion nodded and turned to keep walking to where Rumalos was waiting for them and where the attacked soldiers could treated their injuries. Walking near the starting fire he sat on a log and watched absently the dancing flames, his eyes were cold and distant, lowering his head he sighed.

General Rumalos noticed the silent prince and walked towards him "Endymion" his voice was low.

"I was wrong…I was so wrong…" he whispered, his head was still low.

Rumalos took a seat next to him "I don't understand"

Endymion raised his head, his gaze watched the dancing flames "I always knew being a fighter wasn't a simple task, I knew it was a hard…but to be witness of all the people who died…" he trailed off.

General Rumalos sighed and looked down "This changes your life Endymion…being so close to death does change your life, your perspective in seeing life changes…"

The prince nodded and looked at his blood stained hands "I killed people…with this hands…their blood is all over me and it doesn't matter how many times I wash my hands, it will still be there for the rest of my life"

"Do you want to retreat?"

"What?" Endymion turned to look at the general with wide eyes.

"Do you want to quit this? … I can send you back home…" Rumalos said again.

Endymion frowned "I am not going home Rumalos…the only way I will return home will be when I finish my training. This has changed my life indeed but I rather live all this in order to protect my family than just stay still and watch the enemy become stronger…"

Rumalo's eyes widened in shock "You truly are stronger than I thought"

Endymion lowered his gaze again "I will continue fighting them…because I know they will come back with more people and with more hate"

Rumalos turned to look at the fire "You are starting to sound like a true Prince"

"What?"

The general turned to look at the young man next to him and smiled "Sure, you have always had this strong character but you were carefree…you have matured over the past years and now you are finally starting to sound and act like a Prince…and a true warrior. Just like your father"

Endymion turned to look at Rumalos "My father…?"

Rumalos nodded "You have the same courage your father had when he came here but you have come to show even more courage than him…unlike him, you decided to come here and face all this" the general patted the prince's shoulders and stood up "I know he is very proud of you…I am"

"General…" Endymion trailed off.

"You saved my life a while ago…I guess I have finally met a great superior" the general bowed his head and walked away.

Endymion widened his eyes in shock "A great…" he trailed off again.

Jadeite, Nephrite and Zoicite soon joined him "Endymion…" Zoicite said.

Jadeite turned to see at the other two generals and gave them a worried look then turned again to see the silent prince "Endymion…?"

The prince came out of his thoughts and turned to see the three generals standing next to him "Hey"

"I'm glad to see you're safe"

"We're glad of that too and of course to see you are fine" Nephrite said softly.

"It's incredible how many people died today…" Endymion whispered.

"They're strong" Zoicite said.

"But we will have to be prepared; they can show up again anytime" Jadeite said in a serious tone.

Endymion remained silent and nodded his head.

Kunzite watched when General Rumalos was talking to Endymion and it intrigued him what he could have told the young prince "General"

Rumalos turned to look at the white haired man "Yes Kunzite?"

Kunzite hesitated in talk to the general "I'm glad to see you're fine"

Rumalos raised a brow in question "What do you want Kunzite?…seriously"

"I want to take charge of the next round, let me help you give the strategies to fight the enemy"

Rumalos chuckled "You are joking, right?"

Kunzite's grey eyes widened "I think I can help you win this war!"

The general rubbed his face with his hand and sighed "This is not a training exercise Kunzite, this is real. We have lost soldiers, they're dead out there!"

"But I can help, I know I can…I'm the best fighter you have!" Kunzite said.

Kunzite's words started to bother the general "Stop it Kunzite!" the general raised his voice "Haven't you noticed?"

"Notice what?" Kunzite widened his eyes.

Rumalos chuckled "You have stopped being the best man this army has"

"What do you mean? Nobody can fight like I do!" Kunzite said in shock.

"That's true…nobody can fight like you but there's somebody that can fight even better"

Kunzite couldn't hide his dislike "What do you mean…who is the one that can fight better than me?"

Rumalos chuckled and patted Kunzite's shoulder "You won't like the answer, so let's just leave it like that" the general walked away leaving a shock Kunzite standing behind.

The white haired man turned to where the fire was and watched Endymion sitting with the other soldiers and frown "You will never be better fighter than me" he muttered.

ooooooooooooooooooo

Four girls walked in to Princess Serenity's chambers in silence, Venus kneeled next to the sleeping princess and giggled.

"Good morning sleepy head!" Venus whispered in Serenity's ear.

"I don't think it's a good idea to wake her up Venus…" Mercury said softly.

Venus turned to see Mercury and smiled "I don't see the harm, besides…it's late, she should be up by now"

"Here!" Mars gave Venus a small white feather "Tickle her nose with this"

Mercury's blue eyes widened "You are actually going to wake her up"

Jupiter stood next to the bed with a warm smile on her face; Venus took the small feather from Mars' hand and started to tickle her nose.

Serenity scratched her nose and then went back to sleep "It's not working" Venus said.

"Give me that" Mars took the feather from Venus' hand and started to tickle her nose more insistently making Serenity sneeze, a few minutes later she opened one blue eye "Girls?" she asked.

"Good morning Your Highness" Venus said softly.

Serenity yawned softly and sat on her bed "Is it too late?"

"Quite, Your Highness" Mercury said softly.

The silver haired girl placed a hand on her forehead "I think I overslept, I was feeling so tired last night"

The four girls smiled and sat around their princess on the bed "It was a lovely birthday ball" Jupiter said.

Serenity smiled and nodded her head; Venus went to the dresser and grabbed a silver comb and then returned to sit next to her princess and started to comb her platinum blonde hair "Everybody around the galaxy came" the love princess moved her hand under the strands of hair she combed.

Serenity lowered her head "I'm glad you could see your families"

"You are officially a woman" Venus said softly and continued combing the princess' long hair "Starting today, your mother will receive propositions…" the venusian girl sighed.

"I do not understand" Serenity made a confused face.

"When a Princess turns fifteen, it is commonly to be asked to start meeting royals from around the universe in order to find a consort…" Mercury said.

"…A consort?" Serenity said panicked "But…" she trailed off.

Venus smiled "Don't worry too much Princess…I don't think Her Majesty will approve just any royal…"

Serenity frowned "Does that mean that I don't get to choose the man I want to marry?"

"Imagine all the handsome royals you will meet…" Venus sighed.

Mars placed a hand on her forearm "Princess, you have all the right to choose what's best for you…you're mother will be there supporting you as well, this is not an obligation"

Serenity smiled at Mars "Thank you…"

"Yes and who knows…maybe in those meetings we get to meet someone as well" Jupiter said.

"We are not allowed Jupiter…remember our duty" Mercury said.

Jupiter sighed "I was just saying…"

Serenity frowned and turned to look at Mercury "I do not know what it feels to be in love with somebody but…if I ever get to feel it with somebody I want you to also find love" she turned to Jupiter "No matter what your duties are…you deserve to be happy as well"

Jupiter smiled "Thank you Princess…"

"I pass…"

Everyone turned to look at Mars who was now standing next to a window "What do you mean?" Jupiter asked.

Mars kept looking up to the light sky "I'm not interested in being heartbroken…"

"Heartbroken?" Venus asked.

The raven haired girl turned to look at the girls on the bed "I have witnessed what it is to be in love but not being corresponded…"

"I do not understand, this is just confusing me…what are you talking about Mars?" Serenity stood up from her bed.

Mars lowered her gaze "My mother has always been in love with my father…but he's always so distant, like…if he always is thinking in somebody else…"

"My mother says that he's always been a very serious God…" Venus said softly.

"I think there is something more…but I'm afraid I will never know; my father is a mystery" Mars said, smiling she held her princess' hands "But you Princess…you are not going to live like that, you'll be very happy. You deserve it" her voice quivered a little but she was so stubborn, she fought not to let it shown.

"Mars…" Serenity whispered.

"Something great will happen to you…" Mars whispered back.

* * *

**P.S. I know I may have some spelling errors and some grammar mistakes, I do re read every chapter at least two times and fox tons of things, but...I do not have a beta reader and some detailing can go without me notice it, when you see something for a long peroid of time you king of loose some things you might find right away, so, I apologize, thank for your understanding and ask you to please, cope with me (lol) 3**

**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.**


	38. Chapter 38

**A/N: I had one of the most stressful weekends of my life, but it is part of my job. I think you will like this chapter, specially to the people who had wondered so many things about Kunzite. Thank you so much for reviewing I was sooooo happy to read from long time readers, I know you too have busy lives and I totally understand but whenever you get a chance, please write a review I love reading from all of you. As I said before, not because I don't post a new chapter on a regular schedule it doesn't mean I will be abandoning the story (that is a total NO NO). I will post new chapters until I finish the whole story, that is my promise to you. ****Enjoy!**

**Divinity: A Question of Honor**

**Chapter thirty eight**

* * *

The fire of the heart flickered in an enchanting movement, the warm light illuminated the faces of several men sitting around it "How many followers do we have?" one of them asked with raspy voice.

"Enough to keep fighting Lord" another responded immediately.

The man with beard known as "Lord" stood up and walked around their tent; he put a hand on his chin and closed his eyes "It seems they're stronger than I thought"

One of the man standing there with the so called lord walked closer "One of them cut Isamel's head, just like that…"

Lord shut his eyes and remembered the scene; he was standing near a young man with a sword "He seems to be one of the strongest soldiers of that army" he heard another man speak.

"That boy is the Prince of Earth…" Lord said slowly.

"Lord, what did you just say?" the man sitting near the hearth asked astonished.

Lord turned to face them with a serious expression "I do not know what you will have to do…but I want that boy's head"

The two men nodded their head; Lord gave them his back again and whispered "So we can send it to the king as a present"

"We still have our strongest warrior" the young man with the sword said.

"No, we won't call Stilas yet…we will wait for the right moment" Lord said slowly, like if he was enjoying the moment.

ooooooooooooooooooo

"We have to keep moving… they can appear again the same way they disappeared. I highly doubt they will back off" Rumalos said to the other generals.

"The soldiers are ready" one of them said. Rumalos turned to look at him "Let's move then"

Endymion was looking at the small package in his hands; he knew he was holding something very valuable. The soft white cloth covering the stack of paper was now dirty "All your love promises are here…" he whispered, closing his eyes he remembered the soldier's happy expression when he was telling him how much he loved her and how he was going to ask her hand in marriage once their training ended, now he wasn't coming back to her and she would probably will be waiting for him.

"What's that?" Jadeite appeared next to him, Endymion immediately wrapped the stack of letters with the white cloth again "Nothing…" the prince said softly.

Jadeite sighed "Rumalos wants us to start moving again, we need to be prepared" Endymion nodded "Right…" Jadeite nodded and turned to leave when he felt the prince's hand on his shoulder and made him turn "Thank you, Jadeite"

Jadeite smiled at him "There will be better times"

Endymion raised his brows and sighed "I hope so…now, let's go and don't forget to be alert"

Jadeite nodded "The same goes to you"

The group of soldiers started to move once again now with less people but still with their hopes up to win this battle, it had been months since the war started and they were starting to become frustrated, many of them were killed and were starting to wonder if they were ever going to win this war. They walked for a couple of hours and have not met the enemy yet, Zoicite sighed; Nephrite turned to see the blonde man in question "What's the matter Zoicite?"

Zoicite shook his head "Nothing…it's just that, we've been walking for I do not know how long…I feel very unease, they're near, I can feel it"

Nephrite frowned "Maybe you are just nervous, we all are…they appear just the way they disappear"

Like if Zoicite words were magical, the enemy appeared once again; Rumalos turned to face the soldiers and raised his sword "Here we go again, get ready to get my signal….Attack!"

000000000000000000000000000

King Eros was at the study with his men studying the battle strategy Rumalos was following, the enemy was strong and he was worried, in his years as king it was the first time he confronted a situation like this and what worried him the most was that his son was fighting there and couldn't know much about what was happening with him.

"The list of dead people has increased" Leonidas said worried, as he extended another map on the large table.

Eros's back was towards the general, the king was watching silently out the window "Is his name on that list?"

Leonidas eyes widened "What?"

"Is Endymion's name on that list?"

"No"

Eros lowered his gaze, the phantom of a smile caressed his handsome features "We need to stay alert, the enemy is strong"

"We haven't managed to find out who is their leader…" Leonidas said.

"They left this grounds…that worries me" Eros said.

"Maybe they are all moving where the army is at" Leonidas' voice was low.

"Still, we need to be prepared and if it's needed I will fight as well" Eros' voice was determinant.

"Her Majesty's health could be affected if she knows you'll go and fight as well" Leonidas said with worry.

Eros turned to face the general "Gaia's health is…" he trailed off, took a deep breath and continued "Her heart has weakened over the years…I know she won't want me to go and fight, but if it's necessary I will have to. For the sake of this Kingdom and its innocent inhabitants"

"You haven't fought in years Eros…" Leonidas said concerned.

Eros sighed and frowned "But I remember how to very clearly"

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

Back at the battlefield the massacre continued; the sound of metal crashing, the soldiers' moans and the smell of death filled the woods. The _genus_ appeared with more soldiers to fight against the royal army and to their luck they were winning.

"We are losing too many people!" Rumalos said to one of the generals with desperation. The once calmed and confident general was at the verge of a nervous breakdown.

"General! Let me take charge!" Kunzite said to Rumalos.

"There is no time for this right now Kunzite!" Rumalos dig his sword to one of the enemies and turned to look at the white haired man and watched the desperation in his grey eyes "Just take the soldiers out of the woods" he ordered.

Kunzite nodded and ran to continue fighting "You need to follow me!" he said to Zoicite who was fighting with all his might, not turning to look at Kunzite he chuckled "You finally got what you wanted don't you?"

Kunzite's eyes widened and froze in his place "What?" Zoicite turned to look at him "Rumalos gave you the order to lead"

"There's no time for that! We need to get the hell out of here!" Kunzite raised his voice. Endymion ran to where Zoicite and Kunzite were arguing "We need to move Zoicite! They are all over" the prince's voice was full of anguish but still was confident in his strategy.

"I'm the one that gives the orders here!" Kunzite yelled at Endymion.

"Kunzite, there is no time for this! People are dying as we speak…we need to move! NOW!" Endymion pushed Kunzite out of the way. Zoicite followed Endymion and gave Kunzite no other choice but to follow them, not even he knew at this moment where to take the soldiers; he knew he was capable of following Rumalos' orders but at this moment he didn't know how or what to do.

Jadeite appeared and threw a knife at one of the enemies and turned to look at Endymion "They're stronger than the last time!" he exclaimed. Endymion turned to look at the blonde man "Listen, call every soldier you can and tell them to run as fast as they can towards the river, we are close to get out of this place…the woods are making this fight more difficult"

Jadeite nodded but just when he was about to leave Kunzite stopped him "What do you think you are doing?" Endymion ran a hand through his dark hair in desperation and ignored Kunzite's words "Go Jadeite, there's no time to waste!" Jadeite freed from Kunzite's grasp and ran to where he knew the other soldiers were fighting.

Rumalos ran towards them "We need to get out of here!"

"Not if we stop you first!" a man with a scar on his left cheek said, he was being followed by other three soldiers.

Rumalos was the first to make a move and went straight to attack the man, he made a couple of moves but he fell on the ground. Kunzite ran towards him but was stopped by another enemy "Where do you think you are going?" he said and began attacking the white haired soldier.

Endymion jumped and thrust his sword to one of the soldier enemy on his chest in a matter of seconds surprising the man with the scar on his face "You must be the one Lord says…the so called Prince"

Rumalos tried to stand up but he had an injury on his right leg "Run Endymion!" Endymion turned to look at Rumalos and shook his head "I won't run" he said coldly.

Kunzite kicked the enemy on the stomach and thrust his sword seconds later, killing the man instantly and then pointed his blooded sword at the man with the scar "I will kill you" he hissed.

Endymion watched his surroundings and then at Rumalos lying on the ground a few feet away from him; in a swift movement he climbed to one of the trees and landed next to the general "What are you doing? Get out of here!" the general said with exasperation.

"We all need to get out of here, the woods are their territory, they know them like the palm of their hands" the prince helped the general stand up and ran as fast as he could, Zoicite and Nephrite followed behind.

The dark haired man with the scar on his face noticed a few minutes later "Where did they go? You pitiful soldier!" he turned to look at Kunzite and threw him a few feet away "Damn Prince…I will kill you and cut your head off just like you did with Isamel" the man said in a low voice.

Kunzite tried to stand up "No…" he muttered with wide eyes.

Endymion kept running towards the river when he soon noticed Jadeite was there with the army near "Endymion!" Jadeite yelled and noticed he was carrying somebody, his eyes widened in shock "General…"

The prince arrived and sat Rumalos on a rock "He was injured" he said to Jadeite, we had to get out of there as soon as we could and this was the only way. Rumalos turned to look at Endymion "Kunzite stayed there with that man, he is very strong…even for him!"

"I'll go find him" Endymion said, he was about to leave when he saw Kunzite walking towards them "I can fight on my own" he said with faking confidence.

"Did you kill him?" Rumalos asked; Kunzite moved his head no "He escaped. It would have been easier if the little prince here have followed my orders" Endymion turned to look at Kunzite "Haven't you had enough? People are dying, this is a massacre and you are only worrying about who has control?"

"Right now I am your superior and you have to do as I say!" he raised his voice.

"Our duty is not only train to protect others, it is not only grabbing a sword and kill the enemy, it is also about looking for each other" Endymion said.

"It's been months! It's not the time to be guarding our backs! It's time to finish them all!" Kunzite said enraged.

"What should we do next General?" one of the soldiers asked worried.

"We need to find a place where we can hide for now; we can't fight in these conditions" Rumalos said slowly, gritting his teeth because of the pain he was having because of his injure.

"They know these woods like the palm of their hands…I've noticed it, we all have believed that staying here will help us hide ourselves from them but it is the other way around…it's helping them instead of us" Endymion commented.

Rumalos frown in thought and Kunzite chuckled "Oh please…this way they can't see us! If we were in an open field they could easily find us and kill us for that matter"

"We need to keep moving then" Rumalos said while trying to stand up.

"General but your leg is injured!" Nephrite said worried.

"I can walk" the general assured "Let's start moving"

"What?" Kunzite snapped "Are you actually going to believe what he says?" Rumalos turned to look at Kunzite "I cannot allow any more deaths…" the general said sadly. "Sorry to burst your bubble, General" the man with the scar reappeared and placed a knife on Kunzite's throat "It's time for you to surrender"

"We will never surrender!" Rumalos said, taking out his sword again.

Endymion turned to the soldiers behind him "Go!"

Jadeite was the first to move "Come on, move!"

Nephrite turned to the general "We need to move General!"

"Not if we stop you! … It's over…" the man said and was about to cut Kunzite's throat when a blade cut the other side of his face, allowing the white haired man go "Agh!" the dark haired man moaned and placed a hand on his injure.

Endymion threw one of the small blades he had on his belt towards the man in order to gain time for the rest of the soldiers run away from there "It is not over…" he said coldly.

"How dare you…" the man watched his blooded hand in horror.

Kunzite ran free from the man but soon was caught once again by another soldier enemy. The blood on the man's face ran free; taking his position he pointed Endymion with his sword "I will cut your head off!...Kill them!" he ordered to a mob of soldiers, they started to run towards them and to make the fight more difficult, a cloud blocked the light of the moon, leaving them in complete darkness.

Endymion closed his eyes and listened to the sound of their footsteps, allowing him to know their exact position and letting him make his first attack. Kunzite started to panic in the dark; he couldn't see anything and for a moment he felt this was it for him.

He could only hear the clash of metal and the noise the soldier's made when their bodies hit the ground. When the cloud moved allowing them to see again his grey eyes widened to see Endymion moving at an incredible speed attacking every enemy soldier that was in his way. In that small fragment of time where that cloud blocked the light he had killed almost every soldier that was surrounding them.

The man with the scar on his face stuttered "W-what?" he said slowly and heard another body fall just behind him, then turned and watched the prince pointing his blooded stained sword towards him "Not if I cut your head off first"

The man took several steps back "Retreat!" he yelled and disappeared.

The prince lowered his sword and took several breaths "We must move and get out of here…the rest of the army is probably out of the woods by now"

"Let's get moving" Rumalos stood up with the help of Nephrite. Zoicite walked towards a very shocked Kunzite "Come on Kunzite, we need to go" Kunzite pushed Zoicite aside and walked alone; Zoicite sighed and started to follow the general and the rest of the crew.

"They should be here by now…" Jadeite said, looking at the mass of trees behind him.

"What if they were killed?" one of the soldiers asked Jadeite.

"No…that cannot happen" Jadeite said lowly.

"Look! They're alive!" another soldier said out loud.

Zoicite and Nephrite held Rumalos on each arm to help him support his leg, Kunzite walked behind Zoicite, Endymion walked a few feet behind them.

"General!" Jadeite ran towards them in shock "I was starting to worry about you all!"

"We barely made it…" Rumalos said and looked around "I'm glad to see you guided them here…we can camp in this place"

Nephrite sighed "Finally a free space…"

Rumalos sighed and nodded his head "Endymion saved us"

Endymion was walking towards the army when he heard one of the soldiers "There he is!"

Endymion stopped in his tracks and widened his eyes; every soldier started to kneel before him in silence including Rumalos and his friends Jadeite, Nephrite and Zoicite, except for Kunzite who remained in a standing position and gave the prince a dead glare.

"W-what…" the prince trailed off.

"You saved us all young Prince and this is our way to thank you…we want to show you our loyalty to you" General Rumalos said "There is no doubt that you…are the head of this army and a true warrior"

Endymion watched in amazement how the large crowd was kneeling in front of him "I wouldn't have done it without your help and cooperation" he said softly.

Rumalos stood with the help of Zoicite "You were born to be a leader…and there is no doubt that you are our Prince. Your grandfather must be very proud"

Endymion couldn't believe what he was hearing, all this effort, all the times he stood under the freezing water of the waterfall, all the times he fell and had to stand up. He fought to become a warrior and had accomplished it.

Rumalos placed a hand on the prince's shoulder "We will stay the night here" Endymion nodded.

"The river continues its path over that way…we can get refreshed there and drink some water as well" Jadeite said.

Endymion nodded and smiled softly and went to sit near the fire one of the soldiers just started. He stayed in silence looking at the fire in front of him.

"Don't think just because you saved everyone I will kneel before you"

Endymion turned to look at Kunzite standing behind him with an angry face and remained silent, this seemed to bother Kunzite even more "Aren't you going to say something or are you going to tell the General that I'm bothering you? Now that you are his favorite…"

Endymion stood up "What do you want Kunzite? Really…what is it what you want, why can't you just shut your mouth and accept the fact that you are not the only one that can make a decision here?"

"I want to fight you and prove them all I am the leader of this army…not you" Kunzite said with a cold defiant voice.

Endymion sighed "This must be some sort of a joke"

Kunzite pointed Endymion with his sword "I don't consider myself a joker"

"Kunzite!" Zoicite called out "What are you doing?"

"Stop it Kunzite!" General Rumalos said.

"I won't kneel before you just because you saved my life!" Kunzite said angry.

Endymion took his sword and moved closer to Kunzite "I'm getting sick of you and your stupid behavior, you want to fight well… let's fight then"

Kunzite moved away from the fire to a clearer area and started to prepare for his attack; Endymion walked slowly following him "You will be the one kneeling before me" Kunzite ran towards the prince and moved his sword but his attack was blocked by Endymion's sword.

Kunzite turned and got free from Endymion's attack "Is that all you got?" he said.

Endymion stood still and watched man move all around with his sword, Kunzite turned and moved his sword close to the prince's face but he dodged him and kneeled "Now it's my turn Kunzite…" Endymion said slowly.

Endymion jumped high and raised his sword above his head and made a loud noise when it crashed against Kunzite's sword, then moved to left then quickly to the right; Kunzite tried to dodge this blows but he was incredibly fast, even for him. Turning to his side he took a blade from his belt and threw it at the prince; Endymion caught the blade with his hand and threw it back at Kunzite cutting near his brow, the white haired man felt his blood ran through his face and wiped it off with his hand "You will regret it" running towards him, he tried to hurt him with his blade but the prince moved faster, jumping high he landed behind Kunzite "Are you sure about that?" he placed his sword on Kunzite's throat.

"He fights with an incredible speed…" Jadeite said amazed.

"Kunzite can't win that battle…" Nephrite said dumbfounded.

"He's angry…" Zoicite said slowly.

Rumalos understood Kunzite's frustration; he knew the reasons why he joined the army and how much it meant to him to become a leader, the head of the army. When Endymion joined, Kunzite already had a great advantage, he had trained day and night for weeks to become the greatest warrior, but the prince always trigged something in him that always made him compete against Endymion. Despite Kunzite's strong and cold character he had a kind heart and did cared for others but he just needed to be reminded that to be a good warrior you need to be humble, sadly for him, he forgot that in his training.

"He just needs to be taught a lesson…that's all" Rumalos said.

Kunzite gritted his teeth and managed to free from Endymion's blade. Turning, he kicked his sword away leaving the prince unprotected "Like I said, you'll regret it" Kunzite smiled slightly, feeling the sense of victory in his hands.

Endymion stood there unprotected, looking at his side he spotted his sword several feet away from him; walking around Kunzite slowly he watched his surroundings and studied them carefuly remembering his father's advice _"Always analyze your surroundings and you will find something you can use as a weapon. Anything can be turned a weapon" _**"A weapon…"** he thought.

Kunzite ran towards him "It's over Endymion I win!"

Endymion started to run in Kunzite's direction; startling the white haired man **"What?"** he thought.

The prince slid between Kunzite's legs to the other side and grabbed a long branch "It's not over yet" he said, pointing at him with the long stick.

Kunzite laughed "A branch? You expect to win this battle with a branch?"

"Yes" Endymion said, running towards Kunzite and when he was a few feet away he took a high jump and hit Kunzite with the long stick; landing next to him he passed the branch under his feet making Kunzite fall to the ground.

Endymion pointed Kunzite with the branch "Now, it's over"

Kunzite widened his grey eyes in shock, the prince had won the battle and he didn't even use his sword; lowering his head he sighed in defeat. Endymion had proved to him he was stronger in front of everybody and felt ashamed, the great honor he gained over the years was gone in a matter of minutes by the man he called _a brat_.

Everyone was in shock and silent, nobody expected to witness what they had. The arrogant soldier was beaten for the very first time and in an extraordinary way.

Endymion watched Kunzite's sad expression and knew that beyond his cold demeanor and pride he had a heart and of course, had feelings. He had his own reasons to be the way it was. Endymion never knew what made him be that particular way towards him but he needed a lesson and with it needed to be reminded how to be humble and more human. Throwing away the branch he used as weapon he extended his hand at him. Kunzite noticed his action and raised his head giving the prince a questioning look "What are you doing?" he asked confused.

"We don't have to fight Kunzite" Endymion said "We have witnessed so much hatred and have escaped death so many times that we don't need this, we don't need to be fighting"

Kunzite's grey eyes widened in shock, something inside him fell into place; like magic all his jealousy vanished and looked in admiration at the prince. Since he got there, he did nothing but to treat him bad, insult him, mock him, laugh at him and even fought him and there he was extending his hand at him after winning a battle he demanded in order to prove to him he was stronger.

Kunzite moved his head no, looking at Endymion he showed no more regret in his eyes and hen happened the unexpected…

He went down on one knee before the prince.

Everyone watched in amazement and some of them gasped; Rumalos smiled "He understands now…" he said softly.

"How did you?..." Zoicite trailed off and turned to watch the scene in front of him in amazement.

"I was angry…I was blinded by jealousy…I have been taught a lesson" Kunzite said, looking down "I have to say nothing else but to be at your complete service, Your Highness"

Endymion smiled and extended his hand once again "Come on Kunzite"

Kunzite raised his head at the prince and for the very first time, he smiled. Taking his hand he stood up "I want to ask for your forgiveness and to thank you for saving my life back there…"

Endymion nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder "Your welcome and please forget whatever happened between us"

Kunzite nodded "I'm forever in debt"

"How about we call it a truce?" Endymion extended his hand once again; Kunzite nodded and shook the prince's hand "Truce"

All the soldiers started to applaud, Jadeite, Nephrite and Zoicite walked towards them "I'm glad this is finally over…" Zoicite said, chuckling.

Kunzite smiled and lowered his gaze, Jadeite chuckled "Well at least _this_ war is…"

Nephrite nodded "We still have one to win…"

"Yes, but we will win. I am sure of it" Kunzite assured.

* * *

**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.**


	39. Chapter 39

**A/N: I just came to realize how long this story is going to be, I hope you don't get tired lol...I am afraid this one will be longer than Divinity but Oh well!...the sky is the limit and in the meantime you enjoy this chapter.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter thirty nine**

* * *

The war continued even when the enemy backed up after several more encounters, the who called himself Lord didn't appear anymore, confusing the general and the rest of the army. Even though they were still fighting they continued their training now that the encounters had diminished.

More years have passed. Now the army was fully complete and almost has ended their training, the young soldiers that once started training had become stronger and all grown up. After escaping the woods, they settled their camp near the lake where the river emptied. There were tall trees that still protected them but it wasn't as full of them as when they were camping in the forest.

It was another early morning and everyone was starting to wake up and about to start their everyday routine. Inside one of the tents a man with short blonde hair yawned loudly "Goooooood mornin' everybody!" he said loudly.

"Why do you always have to wake us up like that?" a man with long wavy brown hair muttered.

"Because… it's morning" Jadeite's said.

"Argh…" Nephrite sat on his cot and scratched his head; turning to his side he found the cot next to his empty again "Somebody had insomnia once again"

Jadeite laughed, his voice was low and raspy "He's more of a morning person…" putting on his dark uniform he walked out of the tent and watched him at the distance sitting on a rock. Another man stood next to him "He's meditating"

Jadeite turned to see Kunzite "It's his daily routine"

Kunzite closed his eyes and crossed his arms "Sometimes I wonder what he's thinking when he's meditating…he can't be just praying" he chuckled.

Jadeite smiled "He holds too many secrets…or maybe he's just sleeping"

A pair of deep blue eyes opened to the new morning, standing up he started to walk back to his tent and saw Jadeite talking to Kunzite in a low voice "I know you're talking about me" Endymion said, his voice has deepened compared to the one he had when he first joined the army.

"You can't be so sure about it" Jadeite said.

"You were meditating" Kunzite said.

Endymion smiled and lowered his head "At first…"

Kunzite raised a brow "At first?"

"Yes, then I fell asleep" Endymion rubbed his neck and chuckled.

Jadeite laughed "That's what I just told Kunzite"

"I woke up very early…" Endymion said.

"You are not sleeping very well" Jadeite said patting the prince's shoulder.

Endymion nodded "I know…I have this strange dreams and wake up, when this happens I normally go out to meditate but this time I couldn't hold it any longer and fell asleep"

"Dreams?" Kunzite frowned, Endymion nodded "Yes…nothing serious but, I always end up waking up"

Jadeite crossed his arms "Hm… I think your _dreaming _has to do with something else"

Endymion raised an eyebrow "Yes?"

Jadeite smiled "Yes, you need to be with a woman"

Kunzite eavesdropped and turned to look at Jadeite wide eyed "What are you saying?"

Jadeite turned to see Kunzite "Yes and you too"

Endymion turned and started walking towards his tent "I don't have time for that Jadeite, we still have to win a war that has been for years now"

Jadeite walked to catch up with the prince "I'm not saying that you have to stay with the girl, just…you know…"

Endymion sweat dropped "The first time I spent some time with a girl it did not end quite well"

Kunzite caught up with them and placed a hand on his chin "Now that you mentioned it…"

Jadeite blushed and started laughing nervously "That was because they were crazy!"

"No…that was because they were older than any of us!" Kunzite exclaimed.

"Hey! Endymion was the one with better luck on that!" Jadeite excused himself, Endymion turned to look at him with a stern face "I won't deny she was adorable and actually sweet but I won't go through that again…that's for sure"

Jadeite frowned "Alright, alright! So yes…they were a little cuckoo but that doesn't mean all women are the same…"

Endymion chuckled and turned to see Jadeite "You sound like if you wanted to find yourself a wife…"

Kunzite closed his eyes and ginned devilishly "He sounds like he's in need…"

The blonde man blushed and lowered his gaze "Well, no…not exactly a wife but…" he trailed off.

"What are you men talking about?" Zoicite asked, Nephrite came to stand next to the sandy blonde man "Yes, you look so entranced in your talk"

Kunzite chuckled "We were remembering some anecdotes"

"Really, which ones?" Zoicite asked curious.

"That particular boy's night out in town" Kunzite said looking at the blonde man next to him.

Nephrite started laughing "When Endymion got drunk and…" he trailed off when he saw the prince's serious face "Ahem…that was funny"

"The matter here is…No Jadeite, we won't repeat that…um…adventure and if you do don't include me" Endymion said before walking back to his tent.

Jadeite sighed "I was just saying…" he scratched his head. "I think we should repeat that, it was hilarious" Nephrite said laughing.

"Yes, I don't personally think Endymion wouldn't like to be invited to another boy's night out" Zoicite said, patting Jadeite's shoulder.

"He's just sleepless" Kunzite said "He's just been having hard nights" the white haired man looked at the tent where he watched his friend walk in.

"He's having those nightmares again?" Nephrite asked worried, Kunzite nodded his head.

"But he doesn't say much about them…" Zoicite said slowly "Maybe there could be some way to help"

"He has become quite serious…he wasn't like that, I mean, he's old good Endymion but something has changed" Jadeite said.

"We all have changed but since he became the second in command next to Rumalos he has become more serious" Kunzite said.

"Who would have imagined, Endymion is now a General…" Jadeite said.

"He earned that place…" Kunzite said "I'm quite surprised he hadn't got the Medal of Honor or the highest rank insignia"

"What worries me is how the enemy has disappeared for so long…" Zoicite frowned.

"Do you think they…" Nephrite trailed off, Kunzite sighed "Surrender? I highly doubt it, we must be alert and win this battle if we want to go back home…"

Zoicite pursed his lips and sat on a rock "Home… that word sounds so foreign…" resting his hands on his knees, he sighed.

Jadeite sat next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder "Don't worry Zoi, we will go back home…Endymion knows what he is doing and General Rumalos is always keeping us practicing, we will win this battle…" Zoicite looked at the blonde man and smiled "Thank you Jadeite"

00000000000000000000

Endymion sat on his cot and sighed, resting his elbows on his knees he placed both hands on his head "I'm tired…" he breathed. His voice was like drinking a glass of the finest red wine; deep, warm and elegant.

Years only made wonders to Prince Endymion; he had turned out to be a very handsome man, his once fair skin had a slight tan, his body was well toned he could easily claim Adonis' title. Raising his face the morning sun rays filtered the tent and illuminated his handsome features; a strong jaw that gave emphasis to his inviting lips, his nose seemed to be chiseled to perfection and his pitch black hair fell graciously over his stormy and prismatic blue eyes.

Not really wanting to go back to sleep he lied down on his cot and closed his eyes; taking a few breaths in he thought of the dream he had the night before.

_Dark clouds covered the bright sun; blood tainted the walls of a large room. He wasn't sure if he was standing or lying on the ground but he could hear a woman's cry. Unable to move he heard someone call him "Endymion…"_

"Endymion" one of the soldiers called him.

The prince opened his eyes and sat immediately "Something's wrong?"

The soldier moved his head no "General Rumalos asked me to give you this…" extending his hand he gave the prince a letter with a seal on its back.

"Thank you" Endymion said before the soldier left the tent.

Endymion traced the seal with his fingers; he recognized that symbol very well, the circle with a cross, it was the symbol of his house and the symbol of Earth. Breaking it, he unfolded the piece of paper and started reading.

_My dearest Endymion,_

_Sitting under the cherry tree without you it's not the same, every time I watch a flower fall I imagine it's another day that passes and that you are not here. I have only heard great things about you and I can't be any more proud. Your father is still alert of anything that could happen to the enemy and I know you are doing the same over there._

_Don't worry about me, I'm fine. Aurea is taking care of me as always and so your father, Obelix, Leonidas and your grandmother which by the way sends you a trail of butterfly kisses._

_I miss your lovely eyes and your adorable smile, I miss you terribly my dear son._

_Everybody is counting the days for your return but in the mean time, no matter how darker the days can get there is always a light in your heart that will guide you to the right path._

_Please take care, I love you._

_Your mother_

Endymion folded the paper back again and smiled, he missed his family terribly and spending time with his mother under the shade of that cherry tree. He remembered that was his favorite thing to do when he was little "I miss you too, Mater" he said softly.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"It's time…" a deep raspy voice said to a crowd "We will rise again against them and this time we will win!" Lord said with confidence.

The crowd started to made noise "How are we going to win?" a soldier asked.

A very large man came to stand next to Lord. His hands held a large sword; his muscles were incredibly large and a large scar crossed his face. His long blonde hair was tied up in a low ponytail. Lord smiled and turned to the crowd "The best warrior of all times is on our side! The crown is ours!"

The crowd started to make noise, they were ready to rise against the royal army again and to the prince that almost killed their leader.

"Your head will be mine…" he said lowly while rubbing his hands "This time, the one asking for mercy will be you Prince Endymion…" he laughed loudly.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

The Higher Gods were reunited for a meeting in Olympus, Chronos was sitting in his seat during a meeting with the higher gods, deep in thought. "The Golden energy has become stronger with each day that passes…" Poseidon said worried.

Zeus sighed "There is nothing we can do but to stay away"

Hades stood up and walked to one of the windows of the spacious room "There is one way…I can still go for his soul and take it to the underworld, it will be guarded in the deepest of Tartarus that way he won't be able to do us anything"

"I don't believe that will be possible Hades…" Chronos said from his seat, his eyes were still closed and crossed his arms in front of his chest "Killing him and sending his soul to the underworld won't give you the stone he posses"

Hades turned to look at the God of Time with a frown "What are you saying?"

Chronos opened his eyes "I know you threatened Geb"

Hades widened his eyes in shock "What?"

Zeus turned to see Hades and so the rest of the Higher Gods "Did you threaten Geb?" the Lord of thunder asked. "The stone is in danger in that realm! Or have you forgotten he cannot come here!" Hades tried to defend himself.

"We haven't forgotten Hades but you don't go and threaten anybody" Chronos said "The only thing we must do is to keep protecting this realm" the lord of time said upset. Hades walked to where Chronos was sitting "You know better than anybody what kind of power that child has!"

Chronos chuckled and stood up; Hades looked at him with annoyance "What is so funny?"

"The son of Gaia is far from being a child…he's already a man" Chronos turned to look at Hades "It would cause more damage if we go and fight him…it could affect us" Chronos said looking at the blue planet hanging in the sky.

"The Silver Alliance is strong enough to protect everybody, in order to maintain peace any contact between the Earth and the rest of us is forbidden" Zeus said.

Hades sighed giving Zeus a cold look "Keeping him alive is too dangerous…have you all forgotten he's _that_ demon's nephew?"

Chronos gritted his teeth. No matter how much time has passed, Gaia was to him like his little sister and always looked after her, he did not know personally his son but was sure he didn't carry the same devilish soul as Gaia's brother "That is a different matter, Gaia is that demon's sister and she is not like him…she didn't follow his steps but otherwise, she sealed him!" the lord of time raised his voice.

Hades walked over Chronos "Why do you defend her so much? She betrayed us and brought a bastard to life!"

"Silence!" Zeus snapped and stood up from his throne "The Son of Gaia will never cross to this realm"

Poseidon sighed "But…what if he does one day?"

Zeus turned to look at the God of the Seas "What?"

Poseidon gave the Lord of Thunder a worried look "You know the caliber he has…he can easily cross to this realm, he has the power to do that…remember he is a Demigod"

Chronos turned to look at Poseidon "He may be strong but he is not a murderer…he is not a demon"

"Oh please Chronos, you know better than ay of us how strong he is! Or haven't you notice yet the amount of force he can manage, how much power he can control? He was born to kill! He is trained to kill! The mortals have trained him to be a murderer" Hades said.

Chronos frowned "I am aware of his strength Hades and I know he is far from being weak and who has become but he is far from being what you say he is…"

"Why do you defend him so much? What makes you think he won't come and kill us all?" Hades asked.

"Because a sacred stone never follows a tainted soul" Chronos responded "And because I highly doubt that Gaia wants to follow our steps"

Zeus frowned "What are you saying Chronos?"

Chronos turned to look at Zeus "The truth Zeus, Gaia was right when she said we only cared about power… here we are! Discussing the possibility of killing a person just because of the power he holds!" Zeus remained silent, Chronos turned to look at Hades and then the rest of the Higher Gods "Remember he is Helios' grandson and that he chose him to be his predecessor"

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**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters. Thank you. And _please...review!_**


	40. Chapter 40

**A/N: Ahh...I love this, thank you for still being followers of this story. You know? right now, I am going through a very hard time...but writing is some kind of therapy for me and to read so many wonderful reviews and opinions, really makes my day. Thank you very much. I really appreciate it. Enjoy this chapter.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter forty**

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"Your Majesty, the Royals of Antlia want to have a word with you" Artemis said to the lunar queen.

Queen Serenity closed the book she was reading and smiled "I believe I know what they want" she turned to look at Luna who was sitting next to her "Send them in" she said softly. Artemis bowed and left the room.

oooo

Princess Serenity was in the main court picking some flowers to put on a crystal vase in her room, she liked to have fresh flowers every day, she always said that it brightened the space somehow and loved the sweet smell.

"Princess Serenity"

Serenity raised her face; her beautiful features were enlightened by the sunlight. Princess Serenity had become a beautiful Goddess over the time, since she was born everybody considered her the treasure of the universe, but now, time has passed and her girlish features disappeared revealing a delicate and elegant woman.

Her face was one of an angel and fair skin, her features were extremely delicate; a soft pouty mouth and a straight nose, her big icy blue eyes were framed by dark long lashes. Her platinum blonde hair was longer than before and soft strands of it framed her oval shaped face.

Her long white dress clung to every curve of her body like a second skin; the royal heir of the moon kingdom was by far the most alleged princess of the galaxy if not the universe. The white princess looked up and placed a hand on her face to cover the sun from her eyes "Jupiter" she smiled softly.

Venus, Mars and Mercury were sitting with the princess when they saw the Amazon woman walk close to them with a surprised expression "You look excited…" Mars said, placing another white flower to the basket in front of her.

"I was walking towards here when I saw some guests arrive" Jupiter sat in front of the princess "They looked like they were royals…"

Serenity lowered her gaze and sighed "Do you think they…" she trailed off.

"Another prince wants to ask your hand in marriage!" Venus said excitedly.

"I believe so…" Serenity breathed.

Venus' smile faded "Your Highness, are you all right?"

"Yes, Princess…is something the matter?" Mercury asked, her soft voice was delicate.

Serenity turned to look at Mercury then to Venus and smiled "I'm fine, it's just that…I wasn't expecting more visitors this soon"

"Is it a bad thing?" Jupiter asked.

Serenity stood up and turned her back at her guardians "I just want to be left alone for some time…a new pursuer comes almost every day" the princess sighed and turned to see the blue planet hanging in the sky "I would like to be free like the wind they say it runs in that planet"

"Earth?" Jupiter asked.

"I would love to go there…" Serenity said softly.

"But you can't be…" Mars put her hand on Mercury's mouth. Serenity turned to look at both girls and gave them a sad smile "I practically cannot go anywhere…"

Venus stood up and placed a hand on Serenity's shoulder "If he's not the right one for you…"

"You'll know it" Serenity finished her sentence "Please go with me…I don't want to be alone"

"Actually, we all are going with you…" Mars said, brushing her red gown.

"Your Highness" Luna walked towards the princess and bowed before her "Her Majesty wants you to join her in her study"

Serenity turned to see Venus with a knowing smile, then turned back at Luna "I will be there shortly Luna, thank you"

Luna smiled and walked closer "Princess…I know this is tiring for you, but it is part of the protocol…you know how this is…"

Serenity nodded "I know Luna; you are just doing what you have to do…come, walk me there"

ooooooooo

"My daughter will be here any moment" Queen Serenity smiled at the guests "Would you like to have another cup of tea?"

"That would be lovely Goddess Serenity" said Queen Galya "It's an honor to be here with you today"

Queen Serenity smiled at the queen "You have a lovely name, it reminds me of a friend…" she said softly.

The red haired queen smiled "Thank you very much Goddess"

One of the tall doors opened and Luna walked in "Her Highness Princess Serenity is here"

The three royals including Queen Serenity stood up; Serenity walked inside the room, her flowing gown moved graciously with her making her look more divine that she already was, standing next to her mother she smiled.

"Good afternoon" she bowed her head.

"By all heavens…you are gorgeous" the words escaped the queen's mouth.

Queen Serenity smiled "Dear, may I present to you King Pacorus, Queen Galya and their son Prince Paios from Antlia"

Serenity nodded her head "A pleasure to meet you all. May I introduce to you my guardians; they will be joining us in this meeting, Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter"

"A pleasure to meet you all" King Pacorus said.

"Please sit" Queen Serenity said softly.

Prince Paios couldn't take his eyes off Serenity "I would love to give this to you…" he stood up and kneeled in front of the princess with a small dark blue box.

Serenity's eyes widened "You shouldn't bother…"

The prince opened the small box and showed a small crystal stone "It's a star from our home…I hope you like it"

"It's beautiful…thank you" Serenity breathed.

"Not as beautiful as you, Princess" the prince kissed the top of her hand softly.

Prince Paios wasn't bad looking, he had chocolate hair, tanned skin, lovely brown eyes and he was quite tall but he was known to be a little too cheesy with his speeches.

"I believe it would be nice to leave you too alone so you can get to know each other" Queen Serenity said.

Serenity smiled hiding her discomfort and turned to look at Venus who already gave her a reassuring smile. Turning to see again at the man kneeling in front of her "Of course"

"Dinner will be ready very shortly" the queen said and exited the room along with the King and Queen of Antlia, the senshi followed.

"You are more beautiful than I ever imagined" Paios said softly, kissing her hand once again.

Serenity tried to free her hand from his grasp but she didn't want to show her discomfort to him "Would you like to walk with me to the garden?"

The prince smiled and stood up "There is nothing in this galaxy I would want more Princess" he offered his arm.

"Thank you…" Serenity smiled and took his arm, lowering her eyes she sighed softly.

0000000000000000000000

The senshi were standing outside in the hall when they saw their princess leave the room holding the prince's arm.

"She is uncomfortable" Mars said when she watched them leave the room towards the gardens. "Well, at least he is not like her last pursuer" Jupiter said "He was too much of everything"

"Is something wrong Venus?" Mercury asked. Venus moved her head no "There is no connection…she is not even happy"

"This is all too much for her, she had been visited by so many suitors this past year…but she doesn't want to be rude, it's part of the protocol" Mercury said sadly.

"She might even lose faith in love if this continues…" Venus said sadly as well.

"Love is something you rarely find in this place…" Mars said softly. Venus sighed "I know, but that doesn't mean she can't find her soulmate…I know he is out there…somewhere…"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

One of the soldiers was washing his hands on the lake when he suddenly saw a large crowd approaching, recognizing their attire he tried to run as fast as he could but he was caught by one of the enemy soldiers.

Lord walked close him and looked down at the man trying to free himself from the other man's grasp "What do you want?" the soldier asked, afraid of what they could do to him.

The bearded man laughed "You all know what we want…I have a message for you to send to your darling Prince"

The man holding the soldier hit him with his elbow on his back, making him flinch. Lord kneeled in front of the soldier and grabbed his chin tightly "Tell him how much I will enjoy to see his head being cut off"

The soldier gave Lord a dead glare "My Prince will cut yours first" his voice slightly quivered.

The bearded man laughed again "This time I will not waste any more of my time chasing you around…the crown will be ours and so your prince's head. We will wait for him to show his face…I dare him to fight me. I will be waiting for him in this exact place" he let go of the soldier's chin and pushed him "Now, go and deliver the message…"

The soldier ran to the camp to tell everyone what just happened, a man with grey hair approached Lord "Why did you tell him that? We are here because we are supposed to fight them all and kill them! Now we are just going to wait, what if they don't come?"

Lord raised his hand to shut him up "That won't happen, the Prince has quite a pride…over the years we have fought against each other so many times that he won't want to waste another battle, but little does he know this will be his last one. The soldier will deliver the message to him first, I can tell. When they appear, be prepared to witness how our best warrior kills him in a blink of an eye" the bearded man laughed.

The soldier reached the camp and ran straight to where Kunzite was talking to Nephrite, Zoicite and Jadeite "Have you seen Endymion?" he asked desperate and with worry in his voice.

Kunzite frowned "He is in his tent, why? Is something wrong? Did the enemy appear?"

The soldier grasped for air "I have a message for him…it's urgent"

"Is it about the enemy, did you see something?" Nephrite asked.

The soldier nodded his head "But I need to tell Endymion right away"

"Tell me what?"

The soldier turned to see Endymion standing behind him "Prince!" the soldier gasped for air "The enemy is near us…"

Endymion frowned but stayed silent allowing the soldier to continue talking "The one that seemed to be their commander said I should give you his message"

"Which is?"

"He is challenging you to fight him, he's determined to…" the soldier trailed off and gasped for more air.

"Determined to what?" Jadeite asked.

"To cut the Prince's head off"

"Did he say anything else?" Endymion asked.

"He said they were not going to waste their time chasing us around, that they were going to wait for you in the same place near the lake" the soldier said.

Endymion lowered his gaze, Zoicite walked closer "This is not normal…you are not actually going to believe them, right?"

Endymion looked at Zoicite "I'm not going to believe the fact that they will not chase us around, but I will go to end this"

Rumalos approached them "What is going on here?"

"The enemy contacted one of our soldiers near the lake and sent him to deliver a message to Endymion, their commander is challenging him to fight against him" Kunzite said.

Rumalos turned to see Endymion "They want the crown no matter what…"

"They want his head attached to the crown…" Jadeite said.

Endymion started to walk towards the lake, Rumalos' eyes widened "Wait, where are you going?"

Endymion turned to see Rumalos standing next to the other soldiers "That bastard has been threatening my family and all of us for years, they have killed several of our comrades and I cannot allow any more of this…if to fight me is what he wants, then that is what he is going to get" the prince turned and started walking towards the enemy for one final battle leaving his comrades with a worried look on their faces.

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**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters. Thank you. **


	41. Chapter 41

**A/N: I hope you like this chapter. As a side note, I confessed I don't remember which chapter that I had a crush on Endymion since...I don't know, forever. I watched the series when I was in junior high and he was like my dream man, I did wish he had more protagonism in the story just like in the manga but, well I did enjoyed it. (I liked the manga more of course) so writing this story is like endulging myself in writing about one of my favorite characters and I don't know, give him more sides, just like with his guardians, Serenity and her senshi.**

**Thank you again for reading and I hope to read some reviews from you :)**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter forty one**

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**Serenity walked with Prince Paios through the gardens in silence, well, he was the only one talking.

"Have anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?"

Serenity smiled "You have asked me the same question several times, Prince…"

Prince Paios kneeled in front of her again and held her hand, Serenity eavesdropped **"He's kneeling again…"**

"Princess nothing would make me happier than to being allowed to see you everyday"

Serenity chuckled nervously "Oh, I'm very sure you have several suitors waiting for you back where you live…"

"But none of them compares to your beauty…" the prince kissed her hand for the tenth time, Serenity released her hand from his grasp with delicacy "That is so sweet of you…but…"

"Your Highnesses, lunch is ready to be served" Luna interrupted their moment, the princess made a mental note to thank the mauian woman later that night. Smiling back at the prince in front of her she extended her hand "Shall we?"

Prince Paios smiled back at her and stood up "I will follow you forever if you let me…"

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo

The rest of the army followed Endymion, all ready for battle. This could be definite, this could be the final encounter and they all could have achieved their mission and head back home. Endymion appeared to where Lord said they were going to be waiting for him to show up, clapping the man chuckled "Well look who finally decided to show?"

Endymion gave the bearded man a dead glare "So, _you_ want to fight me?"

Lord took a few steps forward "I'm tired of keep wasting _my_ precious time…"

Endymion side smiled "Good, I'm tired of that as well…you have become an incredibly amount of wasted time"

Lord frowned "You think you are that good?"

"Stop talking nonsense…you said you wanted to fight me, come on…let's fight" Endymion said, still with his voice in a low demeanor.

Lord chuckled "You have too much pride…let's see if you still have it after I have your head in my hands" a tall man walked close to Lord, holding a large sword in his hand he gave the prince a dead glare, he could easily kill him, he was a good two feet taller than Endymion and Endymion was quite tall, the man was almost a giant.

Rumalos' eyes widened "He can't be thinking of fighting him…"

"That man is a giant!" Zoicite exclaimed; Kunzite and Jadeite frowned.

"I knew you weren't going to be the one fighting…" Endymion said with sarcasm "Of course…you are too coward and weak to do so, but how low is it to call somebody else to do what you can't do?"

"You will pay for killing one of us" Lord said.

"Nobody threatens my family" Endymion said coldly.

Lord laughed "This is about power and you know it! Silas is our greatest warrior…you could never beat him"

Endymion crossed his arms "Very well… I'll fight your stupid giant"

Lord laughed "Well then be prepared to…"

"But if I win _you_ will surrender and kneel before me" Endymion interrupted the man.

Lord laughed louder "That will never happen. I will have your crown"

Endymion smiled "You better follow my deal. Think about it Lord…" he said with assurance "It is a very interesting deal, if you win I will kneel before you and give you the royal crown…but if I win, you will surrender and kneel before me"

Lord chuckled "Deal"

"Are you insane Endymion! That man is huge!" Rumalos said with great concern in his voice.

"What the hell is he doing?" Jadeite asked frustrated.

"Are you sure what you are about to do?" Kunzite asked the prince.

Endymion turned to look at Kunzite and nodded "This war has been for too many years…it's time to put an end to this no matter what the result might be" Endymion took out his sword from his belt and walked towards the gigantic man.

Lord stood next to Silas "Kill him…" he commanded.

The two armies stood on opposite sides leaving the gigantic man and Endymion in the middle, the prince turned to look at the giant and frowned "Is everyone in your group has an ugly scar on their faces?"

Silas frowned and look down at Endymion "You little midget, I will kill you…squash you like an insignificant cockroach"

"Fight!" Lord said out loud. Rumalos crossed his arms, but his expression showed worry "Concentrate Endymion…" he whispered.

Silas raised his sword above his head and made the first move; Endymion jumped and dodged him, landing a few feet away from him he looked at him "It's over…" he said low, the prince ran towards the gigantic man and jumped again, turning in the air he raised his sword and thrusted on his back all through his heart and took it out in one swift move, landing first than the man he walked a few feet away from him and waited for his fall while he faced the bearded man.

Silas eyes widened and placed a hand on the wound and watched the blood come out of it without control, seconds later his eyes went blank and fell to the ground, dead. Endymion placed his sword back on his belt and looked at the man who called himself Lord, of what? He never knew "Your mighty warrior has fallen"

Rumalos and the rest of the army watched the scene wide eyed, it wasn't the first time Endymion proved to them how strong and sharp he was but this was beyond their expectations. Lord swallowed hard, he couldn't believe what just happened "Silas…he can't…" he trailed off, looking up at the prince he grabbed his sword and tried to stab the prince who was standing in front of him, Endymion was faster than Lord and pushed him, taking Lord's sword he pointed his sword at him "It's over…be a man and follow our deal"

Lord lowered his head and slowly kneeled in front of the prince "You win…I surrender" the rest of the army kneeled behind Lord as well slowly.

Endymion crouched in front of Lord and grabbed him by his hair "Don't you ever dare to threaten my family or my kingdom, otherwise I personally will haunt you down and kill you just like I did with your friend, I will know where to find you…and it's clear that killing you is like squishing a worm" Lord was trembling by Endymion's words "Is it clear?" he raised his voice.

"Yes, Your…Highness" Lord said looking at the prince's stormy blue eyes with fright.

"Good" Endymion let go of his hair with force and turned to see Rumalos "The war is over General"

Rumalos swallowed and smiled, nodding his head he turned to the soldiers behind him "Take him under custody"

Endymion was about to leave when one of the enemy soldiers stopped him "Your Highness…"

Endymion turned to look at him. The soldier took a step forward and bowed "I know I may not be allowed to say this but…I want to thank you"

"Thank me?" Endymion arched a brow.

"You freed us all from Lord's threats" the soldier said.

"You were threatened by him?" Kunzite came to stand next to the prince.

"He threatened our families…we had to join him in war…in order to protect our families. But now that everything is finally over you have our loyalty" the soldier bowed again.

Endymion nodded and walked to where Silas was lying, crouching next to him he grabbed his sword and started to walk to the camp in silence.

"War is finally over…" Rumalos breathed.

Jadeite turned to see the general "That means…"

"That soon we will be able to go home" Rumalos smiled.

Everybody walked back to the camp cheering, singing and wanting to celebrate. Lord was taken to custody to one of the tents.

"This occasion needs be to be celebrated!" Jadeite said.

"This only means something…" Nephrite said, the others smiled and nodded "Boy's night out!"

Endymion chuckled "You have got to be kidding me! We have been celebrating with everybody since we got here!"

"Come on! You just ended a war, killed a giant and made that bastard kneel before you, what's better than that?" Jadeite said cheerfully.

Endymion laughed "You are hopeless Jadeite"

"There's a small town near the camp…they probably have a pub!" Zoicite said.

Endymion stood up and smiled "Then, what the hell are we waiting for?"

"That's the spirit!" Jadeite patted his friend's shoulder and laughed.

"I want to have your attention please!" Rumalos said raising his cup. Everyone paid attention to the general who was about to speak "I want to share some news…exciting news, to many of you"

Rumalos cleared his throat "Almost ten years ago a boy joined this army, everybody here thought he was only fulfilling his father's wishes and how much of a brat he was…" everybody started laughing, Zoicite patted Endymion's shoulder.

"He learned that the water near the waterfall was ridiculously cold" the general said with a smile on his face, everybody kept laughing. Endymion lowered his face and chuckled.

"And after many years, he has proved how strong he is and what kind of a warrior commands us…I could have never imagined in my time training new soldiers that I would meet so many strong men and that I would meet a Prince with so much courage and character, like father, like son" Rumalos nodded his head at the prince, Endymion nodded back.

"We have lost comrades in battle but we will carry their memory in our hearts, this victory it is also theirs! Tonight the wait is finally over soldiers! We are heading back home tomorrow! Cheers!" Rumalos raised his cup once again, the crowd started to cheer and clap.

"Great! We are heading back home!" Nephrite said happily.

"Finally…" Zoicite breathed.

"Well then, what are we doing here? Let's go and celebrate!" Jadeite started walking.

"I don't think that will be necessary…" Kunzite said.

Jadeite and the others turned to see one of the soldiers arrive with a man in his forties with several women, the man had a carriage and inside it, there were barrels full of rum.

"This is amazing…we were going to the party but it seems the party came to us!" Jadeite laughed.

"This will be a long… long night" Nephrite said.

Rumalos walked towards Endymion "I don't think I have to wait until tomorrow to inform you this…"

"What is it Sir?" Endymion nodded his head.

Rumalos smiled and took his medal off his jacket "I was waiting for this moment to give you this medal"

Endymion's eyes widened "But…how…?" he trailed off.

"Did I know I was going to give it to you? Easy, Leonidas told you so once; I told you as well…you just needed to believe in yourself. And you did, your Father sent me the medal when you first joined and a letter where he said that I was going to be his eyes and ears and when I see you have gained the position you were aiming at I should give you the Medal of Honor" Rumalos said giving the prince the golden medal.

"You have earned it, fair and square. You are now my superior and I could not be happier"

"Superior?" Endymion asked amazed.

Rumalos placed an arm around the prince "You, are now the head of this army. Our _Polemarchos (WarLord)_"

"I do not know what to say…" Endymion looked at the medal in his hands.

Rumalos chuckled "You're in total shock…I'm glad you are taking your victory with such modesty…" he patted Endymion's arm "Your new uniform awaits in your tent, I have already decided who are the best qualified men to follow you and guard your back"

Endymion smiled "Thank you, for everything Rumalos"

"No, thank you for saving us all…" Rumalos smiled "But now, we must celebrate because tomorrow you'll be going home! Your duties here are over…"

Endymion laughed "At last, you didn't want me to leave this place!" he joked.

Rumalos laughed "Training normally lasts five years but the war came across and well that took four more years"

"We do need to celebrate this then" Endymion hugged Rumalos and walked back to where all the soldiers were celebrating near the fire. "Ah! And our great leader has appeared!" one of the soldiers said raising his cup.

"YEAH!" the crowd said out loud.

"And he wants a cup with rum!" Endymion joked.

"YEAH!" the crowd started cheering.

Jadeite walked and sat next to the prince near the fire and gave him a cup full of rum "This is great, I'm so happy I can't believe I am actually going back home"

"Everything will be so different" Nephrite said.

Zoicite chuckled "What do you mean?"

"Well first, we won't be sleeping under tents and in cots…second, we are going to be able to eat decent food!" Nephrite laughed.

"Ohh…yes…I will miss that thing we ate every day" Jadeite said with sarcasm.

"But we spent good moments here, like our time in that strange town" Kunzite said.

Endymion laughed "The one with the crazy ladies?"

"Ah! So he remembers!" Kunzite said out loud, laughing.

"Of course I remember…many things happened there" Endymion took a drink of his rum.

"Even though we lived hard times, we had fun…" Zoicite said.

"For the end of this war!" Jadeite said "And the ladies we will meet!" the blonde raised his cup.

"For the nasty food and good times!" Nephrite said and raised his cup as well.

"For friendship and great battles!" Kunzite said, raising his cup too.

"For our fallen soldiers and the freezing cold water from the waterfall!" Endymion was the last one raising his cup.

"Cheers!" the five warriors said in unison.

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**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.**


	42. Chapter 42

**A/N: I believe this is a good way to keep you up to date with the story, I re read (again) this weeks chapters but, if there are some words or letters misplaced, please...cope with me hehe. About last chapter, many of wanted more action at the last fight with the enemy giant and the prince but I had the scene on my mind for so long... the prince is stronger then we all thought. And I must say... writing an action scene is extremely hard! lol, but do not worry there will be plenty more and I think they will be better. I know, their time at the army went fast but if I wrote everything I wanted the story would be longer than I expect this story to be and trust me, this one is LONG. hehe. Thank you for your comments, ideas and good wishes it really means a lot to me. Enjoy this chapter :)**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter forty two**

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"I wish we didn't have to leave, this place is wonderful" Queen Galya said to Queen Serenity.

"Thank you for your kind words" Queen Serenity placed her fork down, it was dinner time and they were all enjoying of a wonderful meal.

"Is Princess Serenity joining us?" Prince Paios asked excited.

The lunar queen smiled "She will be here any moment"

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I do not wish to be there…" Serenity lowered her gaze.

"Don't cry or your makeup will be ruined" Mars said.

"It is not that I dislike him but he is too…" the princess trailed off and made a face.

"He is not bad looking" Jupiter said while steadying the small white flower on the princess hair.

Mercury sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose "Have you noticed we are standing in the hallway talking about the prince that is in the dining room behind these doors?"

"They can't hear us…right?" Jupiter asked Venus who was watching her princess sad expression.

"It is quite probable that they can hear our voices…the density of the doors are not enough to…" Mercury raised her index finger.

"Princess Serenity, I know you don't feel anything for this prince but you know how…" Venus walked closer interrupting Mercury.

"This is…it's just part of the protocol…I know Venus" Serenity finished Venus' sentence "It is not that I don't mind being flattered but It's too much…"

"Just go in there and have dinner with them, tomorrow will be another day and they'll leave" Venus said softly.

Serenity nodded and smiled "I thought this would be over at lunch but it always has to end having dinner, pretending to be fine with everything…" Serenity lowered her gaze and sighed "Sometimes I feel like I'm a doll…"

"Well then if you are a doll, you are the most beautiful doll I've ever seen" Venus said "Now, smile and let the night go on smoothly"

Serenity smiled again and turned towards the door and waited for one of the guards open it for her "Her Highness Princess Serenity" the guard said, moving aside allowing the princess to walk into the room.

The four guardians waited outside with a sad face.

oooooooooooooo

"I think I'm drunk" Nephrite hiccupped, looking at his cup.

Jadeite laughed "You got drunk since you took the first sip"

"We all are drunk…" Endymion said, lowering his gaze.

"I heard the strongest soldier of this army is sitting here" a woman with long blonde hair said.

"We all are…the strongest soldiers of this army lovely lady" Jadeite said with a smile.

The blonde woman chuckled "Really? How interesting… is it true that the Royal Prince is here?"

"The Crown Prince of the Golden Kingdom in flesh" Kunzite pointed Endymion.

The blonde woman flashed a sexy smile and went to sit next to the prince "I knew you were cute but not this much, Your Highness"

Endymion looked at the woman with wide eyes "Thank…you?"

"How about we go there and have some fun together?" the woman said slowly pointing at a tent.

"Uh Oh" Kunzite muttered.

"I heard that His Highness has a peculiar reputation…" the blonde woman said, running her hand through Endymion's dark hair.

"Reputation?" Endymion frowned and looked at her "What reputation?"

The blonde woman smiled "That you are quite generous with the ladies…"

Endymion closed his eyes and for a moment he had a flashback.

"_Mama what are you doing?"_

_Gaia smiled while she held Endymion's hands and placed one on her lower back "I'm going to teach you how to dance…"_

"_Dance?" twelve year old Endymion asked curious._

"_A prince always needs to know how to dance" Gaia started moving softly._

"_A prince needs to know how to fight"_

"_And to dance"_

"_Why?" the boy turned to see his mother "Why is it so important?"_

"_That's the way you reach a woman's heart" Gaia smiled._

"_A woman's heart?" _

"_Dancing is a perfect way to look into a woman's eyes and fall in love" Gaia said with a dreamy voice "One day, you'll know what I'm talking about"_

_Endymion chuckled and started to lead his mother "You are a fast learner" Gaia smiled "You are a true prince charming"_

Endymion opened his eyes and felt regret for many things he have done over the past years, it was true, he had some sort of a reputation with his comrades of being a ladies' man; the first time he was with one he was nineteen years old and after that time it had been like if a bomb exploded and couldn't take control over his emotions.

He was becoming a stronger soldier and getting respect from his fellow soldiers and his general, but on the other side he could have any woman he wanted. Even when he didn't slept with every woman that crossed his way he did swoon them, not really experiencing what it should be love. He was losing his dignity as a prince as her mother's son and that hit him hard.

His mother had tried very hard to raise him to become a better person, Aurea always taught him how to treat a lady and let him know how important it was for him to always show respect.

The blonde woman was getting closer to him and tried to kiss him but he moved his face away; sighing he ran a hand through his midnight hair and turned to look at her "I'm sorry…" he trailed off and stood up.

"You may have heard several stories about me but not all of them end the way you think" he said dryly.

The blonde woman frowned "I do not understand…"

"Just because I am who I am doesn't mean I take advantage of women…don't believe everything you hear" Endymion started to walk away. Kunzite frowned and turned to look at his comrades then back at his prince but remained silent.

"I'll go to sleep…" Endymion gave his cup to Jadeite and started to walk to his tent.

"He's not the man I thought he would be" the blonde woman said annoyed.

Jadeite turned to look at her with a serious face "You thought he was an easy prey, but you were wrong…"

"He's right you know" Nephrite said, the blonde woman turned to look at him "There are so many stories of great adventures but most of them end differently from what everybody thinks" Nephrite placed his cup on the ground and sighed "Endymion is right, we better should go to sleep…it's late"

Zoicite nodded "And tomorrow we have to get ready to leave"

The four soldiers stood up and went to their respective tents, leaving the blonde woman alone near the fire with a shocked expression "What a gorgeous man…too bad he is _that_ difficult"

oooooooooooooooo

"Dinner was delicious" King Pacorus said while wiping his mouth with his napkin.

Queen Serenity smiled "I'm glad you enjoyed it"

Serenity barely ate her dinner and sighed softly "You didn't like the food?" Prince Paios asked worried.

"No, dinner was delicious but I wasn't very hungry" Serenity faked a smile.

Prince Paios placed his hand over Serenity's "You look beautiful this evening"

Serenity slid her hand away from his and coughed softly "Thank you…" and lowered her head.

Queen Serenity noticed her daughter seriousness "Dear, are you alright?"

Serenity turned to look at her "Yes mother, I am just a little tired…I would like to be excused"

Queen Serenity nodded her head; she knew her daughter had something but she didn't want to talk about it with their guests present.

"I can walk you to your chambers Princess" Prince Paios said.

Serenity stood up "No, thank you…I'll be fine. Excuse me…" the princess walked out of the dining room and towards her chambers, her eyes couldn't hold her tears any longer and started to fall silently, entering her room she walked to the balcony and looked up at the only thing that could calm her senses, Earth.

"I wish I could be free like the wind on that blue sphere…I wish I could go there and let myself go" Serenity whispered to the night.

oooooooooooooooo

The first rays of the morning filtered in Endymion's tent. Seconds later he opened his eyes and adjusted them to the light, sitting in his cot he ran a hand through his black hair and walked outside his tent. He smiled when he watched everybody starting to pick up all their things to go back home.

"Good morning" Kunzite mumbled and handed the prince a cup of coffee.

"Good morning Kunzite" Endymion grabbed the cup and took a sip.

"It's unsweetened"

"That's alright, it's the way it should be" the prince took another sip "Did you sleep well?"

"I drank too much rum…" Kunzite said and blew the steam of his coffee "But I'm happy because I'm going home"

"I am happy as well…" Endymion took another sip of his coffee "I better start packing my things as well, I'll see you in a bit"

Kunzite nodded at first but then reacted and followed him to his tent "What happened to you last night?"

Endymion turned to look at Kunzite "Last night? Nothing…"

"You acted strange"

"You say it because I didn't sleep with the blonde woman?" Endymion put his cup down and started to put some things in a bag.

Kunzite scratched his head "Jadeite would have told you she was a nice catch, but I know you wouldn't have slept with her anyways…"

Endymion chuckled and sat on his cot taking his cup of coffee again "Everybody thinks I'm a player…" he took another sip and made a face.

Kunzite chuckled "Since when you care what everybody else thinks? You never cared what I said about you and I said too many things"

"This is different Kunzite" Endymion ran a hand through his hair "I was raised to be a certain type of person that over the years changed and turned out to be who I am now"

"You became someone important, more important than you were before because, yes, you are our prince and we must respect you but you came here claiming you were more than just a prince, until this day we barely call you by your title because you didn't want us to do it. Every one of us have made mistakes…and like you said last night, we have so many stories to tell, specially you but most of them end very different from what everybody thinks…and besides, everyone here knows what kind of person you are" Kunzite said.

Endymion smiled "Of all the people I've known through this time here you were the last one I expected to give me some kind of advice and tried to make me feel better"

Kunzite chuckled "Don't get too used to it"

Endymion laughed "The same goes to you…"

Kunzite was about to leave Endymion's tent when he saw the medal and the new uniform "You have a new uniform"

Endymion scratched the back on his neck; Endymion knew that Kunzite knew what uniform was and was kind of afraid he might took it the wrong way. Kunzite grabbed the medal and watched it carefully "It's a beautiful medal…" he said softly with his deep voice.

"Mmm…yes…" Endymion said.

"I would have given everything to have this medal attached to that uniform…" Kunzite said softly.

"Kunzite…I…" Endymion trailed off.

"It suits you better, you won it fair and square" Kunzite turned to look at the prince and smiled "I may be very good but you are by far much better than any of us here, even the general…even the king himself"

"Kunzite…" Endymion said.

"I'm glad you are our new Polamarchos" Kunzite came close and hugged him, patting his back "I'll let you finish packing" Kunzite moved away "Again, don't get used to it"

Endymion chuckled "The same goes to you…"

ooooooooooooooo

"What time is it Obelix?" Queen Gaia asked from her balcony where she was reading a book.

"I believe its past noon, soon will be time for dinner" Obelix said from his seat next to her.

Gaia sighed and closed the book she was reading, Obelix turned to look at her "Is something wrong little princess?"

Gaia smiled at her friend "No…it's just that, I feel like a sense of peace in my heart"

Obelix held her hand and patted it softly "Your heart is happy then"

"Even though my health is delicate" Gaia said sadly, looking at the blue sky.

"You just need to keep taking your precautions and you will be fine" The priest said softly.

"How is the little apprentice doing dear friend?" Gaia turned to see the priest next to her.

"He's fine, he is helping me with the morning prayers and other simple things that needs to be done at the temple but I must say…the boy has a gift" Obelix said.

"I'm sure he will help you protect Endymion" Gaia smiled.

"And you as well" Obelix patted her hand again.

Aurea came in minutes later with an excited look on her face "Gaia!"

Gaia turned to look at her friend "Aurea, why are you excited about?"

"You will be once I tell you the news!" the brunette woman said happily "I saw Leonidas a moment ago…"

"And?" Gaia raised a brow.

"He told me that one of the men at the towers watched a large crowd coming towards this Kingdom!"

Gaia's eyes widened "Could it be…"

"Yes! It's confirmed! It's the army! He's coming home! Endymion is finally coming home!" Aurea said happily.

Gaia's hazel eyes started to shine with tears "Endymion…" she tried to stand up but felt dizzy "Aurea…please…help me change my dress"

Obelix helped Gaia stand up and hugged her "Your son is finally coming home; I believe that was the reason why your heart felt happy"

Gaia nodded and sniffed a little "My heart was feeling his presence near…my setting sun is finally coming home…"

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**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters. Thank you, oh yes, and please...review :)**


	43. Chapter 43

**A/N: I hope you like this chapter, we are going slowly but in the right way towads the most awaited moment :) **

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter forty three**

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Endymion walked next to Rumalos in silence, he felt his heart beat faster and stronger like if something or someone was calling for him. Minutes later he saw the Golden Palace in the distance and felt emotion to be back and see his parents again.

"There's your home" Rumalos said to Endymion who was wearing a dark blue uniform with a long cape on his back in the same color, his medal hanging from his collar with a small golden chain.

"After all this time I'm finally coming home…" Endymion breathed.

"Are you thrilled?" the general smiled.

"I have a mix of nervousness and excitement" Endymion smiled at the general.

After a while they finally entered the Golden Kingdom's territory. The town inhabitants were out there cheering and clapping at them, others recognized some of them immediately and went to hug them and noticed their prince walking along with the General. Endymion could hear some people gasp in surprise and others thank them for keeping them safe while others welcomed them home.

"We are finally here…" Jadeite had a smiled from one ear to another.

The entire army came to stop at the Palace's entrance where they were received by the King Himself and Leonidas. Eros watched the crowd with emotion and pride, seconds later he spotted Rumalos standing next to a young man with an unmistakable midnight hair.

Leonidas smiled widely and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder "There's your son"

Eros nodded and took the first step down the stairs, Endymion started to walk towards his father and both hugged tightly in a matter of seconds. "My son… I'm so happy to see you're back, safe and sound" Eros whispered to his son's ear and patted his back.

"Pater…" Endymion said while doing the same. Eros parted a few inches away from his son to look at him "Look at you…a true warrior" a tear ran from his eyes. Leonidas came forward as well "I'm glad to see you're back"

Endymion smiled and hugged the general "Leonidas, I'm glad to see you again" breaking the hug a minute later he chuckled "You helped me very much during my training…I owe you much"

Leonidas' eyes shone with unshed tears; the prince noticed his mother wasn't there to receive him "Is she alright?" he asked worried, Leonidas nodded "She's delicate but doing well…she's in her room probably expecting you" Endymion smiled and nodded.

"Rumalos…" Eros hugged the general "Thank you for everything"

Rumalos smiled "You have the best warrior this kingdom has ever seen as son…"

Eros nodded his head "I know" the king turned to look at the crowd and bowed his head "I couldn't be happier to see you all safe and sound. We all lived hard times…but those time's are over, welcome home. New royal army"

The crowd started to cheer and clap excitedly; every soldier was now wearing their new uniform and medals.

"Pater…" Endymion said and kneeled before his father "I have the proof that the enemy has been beaten" he placed the large sword that belonged to Silas on the ground.

Eros' eyes widened "That sword…"

"It belonged to Silas…the genus' strongest warrior" Rumalos said.

Endymion stood up and gave his father a look he understood right away and nodded his head; the prince walked inside the palace and immediately walked up the stairs and directed towards his parent's chambers where he knew his mother was waiting for him.

ooooooooooo

"They have arrived" Aurea said from the balcony looking down at the large crowd.

Gaia rubbed her hands nervously "Do you think he'll come?"

"Of course, I'll go and bring some more water for you…I'll be right back" Aurea left the room seconds before Endymion walked in.

"You forgot something don't you Aurea?" Gaia said softly, her eyes widened when she felt a strong energy coming towards her, placing a hand on her heart she turned and gasped.

In front of her was a young man with a military attire, his features where the ones of a very handsome man, strong jaw, straight nose and inviting lips, a thick strand of hair fell graciously on one side of his face hiding his unmistakable prismatic blue eyes; _those eyes_ she missed terribly.

Gaia's eyes started to shine with tears, a wide smile formed in her face "Endymion…"

Endymion took a step forward and smiled at his mother "Mater…" he said softly. His deep voice gave her goosebumps; she never imagined this handsome, elegant man was the same boy that decided to go to train away from home.

"My dear Endymion…" she stood up slowly and opened her eyes wide to receive her son. The prince walked to her and wrapped his arms around her lifting up a few feet away from the floor "I missed you so much" he whispered in her ear.

Gaia couldn't hold her tears anymore, she didn't want to hide her emotions anymore; she was couldn't be happier to see her son safe and sound.

"You are so big!" she said once he lowered her down and kissed her on the forehead "So much time away from home…"

"But your letters kept me going" Endymion smiled "I kept my promise Mater, I became a warrior"

"I know dear" she said and moved aside the bangs from his face, looking deeply into his eyes "You have no idea of how much I missed those eyes of yours"

Endymion smiled "I missed you terribly as well Mater…"

Gaia smiled "I got used to be called mama"

"To me, you will always be my mama" Endymion kissed his mother's cheek.

"Come, sit here next to me…let me look at you…my look how much you have grown" Gaia caressed her son's face and sighed, deep inside she felt she needed to let her son be what he was destined to be, she knew he felt a strong bond with Earth.

Now that he was back home, she wanted to give him something sacred, something important that will definitely help him in his path to be always a great warrior. "I have something for you…" Gaia smiled and stood up; walking to her bed she sat on her side and took a large black case from under the bed.

Endymion went to sit next to her and watched the black case with curious eyes "What is it?"

Gaia opened the case and revealed a beautiful sword with a black and gold cover, sliding its cover off it was revealed a golden katana with an onyx handle and an onyx smaller blade that was attached to the handle and could be taken off whenever it was needed. The slick golden blade shone with the light and looked like it was made of crystal.

"Mater…" Endymion looked at the beautifully crafted sword "It's beautiful"

Gaia looked at it with melancholy; she remembered all the times she fought with it "This sword used to be mine…"

"Yours?" Endymion asked surprised.

"This sword has gone from generation to generation…it was your great grandfather's, your grandfather's and then mine…" Gaia said softly "When I was little, my father told me that this sword was hand crafted by the gods that live up in the heavens and that held special powers…but only a true warrior could truly use it"

"You are my son and a great warrior. This sword belongs to you…" Gaia looked at her son.

"Are you giving me this sword?" Endymion's eyes widened in shock.

"This sword was made to be only with great warriors, like you" Gaia smiled.

Endymion could feel a strong force that connected to him in some way, he felt a connection with the weapon like it held a secret only he could know "It feels so different from my other sword" he held it and moved his wrist in a zig zag motion "Like if it's cutting through the air…it glides…"

Gaia smiled "It is something different from other weapons"

The door opened a few seconds later, Aurea came in with a silver tray in her hands with a tea pot and two cups; walking pass through the door she stopped and stayed silent. Gaia watched her amazed expression and smiled directing her gaze towards her, Endymion turned seconds later.

Aurea's eyes were wide in shock, she was expecting to see the boy she used to take care when he was little "I…" she trailed off. Endymion cleared his throat and gave the woman a charming smile "Aren't you going to hug me?"

Aurea smiled widely and walked towards him "Endymion!" she said happily.

Endymion lifted Aurea a few feet from the ground and then put her back down "I missed you"

Aurea took a step back "Look at you!" she took the prince's hands "My…look how handsome you've become"

Endymion chuckled "You're making me blush"

Aurea saw the black case and recognized it "Is that…"

Endymion smiled and sat next to his mother again "Mother gave it to me…"

Aurea smiled and turned to look at Gaia "You are the only one that can use it…"

Endymion put the blade back on its case and closed it "I'll forever be grateful for this Mater…"

Gaia smiled and ran a hand through his midnight hair "And I will be forever grateful to the heavens for letting you come back home to us" standing up she grabbed her scepter and crown.

"Where are you going?" Endymion asked.

"To the throne room…there is something I must do now that you are back home"

Endymion frowned "I do not understand"

Gaia smiled and put her hand on his face "You have been chosen to be great, to be a warrior…to be the protector of this planet and to be the prince of this Kingdom. You are no ordinary man Endymion…you have a strength inside your heart that no other else in this universe has" she placed her hand on his heart and looked at him in the eye "You, as the warrior prince you are will need a guidance and protection. I have been waiting for this moment to come for so long; I know they are as ready as you are"

Endymion raised a brow "Do you know who they are?"

Gaia smiled and nodded her head "I've known them for many years..."

Aurea smiled and sighed; she was aware of her queen's words and knew she wanted to tell him the truth about her, about him, about everything "Do you want me to help you?" she asked the queen.

Gaia smiled "I'm feeling fine"

"I'll take you to the throne room" Endymion said, standing up.

"Wait for me there…I want Aurea to help me with some things" Gaia smiled again.

Endymion nodded his head and left the room, leaving Gaia and Aurea alone "You gave him the holy sword" Aurea said, placing Gaia's golden crown on her head.

"That sword belongs to its owner…I was just a keeper" Gaia said softly.

"Are you going to tell him the truth then?" Aurea asked while arranged the skirt of Gaia's royal blue gown.

Gaia sighed and lowered her hazel gaze "I do not know Aurea, I'm afraid I have said enough"

"I am not a Goddess or whatsoever but, I did felt a strong energy coming from him...his presence, his poise…his a true God and he doesn't even know" Aurea said softly.

Gaia sighed softly again and turned to look at her friend "That is why his chosen guardians need to be with him now that he is here…when the time is right, he will know the truth"

Aurea nodded "Come on, let's go" she walked with her queen to the throne room.

"Your presence is required in the throne room" a guard from the palace told Jadeite.

Jadeite frowned "Do you know why?"

"I was only asked to call for you soldier" the guard said and started to walk towards the throne room.

Jadeite followed the soldier through the long hall. The blonde soldier was somehow curious to know how they knew their name and why they asked for him to go to where he knew the king and queen were going to be present.

Rubbing his hands he hesitated a little in walking into the room. The guard opened the large golden doors allowing the soldier to walk inside; amazed by the sight he walked inside the large and empty room, he watched in awe how the light filtrated from the glass. Then he noticed he was not the only one waiting for somebody in the room.

"You were called here as well?" he asked to the three man standing next to him.

"Yes, I'm not exactly sure what is happening" Kunzite said.

"That is why you were called here, Kunzite" Gaia walked inside the room and passed by the four soldiers who were now on one knee bowing their head to their queen "Your Majesty" they said in unison.

Gaia stood in front of them "You may stand soldiers" she smiled "I'm glad to see you again"

The four men widened their eyes in surprise "Do you know us, Your Majesty?" Nephrite asked.

Gaia moved her head to a side and smiled at the dark man "I've known you since before you were born Nephrite, and I have been waiting for this moment to come…"

"Waiting?" Zoicite asked softly.

"Is the Prince coming?" Jadeite asked.

"Endymion is with his father as we speak…this is something I wanted to talked to you first" Gaia said.

"I do not believe I understand, Your Majesty" Kunzite said.

"I do not need to hide this from you…I know you four hold something special within you. Wisdom, clairvoyance and strong character" Gaia took a step forward "You were chosen before you were even born to be the protectors, the guardians…"

"Guardians?" Jadeite said.

"Protectors?" Zoicite asked as well after his blonde friend.

Gaia smiled "There is no coincidence of why you met; a path was already traced for you by destiny"

"With all due respect Your Majesty but, are you saying this was all planned?" Kunzite asked.

"It was you who chose to become what you are right now, I just enlightened your path by giving you what I know you are holding in your pockets" Gaia said.

The four men widened their eyes in shock "How…" Jadeite trailed off.

"What I am about to tell you may not leave this room" Gaia said in a serious tone. The four soldiers nodded their heads in respect and agreement.

"There's a legend, of a soldier who is destined to protect this planet. A man that was born under the blessing of the sun and the earth" Gaia said and took another step forward "There are four strong points on this planet, that together they protect the warrior, the protector of Earth"

Nephrite "Are…we the strong points?"

Zoicite turned to look at Nephrite then the queen "If we are the strong points of this planet then…the warrior Our Majesty is talking about is…" he trailed off.

"Endymion" Gaia said.

"That myth is true? The son of the Goddess is true?" Kunzite asked in shock.

"I have been guarding this information from my son over the year but it doesn't matter how many times you try to escape from destiny it always catches up with you. You have proved to be the rightful owners of the stones you carry. You are to become Endymion's Shitennou"

"This is all surreal" Jadeite said softly.

"Are you willing to protect my son's life, to guide him and serve him as his generals?" Gaia asked in a serious tone.

The four men lowered their heads "Yes Your Majesty" they said in unison.

"Your Majesty, may I ask…why His Highness doesn't know about all this, about his powers?" Kunzite asked.

Gaia looked at the white haired man "Endymion already knows there's something special about him but there are other beings who want what he has, that is why I haven't told him anything and I want you to keep the secret as well, in order to keep him safe"

Gaia took a step forward and stood in front of the four men, raising her long golden staff she pointed it at Jadeite "Forth in command, Head of the Far Eastern Division, General Jadeite you are to keep the living energy of the sacred crystal safe by protecting the Guardian"

Jadeite lowered his head, while Gaia placed a medal with four golden stars around the symbol of Earth, a piece of a jadeite stone was in its center "You keep the spark alive with the light sense of humor I know you have…"

Jadeite nodded and kept his head down.

Gaia turned to look at Nephrite and smiled "Third in command and Head of the Northern Division, General Nephrite you are to always use your sixth sense to do good and to always guide and protect the Guardian" the terran queen placed his respective medal with three golden stars around the symbol of Earth, the circle with the cross, on its center a nephrite's stone hung beautifully.

The dark haired general lowered his head "I will, Your Majesty" he said slowly.

Gaia stood in front of Zoicite and smiled at him "Second in command, Head of the European Division, General Zoicite use always your good will and sharpness to guide and advise the Guardian of this planet"

"I will Your Majesty, you have my word and loyalty" Zoicite lowered his head, Gaia placed his medal on the same place she put the other's on his left side next to his heart, the golden symbol with two golden stars and a piece of zoicite on its center.

Gaia stood finally in front of Kunzite "The soldier with conviction, you are the soldier of strength, the Guardian's advisor and right hand. Use your sharpness and skills to always do good, under the protection of this kunzite stone, the stone of protection, General Kunzite I pronounce you First in command and Head of the Middle Eastern Division" the terran queen placed Kunzite's medal, his star was bigger than the rest because it was only one and showed his high rank, the terran symbol had its kunzite stone in the middle.

Gaia looked at the four now generals "You all have been blessed by your respective stones and are like no other soldier of this army. Do you swear to serve and always protect the Guardian of this planet, to be his right hand, advisors and most importantly, his companions in war and everyday life?"

"We swear our loyalty to His Highness, Your Majesty" Kunzite said with his low voice.

"We will fulfill or duty Your Majesty" Zoicite said next, his voice softer than Kunzite's.

"We will protect our Prince and kingdom" Nephrite said, his voice was strong.

"With our lives" Jadeite said; his voice deep but not as strong comparing Kunzite's with his.

"Then I am happy to say you are officially the High Prince's Shitennou, may the protection of the sacred stone and the living energy of this planet always be with you" Queen Gaia said with determination.

"Your Majesty" the four men kneeled in respect before the queen.

* * *

**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you. Oh, yes and pleeeeeeease... review hehe :)**


	44. Chapter 44

**A/N: Enjoy :) [I will write the disclaimer here: I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you and... oh yes, please review ;)]**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter forty four**

* * *

Endymion was walking towards the throne room but saw Aurea standing in the corridor by herself "Aurea…I thought you were taking Mater to the throne room"

The brunette maid smiled and moved her head "Yes, I did. She's inside and asked me to tell you she would be there waiting for you once I see you"

"Do you know what is happeing?" the prince asked.

"No, but His Majesty is in there as well" Aurea said "He just walked in a few minutes ago with Leonidas"

Endymion opened the door and when he was about to come in he turned to look at her "Come with me…" he extended his hand out to her.

"Can…I go in there? Maybe it is something very private…" Aurea said.

"You have all the right to be present and I want you to be there, you just like my parents looked after me all the time" Endymion held her hand "I want you to come with me"

Aurea blushed and nodded her head, they both entered the room and watched his parents sit on their respective thrones; Rumalos was at the foot of the stairs and Leonidas was standing at the king's side.

Turning to his right he noticed his four friends were standing next to Rumalos in silence. Endymion lowered his head in respect "Did you want to see me?"

"Yes" King Eros stood up; Endymion looked up at his father.

"Your Mother and I… and of course this Kingdom couldn't be happier to have you back, since you left to train I specifically asked Leonidas and Rumalos to inform me of your progress"

Endymion turned to look at Rumalos and then at Leonidas "I was expecting to see a good performance from you, but what I learned in the reports I received weekly amazed me, you exceeded the expectations of everybody and became a true warrior, better than I ever was. We all know this, but I want to make this official…"

King Eros walked down the four steps from his throne and stood in front of his son "I appoint you as of this moment Head Commander of the Royal Army, with the title of High Prince of Earth" King Eros placed the golden medal on his uniform, an eight pointed star with the symbol of Earth an it's center with three small golden chains hung four golden stars.

Gaia stepped down the stairs as well and stood next to her husband "This is for you as well"

Endymion opened the thin black box and widened his eyes "This is…"

"Your sache, as part of the royal family you are now to wear yours with your medals" King Eros said.

Endymion closed the box slowly after he admired the deep red silk sache with the family and war medals he earned in the army and lowered his head "My loyalty is with you and my duty is to protect this kingdom" he said softly.

Gaia sighed, she couldn't be more proud; she felt her heart beat so fast and with such force that she actually thought it could come out of her chest, she cleared her throat and smiled "Since you are now back home and with the Highest rank you'll start fulfilling your duties as Prince of this Kingdom but you will need to be advised and protected"

Endymion smiled and turned to look at his comrades then back at his mother, Gaia placed a hand on his arm and smiled "Kunzite, Zoicite, Nephrite and Jadeite have their high rank as Shitennou"

"Your Highness" the four men bowed their heads.

Endymion smiled at them then back at his mother "You talk as if you knew all this was going to happen…you, are magical did you know that? You never cease to amaze me"

Gaia smiled at her son "And you never cease to amaze _me_, my setting sun"

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Serenity was sitting on a bench in one of the courts; her hands were holding a letter she received from Prince Paios. Since he met her he didn't stop sending her presents and love letters making her feel somehow sad because she couldn't corresponded him the way he wanted her to.

"What are you doing here all by yourself?"

Serenity turned to look at her guardian wearing a light peach flowy dress, her golden hair shined in the light, the lunar princess sighed and looked down "Nothing…I just wanted to have some time alone, I was studying with Mercury but I got to the point I couldn't concentrate any longer…"

"Mmm…what were you thinking about, the letter in your hands? Perhaps?" Venus sat next to her on the bench.

Serenity played with the soft light colored piece of paper "He sent another love letter"

"He seems to be very in love…" Venus said "But I can tell you are not"

"What is to be in love anyways Venus?" Serenity stood up and walked a few feet away from the young guardian.

Venus looked down "Whatever it is, when you are in love you don't spend your days depressed, quiet and alone"

Serenity turned to look at her guardian with wide eyes "What?"

Venus smiled "Dear Princess…since they started pursuing you, you have been absent…you barely laugh, you don't want to leave your chambers…"

Serenity turned to look at the blue planet hanging in the sky "Have you ever been there?"

"What?" Venus asked confused.

"Have you ever been there?" Serenity asked again, her delicate voice was like a caress.

"No…" Venus said softly.

"Do you know why we can't go there?" Serenity asked again.

"No, not really… but it is not allowed" Venus said again with dryness in her voice.

"I asked Mercury all I could know about it…it is self sustainable, unlike us…" Serenity said marveled.

Venus stood up and crossed her arms "You have been asking too much about that planet lately, can I ask why?"

Serenity smiled and sighed "Since I was a little girl, whenever I felt lonely or sad…troubled by something, I would go to my balcony and stare at that marvelous blue planet and it always made me feel better…and it still works…it has an air of tranquility…the color…I would like to know more about that beautiful planet"

Venus sighed "My mother once told me it was a place full of color"

Serenity turned to look at her friend with wide eyes "Did she tell you things about Earth?"

Venus turned to look the blue planet "Just that and that it was a place full of emotions, a land of dreams"

"Land of dreams…" Serenity whispered "I would love to go there…"

Venus turned to look at Serenity with a shocked expression "But you can't...it's forbidden"

"If it's a land of dreams…how come it's forbidden to go there? Why can't we have contact with them?" the lunar princess asked.

"I do not know that Princess…what I do only know it is that we are not allowed to go there, it's an order from the Higher Gods…" Venus said.

Ooooooooooooo

Queen Serenity was in the study with Luna and Artemis revising some things about the Alliance, although time didn't affect their appearance and could lead an eternal life, the lunar queen did looked more mature than before. With time she would look more and more to her mother Queen Selene. Her hair had turned to a more grayish lavender tone and if you looked her in the eyes you could see how much stories and wisdom they held.

"We will have to talk to Sigma if they are interested in joining the Alliance then, we must settle an appointment"

"Yes, Your Majesty" Artemis said.

Queen Serenity smiled "I don't know what I would do without you"

"Why do you say that Your Majesty?" asked Luna.

Queen Serenity shook her head no "You better than anyone know how hard has been for me since…" Serenity trailed off.

"You have done an incredible job raising our Princess into the royal and beautiful lady she is now" Artemis smiled.

"I do not know what I would do without you…really" the queen held Artemis' hand and smiled at Luna "You have been my companions for so many years…"

"Your Majesty…I'm sorry to ask you this and maybe I shouldn't but…I've been worried about Princess Serenity…" Luna said.

Queen Serenity sighed "I know Luna…me too; I know it is because she is being pursued. I know how it feels, it is terribly uncomfortable but sadly it has to be done in order to create bonds and strengthen our Alliance"

"I do not believe she understands that Your Majesty…" Artemis said "Perhaps she believes you are forcing her"

"And maybe I am… she is almost twenty years of age, she needs to start thinking more about this Kingdom…" Queen Serenity said.

"Maybe she is waiting for something more" Luna said softly.

Serenity sighed and looked down "Love is something you don't find here very often Luna…True love is a forbidden emotion in this realm, almost a taboo"

"Because of what happened to your friend?" Artemis asked.

Serenity stood up and walked to the window "She wanted true love and look what happened to her…I married in love…and look what happened to me…" she trailed off.

"Queen…" Luna said softly.

Serenity's voice threatened to break but she fought to urge to cry "He would have been searching for the right man for her…Serenity is the most desired goddess of all this universe…her beauty has gone beyond everybody else's…it seems the story is repeating, when I was princess everybody wanted to pursue me because of my power and because I was a pretty doll…Athan would have avoided that and searched for the right man for her…" the queen was in the verge of tears.

"Is there another suitor for her?" she wiped the single tear that fell from her eye with her hand.

A knock came on the door and it was opened seconds later "Your Majesty…there is somebody here hoping to have a word with you…" a guard said from the door.

Serenity turned to look at Artemis "Do we expecting somebody?"

"No, Your Majesty" Artemis said.

Queen Serenity nodded "Send the visitor in"

"Yes Your Majesty" the guard stepped aside and nodded his head to the unknown visitor.

A man with a light grey uniform walked in and stood in front of the lunar queen and her advisors "Good afternoon, Your Majesty" he bowed his head in respect.

Serenity's eyes widened, her heart started to beat faster with every second. She looked the man carefully and analyzed his handsome features. His was considerably tall, light fair skin, green eyes and a strong jaw; his hair was wavy, sandy blonde and long and it was tied in a low ponytail, he had full lips and a well toned body. The man before her reminded her of…_him_.

"Good afternoon…who…?" the queen trailed off.

"Forgive me for coming here without notice, but I was supposed to come here a week ago and couldn't be present because of some matters I had to attend back at home" his voice was strong, like a shot of whisky "My name is Athamas; I am the commander of the Andromedian Army"

Queen Serenity's eyes widened in surprise, Luna and Artemis gasped softly "Andromedian?" the queen asked.

"Yes" the man in his military uniform said.

"You are from Andromeda?" Serenity asked walking towards him.

"Yes, Your Majesty…" the man smiled.

Queen Serenity looked him in the eyes for a couple of minutes, the young soldier gave her a confused look.

"I'm sorry…" Serenity chuckled "I just…you look…"

"It is fine Your Majesty, do not worry, several people have told me that I look a little like our previous commander…I'm so sorry for your loss" he said.

Serenity nodded and walked back to her desk "What can I do for you, Athamas? You said your name was, right?"

"Yes, Your Majesty" the man nodded.

Serenity sat on her chair "Meet my advisors, Luna and Artemis"

The young man nodded his head at them.

"Don't underestimate them just for their appearance. They are from Mau" Queen Serenity said.

The young man chuckled "It is good to know…a pleasure" he said to both.

"Nice meeting you" Artemis said and spoke for Luna.

"Please, sit" Serenity said "I have the impression that I have seen you before…"

"I came here with one of the Generals from Andromeda but I was still a soldier in training" he answered.

Serenity smiled "Have you come here because of the negotiations your army wanted to do with this Alliance?"

The young man nodded "Yes, as head of the Andromedian army it is my duty to continue that settlement, I was informed our army was asked to be the lunar army as well"

"Not exactly…But maybe it is not a bad idea to consider it" Queen Serenity said "We haven't had any disturbance for the past years, but we don't want to be caught unprepared"

"I don't see a problem for us to be joining forces with this Kingdom, it could actually help us" Athamas said.

"You seemed to be well informed about all this Athamas, time is short and I would like to talk this matter more deeply, do you mind to stay for dinner? You can even get to know my daughter"

Athamas smiled "Of course, Your Majesty…I would be more than honored to join you for dinner"

Serenity smiled "Very well…now tell me more about what your previous general informed you about the alliance you wanted to form with us…?"

oooooooooooooo

"Princess…I have been looking all over for you" Mars said.

Serenity turned to look at the dark haired girl "Is something wrong Mars?"

"No, but you need to go and get ready…you have a visitor"

The lunar princess sighed "Is it Paios?"

"Are you missing him?" Venus asked.

"He is a nice man…but I do not feel like listen to love letters…" Serenity said.

"Apparently is somebody new…but do not worry, it seems that the visitor came here to treat other matters other than asking for your hand in marriage" Mars said.

"That is something new to hear…" Serenity stood up and started to walk to her chambers, Mars and Venus followed.

Once they entered to the princess' chambers, they saw Mercury and Jupiter already waiting for her "Princess, we have been waiting for you…" Mercury said softly.

Serenity smiled and hugged both of her guardians "I know, are you going to help me get dressed?"

Jupiter smiled "If you like…"

Serenity nodded and walked to her walk in closet to pick a new dress to wear, after a few minutes she came out wearing a princess cut, half sleeved white dress. It was simple, with no embroidery, with no lace, no ribbons, nothing; the silky fabric was all it took to give the dress a distinctive touch.

"Let me help you button up the back of your dress…" Mercury said.

Serenity turned her back at her blue haired friend and sighed, the sun was about to settle and made the blue planet in front of her shine like a glass marble "How beautiful…"

"Excuse me, Princess?" Mercury said.

"Oh, nothing Mercury…I was just…admiring the blue planet…" Serenity said softly.

"You are quite fond to it, don't you Princess?" Mercury asked.

"It easies me…it's beautiful…"

"It is…" Mars said.

Serenity turned to look at the raven haired girl "Have you been there?"

"No…but my father told me it was a beautiful place…he went there several times, when it was allowed" Mars said.

Mars comment caught Serenity's full attention "Does he know why it is forbidden to go there?"

"They are scared of them…"

"What?" Serenity asked.

"We can't go there because of the myth…" Mars said.

"Myth?" Jupiter asked.

"I do not believe that is actually true…do you?" Mercury said.

"It would be very…impressive" Venus said.

"What myth are you talking about?" Serenity asked, Mars held her silver brush and started to comb the princess' hair "There is a myth that has been going on for many years…"

"About the assassin that lives there…" Mercury said.

"Assasin?" Serenity asked shocked "I do not understand…"

"The myth is about a Goddess who fell in love with a mortal and gave birth to a child who became an assassin…a complete danger, a monster" Venus said.

Serenity frowned "How can something that terrible live in a beautiful place like that?"

"Some Gods say it is the result of the union of the goddess and the mortal…others say it's the reincarnation of evil…others say it is an abomination and because of that it was forbidden to us go there again, otherwise we will get killed by the demon" Mercury said.

"Demon?" the lunar princess asked shocked.

"That is how that being is called, a demon…because they say once he puts his eyes on you it will hunt you until he kills you. I heard once that he is even stronger than a god" Mars said again.

Serenity turned to look at the blue planet "Do you believe that?"

"What?" the four girls asked at the same time.

Serenity stood "Do you really believe that? … There can't be such thing in such beautiful place… every time I feel unease I stare at that blue marvelous orb and I feel at peace…"

"Well, but it is only a myth Princess…and we will never know if it's true or not" Jupiter said "I believe you are more than ready"

"You look beautiful" Mercury said.

Serenity smiled "Thank you…" she turned to look at the blue planet again **"Such beauty cannot hold so much evil"**


	45. Chapter 45

**A/N: Another week has come, thank you for reviewing I hope you enjoy this week's update. Take care.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter forty five**

**

* * *

**

The four shitennou were standing with Endymion outside the hall, the small ceremony had ended and they were heading to their respective rooms in the palace when they stopped near the stairs "I still cannot believe this" Jadeite said.

Nephrite chuckled "What?"

"We're all Generals!" the blonde man said.

Zoicite smiled "I don't believe you heard Her Majesty right, we are more than Generals…we are Endymion's shitennou" the blonde man smiled and turned to look at his prince "Or should I better say His Highness' Shitennou"

Endymion chuckled "You deserve the position you have…and about calling me by my title…I prefer you do that only when it is required…we have been friends for many years that it would be kind of absurd to be called Your Highness all of the sudden, when we are just us, call me by my name…"

Nephrite chuckled "I know you would say that" he patted the prince's back.

"But remember, that we have a duty and we are to protect you" Kunzite said "It will be quite strange to be watching over you" he joked. Endymion chuckled and lowered his gaze "I do not why…but…I believe its part of the protocol"

Kunzite turned to look at his comrades and then to Endymion again "But don't think you will have it easy, protocol or not...We will be watching very closely, specially me"

Endymion chuckled "I'm glad that you are the ones to be my advisors" They started to walk again to their chambers when a maid interrupted them "Your Highness, Generals" she bowed. Endymion turned to look at her "Yes?"

"I was asked by the King and Queen to come and tell you to be ready for the ball made in your honor this evening"

"…Ball?" Endymion asked with a hint of annoyance. The maid nodded her head "I was asked to tell you it is formal"

Endymion nodded his head "Thank you…?"

"Faaria" the girl answered.

"Thank you, Faaria" Endymion said. The young maid blushed deeply when the prince said her name with such warm voice "At your service, Your Highness" the maid turned to leave them alone. Endymion ran a hand through his dark hair and sighed, Jadeite noticed "You don't want to go to that ball am I correct?"

Endymion chuckled "I believe you know me too well…" Zoicite patted Endymion's shoulder "It can't be that bad…it is only a ball"

Endymion half smiled "I do not like balls…but we will have to attend"

"I do not have any problem with that" Jadeite said "Court girls must be easier to swoon…"

Kunzite sighed "You have something against them, don't you?"

"I love women but let's admit, they're quite easy…" Jadeite said.

"Womanizer…" Endymion said.

"Hater…" Nephrite said.

"Playboy" Zoicite said.

"You need help" Kunzite said.

Jadeite cracked a laugh "It's so nice to know what you all think of me: a womanizer, playboy who hates women and needs help"

"I never said you hated women, but now that you mention it…" Nephrite said, bringing a hand on his chin in thought.

"No…nothing…I do not hate women, but I don't think I'll give my heart to one of them again" Jadeite said.

"Again?" Endymion raised a brow.

"So that means that you are hurt…" Zoicite said.

"Who did it?" Nephrite asked.

"What!" Jadeite asked.

"Who broke you heart Jadeite?" Nephrite asked curious. This new information impressed the dark man, knowing Jadeite and the kind of men he is it is quite strange to know he was in love some time ago and that somebody broke his heart, that is something nobody would expect from the blonde man.

Jadeite chuckled "Don't tell us it was nobody"

"It was Eiliya, right?" Kunzite asked.

"The blonde woman?" Endymion asked shocked "I cannot believe it"

Jadeite sighed and lowered his gaze "I liked her…she broke my heart"

"Of course she did, all she wanted was money!" Zoicite said, raising his hands in frustration.

"Yes, well…now I know" Jadeite said "And that is why I won't let another woman take my heart and break it into tiny pieces"

"How poetic" Endymion said rolling his eyes.

"It's the truth…" Jadeite said.

"Yes, that is why you must never give your heart to anybody…" Endymion said "That makes you lose your concentration"

"Eventually you will…when you have to get married" Jadeite said. The five men walked up the stairs and soon were standing outside the prince's chambers.

Endymion turned to open his door "I do not know what you are talking about" he said in a dry tone.

"Come on Endymion, don't tell me you are not going to get married?" the blonde general asked while he admired the prince's elegant chambers "This place is amazing"

Endymion sat on a couch on the room's living room "I do not believe it is a good idea, I just got back from training"

"Speaking of protocols…that is one of them" Zoicite followed Endymion and sat across the prince in one of the chairs, crossing his legs and arms he side smiled "And let's face it, you have the appropriate age, you just won the war…what girl wouldn't want to become princess?"

"Exactly, who wouldn't?" Endymion said "What they seek is to wear my mother's crown" his voice sounded bitter.

"Did I heard right, Prince Endymion wants to find true love?" Kunzite asked astonished.

Endymion chuckled "Love does not exist" he crossed his right leg across his left leg and tapped the side of the couch with his fingers in a quick motion.

"Are you sure about that?" the white haired man asked again, noticing his prince was starting to become anxious.

"Positive" the dark man answered and leaned his back on the couch "Love is only an illusion…it is not real, you cannot touch love, you cannot eat love…you cannot breathe love…its useless"

"What you are saying is quite strong…You are literally insulting everyone who actually believes in love, even your parents" Nephrite said leaning on the back of Zoicite's chair.

"I respect everybody else's beliefs…" Endymion said nonchalantly.

"You are the product of a union based in love" Kunzite said dryly.

"And it doesn't mean love is meant to be…wait, why are we talking about love?" Endymion frowned.

"I don't know…this is all jadeite's fault" Kunzite joked and turned to look at Jadeite who was standing near the hearth.

"What? You wanted to know…I did nothing" the blonde man walked over them and sat next to Endymion on the couch.

"At what time is the ball?" Zoicite asked.

"I believe it will be at dinner time…" Endymion said dryly.

"Well then, that gives us time to have some rest…so if you excuse me, I'll be going to my room to have some sleep" the blonde man said, standing up from the chair.

"I believe we all want to have some sleep" Nephrite said and started to walk towards the door "I'll see you later then"

Endymion nodded and watched his fellow shitennou leave his chambers; sighing he rested his head on the couch and closed his eyes "Love…" he chuckled "What a talk…"

"May I come in?" a male voice interrupted his thoughts, looking at the person who was standing at his door; Endymion smiled "Of course!" and stood up immediately.

"As soon as I could I came here to see you, look at you! All grown up!" Obelix hugged Endymion and patted his back.

"Come, sit…I'm kind of tired of being in a standing position" Endymion chuckled.

"You walked all the way here?" the priest asked amazed.

"Yes…I'm used to it, it was part of the training but today…I think there have been too many emotions. How are you?"

Obelix smiled "Old…"

Endymion chuckled "No…you look good"

Obelix smiled "Thank you…but being old is part of life…it gives us some certain wisdom we cannot reject"

"I won't deny your words…" Endymion nodded his head.

"I believe there is no need to ask you how are you, you are no longer a boy…" the priest chuckled "But I can ask how have you been feeling?"

Endymion rested his elbows on his knees "Great, your prayers helped me survive back there…"

"War is never easy and what you did was threw yourself into the arms of death…but you beat it. I'm proud of you"

"Thank you Obelix…" Endymion smiled and lowered his gaze "I know you are the only one I can actually tell how I felt…every time I held my sword something moved inside of me…like if I connected myself to my surroundings"

"You felt a link" the priest said softly, knowing perfectly what he meant.

"Exactly… being there is life changing and not always for the best… I watched so many people die…and I killed so many others…" Endymion looked at his hands "My hands hold too many deaths…"

"I am so sorry you had to witness all that" Obelix said.

"There was this soldier…that was excited to come back…to see who he called the woman of his dreams…he died on our second attack…he died in my arms" Endymion said with sadness in his voice.

"Sometimes dying is a way of starting a new life…we don't know why they are called to Hades' realm but…sometimes its destiny" Obelix said "Your Mother was very worried…she prayed with me every day"

"I know…I felt it…somehow" Endymion smiled at the priest "Obelix, I know I have something that nobody else has…"

The priest sighed "It was matter of time for you to figure that out"

Endymion watched Obelix with a serious face "How much longer are you going to keep it to yourself?"

Obelix side smiled "You already figured it out, why do you want me to tell you…you know what you have inside you"

Endymion gave the priest a defiant smile "I know I have some connection with this planet…I can literally feel everything that happens…what I don't know is why"

Obelix nodded his head and looked a large black box beside him, his eyes widened "Is that…" he trailed off.

Endymion turned to look the black box "Mater gave me this sword…she told me it belonged to many generations in her family and that was made by heavenly hands…"

Obelix nodded his head and went to sit next to the prince, opening the box he sighed "I forgot how beautiful it was…"

"It feels right when I get a hold of it" Endymion said.

"Because you are its rightful owner…" the priest kept staring at the sword and caressed its sleek surface.

"Who was its previous owner?"

Obelix raised his head at the prince and remained silent for a couple of minutes "I believe it is time for you to know some things…if Gaia has given you this weapon then it means I am allowed to tell you…" the priest lowered his gaze at the sword again "This weapon was made to link the power of the crystal"

Endymion frowned "Crystal?"

Obelix stood up and walked to the window "This planet has a sacred stone, a stone with a strong energy…that sword you hold now it's the sword that helps protect that stone"

Endymion turned to look at Obelix "Mater told me it belonged to my grandfather…I believe that is the only time she has mentioned him…"

"Your grandfather…died when your mother was very young, she doesn't remember much about him…" Obelix lied, remembering Gaia didn't want her son to know about his divine family. Endymion looked down at the sword in his lap "Is the stone somewhere?"

Obelix turned to look at Endymion and smiled **"Inside you…You are the sacred guardian of the sacred stone" **"The legend says it's been guarded for its protection, nobody knows exactly where it is… but my job is to pray for this planet and the crystal's safety"

"And I am supposed to protect it as well…"

Obelix smiled "It is a legend…I am not sure if it exist or not, you just happened to have a sixth sense…but I pray for both things…because well, that is my job"

Endymion smiled "Too incredible to be true, don't you think?"

Obelix chuckled "Maybe you are right" the priest walked towards him and patted the prince on his shoulder "I am glad to see you are back Your Highness…"

Endymion smiled at the priest "I am glad to see you too Obelix…"

Obelix walked to the door "I will leave you alone for now, I understand there is a ball later today…you need to have some rest"

Endymion sighed and rubbed the back of his neck "Yes, I do not know who came up with that idea…"

"We both know it was your grandmother, even if she's not here right now, she suggested it…" Obelix chuckled and left the room.

Endymion sighed and looked down at the sword again "Sacred stone, sacred sword…too much to be true…" the prince chuckled to himself and closed the box and placed it aside "I better go and have some sleep…I have feeling this will be a long night"

* * *

**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.**


	46. Chapter 46

**A/N: it sucks to be heartbroken, I do not wish you feel the same way I do ever.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter forty six**

* * *

The sun was starting to set on the Moon. Queen Serenity was entranced by Athamas' talk and how he explained perfectly the situation in Andromeda and how good it would do to both Kingdoms to join their forces.

"It is very interesting everything you are suggesting Athamas…" the lunar queen trailed off and looked out the window "Oh my, we have been here talking for what it seems hours…"

The blonde haired man chuckled "I believe we have"

Queen Serenity stood up "Dinner must be probably ready…Are you still joining us?"

Athamas smiled "Of course, it is an honor for me to be here"

The queen smiled and turned to look at Luna "Luna, would you mind to go and tell my daughter I will be at the dining room with our guest" Luna stood up and bowed her head "Certainly, Your Majesty" the black haired woman left the room.

Queen Serenity smiled at the man standing in front of her "Follow me" Athamas bowed and let the queen walk first out of the room and he followed her to the dining room.

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

"I do not think you need anything else…you look beautiful"

"As always…"

Serenity giggled "Venus, Mars…you are always so kind" she walked towards the tall mirror in her room and turned to both sides to see her dress "It is a lovely gown…" she breathed.

The four guardians smiled at their princess and nodded, minutes later the door opened showing Luna standing at the entrance "Your Highness" she bowed.

"Luna" Serenity smiled at the mauian woman "Come in" Luna walked inside the room "Your Mother is expecting to see you at the dining room"

"Is it true we have a visitor?" Serenity asked.

Luna's burgundy eyes widened "How do you know that?" and turned to look at the four girls standing behind the princess "I think I now know…"

"Is another suitor am I correct?" the silver haired princess said softly, almost annoyed.

"No, this time our visitor came to talk other matters with Her Majesty" Luna said, looking at her princess standing in front of the mirror smiling. "I'm glad…" Serenity said dryly and turned to see herself on the mirror again.

"Your Highness you must remember that you are almost twenty years of age…" Luna said softly.

Serenity sighed "Twenty years of an immortal life…I do not see the rush"

"It is part of the protocol Your Highness…" Luna said "Now, we must go…Her Majesty is waiting"

Serenity nodded her head and walked out of her chambers without saying another word. Everybody reminded her like a mantra how old was she and what she needs to start considering other than just push every suitor away from her. Luna was well aware this bothered her the most, Serenity was a kind woman but she also didn't like to pretend to be happy when she was not all the time, she was too real to fake eternal happiness.

The princess and the lunarian advisor walked through the hall in silence, when they were about to come in a guard opened the large doors that led to the dining room "Her Highness, Princess Serenity" he said.

Queen Serenity stood from her seat and smiled at her daughter "I'm glad you came dear"

Princess Serenity walked inside the room with elegancy, her beauty magnified her presence in the room and that caught the soldier's attention. Athamas widened his eyes in amazement at her, he has heard of many tales saying how beautiful the lunar princess was but he never imagined how much. Serenity's silver hair fell graciously from the buns on the top of her head like silk; a silver thin tiara with a diamond incrusted moon adorned her forehead. Her big pale blue eyes enchanted him; her dark lashes only made her eyes look much more elegant and mysterious.

The moon princess was gorgeous.

"Dear…" Queen Serenity extended her hand at her daughter "I want you to meet General Athamas, Head Commander of the Army of Andromeda"

Serenity turned to look at him and immediately felt her heart skip a beat "A pleasure to meet you" she said.

Athamas walked to her, bowed his head and kissed the back of her hand softly, sending shivers down Serenity's spine "The pleasure is all mine Your Highness" the man said with his deep voice.

Serenity blinked a few times and then smiled again, her heart was beating fast and her hands were almost trembling, for the first time she didn't know how to act or what to say next, she was entranced looking at the man before her. Queen Serenity smiled and turned to Luna "Thank you Luna" Luna gave the queen a knowing smile and nodded her head before leaving the large room "Shall we sit?" Queen Serenity suggested.

Serenity sat across Athamas while Queen Serenity sat at the head of the long dining table. The lunar princess looked at him every time she could; somehow she felt like she could kiss those lips of his and ran a hand through his long and blonde hair. Blushing at the thought she lowered her gaze. Queen Serenity broke the silence with a soft cough "Tell me Athamas, do you have a consort?"

Serenity choked with her wine and blushed a deeper shade of red "Mother…" she whispered.

Athamas chuckled and took a sip of his wine "No, Your Majesty…with my training as a soldier I haven't had the time to look for a wife"

Queen Serenity smiled while she cut another piece of her food "I see…I heard many good things from you, but never got the opportunity to know you, until now…" Athamas smiled and turned to look at the princess who caught looking at him "Thank you, Your Majesty" he turned to look at the queen again "I tried my best"

"Well, it is not easy to get the title of Head Commander…" Queen Serenity said.

"I am aware that there is more that I need to accomplish" Athamas took another sip of his wine.

Serenity looked at him and so the queen "What is that?"

"I heard there is still a soldier that can be one of the strongest in the galaxy…but I do not know if it is true or not" Athamas said.

Queen Serenity froze in her seat "Is…that right? Who told you that?" she asked softly.

Athamas chuckled "Nobody really, when you are in an army…you hear many stories…"

Queen Serenity faked a smile "That is very true, sometimes you never learn to difference the truth form myths" she lowered her gaze and took a sip of her wine, placing the glass down on the table again she started cutting another piece of her food "Tell me Athamas, how old are you?"

The question seemed to catch Serenity's attention and turned to look at the soldier in question. Athamas swallowed his bite and turned to see the queen "Twenty four"

"You have a good age" said the queen and turned to look at her daughter "Dear, you have been very quiet…is something wrong? Do you feel alright?"

Serenity smiled at her mother "Yes Mother, I'm fine"

"May I say with all due respect Your Highness, how beautiful you look this evening" Athamas said.

Serenity's eyes widened a little and looked at him "T-Thank you…" she stuttered. Since she turned fifteen years of age, Serenity have heard many compliments of all of her suitors, but this time she felt her heart would go out of her chest and started to feel her knees like gelatin. She was entranced by the man across from her **"Could this be what Venus said it was love?"**

ooooooooooo

Endymion was sound asleep when he heard a loud noise coming from his door; at first he tried to ignore it but when he started to hear noises inside his room he opened his eyes immediately and sat on the bed startling the young maid. The prince ran a hand through his midnight hair and sighed "I'm sorry…"

The maid widened her eyes "No, Your Highness…I'm the one that should be sorry…I woke you up…"

Endymion smiled and stepped out of the bed "No harm done…I kind of know why you are here…" he chuckled.

"I was asked to bring you this, Your Highness" she hung a new and clean attire in his walk in closet.

"Thank you" Endymion said softly and smiled at the young maid, making her blush "I've seen you before, haven't I?"

The brunette young woman nodded her head "I was assigned to be at your service"

Endymion smiled "What is your name?"

The brunette girl widened her plum eyes "My…name?...His Highness wants to know my name?"

The prince nodded his head "If you are going to be cleaning my mess every day…I think it is quite fair to know your name"

The young maid blinked a few times "Megumi…my name is Megumi, Your Highness"

Endymion smiled, making the girl blush "Nice to meet you Megumi"

The girl couldn't believe his nice persona and smiled at him "Nice to meet you too, Your Highness" she bowed her head in respect.

"Thank you for bringing my clothes and hanging them in my closet" Endymion smiled at the young girl.

Megumi couldn't blush any more, lowering her head she nodded "You are very welcome Your Highness…"

Endymion smiled when he saw the girl with her head down, he knew she was blushing because he could see her ears had an intense shade of red "Are you alright?" he asked playfully.

Megumi nodded again "Do you need anything else Your Highness?" she asked looking down.

Endymion held the urge to chuckle, the sight of a girl blushing because of him was too adorable to watch "No Megumi, I'm alright. Thank you"

Megumi nodded her head "Can I be excused?" she asked looking down.

Endymion couldn't resist anymore and chuckled "Yes Megumi, you are excused"

The brunette girl walked towards the door as fast as she could and closed the door behind her, leaning herself on the door she sighed "Oh my…" she said softly and used her hand as a fan to cool off her face.

Aurea was heading towards the prince's room when she saw Megumi leaning on the door "Are you alright?"

Megumi stood straight and nodded her head "Y-Yes, Lady Aurea"

"Is the prince inside?" Aurea asked.

Megumi nodded "Yes…"

Aurea raised a brow at the young maid "You are too young for him…"

Megumi's eyes widened "What?"

"How old are you?" Aurea asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Seventeen" the brunette girl answered.

"He is too old for you dear" Aurea said.

"I-I do not…" the girl trailed off.

Aurea smiled "He made you blush, didn't he?"

Megumi blushed again and nodded "His Highness is too kind…he thank me for doing my job"

Aurea chuckled "You are very sweet Megumi…very innocent. You remind me of me when I first started working here, only with one exception"

"What is that?" Megumi asked curious.

"My mouth…" Aurea chuckled "Well, I better go in and see he is getting ready for the ball" Megumi nodded and stepped aside to let Aurea in, closing the door behind her, Aurea walked through the living room and knocked on the frame of the large doors that led to the spacious bedroom "Are you here?" she called out loud and went to look the neat uniform he was going to wear for the occasion.

"In the bathroom…" he said "Is something wrong?" he walked out of his bathroom with a towel draped around his waist, his wet hair was pushed back "Don't tell me I am already late…" he said with annoyance. Looking at Aurea's face he frowned and gritted his teeth "Dammit, I am already late..." Endymion walked back to his bathroom and closed the door.

Aurea chuckled "You sure are an Adonis…no wonder why Megumi was deep red…" she heard Endymion chuckled from the bathroom.

"She is very innocent. I would never do anything to her" he said from the bathroom.

Aurea smiled "Do you need any help?"

Endymion walked out of the bathroom again with his pants on but still shirtless "No…I think I have everything under control"

Aurea laughed "You think?" and walked to his closet to take his formal jacket.

Endymion finished putting on his white undershirt "Yes" he smiled.

Aurea hung the jacket in front of him and sighed "I never imagined seeing this moment coming"

"What moment?" Endymion asked while he combed his wet hair backwards, he turned to see Aurea leaning herself on the wall.

"It was only yesterday when I helped you get dressed…" she said with melancholy.

Endymion walked towards her, placing his hands on her shoulders he smiled "I think I will need help in putting the sache on"

Aurea smiled at the man in front of her "How I missed those blue eyes"

"How I missed that smile" Endymion said.

"I will go get your sache" Aurea patted the prince's face and went to his drawer to take the long lean black box. Placing it over the table she took the lid off and sighed "It's a beautiful sache" she took it out of the box and caressed the fine fabric.

Endymion finished putting on his formal military jacket that matched with his deep blue pants and walked to where Aurea was standing in front of the mirror "I think it is going to be the first time for me to wear one"

Aurea smiled and put it in place across Endymion's chest "Of course you will wear your Medals"

Endymion smiled "If this is formal, I have to"

Aurea smiled and nodded bringing the box with all his medals "Are you going to wear your cape?"

Endymion moved his head "No, just the uniform for today…but please hand me over my sword. That is something I will always have to have with me"

Aurea handed him his new sword "Here you go"

Endymion placed his sword on the left side of his belt and turned to look at his night stand and saw a small package, Aurea noticed and tilted her head to the side "What is that?"

"Mm?" Endymion turned to look at her; Aurea pointed the small package with her index finger. Endymion sighed and walked to pick the small package and took the cloth away revealing a stack of letters tied up with a red ribbon "These are promises…"

"Promises?" Aurea asked, the prince nodded "Yes…this is the only proof I have of what love is and should be like…"

Endymion's words caught Aurea's attention "Love? I don't understand"

Endymion looked down at the letters in his hands "When we were about to go to war…" he took a deep breath and exhaled "One of the soldiers I used to know told me how he was going to fight with all his heart to be able to go home soon and back to the arms of the love of his life…but he was gravely injured, when I came back to help him he asked me to deliver this package to the girl he was going to ask her hand in marriage"

Aurea covered her mouth with her hand softly "She probably knows by now he didn't survive…"

"Not all soldiers came back the same day I did, there are still a few coming home in the next days" Endymion said softly, covering the small package with the thin fabric one again.

"Why do you say this is the only proof you have of what love is and should be like?"

Endymion looked at his nana and half smiled "Because this love was true and now it is eternal…"

* * *

**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.**


	47. Chapter 47

**A/N: I need to keep moving with the writing, if I don't hurry you'll catch up with me! Enjoy.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter forty seven**

* * *

Dinner went smoothly; Queen Serenity and Athamas talked about new possible ways to strengthen their alliance and a possible way of the andromedian army take its place in the lunarian kingdom. Princess Serenity watched closely at the man sitting across her on the dining table and blushed from time to time. after they finished eating the three of them walked out of the room and stood near the entrance hall.

"Dinner was delicious" Athamas said while he stood next to a pillar in the main hall of the Moon Palace "And of course, it was an honor to accompany you" he bowed his head in respect. Princess Serenity watched him in silence; her heart didn't stop beating faster every time she looked at his handsome face.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Your Highness" Athamas said to Serenity but didn't come any closer to her, not like every other suitor would do at this particular moment. Hesitant, Serenity tried to move forward but decided it was best to keep her calm demeanor, instead she smiled slightly and nodded.

"We will need to talk more about the issues we need to solve in order for this new side alliance you want to form with us can function properly" Queen Serenity said.

"Of course Your Majesty, I will come back as soon as I talk to my general advisors" the blonde man nodded his head and turned to leave. Serenity felt the urge to stop him in his tracks and look at him a little longer; something in him caught her eye and apparently her heart. Because he only gave her a few compliments it made something trigger in her mind like a sensation of sweet and sour, like a twisted game and for the first time she wanted to fall for it and to be pursued by him.

After Athamas left, Queen Serenity turned to look at her daughter and smiled "He seems to be well prepared for the job he was asked to do"

Serenity hesitated a moment before speaking again "I-Is he coming back soon?"

"Why do you ask dear?" Queen Serenity arched a brow in curiosity.

Serenity blushed and looked away trying to dissimulate "Well because… you said you needed to settle some things…that sounded like you wanted him to come back soon" the princess found a quick answer to her mother's unexpected question.

Queen Serenity smiled, she knew that look. She once acted the same way but dismissing her daughter's bad antics to fool her she only smiled "Yes, in order to form a side alliance with them we do need to talk about several things" the queen started walking and turned to look at her daughter who was starting to be left behind "Dear? Are you coming?"

Serenity smiled "Yes…I just want to take a walk through the gardens, if that is alright with you?"

Queen Serenity nodded "Of course, but don't come in too late…" she turned and kept walking towards her chambers.

Serenity brought up her hands to her chest and sighed "What was that I felt just today?"

oooooo

"Are you not going to get ready for the ball? It's almost time…" Endymion asked to Aurea when she was about to leave the room.

Aurea turned to look at him and shook her head slowly "Why not?" the prince asked.

"Because…I don't fit in there…" Aurea lowered her gaze.

"What do you mean?" Endymion walked towards her, fully dressed in his royal navy blue attire, placing his hands on her shoulders he frowned "Of course you fit, you are a member of the family"

Aurea smiled at the prince "It is not well seen when a maid is present during those celebrations"

"You are not a maid, you are my mother's best friend...and you are Leonidas' wife"

Aurea lowered her gaze "Not quite… when Leonidas and I were planning to get married, King Odell was very delicate and we preferred to postpone it…but, we never talked about it again and just started living together, not officially married, so to the court…I am just a simple maid and I am not allowed to be present"

Aurea's words bothered Endymion; he was fully against of how the court could be most of the time and how they were to be treated. They asked for respect when they didn't respect anybody, not even the ones with the same title as them. Aurea noticed he was annoyed by her words the moment his deep blue eyes turned darker.

"What is wrong?" she asked.

Endymion looked straight Aurea in the eye "That is why I don't like this kind of events…I don't like to follow the protocol if I can't have all my family…" he trailed off and took a few steps back "If I can't have all my family present, then I will not go"

Aurea's eyes widened in shock "But you have to be present! Everybody is expecting you to be there! Everybody is expecting to see you, to salute you!"

Endymion turned his face to look at her "I could care less about what they think Aurea…they do not know anything about me anyways, they just know I am the Crown Prince of Earth who just came back from his training. It bothers me; because they do not know my likings, my dislikes, they didn't look after me when I was a child…they don't know me at all!" the prince didn't need to raise his voice to make himself perfectly clear, in fact, it was his cool demeanor what made the difference, his voice was deep and enchanting, warm and seductive but also demanding and authoritative when it had to be.

"Endymion…" Aurea breathed, her eyes started to shine with tears.

"To me you are like a second mother, you alongside my father, my mother and Leonidas had made me the person I am right now…I want you to be there" Endymion said, this time Aurea couldn't hold her tears anymore and started to fall silently from her eyes, placing her hands on each side of his face she smiled "I love you, very, very much"

Endymion smiled at her and started to wipe the tears of her face with the back of his hand softly "I love you too…please, come with me"

Aurea lowered her head and nodded "Alright…" she whispered.

Endymion hugged Aurea tight and kissed the top of her head "I need to finish getting ready; I will meet you at the stairs" Nodding, Aurea turned to leave the room.

ooooooo

The celebration was about to start, the monarchs were arriving and the court was already waiting at the ball room for the king and queen and of course they brought their respective daughters to see if they can catch the prince.

Everybody in the room was waiting anxiously the moment to see the beautiful queen of Earth again. After Endymion left to train, her health became delicate leaving her with no other choice but to leave every social meetings and weekly audiences with the people of Elysion to Eros; although she still participated in every matter that needed to be treated but in a private manner.

Near one of the large windows in the room a small group of women were entranced gossiping. One of them arched her brows in interest.

"I've heard he has the perfect age to get married…" a woman with a dark purple gown said to the other women.

"Another opportunity has come…" another woman in a red velvet dress answered while moving her fan.

"What are you talking about?" a woman with a dark green gown approached the two ladies talking.

"There you are…I was starting to wonder you wouldn't come!" the woman in purple said.

The woman in green pouted her lips as if she was going to kiss somebody "I received an invitation…"

"Or are you still trying to catch the King?" the brunette woman in a purple gown said.

"You were so close Charmindy" the other woman in red said.

Charmindy waved her fan "I would have become your Queen if it wasn't for her" she said despicably.

The brunette woman chuckled "You can't blame her, the woman is gorgeous…"

"And you know…she is special" the woman in red said.

Charmindy huffed and turned to the side "Whatever you say…but I was very close, Eros was about to ask for my hand in marriage"

The women in red and purple turned to look at each other and giggled "Of course…" they said in unison.

Charmindy huffed again and shrugged her shoulders, ignoring the women's words.

ooooooooooo

Endymion stood near the stairs waiting for Aurea to show up like she said she would. Minutes after King Eros walked down the stairs with Gaia holding his arm "Dear…look at you…so handsome" Gaia smiled and hugged her son happily.

Endymion smiled at his mother and raised a brow "You look beautiful Mater" he kissed her cheek softly and turned to look at his father "Pater, good evening"

Eros smiled at his son "I'm so happy to finally have you here with us" Endymion smiled at his father "I'm happy to be at home"

"Are we all ready?" Eros asked.

"No, we must wait a little bit longer…" Endymion said.

Gaia looked up the stairs and gasped "My…" she breathed.

Aurea walked down the stairs with Leonidas by her side, a small smile was formed in her face "Good evening, Your Majesties" she bowed her head.

"Aurea…look at you! You look beautiful" Gaia said happily mking Aurea blush "Thank you…"

Aurea was wearing a long sleeved peach colored dress that reached her feet, her brown hair was tied in a low bun ands her makeup was simple and natural. This was the very first time she would attend to a ball.

"This is going to be your first ball" Gaia smiled.

Leonidas smiled "Finally, she is coming with me" the general put his arm around her shoulders.

Endymion smiled "Now we are ready"

Eros smiled and turned to give the signal to one of the guards at the door.

Soon after a fanfare was played, a man stood up next to the orchestra and knocked the floor with his staff three times loudly "Our Majesties, King Eros and Queen Gaia and our Royal Highness, Prince Endymion"

The crowd paid close attention to the large doors that were about to open; some whispers where heard while others just stared with their mouth open while others dissimulated with their respective fans on their faces.

The double doors opened revealing Eros fully dressed in his formal dark green military attire, his red sache with his rank medals, Gaia was next to him wearing a beautiful long sleeved golden gown with matching heels, a red sache as well with the a broach with the symbol of Earth, she was wearing a thick V shaped, diamond incrusted choker and of course, a beautiful hand crafted crown that resembled an aura; her makeup was exquisite as always, gold on her lids, a soft peach color for her cheeks and red lips.

Endymion turned to look at Aurea and made a face before walking inside the ballroom next to his mother, Aurea chuckled by the reaction to such formality and was glad he still had his sense of humor, Leonidas looked down at her and smiled "I'm happy to finally presume you to the world"

"We are not going to be named…"

"It doesn't matter…"

Aurea turned to look at the mass of people and directed her gaze back at the general next to her "But I'm not your wife..."

Leonidas smiled "Aurea…" he turned his face to the guards at the doors and nodded his head letting them know they would enter the room later; the guards closed the doors slowly. The general rummaged through his pocket inside his military dark grey jacket and took Aurea's left hand "I think it is time to continue what we planned several years ago…" taking her old golden ring off, he placed a new ring with a square soft pink diamond on its top.

"Will you still marry me?" Leonidas asked.

Aurea's eyes widened and looked at the general in shock, then her expression softened and smiled at him "Forever, I will…"

Leonidas hugged her and then kissed her softly on the lips "I know I am old…that I am not the general that I once was when I first asked you…but my love is the same or even stronger"

Aurea chuckled "I am old as well dear General…but I don't want anything else but to be your wife"

Leonidas kissed her hands and smiled "Let's go inside, my beautiful Lady"

Aurea blushed and nodded, the general asked the guards to open one door and walked inside with discretion, the music had stopped playing and Eros was about to speak. Gaia stood in front of her throne chair as well as Endymion who got there last because of the people who saluted him. Eros took a glass of wine "Good evening everyone"

All the guests raised their glasses "Good evening, Your Majesty" they all said in unison.

Eros smiled "I want to thank you all for coming to this celebration…Gaia and I and of course my mother couldn't be happier to have our Prince back with us. After a long time being absent, he finally finished his training and is going to stay with us" The shitennou entered afterwards by the back door and soon stood behind Endymion in silence and heard the King's short speech.

"My mother had to travel out of town but she will be with us shortly, but other than that, let's enjoy ourselves for the evening, let's this celebration begins!" Eros raised his glass once again and took a sip of his wine. The rest of the guests did the same and the music started to play. The people from the court soon started to dance while others started to eat, drink and take a good look at the prince.

"Sorry we're late" Jadeite said from behind Endymion.

Endymion turned "How long have you been there?"

The four generals chuckled "Just now, we could have been here sooner but, you know…we kind of got lost" Zoicite looked away.

Endymion laughed "Well, we better start to enjoy this thing before I decide to leave…"

"How enthusiastic" Kunzite said, taking a glass of wine.

"I don't like to attend to these social events" Endymion took a sip of his wine.

Jadeite looked around "It's full of pretty ladies…who of course will want to win your heart"

"Naturally" Nephrite said.

"Your Highness" a young woman in a pale rose dress came close "I couldn't be happier for your return"

Endymion looked at the young girl and walked closer to her "Thank you" Endymion smiled at her, the girl didn't resist the urge to blush "I have brought this for you…" she gave him a small box of chocolates

"I happened to know that you are a chocolate lover…" she gave him the small golden box with chocolates inside.

"That is a nice gesture, thank you very much…" Endymion smiled at her "What is your name?"

"Lady Abbeline from Lemington"

"Thank you very much again for the gift" Endymion said and noticed he was soon surrounded by several women who wanted attention. The prince tried to dissimulate the awkward feeling he was having at this moment.

"You're very welcome, Your Highness" the young woman bowed.

"Your Highness, I am too very glad that you are back home" a girl in a yellow gown said while played with a curl on her finger.

"Would you dance with me, Your Highness?" another woman in a green dress asked directly.

"No! He will dance with me first!" said a girl in a purple gown.

Endymion widened his eyes in shock and turned to look at his shitennou "Help" he mouthed.

Queen Gaia turned to look at her husband and chuckled "Look at them…" she said softly "They all are desperate to dance with Endymion"

Eros chuckled "The hunting just began…"

"It reminds me of someone…" Gaia said, looking back at her son trying to escape the mass of girls surrounding him.

Eros turned to look at his wife and raised a brow "Really, to whom?"

Gaia turned to look at Eros and smiled "You"

Charmindy looked at the couple in the distance and took a sip of her red wine, after all these years she still had hidden feelings for the king, she knew she had her chance to win his heart and because of the now queen she was still single and having some kind of hope.

Walking towards the circle where the King and Queen were standing with the other royals from the strong points of Earth, she stopped a few feet away and looked at the King "Your Majesty" she called.

Eros turned to look at the woman in a deep forest green gown and frowned "Yes?"

Charmindy raised her face to meet him "Long time…no see"

Eros' eyes widened in surprise "Charmindy…" he said in a deep voice.

The blonde woman smile at the king "I just wanted to thank you for your kind invitation…"

Eros remained silent and seemed uncomfortable; he wasn't sure what to expect or say to her "I heard the news about your parents, I'm sorry"

Charmindy sighed and nodded her head "They were very sick… and well… you can never stop time"

Gaia turned to look at Eros and saw he was talking to somebody, turning as well she recognized the face of the woman "Charmindy" she said dryly.

"Your Majesty…" the blonde woman bowed before her slowly "It's been a long time since I last saw you…"

Gaia looked at the woman up and down "I'm sorry for your loss"

"I was telling His Majesty that both of my parents were very ill…it was difficult to well, save them" Charmindy turned to see Prince Endymion trying to free himself from the girls that were trying to talk to him and chuckled "It seems the story it is repeating itself"

"What?" Eros asked confused.

"I was talking about His Highness…" Charmindy smiled.

Endymion finally managed with the help of his guardians get away from the mass of girls who were trying to talk to him and walked close to his parents, Charmindy gasped softly when she finally looked at him up close, she knew the Crown Prince was handsome but never imagined this much, he even surpassed his own father who was considered an Adonis in his young days.

"Your Highness…" Charmindy bowed before Endymion.

"Good evening" Endymion nodded his head.

"It is a privilege for us to finally have you here" Charmindy said again.

Endymion slightly smiled and turned to his mother but when she had the same expression as him he decided to turn to see his father who immediately understood and smiled at his son.

"Endymion, this is Lady Charmindy from the house of Armington"

Endymion only nodded his head again and smiled "A pleasure"

Charmindy blinked a few times and smiled nervously, the man had a regal presence that could easily melt your thoughts. Eros turned to look at her "It was nice to see you, enjoy the ball" taking Gaia's hand they walked back to their respective thrones leaving a shocked Charmindy standing alone.

Endymion walked to where the shitennou were standing and had a glass of wine.

"Cheers" he said raising his glass.

"I believe you are enjoying your celebration party" Nephrite said.

"No…no, not really, but my parents are happy so…I am happy, cheers for that" Endymion took another sip of his red wine.

Zoicite and Jadeite chuckled "Cheers"

"The court girls are somewhat obsessive…" Kunzite said, trying to remain a serious expression.

"I think this is going to become a routine I believe" Endymion looked at Kunzite and then at the people dancing. The music was playing softly, the lights gave a romantic atmosphere to the room and everybody was enjoying it. After a while, the prince turned to look for his mother when the orchestra started playing a soft tune.

"Excuse me for a moment…" Endymion said to his generals and walked to his mother. Gaia was sitting next to Eros, both enjoying the moment and drinking some wine "This is lovely" Gaia said softly.

"What is?" her husband asked.

"This moment" the terran queen sighed. Endymion stood in front of Gaia; extending his hand he smiled at her "Can I have this dance, Your Majesty?"

Gaia's eyes widened in surprise and blushed "I am afraid I cannot dance like I used to"

Endymion's smile sided "That is something it can be arranged"

Gaia turned to look at Eros and then back at her son "Very well" she took his hand and walked down the two steps from her throne. The crowd immediately parted, giving their prince and queen some space to dance. Endymion never broke eye contact with his mother and took her hand while the other one rested on her back, seconds later they started to move slowly and started to follow the rhythm of the soft music.

Aurea came close to Eros with Leonidas at her side and watched the scene in awe "It's been so long since I saw her smile that way…"

Eros watched her wife twirl softly, her dress gleamed in the soft lights of the room and felt like if his heart was going to leave his chest "She can't be more beautiful…" he said softly.

Gaia looked at her son and gave him a wide smile "You are a marvelous dancer…" she said softly.

Endymion smiled "I learned from the best" he winked his eye at her.

All the women in the room sighed and wished they could be the woman dancing with him, everybody was mesmerized by the beautiful scene the queen and her son were portraying, even Charmindy. Aurea couldn't hold the tears on her eyes and started to fall "It's so beautiful…"

Gaia started to cough a little "Dear…I am starting to agitate…I'm sorry"

Endymion smiled and hugged her, lifting her a few feet from the floor he kept dancing with her "I told you that could be arranged"

Gaia smiled, her eyes started to shine with tears; the scene made everybody want to cry; few sniffs were heard here and there "So adorable…" one woman next to Charmindy said.

When the melody was about to end, Endymion twirled one last time before lowering Gaia again on the floor "I love you mama…" he whispered in her ear

A tear ran down from the queen's eyes and smiled "I love you too my setting sun" she whispered back.

* * *

**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters. Thank you.**


	48. Chapter 48

**A/N: Another week, more chapters. I said this story was going to be long... hehe**

**As a side note, I was having a tremendous problem in posting my chapters, but it was some kind of error that page has right now, but I want to send a HUGE THANK YOU to Princessa de la Luna who didn't give up and helped me find a solution to that problem, THANK YOU SO MUCH! and just because of that, I'll post this week's chapters one after another (just give me a couple of minutes to re read them even though I'm at work and with a fever lol. Again, THANK YOU!**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter forty eight**

* * *

Serenity strolled through the gardens and thought about the man she just met a few hours ago and sighed, sitting on the edge of the white marble fountain she looked at the blue planet in front of her "The blue planet is gleaming more than it normally does…" she whispered.

"Here you are"

Serenity turned to look at Venus standing next to her "I thought you were asleep"

"No…I couldn't sleep" Serenity said softly and watched Venus walk closer, sitting next to the white princess she smiled "How did the meeting go?"

Serenity smiled and lowered her gaze "A soldier came to see Mother…"

"Soldier?"

Serenity nodded "Political treaties…"

"You make it sound like if you enjoyed being there, you are always very distant towards those matters even when you are well aware of how they are going" Venus said.

"It is not that I am distant I do care about the people who live here on the Moon but this time, I think it was somehow interesting" Serenity smiled. Venus raised a brow "Oh? What do you mean?"

The princess chuckled "He is a very interesting man with a very pretty smile"

Venus made a surprise face "You liked him!"

Serenity blushed and lowered her gaze "He was handsome…"

"Is he coming back? Is he going to start pursuing you?" Venus asked excitedly. Serenity sighed "He…really came to talk about political matters with Mother, not to pursue me"

"What?" Venus raised her voice.

"He didn't act like he was interested in pursuing me or asking a personal meeting with me. He really came to talk with Mother" Serenity raised her head and started looking at the blue planet in front of her. Venus smiled sympathetically "Do not worry Princess…maybe it was not meant to be…"

Serenity sighed and nodded "Is this love, Venus?"

"What?" the blonde guardian asked surprised. Her princess was talking about _love_? The always so calm and sometimes distracted princess was thinking about falling in love, Venus watched her amazed and at the same time she felt happy that Serenity finally wants to try and open her heart out to somebody good.

"Is this feeling, love? The anxiety to meet somebody again…the flips a heart can make when you hear his voice?"

Venus smiled "Love is something that leaves you breathless, Your Highness"

The princess sighed and lowered her gaze "I wonder if I am going to see him again anytime soon…"

"Well, if he is treating political matters with Her Majesty…he probably is…" Venus said softly and watched her friend looking at the blue planet "Are you really that interested?"

Serenity sighed "I don't know…I just…" she trailed off, standing up she walked around the fountain "I have this feeling…"

Venus arched a brow "Feeling?" she turned her face to see her. Serenity turned to look at the blonde guardian "Yes, I would like to see him again..."

Venus smiled "I never thought you could be interested in somebody"

"Why?"

Venus shrugged her shoulders "I do not know, maybe because you have been very persistent in keeping your freedom"

Serenity let out a sarcastic laugh "Freedom? What freedom?" her hand caressed the water of the fountain "The only freedom I have is when I'm out here and I am not even that free, you are watching over me most of the time"

Venus crossed her arms on her chest and lowered her gaze "That is my duty, Your Highness"

"Do you think _they_ live freely?" Serenity asked softly, Venus frowned and looked at Serenity "Who?"

Serenity pointed the blue planet in the sky "Them"

Venus sighed "I do not have a clue"

"I wish I could go there…I really wish I could go there" Serenity said.

"That planet could be abandoned, maybe there is nobody living there…maybe that is why we are not supposed to go there…because there is nothing" Venus said and stood up "You have talked about that blue planet with such enthusiasm, with so much care and desire since I know you…"

Serenity turned to look at the blonde beauty in front of her and smiled "I like to dream with that blue planet…I like to imagine that is full of beauty and surprises…"

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

After walking through one of the gardens in the palace alone, Queen Serenity thought about the man that came by today to talk to her. "Athan…" she whispered to the wind. Thinking about the events that happened today, she noticed the same determination her husband had when they first met, Athamas had the same ideals, the same way to fight, the same training and almost his same eyes. Closing her eyes she remembered those blue eyes she loved the most, his smile and a faint memory of his voice; to her daughter Athan was a mystery but in order to keep her away from the truth of why or how he died she decided to keep it to herself and tell the least she could to Serenity.

The lunar queen opened her eyes and turned to see her daughter's balcony that could be seen from where she was standing, the moon didn't have too many vegetation and the threes they had didn't had the height enough to block any sight, the grass looked silver because of the light of the stars and at the distance the soft sound of the water dancing In the small fountain made the queen come out of her reverie and decided it was time to go to her chambers to have some rest.

Queen Serenity walked inside her room, different from the room she shared with her late husband, everything in it was silver and white and were small white flowers everywhere, she once said it was her way to purify her surroundings; in front of her bed was a large window that led to her balcony, white curtains made from the finest fabric in Olympus draped from it like a cascade.

Queen Serenity was about to go out to her balcony when she turned and looked at her bed, sighing she walked over her night stand and sat on her bed instead. Sighing again but this time with more softness, she opened the little drawer and took a folded piece of paper from a book and kissed it softly; unfolding the piece of paper she started to read the words once again like if it was the very first time.

_I love you, that is all that I can say, _

_I adore you, that is all I can think of…_

_Your lavender eyes enchant me, your velvet lips captivate me, your smile mesmerizes me._

_I can't wait to join my life with yours, I promise you, I will never leave your side, my beautiful white princess._

_I love you,_

_Athan._

Tears started to fall from the queen's eyes silently; looking down she took a small purple box and opened to see its content, it was her wedding ring. Taking it from the small box she watched it closely, its shine was like If time never went through it. Serenity placed the ring on her finger and extended her hand for her to see the diamond catch the light of her candles.

"You still shine like a star" the queen said with melancholy. She missed him, even though she barely remembered his voice she could close her eyes and see him, smiling at her like if he was still alive and there next to her. "She has your eyes…" she said again, looking at the ring on her finger, her voice broke a little and after a couple of seconds she took the ring off and placed it in the box again and closed it "But I cannot tell her why you died…"

Folding the piece of paper, she placed it again inside the book and closed the drawer of her night stand. Lying on her bed she cried in silence until she fell deeply asleep.

The ballroom at the terran palace was gorgeously decorated. Red fabrics with gold trimming hung from the ceiling, the crystal chandeliers gave a soft light and in every window there was a large vase full of red roses that filled the room with their delicious aroma. At the distance near a large window there was a buffet table with a rich red table cloth, a wine fountain served the glasses of the guests while they picked an entrée to eat.

But not all the guests were exactly at the fountain filling their glasses because they were in awe looking at their Queen and Prince dancing; Gaia smiled at her son and caressed his cheek with her hand softly "Thank you"

"I would do anything for you…mama" Endymion whispered.

Aurea was looking the couple walk away from the dance floor and turned to look for Leonidas, she felt overwhelmed by all the people in the room and looked at all the women present but she started to feel uncomfortable when she overheard a conversation between two women near the wine fountain.

"What is it with that woman?"

[chuckles] "What woman?"

"The woman that entered the room with the General"

"Oh?" one of them waved her fan "I believe she is his …you know…companion"

"No! … her? But she looks like she is not a person from the Court" said a woman with dark hair.

"Hm...Of course she is not from the Court; she doesn't even have a title"

Endymion let his mother go back to her throne seat next to his father when he saw Aurea supporting herself on a pillar like if she was hiding herself from everybody; smiling he walked towards her parting the crowd in his way, the prince stood behind the brunette maid. Aurea sighed and tried to fight the tears forming in her eyes when she felt a hand on her shoulder, turning she saw Endymion standing behind her.

"Why are you here all by yourself?" he asked curious.

The two women turned to look at the prince and noticed Aurea was there as well and paled "It's His Highness…" the woman with the fan in her hand said. Aurea smiled softly at the prince and remained silent but Endymion knew something was wrong and kind of knew what could possibly be what made Aurea look sad "Don't give them that privilege" he simply said.

Aurea's eyes widened by his bold words, in all her life she has always been carefree and always spoke her mind not really paying attention to what everybody else thought about her and that was what made her special, what made her being the woman she was, the woman who captured Leonidas' heart. She was still startled by Endymion's words "What?"

Endymion extended his hand at her "Grant me this dance, my lovely Aurea"

Aurea blushed and turned to look both sides with wide eyes, for the very first time in her life, she felt intimidated "What? No…Endy…" Endymion held her hand and walked to the dance floor with her, taking the same position he took with his mother he smiled at her "Don't pay attention to them but only me" he said softly while he placed his hand in her lower back "I do not know how to dance…" Aurea said "I will shame you"

Endymion smiled and started moving to the sound of the music "I don't really care if that happens…" he started to laugh softly "Why are you laughing?" Aurea asked perplexed.

"You are already dancing" the prince said happily "And you are doing it fantastically" Aurea's eyes widened and noticed Endymion was right "I am dancing…" she whispered. Endymion twirled along with her with grace and coolness making all the women wonder who was she and why he was dancing with her instead of them.

"You heard something, am I correct?" he asked after a little while.

Endymion's question brought the maid back from her deep thoughts and concentration because she was trying not to step on the prince's foot, her soft peach dress moved gracefully around her with every move "What makes you think that?" she tried to avoid the question. Endymion half smiled "Because if you haven't heard anything, you wouldn't have been hiding behind that pillar" Endymion twirled her again.

"Remember I am just a maid and they do not know me very well…in fact, they haven't seen me much and if they have of course they will not going to look at me directly" Aurea said not parting her gaze from Endymion's, he smiled "You are more than just a maid. Let them speak as much as they want, their words will fall into dead ears"

The melody was about to come to an end when Endymion twirled her and then bowed his head slightly. Everybody started clapping at the prince's shown talent and at his mysterious dancing partner; they both started to walk towards his throne when a young women with light brown hair tried to approach him "Your Highness" she called.

Endymion turned to look at her and noticed her beauty, she was indeed very pretty; her curly hair was styled in a messy bun at the base of her neck, the soft pink corset of her gown marked her small waist and of course enchanted her chest. Her green eyes looked at him with excitement and something he could decode as lust "I was wondering if His Highness would like to have this dance?" she asked hesitant, hoping for a positive answer.

Endymion let go Aurea to join Leonidas and looked at the sensual woman standing in front of him, in another time he would have danced with her and even tried to swoon her, if he were drunk maybe or even just in the need to have fun he would have agreed to what she without any doubt was offering him, but he was tired of that game and he was tired to be seen as an object of power or the step to give them his mother's crown.

He stayed silent for a couple of more seconds before he smiled slightly at her "I'm sorry…" he said waving his head "But I think I had enough for tonight"

The brunette woman blinked a couple of times before shaking her head softly as a matter of not understanding his words "Your Highness?"

"Maybe in another occasion" he responded quickly, not giving her the opportunity to ask something more. The attractive woman nodded her head and smiled "Of course, I am sorry to have bothered you, Your Highness" Endymion bowed his head slightly and turned to leave to where his shitennou were standing, leaving the woman behind.

Jadeite found amusing how without exactly knowing him every single lady try to caught his attention or to talk with him like if they have known him for years, on the other side he thought it was kind of depressing how many women would do anything just to get a crown and feel the most beautiful woman in the world.

He understood when Endymion had told him that he was not much interested in love, because love in this place it seemed too relative to what could actually be and at first he doubted his prince's opinions about it but now that he saw the situation with his own eyes he understood. Endymion walked over them and sighed, Jadeite gave him a glass of wine which he drank in one swift and lowered his head. Nephrite frowned and moved closer to the prince "Are you alright?"

Endymion sighed "I'm tired, that's all"

"I believe it is late" Kunzite said, looking at the dancing crowd. The prince raised his head and looked at the four generals "I think I am going to excuse myself from the party…I had enough"

"Did that woman tell you something?" Zoicite asked intrigued.

"No, she wanted to dance with me to later take her to my chambers to spend the rest of the night together" Endymion said lowly. Kunzite's grey eyes widened "Did she tell you that?"

Endymion looked at the white haired man and chuckled "She asked me to dance with her, but her body language was suggesting me something else"

"Who would have known that the court women would be so blood suckers" Jadeite said with a cold voice. The four men turned to look at the blonde general with a shocked expression "Did we hear right?" asked Nephrite.

Jadeite frowned "What?"

"Did you just say blood suckers?" Zoicite asked.

"I did" Jadeite crossed his arms "Why is it so surprising for you to hear that?" Kunzite chuckled "Well, it is not that we are not surprised by the fact that they are, but you saying that they are"

"Why?" Jadeite asked nonchalantly.

"Because you are supposed to love women" Nephrite said confused.

"One thing is that I love women, the other is that I like the fact that His Highness is seen like an object" Jadeite said.

"Why, thank you" Endymion said and turned to see his parents before walking towards them. King Eros was talking to Leonidas, Aurea and Gaia when Endymion bowed his head to them, Queen Gaia smiled at her son and placed a hand on his forearm "Are you enjoying the ball?"

Endymion smiled, trying to hide his slight discomfort which he knew his mother could read very easily "Yes Mater, I am"

"Is something the matter son?" Eros asked, interrupting his talk to the general.

"If it is not too much to ask, I would like to be excused" Endymion said.

King Eros smiled knowingly "It has been a long day" the king said, patting his son's shoulder "Of course, you need your rest and tomorrow is going to be a busy day"

Endymion nodded "Thank you Pater, Mater, for taking the time to organize this ball"

"It was your grandmother's idea" Queen Gaia said softly "She wanted you to have a perfect welcoming"

Endymion smiled "I hope I can see her shortly"

"She will be home very soon" King Eros said.

The prince nodded his head and stepped down the four stairs "I will see you tomorrow then" turning to face his shitennou, he gave them a signal to join him and walked to the door behind the curtains in silence without anybody else in the room notice that the prince had left the room.

"That was close" Jadeite said, scratching the back of his head.

"We better go and have some rest" said Kunzite.

The four men started walking through the long and dark hall that was only illuminated by the moon; the hallway was similar to a long balcony with only pillars supporting the tall ceiling which at night was the perfect place to star sighting. Nephrite noticed Endymion wasn't walking with them and turned to watch him rest his elbows on the half wall looking at the night sky.

"Endymion?" Nephrite called him out of his thoughts; now that they were alone he could address him by his name and not his title.

"When we were at the forest hiding from the enemy, I remember the moonlight was the only thing that could keep us safe because it illuminated our path…" the prince said softly, not turning to look at Nephrite. Nephrite smiled and turned to look at the moon "It is indeed beautiful, it looks like a pearl surrounded by diamonds"

"You know how to read them, am I correct?" Endymion turned to look at his friend this time. Nephrite kept looking at the sky and nodded "More than reading them, they talk to me… but I never talked about it much so you won't think I was crazy"

Endymion lowered his head and smiled, knowing his own secrets "We all have something we want to keep for ourselves…"

Nephrite smiled and nodded "Like you, for example?"

Endymion chuckled "Maybe… maybe"

Nephrite leaned on the pillar next to him and crossed his arms "You hold yourself a secret"

"Are you asking?" Endymion arched a brow.

"No, I know it" Nephrite answered, with determination "Because I've seen it"

Endymion kept a serious expression, he was very good at keeping his emotions to himself "You have…" he said more as a comment rather than a question.

Nephrite nodded "You have a connection with this planet…" the dark general rested his arms on the rail of the half wall and smiled "I saw you moving the water one day at the lake near the waterfall… at first I was shocked but then I was kind of relieved to know there was somebody else there with something nobody else had" Nephrite looked down at the lights of the town and started to chuckle "But then, I noticed that any of us four are quite normal"

Endymion chuckled "Maybe that is why we got along since the beginning"

Nephrite laughed and turned to look at the prince "Except for Kunzite, he didn't like you and you know how he is very assertive in everything, his third eye really works"

Endymion rested his back on the rail and smiled "He was just only being stubborn"

Nephrite smiled and stood straight "I am glad to be at your service"

Endymion patted his shoulder and smiled "Thank you Nephrite"

Nephrite nodded "I better go and have some sleep…"

"Very well…I will stay here a little longer" Endymion smiled at his friend, turning to look at the village below "I missed being here so I am taking the most I can"

Nephrite started to walk towards his chambers and chuckled on his way "We all know this will be temporary"

Endymion laughed softly "True" he said and looked at the moon once again "But I'm glad I will always have you to be admired and ease my mind" he said referring to the white pearly sphere hanging in the sky.

* * *

**I do not own sailor moon, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.**


	49. Chapter 49

**A/N: Oh, so...after a long struggle trying to post, I finally found the way to keep this story up :) I'm giving you another chapter, I hope you like it.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter forty nine**

* * *

The warm rays of the new morning reached and filtered the silky translucent curtains of Serenity's room. Luna opened the large white doors of the spacious place and walked through in silence; noticing the princess was still asleep she proceeded to move the curtains aside allowing the sunlight come through and warm the room. Opening the three large windows next to the balcony double doors she walked over her princess and whispered in her ear "Good morning Your Highness"

Serenity stirred in her bed and covered her face with the white satin blanket, mumbling a couple of words he turned to her other side so Luna wouldn't wake her up but it didn't work the way she was expecting, the dark haired woman pulled the cover back and chuckled "It is a lovely, lovely day outside Your Highness" she said in a singing mode.

Serenity opened one blue eye and looked at the woman wearing her yellow dress and frowned a little "I would like to sleep a little longer"

Luna chuckled and proceeded to walk to the princess' walking closet to take a dress for her to wear for the day, deciding what would be appropriate she took a simple spaghetti strap white dress in a lovely A shape and walked out to hang it on a mannequin in front of her large silver mirror.

"I am sorry Your Highness, but this time your petition will be denied, come on and open your lovely eyes so you can see how beautiful this day is!" Luna cheered.

Serenity moaned "No…please, just for a little while"

Luna walked to her bathroom to start preparing her bath; the sound of water reached Serenity's ears "She is not going to leave me alone…" she sighed but remained in her lying position on her side.

Luna walked back to the room and watched the princess was still on her bed and noticed how she pulled the covers back to cover her face; sighing she walked to pick some things from the floor "Oh well, I will just go and tell Queen Serenity that you won't be joining her and General Athamas for a lovely breakfast in the garden"

Luna's words caught the moon princess's attention and opened her eyes immediately "What?" she sat on the bed, her disheveled hair made her look more desperate "Did you say General Athamas?"

Luna fought the urge to smile and shrugged her shoulders and gave her back to the princess "He is coming to treat political matters with Her Majesty but after that she wants to have breakfast in the garden and of course he will be invited. She asked me to tell you in case you were interested, but it seems you are not so I will go and tell Her Majesty you are going to have breakfast by yourself later this morning" the black haired woman started to walk towards the door when she turned to watch the princess getting out of bed and run quickly to the bathroom closing the door quickly. Luna couldn't hold any longer and started laughing softly and motioning another maid to come in and make the princess's bed.

The mauian woman chuckled to herself and knew the princess was having a hard time washing her hair so she went to knock on the door of her bathroom and opened it right after "Need some help, Princess?"

Serenity sighed and turned her wet head towards Luna "My hair got tangled…"

Luna chuckled again and walked inside closing the door behind her; sitting on the edge of the white marble tub she proceeded to untangle the princess's silver hair.

The bathroom was nothing else but a large white room with a marble oval shaped tub, around it were vases of little white flowers as greenery, and just like the queen's her shower was like a fountain. A few feet away from the large tub, an oval shaped sink was hanging from two white pillars. Next to it was a silver trimmed basket with silk towels and a white robe.

Once Luna finished untangling the princess's hair she helped her rub her back with a sponge "Where are the girls?" Serenity asked, looking at the bubbles. Luna squeezed the sponge to remove the excess water and proceeded to take the oil and soap from Serenity's back "They are training as we speak"

"There are not going to join us for breakfast?" Serenity asked again.

"No, it will only be you, Her Majesty and your guest" Luna squeezed the sponge again and put it aside "Ready"

Serenity stood up and squeezed her hair a few times before extending her hand to get her white towel; drying herself she turned to look at Luna "Do you know why is he coming?"

Luna turned her back at her princess to give her privacy while she folded her night gown "They want to join the Alliance"

Serenity stepped out of the tub and put on her silky robe "I thought they were already part of the Alliance"

Luna walked to the tub and pulled the button inside it to drain the water in it "They are, but not the Andromedian army"

Serenity walked to her room again and looked herself in the mirror, since the life in the moon was quite different from the life on Earth, her hair dried faster so in a matter of minutes her long silver hair would be completely dry; taking her undergarments she walked to the white screen next to the mirror and started to put them on "Why wasn't the army part of the Silver Alliance?" she asked.

Luna followed the princess to her room and put her night gown in her closet, sitting on the bed she turned to the screen to see the princess's silhouette "I thought you weren't too much interested in political matters"

Serenity extended her hand and took her dress off the mannequin and started to put it on "Just because I do not ask too much about the treaties Mother has with other planets doesn't mean I do not care Luna" coming out from the screen, she gave a little twirl for Luna "How do I look?"

Luna smiled and walked over to her and smoothed some wrinkles off the gown "Beautiful" the dress had a round neck, exposing her chest a little, a think silver ribbon was tied at her waist forming a bow on her side, Serenity wore flat ballerina slippers to give a more casual look to the beautiful dress. Sitting on her vanity she proceeded to put some simple make up on, just iridescent eye shadows, some dark mascara and a soft pink gloss.

Luna helped her with her hair, taking the silver brush on the vanity she started to brush her long shiny hair in small strokes, after brushing it and making sure there was not a single knot she started to style it in her accustomed buns at the top of her head and placed a hair piece with pearls to one of the buns "All done"

Serenity smiled "You know well how to do my hair"

Luna chuckled "One can learn over the years…" Luna looked the princess's reflection on the mirror "You look beautiful"

Serenity placed her hand over Luna's "Thank you for always being there for Mother and me"

Luna smiled at the princess and nodded her head "As long as I can, I will be there for you and so Artemis" Luna turned to look at the window and then back at the princess "We better go, the General is probably arriving as we speak"

Serenity smiled and nodded "Alright"

Both women walked out of the room and towards the gardens where they knew Queen Serenity was probably waiting for them to arrive. Queen Serenity was drinking her every morning cup of tea in the garden; she asked to decorate the circular table with a clean table cloth and fresh cut flowers in a crystal vase placed on the center to keep the ambient neutral and fresh.

Blowing the steam of her tea, she took another sip with delicacy and watched the fountain in the distance. Princess Serenity appeared with Luna following and smiled at her mother "Good morning Mother" she walked over her side and kissed her cheek.

Queen Serenity smiled at her daughter and returned the kiss "Good morning dear" and turned to look at Luna "Thank you Luna"

Luna winked her eye at her and left the queen and princess alone. Serenity watched her mother with a curious face and served herself some tea "Thank you?" she blew the steam of her hot beverage and took a sip.

Queen Serenity chuckled "She went to call for you and I am sure she woke you up"

Serenity pursed her lips "I was tired"

The lunar queen laughed softly "You are always tired" she took another sip of her tea "You probably know by now that General Athamas is coming to visit us"

Serenity looked at her mother and blinked a couple of times "Yes, Luna told me. He is coming to treat some political matters with you..."

Queen Serenity smiled "You probably must be wondering why I have called for you" the queen put her cup down on the porcelain plate once again "There are some things that will change and I want you to be informed"

Serenity frowned "Change?"

Queen Serenity nodded "We are joining forces with Andromeda"

"Is there going to be a war?" Serenity asked worried.

The queen moved her head "No dear, but we must be prepared for anything…"

A maid interrupted "Your Majesty, General Athamas is here"

Queen Serenity smiled and nodded "Send him in"

Seconds after the general walked into the private garden and bowed in respect "Your Majesty" watching the queen was not alone, he bowed his head once again in respect "Your Highness"

Serenity blushed when Athamas raised his head and looked at her "General" she said softly.

Luna and Artemis walked minutes later to join them in their meeting "We are all here then" Queen Serenity said kindly "Please, let's all sit and have some tea"

ooooOOOOoooOOOOoooooOOOOooooo

The birds sang happily indicating that a new day have arrived, the sun outside was warm and inviting, the sky was blue and without a single cloud. King Eros, Queen Gaia, Leonidas and Aurea were sitting on the dining table waiting their breakfast to be served. The sun filled the palace with its warm light, after all the queen was the God of Sun's granddaughter and it seemed they were still under his protection.

Long pale curtains decorated the floor to ceiling windows, a crystal chandelier hung from the tall ceiling. The table was long and had a long pale golden table cloth, the queen always likes to have fresh cut flowers from the garden in every room and here it was no exception; a crystal medium sized vase with flowers of different colors decorated the table as a center piece.

"It is a lovely day" Aurea said happily.

Gaia took a sip of her orange juice and smiled at her friend "Did you enjoy the ball last night?"

Leonidas turned to look at his fiancé, Aurea smiled "I must confess, it was lovely but I felt out of place"

King Eros chuckled and put down his cup of coffee "You will get used to it"

Gaia smiled "Yes, because once you get married you will have to accompany Leonidas to every social event"

Endymion walked into the room "Good morning"

"Good morning" said everyone in unison, Endymion walked over his mother and kissed her on the cheek "Good morning Mater" Gaia caressed his cheek and smiled "Good morning dear, did you sleep well?"

Endymion kissed Aurea's cheek and turned to look at his mother before taking his seat next to his father "Yes, yes I did…thank you" he chuckled "It is quite strange to sleep again on a bed…"

Eros chuckled "The same thing happened to me when I first came back home from training"

"Are the Shitennou going to join us?" Gaia asked to her son.

"No, they already had breakfast. They are in the study as we speak" Endymion took a sip of his juice and placed the glass down on the table again and turned to one of the maids "Can I have some coffee, please?" the maid nodded her head and started to pour hot coffee on the white cup in front of him.

"Did you enjoy the ball?" Queen Gaia asked and took a bite of her fruit.

Endymion smiled at her "I did, but I must say that… these kinds of social events are not too much of my liking" he took a sip of his hot coffee "There were certainly too many characters trying to steal the evening"

Leonidas laughed "You are so true. But, Aurea here was lucky enough to dance with you eh?" he joked.

Endymion laughed "And I would do it again, she's a terrific dancer" he turned to look at his nana. Aurea blushed "It was my first time dancing…everything was so elegant…"

"Mmm…" Endymion swallowed what he was chewing and turned to look at the general and Aurea "When are you going to get married?"

Aurea widened her eyes in shock "I-I do not know…"

Leonidas blinked a couple of times and then smiled "I would like it to be as soon as possible…"

Eros chuckled "You have waited long enough"

"I will talk to Obelix, he can do the ceremony" Gaia said happily.

"I do not think that will be any problem" Eros placed his hand over his wife's.

"Well, I am glad that you enjoyed the celebration" Queen Gaia said.

"Speaking about last night, who was the woman that was talking to you?" Endymion asked curious.

Gaia turned to look at her husband and arched a brow; Eros chuckled and took a sip of his coffee then the queen turned to her look at her son "You must be talking about Lady Charmindy"

"Yes…I think that is her name" Endymion said.

Gaia turned to look at Eros again and sweat dropped "Ask your father…"

Endymion frowned and turned to look at his father with a curious expression, King Eros chocked with his coffee "What?"

"Who was she?" Endymion arched a brow.

Eros lowered his gaze and continued eating, Aurea chuckled "Well, let's say she was one of your father's admirers"

Endymion turned to look at Aurea then back at his father "You were going to marry her?"

"Oh by all heavens, no!" Eros said choking on his coffee again "That would have been a total disaster!"

"I feel sorry for her…" Gaia said softly "She never got married, never had children…and her parents past away recently"

"Well, it is never too late for her to find somebody and marry him…" Leonidas joined the conversation after a while.

Aurea moved her plate aside and chuckled "Somebody was quite famous last night, that's for sure…"

Leonidas chuckled "I do not think he was quite famous, I think he was extremely famous…every girl wanted to dance with him…did you see them fight over him?"

Endymion choked with his coffee and blushed "What!"

"Who knows, maybe one of these days the Prince announces he is in love…" Aurea said.

Endymion frowned and pursed his lips; Gaia looked at him and recognized that particular expression. She was once in that position, when her mother insisted on her to find a consort and marry, of how many times she wanted to see her married and then remembered her friend's wedding "Love is a very powerful feeling…" she said softly, startling everybody.

The prince looked at his mother "I do not believe that feeling can be honest and real in this place…"

"What do you mean dear?" Aurea asked curious and surprised by his comment. Gaia looked at him with a serious face.

"There is a hard price to pay when you are a person like…us" Endymion's sensuous and velvety voice echoed in the room, an air of regret tainted his words "What they want is what comes attached to us"

Eros frowned; he felt sympathy with his son because he once felt the same way "Not everybody is like that son…"

Endymion turned to look at his father "Love is something I call ephemeral…" he sighed and stood up, Gaia looked at him with worry; his words startled her "Dear?" she trailed off.

"I need to do something important…" Endymion wiped the sides of his mouth and placed his napkin aside on the table.

"But we have an audience today with the people of this kingdom…" Eros said.

"I will return in time for my duties Pater, don't worry…" the prince half smiled.

"Where are you going dear?" Gaia asked.

Endymion turned to look at his mother "To prove that love is only feeling not everybody has the luck to meet" the prince turned to leave the room, leaving everybody behind very confused.

* * *

**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.**


	50. Chapter 50

**A/N: Like my grandmother would say "tarde pero seguro" late but surely, and although it is a day late here it goes, another chapter. Enjoy!**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter fifty**

*Æthon was one of God Helios' horses and it means _fiery red_

_

* * *

_

Later that day, Venus was about to go to her room to take a bath, she just finished her daily training with the rest of the senshi when she watched somebody with familiar features walk into the palace. The blonde venusian princess smiled to herself and hurried down the hall to find her princess and close friend. Opening the door she found Serenity sitting in her balcony rail looking at the blue planet once again, deep in thought.

"Princess!" Venus exclaimed.

Serenity jumped slightly in her seat and turned to look at the blonde girl standing beside her, her pale blue eyes widened in surprise "Venus?"

Venus gave Serenity a devilish smile and sat next to her "I am glad to see you are wearing an appropriate dress"

"I beg your pardon?" Serenity frowned slightly confused.

Venus giggled and covered her mouth with her right hand, Serenity blinked a couple of times "Is something the matter Venus?"

"Yes"

"What is it?"

"He's here"

"Who is here?" Serenity asked more insistently, Venus could be so intriguing sometimes. The venusian princes frowned "I may not be explaining myself correctly…when I say he is here, is because _He_ is here…"

Venus' words sank in the princess heart, standing up quickly she placed her hands on Venus' shoulders "He is here?"

Venus rolled her eyes "I would never lie to you…"

A huge smile was formed in Serenity's face, knowing the handsome soldier was at the palace excited her and at the same time made her feel very nervous; Venus noticed it and smiled "You look beautiful…" Serenity turned to look at Venus with a shocked expression, Venus chuckled and crossed her arms in front of her chest "Oh yes, I know you very well…"

Serenity sighed and leaned on sat back again on the rail of her balcony, Venus looked at her with a worried expression "Princess?"

"He is not here because of me Venus…he is here for other reasons…I noticed that this morning when we had breakfast" Serenity sighed again.

"He came to have breakfast?" Venus asked astonished. The lunarian princess nodded her nead "But nothing extraordinaire happened, he is trying to sign with Mother the Alliance of the Andromedian army with the Moon Kingdom" Serenity's voice had a hint of sadness.

Venus noticed it and smiled at her princess "Love will come when you least expect it, trust me" Venus winked an eye at her.

Serenity smiled at the blonde princess and turned to look at the blue planet again, like looking for some kind of answer in it, the curiosity for that planet grew with time and it triggered more the fact that everybody said they did not know anything about it. She knew there was more to the planet called Earth.

ooooooooo

Queen Serenity was in the study with Athamas talking about the alliance he was suggesting doing with the lunar kingdom; the Queen was reading some of the agreements while Athamas was looking outside the window, the memory of the princess came to his mind "How is Her Highness doing?"

Queen Serenity looked up at him "She is doing well; she has been busy with her lessons"

Athamas smiled and nodded "It is very important for her to be well prepared, all this will be hers one day…"

Serenity raised a brow "You are right" she smiled "You think very clearly"

The soldier chuckled "I only say what I think it is the obvious and to be honest I do not think that will be a problem for Her Highness, she must know very much by now about the politics on the moon. She must be very involved in every matter"

Queen Serenity crossed her hands on the desk and watched the man in front of her with awe and amazement; she was impressed by his mature words and for a moment she started to think that he would be the perfect companion for Serenity "Serenity is well aware of too many matters that happens in this kingdom but she is not involved in all of them, for me it is important to know how to do these things before taking the crown…"

"The Lunar Kingdom is the strongest of the entire galaxy… and has direct connections with Olympus and the Higher Gods…" Athamas said.

"That's correct, it hasn't been easy to form this Alliance, but now we are in a good place" Queen Serenity said softly.

Athamas smiled "That is why Andromedians want to join this Alliance; our army will serve well this Kingdom"

Queen Serenity smiled back "I do not have any doubts about it"

Oooooooooooooo

Endymion was walking through the hall towards the stables to get a horse "Are you going out?" the question startled the prince and turned to find Kunzite standing a few feet away from him with a curious look. Endymion nodded "I need to do something…"

Kunzite frowned and walked over the prince "Is something the matter?"

Endymion arched a brow "What do you mean?"

"Since we got here you have been…well, strange…distant, you are not the same man I met it the training field" Kunzite said.

The prince sighed softly "Do not worry Kunzite, I'm fine… I am just startled by all this; I was already used to be normal…if you know what I mean"

The white haired man chuckled "I do understand, all eyes are on you now…you are the novelty you should be proud"

Endymion ran a hand through his midnight hair and forced a smile "I have never liked to be a novelty…" Kunzite looked at the prince with a serious face "Do you want me to come with you?"

Endymion shook his head no and patted the general's shoulder "I'll be back shortly, I need to be back in time to help Father with some things"

Kunzite nodded "I'll tell the rest of the guys to be ready for your return then" Endymion nodded and turned to leave, giving a signal to the guards at the doors to open them for him; he crossed them and they closed them back again.

The prince walked through the stables looking for his long time friend; standing in front of the small gate he smiled "Do you need any assistance, Your Highness?" Endymion turned startled to his right and saw a young man with brown hair holding a metal bucket in his hand "I want to take this horse for a ride…" Endymion said softly "But I haven't been here in such a long time that I don't remember where the seat and reins are"

The boy smiled and nodded "I can prepare the horse for you Your Highness…"

Endymion smiled and crossed his arms "Thank you"

The boy immediately went to take everything he needed to prepare the horse for the prince and smiled while brushed its hair with his fingers "It's time to go out for a walk Pegasus"

Endymion smiled again and gave the boy a confused look "Pegasus?"

The boy turned to look at the prince and blushed, chuckling he turned to see the white horse in front of him and patted it's neck "Yes Your Highness, when I first started working here…I was mesmerized to see its beauty, I have always thought it looked like a Pegasus…I didn't know its name was Æthon* until a few days after"

The white horse moved its head as if it liked the way the boy was scratching behind its ears, its burgundy eyes stared at him with an amusing intensity, Endymion noticed it and sided his head "He can always have a second name…"

The boy turned surprised to see the prince "Your Highness?"

Endymion walked over and patted the horse's back "I left my beautiful friend when I was very young, it was still a colt…I missed you dear friend…" the horse moved its head again like if it understood what Endymion was saying; the prince got closer and hugged the beautiful animal "But I'm back home…I won't leave you alone anymore…" he whispered, the horse stayed silent and calm; the boy was amazed and had a shocked expression on his face "I have never saw Pegasus being that serene…"

The prince turned to look at the boy and smiled "We kind of understand each other" giving a slight jump he rode the horse, moving the reins the animal started walking but stopped seconds later, Endymion turned his head to the boy "I never asked your name…"

"Deo…" the boy said.

Endymion smiled "Nice to meet you Deo, I'll bring him back alright?" the boy nodded and watched the prince leave riding his horse.

Ooooooooooooooooooo

Athamas stood up and bowed his head to the lunar queen "I will be back then with the remaining papers to sign Your Majesty…"

Queen Serenity smiled and nodded "Very well, I will see you soon then"

Athamas bowed his head again and walked out of the study, closing the door he walked towards the entrance of the Palace where he was being waited by one of his right handed generals, Athamas was about to exit the Palace when he saw a girl in a white gown walked through one of the halls.

"Your Highness…" he called out.

Serenity froze in her tracks and gasped to herself, turning her face she saw Athamas standing several feet away from her "G-General…" she said softly.

Athamas raised his hand as saluting her, Serenity smiled softly and walked towards him "I did not know you were here…again" she tried to sound cool and made a mental note she would thank Venus for letting her know he was here.

Athamas flashed a smile at her "I came to bring Her Majesty some papers for our treaty" he showed her the folded parchment in his hand.

Serenity looked at his hand and then back at him "I see…any luck?" she tried to hide her blush.

The general cleared his throat and chuckled "Her Majesty is quite special, I need to fix some detailing and then come back to see if she approves it"

"Mother can be very strict sometimes, but I believe it is necessary" Serenity said softly.

Athamas nodded his head and looked at her "You look beautiful, Your Highness"

The comment startled the princess "I beg your pardon?"

Athamas lowered his gaze "I am sorry…I just...I just couldn't keep it to myself"

Serenity blushed "Don't worry…I am flattered, thank you" the princess looked away trying to fight the urge to scream with joy _"Thank you Venus!" _she thought.

Athamas turned to the entrance door and then back at Serenity "I was about to leave but…with all due respect Your Highness I would like to spend more time with you…of course, if you don't mind"

Serenity's light blue eyes widened in shock "N-No, not at all General" her left hand started to play nervously with her bracelet on her right wrist "But maybe you are being waited for your return"

"It's alright Your Highness…I am not in a hurry" Athamas smiled.

Serenity nodded and smiled sheepishly "Well, in that case…would you like to join me for a cup of tea?"

"I would love to…" Athamas said with a sensuous voice "After you, Your Highness"

Serenity blushed for the fourth time in the day and started to walk towards the tea room, Athamas walked beside her. Sitting on the chairs around the small table, Athamas took in the sweet smell of the characteristic white flowers that grew on the moon; looking in front of him he admired the beauty of the lunar princess, he watched in silence while she was pouring the tea on the porcelain cups how her silver hair shone with the soft light of the sun, how soft her skin looked and the ethereal vision she portrayed every time she smiled. Handing him over his cup, she placed aside the tea pot and smiled slightly "I hope you like it"

"I already am…" Athamas said.

Serenity blushed "You are so kind General…"

"It is true, it would be a sin to see you and not telling you how beautiful you are…" Athamas blushed and lowered his gaze.

Serenity widened her eyes in shock "You…you think I am beautiful?"

Athamas took a sip of his tea and looked at her after he placed it back down "Of course Your Highness…your beauty is well known all over the galaxy…"

Serenity blushed a deep shade of red "I do not know what to say…"

"It may sound strange to you but, I was very nervous when I first met you…" Athamas said.

Serenity blinked a couple of times "Nervous, why?"

"I've heard so many things about you that I never imagined to ever meet you…"

Serenity made a curious face "Like what?"

Athamas chuckled "Well, I've known your hand has been asked in marriage several times…"

Serenity lowered her gaze and took a sip of her tea, Athamas noticed her discomfort "Forgive me Your Highness…I shouldn't have said that"

"No, no…" Serenity shook her head softly "It is true…my hand has been asked in marriage too many things…"

"But never got engaged" Athamas commented.

"No"

"May I ask why?"

Serenity sighed softly "I don't think they love me"

Athamas frowned "Loved you?"

"Yes"

"I do not understand…" Athamas said.

Serenity chuckled "It is silly really…"

"Not to me…" Athamas said, looking at her with interest.

"Have you ever fallen in love, General?" Serenity asked directly. Athamas was taken by surprise; he was prepared to answer almost anything except for that "Love?"

"Yes" Serenity crossed her hands on the table "Do you believe in love?"

Athamas stayed silent for a couple of minutes "I do not know what love is…"

Serenity felt her heart sink in her chest; somehow she wasn't expecting that kind of answer "But if love is this feeling of joy I have every time I see you, then yes…I do believe in love" he said again, Serenity looked at him surprised. Athamas smiled at her "I cannot help it Your Highness…I feel joyous every time I look at you…"

"General…" Serenity whispered.

Ooooooooooooooooo

Endymion rode his horse around the village following the exact direction he had in a small piece of paper in his hand, the people in the village noticed the prince and some of them bowed before him when he passed by while the ladies sighed or tried to catch his attention.

When he passed the small plaza in downtown he stopped in a small house. Stepping down of his horse, he re arranged his cape and sword and knocked on the door softly three times. After a couple of minutes a girl with curly brown hair and in a light blue dress opened the door, her light brown eyes widened in shock when she noticed the insignia on the prince's uniform jacket.

"Your Highness…" she bowed before him, nervous "What…" she trailed off and looked at him with a mix between worry and anxiety.

"Are you Gredel?" Endymion asked softly.

The young woman nodded her head "You know my name, Your Highness?"

Endymion lowered his gaze and tried to find the right words to tell her, looking back at her he nodded "Daivius and I were in the same training field"

When the girl heard her lover's name she gasped softly "Daivius…you…Your Highness…do you know when is he going to come back? I was at the plaza when several soldiers arrived but I didn't find him, when I asked to one of them where he could be they said there was another group coming behind but…" she trailed off again and looked the small package in Endymion's hands; her eyes started to shine with fresh tears.

Endymion looked at her with a sad expression "I'm so sorry Gredel…"

"No…" the young woman gasped and started to sob, her fears were true, her lover was dead; her tears were falling uncontrollably "I…" Endymion hesitated "I found him when he was gravely injured…" he extended the package out to her "He asked me to give you this…and to tell you, he was sorry and that he loved you, with all his heart…"

Gredel couldn't fight her tears and the pain she was feeling; taking the package she opened it and found the letters he wrote and never got to send out to her, along with them were the letters she wrote to him.

"I'm so sorry…I couldn't help him...I'm terribly sorry…" Endymion said in a deep tone of voice.

The young woman shook her head "We both were aware this could happen…I asked him not to go but he was insistent, he wanted to give me and our families a better life…it wasn't your fault Your Highness…" she looked up at him "Thank you…for bringing me this, it means so much to me…"

Endymion nodded his head "I promised him to give them to you…I'm sorry you have to go through this…"

Gredel lowered her head and caressed one of the letters "Love is difficult Your Highness..."

Endymion frowned "Love?"

Gredel looked up at him again "Daivius and I lived a precious love story that I will never forget, I will hold it in my heart…he will always be my only love…but I prefer this, that not ever be loved at all"

The young woman's words startled Endymion; the woman was grieving her loss but also was grateful to have given her heart out to him, a man who was never going to come back for her. Love is a two sided blade; it could lift you to the heavens or make you walk through hell and the prince wanted to prevent that at any cost.

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**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters. Thank you.**


	51. Chapter 51

**A/N: Sorry for the delay. This page seems to be having some problems I don't know if you get the notification when a new chapter is up right away but in my case i get it like two days later I post... anyways, I need to start writing more chapters because you are catching up with me lol so... I must hurry but between work and other things I had to handle I haven't been able to, but I promise I will try. Enjoy!**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter fifty one**

* * *

"I believe I should be going, Your Highness…" General Athamas stood up in a sudden motion startling the white princess.

Serenity noticed it was already past noon and gasped softly "Oh my, you are right"

The blonde man extended his hand out to her to help her stand up as well, Serenity took his hand and looked at him in the eye "Thank you…" she whispered.

"No, thank you…Your Highness…" Athamas whispered "I had a lovely day with you…"

Serenity blushed and lowered her gaze "I hope everything works out well with your treaty"

Athamas smiled and nodded "Me too…that way, we would see each other more often" the blonde man bowed and turned to walk out of the room, leaving a surprised Serenity standing in the tea room by herself. Minutes later, Mars entered and found Serenity lost in thought "Princess?"

Mars voice brought back Serenity "Yes, Mars?"

"Is something the matter?" Mars asked concerned and walked closer to the princess.

"No…everything is alright Mars…" Serenity said softly.

"Did I just see just right?" Venus walked inside the room seconds later.

Serenity blushed, Mars turned to look at Venus "What? What is going on?"

"General Athamas came to visit" Venus said happily.

Mars frowned and turned to look at Serenity "Did he come to see you?" her tone of voice sounded somewhat upset. Serenity noticed it but said nothing, instead she brushed her silky white gown and sat back again on her chair in silence. Mars sighed and turned to look at Venus "I know you are the daughter of the Goddess of Love and I also know you know much about it, but please…don't play with our Highness' heart" she said softly to Venus, calm enough for only them to hear.

Venus's eyes widened and turned to look at the raven haired beauty, then back at their princess "Your Highness, would you excuse us?"

Serenity turned to look at them and frowned "Is something the matter?"

"No, Your Highness I just need to ask Venus something, it is about our daily training" Mars reassured, bowing her head softly she walked out of the tea room followed by Venus.

"What is the matter with you?" Venus asked Mars.

"Are you encouraging Our Princess to pursue the General from Andromeda?" Mars asked annoyed.

"I am not encouraging her, I am just supporting her, she just admitted she likes him!" Venus said and frowned "Why are you acting like this Mars?"

"I have a strange feeling Venus…something is not right…I do not know what it is, but we need to be prepared and we need to protect Our Princess" Mars placed a hand on her chest.

"I am not liking this…" Venus muttered "Do you think is the General?"

"I do not know…but what I do know is that it is something very strong" Mars said.

Venus nodded "I understand…"

Serenity walked out of the tea room minutes later and turned to look at both women "You two are acting very strange…"

Venus laughed and patted Mars shoulder "Mars…you know how she can be sometimes…" Mars eavesdropped "How…can I be sometimes?"

"You just don't finish learning all the meditation process of our training!" Venus shrugged her shoulders.

Serenity pursed her lips and frowned "I thought Mars was the expert in meditation matters…"

"Well she is not perfect!" Venus patted Mar's shoulder once again, Mars blushed and lowered her head "I thought that too Your Highness…but I believe I still have to learn and practice more"

Serenity smiled "I know you will you are the best!"

Mars raised her head and looked at Serenity "Your Highness…" she breathed. Serenity winked an eye at both women and walked to her chambers humming a soft tune, she was irradiating happiness and both women knew why, especially Venus.

Serenity walked by Luna and smiled at her "Good afternoon Luna"

Luna watched the princess with an astonished look "Your Highness, are you alright?"

"I'm fine" she turned and continued walking.

Luna chuckled and shook her head "Oh little Princess, you sure are somebody very special"

Serenity entered her chambers and leaned on the double doors after she closed them and sighed, placing her hands on her chest she smiled remembering the general's face and soft voice "He is so dreamy…he is so perfect…" giggling, she walked to her balcony doors and opened them to walk outside; leaning on the rail of her balcony she looked at the sky and it's twinkling stars "He likes me…" she breathed and blushed to herself.

Ooooooooooooooooo

Endymion walked inside the Palace after he left his horse in the stables once again, the earlier events with the young woman decontrolled his feelings; running a hand through his hair he walked quickly to the throne room where he knew his parents were waiting for him. When he was about to enter Jadeite extended one hand "Hold it!"

Endymion frowned "What?"

"Where have you been?" the blonde man asked.

"Out" Endymion responded simply.

"Do you know what time it is?" Jadeite asked annoyed.

The prince sighed "I know I am late for the audience…"

Nephrite, Zoicite and Kunzite came after "His Majesty has asked for you…several times now" Zoicite said.

"I'm sorry, Zoicite…" Endymion said.

"Don't worry, Kunzite said you were having a headache and that you would be here anytime" Nephrite said.

Endymion turned to look at Kunzite "Thank you, Kunzite"

"What is troubling you Endymion?" Kunzite placed a hand on the prince's shoulder.

Endymion lowered his gaze "I had to fulfill a promise I made to Daivalos"

"Daivalos?" Zoicite asked, arching a brow.

Endymion nodded "When I found him dying on the ground that night, he asked me to give a package to the woman he loved and was waiting for his return"

"It was that package I saw on your night stand the other night?" Jadeite asked curious, Endymion nodded.

"By your face I can tell it wasn't an easy promise to fulfill" Nephrite said; Endymion shook his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose "No, she started crying desperately…I did not know what to do but to stay there until she felt better…"

Zoicite pursed his lips "For what I knew, Daivalos loved her terribly…"

"It is sad, but, you need to go inside that room" Kunzite said, pointing his thumb at the large doors in the distance.

"I know…" Endymion walked to the throne room and waited the guards opened the large oak doors "Your Highness" the guards at the door said and opened them "His royal Highness, Prince Endymion"

The people in the room turned immediately and bowed before the prince, giving him the cue to walk to his throne next t his father's. King Eros looked at him with a worried expression and patted his arm once his son was standing next to him "Son, are you feeling ill?"

Endymion smiled at his father "I just had a slight headache, but I am alright" turning to see the mass of people in front of them, he sat on his chair and waited for the next person to come by and salute the prince and tell the royals about their needs.

Queen Gaia was standing behind the other door that connected the throne room to the rest of the Palace, she had her arms crossed in front of her chest and her eyes were closed. Wearing a beautiful deep purple velvet gown and her royal golden crown; her hair was in a long braid with crystal pins that glittered in the soft light of the afternoon.

"Are you feeling sick?"

Gaia opened her eyes and raised her head to see Aurea standing with a worried look "No Aurea, I'm fine" she smiled.

Aurea frowned "You don't look fine…weren't you supposed to be there with His Majesty?"

"Um, yes I was supposed to…but Endymion is with him, so it's alright" Gaia said softly. Aurea walked closer and placed a hand on her shoulder "Why are so you worried, is it because of Endymion's mood during breakfast?"

Gaia nodded her head "I don't know why it affected me so much…"

"But you didn't discuss or anything, it is alright Gaia, he is in there with his father, if he weren't feeling well he probably would be in his chambers" Aurea encouraged her friend.

Gaia smiled "Thank you Aurea"

Aurea smiled back and nodded "Anytime. Oh, Queen Narella just arrived and of course she wants to see you and her grandson"

Gaia chuckled "I will go see her, when Eros and Endymion finish their audience, tell them to join us at the dining room"

Aurea nodded again "Of course" Gaia smiled at her friend and went to see her mother in law.

Inside the throne room, Endymion and Eros were still attending the people with their needs; Jadeite fought the urge to yawn, Nephrite noticed and shook his head softly "You have no shame Jadeite…" he whispered.

Jadeite turned to look at the brown haired shitennou and frowned "Why? I am just sleepy…"

"Shh…" Kunzite hushed them.

"Why did you hush me? Jadeite is the one falling asleep" Nephrite whispered.

"You two are hopeless" Zoicite breathed. Kunzite fought the urge to chuckle and tried to keep his serious expression intact.

King Eros stood up and raised his hands to chest height "I believe that is it for today, thank you for your time, patience and greetings, we will meet each other again soon" the people in the room bowed before the two standing royals. Endymion felt strange to see all the people bowing before them, this transition affected him somehow, he was getting used to be normal and he liked it that way but he was facing his destiny as his father's successor.

Eros, Endymion and their generals left the throne room by the side door; Aurea was waiting for them where she was talking to Gaia a while ago "How did it go?" Aurea kissed Leonidas on his cheek.

"Tired, but everything went perfectly" Eros said.

Aurea smiled "Queen Narella arrived a while ago; Queen Gaia is with her as we speak but asked to see the Prince immediately"

Endymion smiled and nodded "Of course"

Eros chuckled "What about me?"

Aurea laughed "I supposed she wants to see you as well Your Majesty"

Eros smiled at Aurea "Well then, let's go son" he placed an arm around Endymion's shoulder.

"Oh! I forgot…Queen Gaia asked me to tell you they were going to be at the dining room" Aurea said out loud.

"Fine!" both men responded while they were walking through the hall.

Ooooooooooooooooo

A woman was sitting in a chair in front of a hearth with a glass of red wine in her hand; her eyes looked intensely the dancing fire before her, the room had no lighting except for the fire; a soft knock was heard on the door before it opened.

"May I come in?" a woman's voice asked.

"Come in…" the woman answered dryly.

The woman entered the dark room in silence with another person beside her "I have brought what you asked me"

"Did you find her then?" the woman asked from behind her seat "Come to stand by the fire"

The woman nodded and urged the other person walk with her to where they were ordered to stand, the woman seating in front of the fire turned her face to look at them; after a few minutes of silence her lips curved into a slight smile "You've done well Felimina"

"Thank you My Lady" the woman bowed her head.

The woman in her seat looked at the young woman standing next to Felimina "You are beautiful enough…"

The young woman stayed silent, the lady in her seat chuckled "What is your name?"

"Beryl…" answered the young woman.

The woman stood up from her seat, her hand was still holding her glass of wine and walked around the young woman "How old are you?"

"I'm twenty one years of age…" the red headed girl answered.

The woman turned to look at the other woman that brought her and smiled "Not bad at all" then turned her face back at the girl "Do you know why you are here?"

The red headed girl shook her head in silence. The woman chuckled "I heard you lost your family in an accident…am I correct?"

"Yes…" the young woman answered. The woman smiled again "Then you have nothing to lose…"

"What do you want from me?" the red head asked.

"Nothing much, let's say I will protect you from now on in exchange of your loyalty"

Beryl frowned "Loyalty?"

"You need the money or not?" the woman asked in a harsh tone.

"Yes…" the red head girl said lowering her gaze.

"You are not a saint for what I heard…but with my help you will be, you can even turn yourself Queen" the woman chuckled.

Beryl widened her eyes in shock and looked back at the woman in front of her "Queen?"

"You liked the idea...that's good" the woman said "If you are loyal to me, I will give you everything you need to turn yourself Queen"

"I do not understand I do not even know you" Beryl said.

The woman smiled "From now on I will be let's say…your godmother… tomorrow we will speak with more time, right now you will be taken to your new room" she snapped her fingers to the woman under the name of Felimina "Take her"

"Yes, My Lady…" the woman bowed and turned to leave the room with Beryl beside her, Felimina turned to another maid and asked her to take Beryl to her room, Felimina turned to the woman standing there near the fire "Do you need anything else My Lady?"

"Make sure she does not leave this place" the woman said.

"Yes, Lady Charmindy" Felimina said and left the room, closing the door.

Charmindy sat back on her chair and took a sip of her wine, chuckling she looked at the fire in front of her with a satisfying expression "One way or another…I will have you and your wife's crown, dear Eros"

* * *

**I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.**


	52. Chapter 52

**A/N: I honestly like my story lol. I enjoy writing it but what I enjoy the most is you enjoying reading it :) thanks. I'll just write the disclaimer here: I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter fifty two**

* * *

Eros entered the dining room followed by the prince "Mother" Eros said happily. Queen Narella stood up from her chair and walked over her son "Oh dear, how much I missed you!" she hugged him and kissed him on the cheek "Where is he? Where is Endymion?"

"Here, grandma" the prince moved from behind his father and smiled at the older woman. Queen Narella gasped in surprise "E-Endymion? Is that you?"

Queen Gaia laughed with Narella's expression "Believe it or not"

"I am grandma" Endymion chuckled.

"Oh by all heavens…you are a true god!" Narella exclaimed, the words made Gaia choke with her wine, Narella pursed her lips aware of what she said seconds later "Look how handsome you are…"

Endymion chuckled "You are going to make me blush…"

"Your grandfather would be so proud of you…" Narella sniffed and caressed the prince's cheek. Endymion pursed his lips and lowered his head "I miss him"

"We all miss him, dear" Queen Gaia said.

Narella wiped away the tears from her eyes and smiled "I am sure he is well and extremely happy right now, he is no longer suffering" Eros walked over his mother and placed an arm around her shoulders "You are right Mother"

Gaia smiled warmly and remembered King Odell's kind self, how he always showed his support and appreciation towards Eros and her; just like everybody else she missed him very much.

Oooooooooooooooooo

Queen Serenity and Serenity were having dinner; Luna and Artemis were joining them this time at the table. The dining table was full of little white candles that gave a romantic feel to the room "I got a personal message today from General Athamas himself" Queen Serenity commented.

Serenity pursed her lips and looked down and waited for her mother to continue the conversation. Luna looked at the queen and frowned "Is something wrong with the treaty?"

"Maybe Andromedians don't want to follow the Silver Millenium's rules…" Artemis said softly while cutting his food.

Queen Serenity stopped eating, crossing her hands on the table she looked at Luna and Artemis "The treaty is fine and we will be allies in no time, this concerns something else"

"What is it, Your Majesty?" Luna asked worried.

"General Athamas asked for my permission to pursue Serenity" the queen looked at Serenity.

Luna, Artemis and Serenity looked at the queen with a shocked expression "What?" they said in unison.

Queen Serenity looked at her daughter "Are you fine with this dear?"

Serenity blushed "He seems a nice person…"

Queen Serenity smiled and looked at Luna then back at her daughter "Do you like him?"

Serenity blushed, Queen Serenity chuckled "I believe the story is repeating itself"

Serenity looked at her mother "Why?"

"The same happened when I met your father…" Queen Serenity said softly "I have seen you for the past few days he has been coming here to solve the treaty issue, you look at him with different eyes…"

Serenity looked down "I thought nobody noticed it"

"I am your mother Serenity, I know that look" said the queen chuckling "The next time he comes, he will start pursuing you"

The princess blushed "What about the treaty?"

"That is a different matter dear" Queen Serenity said softly "I better go to have some rest now…I'm tired" the queen stood up from her seat "It's been a very long day…"

Serenity stood up "I will go as well to have some rest"

Luna chuckled "Sure you are, you can't wait for tomorrow…"

Serenity blushed and walked out of the room in silence. Luna turned to look at the lunar queen "Do you think he is the best suitor for her?"

Queen Serenity looked at Luna and sighed "He seems a centered man, he is well prepared and Athan would have approved him"

Serenity walked inside her chambers happily, sighing she jumped into her bed and let the fluffy white comforter embrace her; looking at the ceiling of her room the princess giggled to herself "I have finally found love…"

The first time Athamas came to visit Serenity at the palace both were very nervous, the princess was too entranced looking at him and found difficult to believe he actually asked her mother for her permission to come and see her regularly. The relationship started innocent, they talked about Andromeda while he asked her some things about the moon.

In some of their meetings the senshi had to be present in order to keep an eye on their princess and while Venus was extremely happy to see Serenity that excited about somebody Mars had her thoughts about the whole situation. Jupiter sometimes commented one thing or another and tried to understand Mars' opinion at some point, she was well aware of the raven haired princess gift but also knew she had hard opinions towards almost every man. Mercury on the other hand, always looked the situation from the outside; she tried to stay away from any opinion so when the time is right she could give an appropriate advice.

Two months has passed since Princess Serenity started being pursued by General Athamas, she felt everything was like a dream and she had never been so happy to be with a man who pursued her. She was getting ready in her room, Athamas was going to visit her again and she couldn't be more excited, her senshi and friends were with her helping her get ready.

"I'm so happy for you Your Highness…" Jupiter breathed while brushing her long silver hair.

Serenity smiled and looked at herself in the mirror "I still get nervous…"

Venus smiled and stand next to her "Why?"

Serenity turned to look at her "I don't know…"

"Maybe you are not that sure he is the one yet…" Mars said from her seat.

"Mars…" Venus said in a warning tone, Mars frowned and rolled her eyes at Venus.

Serenity turned to look at Mars "No…no…that is not it…" she trailed off "I don't know…"

"But, you seem so happy every time you meet with him…" Mercury said from her seat next to Mars.

Venus noticed her princess serious expression "What is the matter Your Highness?"

Serenity sighed "Nothing…it's just that…" she trailed off again.

Venus kneeled in front of her "What?"

Serenity turned to look at her "I've been feeling Athamas act distant towards me…I don't know why"

Venus frowned and turned to look at Mars then back at Serenity "Distant?"

Serenity nodded "I know it has been two months since we started seeing each other, but still…I do not know what could be happening…" Venus noticed the sadness on her princess voice and tried to dismiss it "Do not worry too much Your Highness…maybe he has too much things in his mind…"

Serenity smiled at Venus and nodded her head "Thank you"

"Now, which dress are you going to wear for your dinner with him tonight?" Jupiter asked.

Serenity stood up and walked to her closet and walked out with the gown in her hand. The four girls gasped "It's beautiful…" Mercury said.

Serenity hung the dress on the mannequin next to her large silver mirror, the gown spoke for itself it was beautiful. A simple white off shoulder dress; the simplicity was what gave it a distinctive touch, it had no ribbons or bows, no crystals or pearls. On its side were her white heels to match.

"It's been two months now, do you think he'll ask for your hand?" Jupiter asked curious. Serenity blushed and brought her hands together up to her chest "Do you think he will?"

Venus stood up from her kneeling position and looked at the Princess with a serious expression "Do you want him to ask for your hand?"

Serenity stayed silent and lowered her gaze "I…" she trailed off.

Mars turned to look at Venus "What are you seeing Venus?"

Venus pursed her lips "She is nervous…her heart is worried" she whispered.

Mercury walked to stand in front of her princess "Do not worry much Princess, everything will be just fine"

A soft knock was heard and the door opened showing Luna wearing a pale yellow dress, her long dark hair was in its usual style "General Athamas is here, Your Highness" she said with a soft smile.

Serenity smiled back and went to put on her dress, Jupiter helped her. Walking out of the screen and stood in front of the large mirror and looked at herself for a couple of minutes in silence. The reflection portrayed a true beauty, her white gown hugged her curves perfectly and the A shape of the skirt hid her high heels. Her hair was tied up in its traditional style, her silver hair shone like a blanket made of stars so beautiful it competed with the pearls adorning her hair; her makeup was soft and delicate, this time she a pale gray smokey eye that gave some sort of mysteriousness to her look, a soft peachy color on her cheeks and a light gloss.

"You look beautiful…" Luna breathed.

Serenity smiled softly and lowered her gaze "I'm ready…"

Luna nodded and took the Princess where Athamas was waiting for her leaving her four senshi in her room alone; after the door closed Mars turned to look at Venus "I too see worry in her aura…"

Jupiter frowned "What do you mean?"

Venus sighed "Our Princess is starting to feel anxious, her heart does glows when she hears his name, when she knows she is here but there is something that is troubling her…"

"But what could it be? General Athamas has only had beautiful attentions towards her" Mercury said softly.

Venus sighed again and looked at the closed doors "Maybe she is worried about something else…"

Mars pursed her lips and turned to see the door, just like Venus was doing and hope everything was fine with her princess.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"There has been another incident" Kunzite said "They're becoming more evident…"

Endymion looked at his father then at Kunzite "What I want to know is who is causing all this"

Jadeite bit his lip while Nephrite placed his fist to cover his mouth, Endymion sighed and stood from his seat in the study "Who is causing this?" he pounded the oak desk with his fist, leaving a slight mark.

The four shitennou jumped when they heard the dry and loud noise, Zoicite frowned "Haven't you…" he trailed off.

Endymion arched his brow "This is different…no matter how many times I tried to monitor the surroundings, there is nothing…like if the person causing all this wasn't human"

"This assassinations can't still happen out of nowhere" Kunzite said "I already sent a troop to guard the kingdom's surroundings"

"It is not only happening in these surroundings, but also on the other strong points of Earth"

The five men turned to look at General Leonidas standing in the doorway with King Eros next to him "Although there have been more incidents in this kingdom, there has been reported more on the Northern Kingdom" King Eros said.

Endymion frowned "Did you get a report?"

King Eros raised his hand showing his son the parchment in his hand "Isra informed me last night"

Endymion turned his back at the six men behind him and looked out the window, fixing his eyes on the pale blue sky "This I cannot explain. We need to guard every gate, every entrance of every kingdom until we find the source of all this" Endymion said dryly.

"Your Highness, we have sent several soldiers to every spot you assigned" Jadeite said, Kunzite walked closer "We will keep our guard up" Endymion turned to see the shitennou "Of course we will keep our guard up…and if this keeps happening without any of us noticing I will go and haunt this being myself"

The prince's words sent shivers to King Eros' spine, hearing his son speak that way so threatening and secure made him wonder where he got that strong character, he was well aware his wife was brave and he was fearless up to some point but Endymion's character was a different thing.

Kunzite swallowed hard, with time he understood his prince's authority and learned to respect him greatly, he has proved to be even stronger than him and he considered himself a very strong and cold person "Do you think this has to do with a missing group from the genus della terra?" he asked concerned.

Endymion turned to look at him with a serious expression "We have their leader under custody…but I will have to pay him a visit"

Eros started to feel frightened; his son was determined to kill the person who was causing all this commotion "Could you excuse us, I want to have a word with my son"

The five men nodded their heads in silence and left the study leaving the king and prince alone, once Eros heard the door close he cleared his throat "Endymion it is not revenge what we seek"

Endymion frowned "I am not looking for revenge Pater but justice" walking over his father he looked him straight in the eye, Eros watched his son's ocean blue eyes become darker "Do you think all those people deserved to die? What about their families?"

Eros remained silent, the prince frowned "Many of them had children, had a wife or a husband…"

Eros sighed and lowered his gaze, yes, his son was a warrior indeed "Son, we will find the responsible…but you cannot allow this thirst for justice invade your reason"

The prince sighed and sat on a chair in front of the large wooden desk and covered his face with his hands. Eros walked over and sat next to him on another chair "It is not normal for you to get this angry…"

"It's frustrating to know all this and not being able to do something" Endymion said lowly "I have a strange feeling every time a new event happens"

King Eros patted his son's shoulder a couple of times "We will find the solution to this problem son"

Endymion lowered his face and closed his eyes "I have a strange feeling every time… like if this planet cried by the loss of another innocent soul"

Eros looked at his son with a worried expression **"Your guardian heart feels the hurt of your planet…I'm so sorry, my son"**


	53. Chapter 53

**A/N: Another monday, another chapter. Thank you for your kind words and support, it means the world to me. I will put the disclaimer here: I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter fifty three**

* * *

Serenity walked happily through the long main hall, she had a tingling feeling in her heart which intensified with every step she took; this day could be different from others because this day after a long wait he would ask her hand in marriage.

Marriage.

Serenity stopped in her tracks and looked at the long and lonely hall. Turning to her side she watched the light blue sky and sighed softly. Did she really want to get married? She wondered. Closing her eyes she thought about Athamas and smiled slightly blushing in the meantime; the man could make her feel happy every time he came to visit her, his eyes, his lips, the shape of his face his strong and raspy voice, the way his blonde hair fell on his back in his ponytail.

The lunar princess opened her eyes again and frowned a little, even though she liked him and could feel the excitement every time she saw him there was something that couldn't make her feel complete, she was aware he was strong and could give her everything she could want but also felt like if something was missing and didn't know what it was.

Shaking her head softly she giggled to herself "What am I thinking? I love him!" she said to herself and walked to the main court where he always waited for her to appear. The princess started to walk again towards the main court when she heard the very familiar voice talking to somebody else.

"Did you do it?" Athamas asked to the other person with him, a soldier of his same army.

"Yes, General" the soldier said.

"Very well… I will give you the signal for the next movement, we are on the right path" Athamas said again, his strong and raspy voice echoed in the hall.

"Yes, General" said the soldier again "But, what if…" he trailed off.

Athamas frowned "What, what if what?"

"You know…if _he_ finds us" the soldier said with fright in his voice.

"He won't do anything, don't worry too much about it" Athamas said.

"This is dangerous General…" the soldier commented.

"You keep following my orders and soon we will get what we want" Athamas said.

Serenity overheard his conversation and frowned slightly, stepping into the court she smiled "And what is that?"

Athamas turned to look at the beautiful woman standing on the entrance and smiled, Serenity looked beautiful in her off shoulders pearl gown, the skirt had many layers in soft pink and white. Her hair was in her usual style and her makeup was simple and fresh.

"You look…" Athamas breathed. The soldier next to him bowed before her in respect.

Serenity smiled and moved her head to the side "Did I make you wait too long?"

Athamas turned to look at the soldier "You are excused..." the soldier nodded his head and left the court in silence.

Serenity noticed Athamas' cold tone of voice towards the soldier, looking at him she frowned "Is something the matter?"

The blond general chuckled at the princess "It's nothing"

"You sounded like if you were upset about something…" Serenity walked over to him, Athamas chuckled again "No dear, I never get upset…" he took her hand softly "You look beautiful"

Serenity blushed "Thank you…so are you" she giggled softly and lowered her gaze "You came to talk to Mother?"

Athamas smiled and offered his arm to Serenity "Yes, but about other matters" the couple started walking towards the garden. Serenity's eyes widened and turned to look at him shocked "Is something wrong with the treaty?"

Athamas chuckled "No, everything is fine…" the general stopped and turned to look at Serenity "It's something else…"

Serenity's heart started to pound faster in her chest and started to wonder if her friend's words were assertive, he was going to ask her hand in marriage? Finally! She thought.

"Serenity…" Athamas took her hands in his "We've been seeing each other for some time now and…"

Serenity started to blush "Y-Yes?" **"This is it! Here it comes!" **she thought.

"And, I couldn't be happier…" Athamas said again, looking at their holding hands.

Serenity could hear the strong beating of her heart in her ears **"He is going to ask me to marry him!"**

"But I think I need to take some time…"

"I do!"

Athamas' eyes widened in shock "What?"

Serenity blushed "W-What?" she stuttered.

Athamas frowned "You do what?" he asked confused.

Serenity blinked a couple of times "I was going to say…that…I do…understand…?"

Athamas sighed in relief and chuckled "I thought you were thinking in something else"

Serenity released her right hand from his grasp and scratched her ear and cleared her throat "Um, you were saying?"

"I need to take some time…I need to take care of some things, I won't be able to come as much as I would like to dear" Athamas said.

"You are saying that…" Serenity trailed off.

"I talked to your mother and apologized, I am very interested in keep pursuing you but right now I need to pay attention to something very important. She understands, we will continue seeing each other, but not as much as these past few months…" Athamas said softly.

"I see…" Serenity felt her heart sink in her chest and fought the urge to cry "It's alright, it's not like… we were…" she trailed off, trying to keep her calm and not make him notice she was about to cry.

Athamas smiled at her "I knew you were going to understand…you are perfect" he bent down and kissed her on her cheek.

Serenity stayed silent and faked a smile. "I need to get going dear, there's an important meeting I need to attend but I will see you soon, I promise" he kissed the top of her hand. Serenity nodded her head and watched him leave.

The white princess sighed and brought a hand to her chest, closing her eyes tears started to fall silently "Ouch…" she sobbed softly; walking over a bench near the fountain she poured her heart out.

Oooooooooo

Luna opened the door of the study "Queen Serenity, Lord Chronos wants to have a word with you" she bowed her head in respect. Serenity stood up immediately and smiled at her advisor "Of course, send him in" the white queen brushed away some wrinkles off her white gown, Chronos entered and waited for the door to be closed to walk closer to Serenity.

"How are you doing little flower?" he asked kindly.

Queen Serenity giggled "You always wait for us to be alone to call me names"

"You know you are like a baby sister to me, but I have to keep my stoic reputation among the beings in this realm" the Lord of time chuckled.

Serenity smiled "I know, but tell me, I'm glad you came to visit, it's been so long, how is Pluto?" Serenity walked to the small living room in the study and sat on a small couch, Chronos followed and sat in front of her on a chair.

"She is doing well, she is at the Time Gate…her training is finally over"

Queen Serenity pursed her lips "It must be very difficult to her to be alone in that place…"

Chronos smiled "Pluto has always been a lonely girl and was aware of her duty…that was once my place when I was younger of course…I constantly visit her and when it is alright for her to come home she does, she is doing a magnificent work"

"Yes, so as Poseidon's and Uranus'" Queen Serenity said.

Chronos nodded "Precisely about them I want to talk to you about"

Serenity frowned "About what?"

Chronos sighed "You know I do not talk much about my duties and what issues are treated in Olympus but this is important, it matters to me and it will matter to you as well…"

Serenity intertwined her hands together "What is it?"

"We have been sensing a strong movement on Earth, its energy is starting to be used and it's worrying the Higher Gods" the lord of time said in a serious tone.

"He's using the crystal?" Serenity asked surprised "He is aware of his power then, Gaia told him then"

"I am not sure about it, and that is not what worries me. He has all the right to know his true origins; what worries me is that all eyes are on Earth. Hades is insistent in killing him and bring his soul to Tartarus"

"What?" Serenity stood up "H-He can't do that! He can't destroy that link! He can't destroy that balance…that would kill an entire planet and Gaia wouldn't take it!"

"We asked Hades not to; although he can he is not allowed to do that. The Higher Gods are worried; they don't want him to cross to this realm" Chronos looked at the white queen.

Serenity frowned and sat back "We need to keep them safe…"

Oooooooooooooo

Princess Serenity wiped the tears off her face with the back of her hand and looked at the blue sky "I wish I could be free…to feel nothing is attached to me, what a beautiful shade of blue…so intense and hypnotic" she said softly. Turning to her side she noticed nobody was around and found it strange "I wonder where Luna and the girls are. I haven't even seen Artemis today…"

Standing up she walked back to the palace "Luna?" she called from the hall and turned to both sides "That's strange…she is always close, almost like if she is spying on me…" she said softly. Walking towards her chambers she stood at the end of the stairs and frowned "I haven't seen Mother today, she must be reading at the study and having tea…" she said to herself "I will go and pay her a visit and maybe she can tell me what Athamas said to her"

The princess walked towards the study, standing in front of the door she turned the knob and heard her mother talk with worry in her voice, the princess frowned "Mother?" she said to herself.

"They think he is like Gaia's brother…they are afraid of him taking control just like he did in his time…" Chronos said from his seat.

Serenity frowned "He? Who is _he_?"

Queen Serenity sighed "That is impossible…"

"They are frightened"

"But why?" Queen Serenity asked.

"You know the power he can manage little flower and how he is trained to kill" Chronos said seriously.

"What are you saying?" Queen Serenity asked worried.

"We keep a close eye on him because he is far from being weak, he is a weapon and he is trained to kill. He has sent souls to the underworld already"

Princess Serenity gasped and covered her mouth with her hand **"Who is that monster they are talking about?" **she thought.

"I highly doubt she has told him the truth then…" Queen Serenity said.

Chronos sighed "We need to stay alert, something is causing those reactions…you need to keep your little flower safe"

Queen Serenity nodded "It is a great shame; Earth is a beautiful planet…"

Princess Serenity's eyes widened "**Earth?**"

Chronos nodded and sighed "I heard your beautiful daughter is being pursued by an andromedian"

Queen Serenity smiled sadly "Yes, he is the General and head of the army"

"So then he is a polemarchos" Chronos said with interest.

Queen Serenity shook her head "No, he is a General. I do not know why he is the head of the army and is not a polemarchos. But he is very clever, very smart"

"Hmm, has he asked your daughter's hand in marriage?" the lord of time asked curious.

Serenity widened her eyes **"Has he? Has he Mother?" **she thought.

"No…" Queen Serenity sighed "He asked me for some time, he said he is very interested in Serenity but he feels things are going too fast, there are still some things he needs to do in Andromeda and that he cannot fully commit at this particular moment"

Princess Serenity closed her eyes, tears started to fall once again. She have heard enough and closed the door carefully and leaned on the door with her eyes still closed "Too fast…" she breathed and turned to her side and watched through one of the windows of the hall. Walking away from the door she stopped in front of the window and watched the blue sphere hanging proudly on the sky.

"I have heard so many things about the beauty you hold…but I haven't been lucky enough to go and see it with my very own eyes…before my life starts being dull once again and start to be treated like a prisoner in a crystal cage I must go and see the wonders of that beautiful blue planet, I don't care about the danger…I want to feel free at least one time in my life…"


	54. Chapter 54

**A/N: I personally love this chapter... i still don;t know why but i do. I wasn't going to post today since i don't have too many backup chapters at the moment but i don't know...i felt motivated. I have a ridiculous amount of work to do this whole week which i hope it will settle down pretty soon...(i need some vacations!) Oh well, i hope you enjoy this chapter as much as i did when i was writing it. Have a nice day you guys and i will be waiting for your reviews, 'kay?**

**ps. Oh yes, and we ARE getting closer... muahaha!**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter fifty four**

* * *

Aurea walked in to Endymion's chambers and gasped in surprise, bringing a hand to her chest she sighed "You scared me!" Endymion raised his face at her and arched a brow giving the woman a quizzical look "Why?"

"Because you are up" Aurea walked into his bedroom only to be back seconds after to the living room "You need to stop doing that" she said slowly. Endymion looked up from his book again and frowned "What?"

"You made your bed again" Aurea crossed her arms, Endymion arched his brow again "Yes, so?"

"So…that is my job dear" Aurea said dryly. The terran prince chuckled and looked down at the book in his hands again "That is not your job"

Aurea smiled at him "Is not?"

"Mmm…no" Endymion kept reading his book.

"Then what is my job?" the woman asked.

Endymion turned to look at her and smiled "When you are member of a family you don't have a job"

Aurea smiled at him and went to hug him tightly "You, are adorable"

Endymion chuckled "Only with you and Mater" he directed his attention back to the book. Aurea sat next to him and caressed his cheek "Since when you became so handsome hmm?"

"Don't start…" he said blushing, the brunette started laughing "Don't make your bed…" she said softly.

Endymion laughed "I made my bed for so many years that I'm used to do it" Aurea looked at her hands and chuckled "I remember when you didn't want to wake up early"

The prince chuckled "Those days are over. I am officially a morning person"

"I can see that, it's been two months since you came back and you are still as stoic as the first day. What happened to you?" Aurea turned to look at him, Endymion frowned "What do you mean?" he raised his face to look at her.

"You used to be very playful…what happened to you?" Aurea asked sadly. The raven haired prince sighed "War happened to me Nana, war…" he turned to look at the window "The memory of fear, of that desire to live…of every fallen soldier…it changes your life"

Aurea pursed her lips and placed a hand on his shoulder "I'm sorry dear…I'm so sorry you had to go through all that"

Endymion shook his head and turned to look at his nana "It was my choice and that was a lesson I needed to learn"

"You really amaze me…" Aurea breathed.

"Me? Why?" Endymion asked curious.

"You are a prince charming…the girl who gets to capture your heart will be very lucky" the brunette said in a dreamy tone making Endymion chuckle "Thank you Nana, but I'm not interested in those things…"

Aurea frowned "Well you will have to start getting interested because you know your grandmother organized a lunch with all the court families and they are all expecting for you to show up"

Endymion sighed and closed his eyes; closing his book he rubbed the bridge of his nose "Oh no…"

"I know…but your grandmother is very excited, you know how much she loves all those social meetings and well, now she has a bigger reason to do them"

Endymion arched a brow "Yes? Which one?"

"You" Aurea said happily "She is very proud of you and wants to presume you to all the people in the court as many times she can…"

"Is Mater going to be present?" Endymion asked.

"I believe so, she feels alright today…do not worry, His Majesty will be there with her. Cheer up! It's only for a couple of hours" Aurea patted his back.

"Yes…It's not like I have another choice" the prince said in an annoyed tone. Aurea chuckled "That's the spirit! Well…not exactly but, I am glad you are doing this for your grandmother" she stood up and walked towards the door "You are too adorable, that is why we all love you so much…"

Endymion chuckled and shook his head no; opening his book he began reading again.

Oooooooooooo

Serenity was sitting in the garden like every other day. Her mother's words echoed in her mind, it hurt her to know he wasn't sure to be prepared to ask for her hand in marriage. The night before the girls went to her chambers with excitement and asked her if he had asked her hand; but to them she couldn't hold her tears, she fought the urge of crying at dinner with her mother and has been trying to avoid the topic as much as she could.

When she woke up that morning she found Venus asleep in one of the chairs and imagined that she heard her crying at night and watched her sleep. Venus never expected Athamas' behavior; she was positive he would ask for her hand and that she would live a happy life next to him for the rest of her life. Mars on the other hand, tried to maintain her cool character at bay; she always said things were going too fast and that he might be concentrated in other things rather than being married. Mars was always at Venus's opposite direction but Serenity always thought it was a good thing, she was grateful for Mars's honest character.

Looking at the pale grass, Serenity picked a small white flower "What is the purpose of being beautiful little flower?" sighing she looked at the sky and marveled the blue planet "I need to find a way to go there…"

"Go where?"

Serenity turned her face to her side and watched Venus standing there in a pale orange dress, her hair was down and gracious big curls framed her face "Where do you want to go?" the venusian beauty asked curious.

Serenity sighed and closed his eyes for a moment; she couldn't lie to her friend. Venus was her guardian yes, but also her confident and in all the time knowing each other they have grown to be very close; opening her blue eyes she looked at the venusian princess who was still standing next to her and pointed the blue planet in the sky "There"

Venus' eyes followed her princess' index finger and widened her eyes in shock "What?" she turned to look at her princess again in shock. Serenity sighed again "I knew you were going to say that…" she said softly.

"You can't go there! You can't even think of going there!" Venus raised her voice. Serenity stayed silent for a couple of minutes and watched at her friend go frantic "Why not?" she simply asked.

"Because it is forbidden" Venus said.

"Why?" Serenity asked again.

Venus pursed her lips and turned her face away from her princess' sight "We live under rules Your Highness…and that is one of those rules, we are not allowed to even think to go to that planet"

Serenity stood up and frowned "What is wrong with Earth?"

Venus closed her eyes "Serenity…" Venus was the only one who could address at her princess by her name, Mars did it from time to time but she didn't feel too comfortable when doing so.

"What is it Venus, you know about something I don't know about Earth? Tell me, what is it?" Serenity said it more like a command and not much of a question. Venus sighed and turned to see her princess "There is a legend…"

"Legend?" Serenity's blue eyes widened. Venus nodded and lowered her gaze "An evil and dangerous being with a huge amount of power lives in the blue planet"

Serenity frowned "What kind of being? A monster?"

Venus shrugged her shoulders "I never met that 'famous being' but the Higher Gods keep a close eye on it…they say that if that 'being' crosses to this realm it could cause destruction…"

"How can something so evil can live in such a beautiful planet?" Serenity asked, looking at the blue sphere.

"I do not know, there is a myth… but I am not too sure about it, Mother never talks about it, actually nobody talks about it… it's like… if that planet never existed in this realm" Venus said softly.

"I see…" Serenity breathed. Venus turned to look at her princess "Please Serenity…promise me you will never try to go there, please"

Serenity lowered her gaze "Venus…"

"Please…it doesn't matter if you can, it doesn't matter if you want to, please…don't go there. It is too dangerous" Venus held Serenity's hands. The princess lowered her face and sighed in defeat "I won't go Venus…"

"Promise…me?" Venus whispered.

Serenity looked at her friend and guardian "I promise Venus…"

The blonde guardian smiled "When I was on my way here…Luna told me you were going to have a visitor…"

Serenity sighed again "Another suitor, perhaps?"

Venus pursed her lips "You haven't heard anything from him?"

Serenity shook her head softly "No…he is probably too busy…"

Venus gave her friend a warm smile "Do not worry, he will come back and you two will live happily ever after"

Serenity faked a smile and nodded "Thank you, Venus"

"Anytime" Venus nodded "I will go to see where the girls are, we will see you in a bit" the blonde beauty left the garden leaving Serenity alone. Closing her eyes she sighed and fought the tears that threatened to form in her eyes "No…no more suitors…I need to go to a place where nobody can find me, where nobody knows me" she turned to the blue planet "I don't care if it's not allowed, if I am careful, nothing will happen"

Placing her hands together, she closed her eyes "I'm sorry Venus…"

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

"Here they come!" a woman said with excitement.

Queen Gaia entered the room with a beautiful dark blue gown with golden embroidery, a delicate golden tiara shone in her head; King Eros was wearing his usual dark green uniform with his rank insignias. Queen Narella walked behind them by the arm with her grandson wearing his dark blue military attire.

"I am so glad to see you all today" Queen Narella said happily. She was wearing a deep burgundy velvet gown that contrasted with her light skin; her now silver hair was styled in a braided bun with a rubies encrusted hairpiece.

"Your Majesties" everybody in the room bowed before the four royals in respect. Endymion looked at all the guests carefully and sighed. Turning to see his comrades and shitennou he made a frown which Kunzite understood right away, chuckling softly Zoicite turned to look at the white haired man and gave him a quizzical look "What?" he whispered.

"He is uncomfortable…" Kunzite responded back.

Nephrite pursed his lips "All eyes are on him right now and he is out of his comfort zone"

Every court family tried to address to the young and handsome prince. The fact of him being the new polemarchos gave him even more charm to the ladies, just to think he was the charming prince that could give them richness, protection and beautiful children captivated their minds.

The three kings of the stronger points of Earth were present with their respective wives, being close friends to the royal family they had no problem to address at them as long time friends. King Isra kissed Gaia's hand in respect "Gaia, it is always a pleasure to see you doing well"

Gaia smiled warmly at the now older man "King Isra, what a pleasure to salute you as well. How are you doing?"

"Fine, fine" King Isra waved his hand "I finally get to see your brave son"

Gaia chuckled and turned to look at her son walked towards them and gave his arm for his mother to take "King Isra, it is good to see you" Endymion said.

Isra smiled "I was telling your mother how I finally get to see you after all this time, how does it feels to be back at home?"

Endymion chuckled "Strange…I know I have been here for almost two months but, it is still hard for me to adjust to certain things"

King Bernard joined them with Queen Camila "You have excellent guardians and advisors for what I see"

"I do, may I introduce to you the shitennou" Endymion turned to look at the four men next to him "This is Jadeite, Commander of the Far Eastern Division and fourth in command" Jadeite smiled slightly, Endymion continued "Nephrite is Commander of the North Division and third in command" Nephrite nodded his head.

"As Commander of the European Division and second in command, Zoicite" the blonde raised his hand and smiled slightly, Endymion smiled at Kunzite and then turned back to see King Bernard and company "And as Head of the Middle Eastern Division and first in command, Kunzite" the man with white hair nodded his head and kept a serious expression.

"You have very good advisors then Your Highness" King Urmanus said.

Endymion smiled softly and nodded his head "The best"

Queen Camila giggled "You are under the eye of everybody right now; the girls are after your lovely bones…"

The five men gulped nervously and blushed "Oh…" Nephrite muttered shyly.

oooooooooooooooo

A dark carriage arrived at the Palace; one of the men at the entrance walked to open the door for the guests. A woman with a dark blue gown stepped out of the carriage first; her pale blonde hair was tied up in a low bun with blue and green feathers on its side as decoration.

Looking at the golden palace she smiled to herself and turned her face to the carriage and waited for the next person to come out. The man took a gloved hand in his and helped another woman step out of the vehicle; her dark green gown embraced her body like a glove, the wide skirt had a small trail with flowers attached.

She raised her face and the sun illuminated her pale skin, her green eyes widened in shock to see the magnificence in front of her and gasped softly. Her red hair was down in luscious curls down her back, a small tiara with a purple stone on its center resting proudly on her forehead; her lips had a pale gloss and her cheeks a slight pink blush. Taking a few steps forward she stopped next to the blonde woman "So beautiful…" she breathed.

Charmindy chuckled "You think this is beautiful?"

Beryl turned her innocent face at the blonde woman "It is… like a dream"

"If you do exactly as I say, all this could be yours…" Charmindy said.

Beryl turned her face again and looked at the magnificent palace in front of her "I've heard so many things about the Queen, of how beautiful she is…"

Charmindy gritted her teeth, the redhead was right. Queen Gaia was beautiful and a very much loved queen "If you think the Queen is beautiful, wait to meet the Prince"

Beryl blushed "The Prince is here?"

"Of course he is here stupid girl, this is where he lives! This social meeting is in his honor…" Charmindy said.

Beryl pursed her lips and fidgeted a little, Charmindy noticed and frowned "Stop moving like if you had worms…remember what I taught you, remember it well" both women started walking towards the entrance and were waited to be guided to one of the gardens where lunch was taking place.

Beryl took in all the beauty of the palace, she was mesmerized to see the wooden and gold walls, the fabrics, the paintings, everything. They turned right and started walking through the hall that would guide them to the garden; two guards opened the large smithy doors making Beryl gasp once more.

The most influential and powerful people of the kingdom were reunited here and Beryl couldn't believe she was with them, _la crème de la crème_ as Charmindy would say. The blonde woman walked like a fish in the water in this place, Beryl noticed it and how much she enjoyed being surrounded by this people; she acted so different from how she really is.

Smiling she turned to look at Beryl and frowned slightly "This is it, follow me and don't blow this away otherwise I will put you back on the streets where you belong"

Beryl lowered her gaze and fought the urge to cry. She had carried a hard life, her family died in a fire cause by somebody she never knew. She lost everything and had no other choice but to live on the streets and sell whatever she could to survive; Beryl's beauty was a blank for all men and put her in danger many times for all what they wanted was to take advantage of her; until one day a blonde woman stepped out of her carriage and looked at her sitting near the plaza's fountain.

_flashback_

"_You are beautiful… exactly what she is looking for" a blonde woman said dryly._

_Beryl frowned and blinked a couple of times "Excuse me?"_

_Felimina saw the redheaded girl had a piece of bread in her hands with disgust and waved her hand contemptuously "How old are you?"_

"_Twenty one…" Beryl answered, confused._

"_What are you doing here all by yourself? Where is your family?" Felimina asked dryly._

_Beryl pursed her lips and lowered her green gaze "I don't have a family…they all died in an accident"_

_Felimina smiled devilishly "Perfect" _

"_What?" Beryl raised her face and looked at the blonde woman._

_Felimina walked closer and smiled at her "Would you like to be rich, to be respected and admired?"_

"_I do not understand" Beryl said._

"_Do you want to waste your beautiful face, or do you prefer to live a decent life?" the blonde woman asked._

_Beryl frowned "Why are you so interested in helping me, a homeless peasant?"_

"_So I believe you prefer to keep starving here on the streets, very well… I will leave you to keep eating your lame piece of bread" Felimina started walking back to the carriage, Beryl looked at her hands and closed her eyes "Wait…" she called out._

_Felimina smiled and turned to see the woman sitting near the fountain "Yes?"_

_Beryl opened her eyes and sighed "What do I have to do?"_

_End of flashback_

"Are you listening to me?" Charmindy brought her back to reality startling her with her high pitched voice.

Beryl cleared her throat "Y-Yes…" she said softly. She followed Charmindy and watched how she walked her way towards a parted group of people, unaware of who they were she started to feel nervous and pursed her lips.

"Good afternoon" Charmindy said in a sweet and soft tone of voice.

Beryl frowned slightly **"Is she is always like this?" **she thought.

King Eros stiffed in his place and turned to look at Leonidas. The group of people stayed silent for a couple of minutes until King Urmanus decided to break the uncomfortable silence "Good afternoon…"

Charmindy chuckled "Your Majesties… it is an honor to see you doing well" she curtsied before them. Beryl felt Charmindy's hand tug the skirt of her dress as a signal to bow before these people as well "Your…Majesties?" Beryl breathed wide eyed.

"Your face looks familiar to me…" Queen Eloisa said softly.

"Lady Charmindy is from the House of Amington" King Eros commented.

"King Eros, as always is a pleasure to see you and of course Her Majesty. I am glad you decided to join us" Charmindy said.

Queen Gaia arched a brow "Thank you, Lady Charmindy…"

The blonde woman turned her face to the person next to the queen and blushed again "Forgive me Your Highness I did not see you…" she bowed again.

Endymion arched a brow, unconsciously mimicking his mother's same expression "Its fine, Lady Charmindy"

Queen Camila noticed the young woman standing next to Charmindy "Who is that with you?"

Charmindy chuckled "Oh" she turned to look at Beryl and pushed her to stand before the royals "This is Lady Beryl" Queen Camila smiled at the young woman "You are beautiful…"

Charmindy turned to look at Beryl and smiled kindly "You probably know His Majesty King Eros and Her Majesty Queen Gaia" Beryl nodded her head "Your Majesties" she said softly.

Charmindy moved her hand towards the three kings and their respective wives "King Bernard Head of the Western point of Earth and his wife, Queen Camila" Beryl nodded and smiled.

"King Urmanus and his wife Queen Eloisa, Head of the Eastern point of Earth"

Beryl did the same curtsy.

"King Isra, Head of the Southern point of Earth"

Beryl smiled.

Charmindy smiled and turned to look at Endymion "And lastly but not less important, His Highness Prince Endymion"

Beryl turned to look at the prince and couldn't help herself blush; she was mesmerized by the perfection of the man standing in front of her, her heart started to pound faster and stronger. She heard from Charmindy many times that the Crown Prince of Earth was attractive, beautiful and that seemed to be carved by the hands of the own Gods but she never could put a face to her words, specially Charmindy's words. Now that she have seemed what the blonde woman was talking about she couldn't help but to look at him with amusement.

"Lady Beryl, a pleasure to meet you…" Endymion said, his warm voice sent shivers down her spine and made her knees feel weak. Slowly she curtsied before him "Your Highness…the pleasure is mine" she said softly. Charmindy smiled, knowing this girl's beauty would catch the prince's attention.

The four shitennou were looking the scene wide eyed, Jadeite gulped and turned to look at Nephrite with a strange face "Is it only me or there is a huge sexual tension right now?" he whispered. Nephrite blushed and lowered his gaze "I believe you are not the only one having this feeling" he whispered back.

Endymion didn't break eye contact with the red headed woman; Beryl looked at him with a dreamy face but seconds later Endymion cleared his throat "It was nice meeting you, Lady Beryl" he turned to look at Charmindy "Lady Charmindy" with that, he gave them a cue to leave. Queen Gaia was shock by his attitude but somehow she knew he felt she was uncomfortable to have Charmindy near her.

Beryl blinked a couple of times; the prince's sudden attitude startled her. She was almost positive he felt the same spark as her but out of the blue he acted cold towards them and wasn't sure why. Charmindy's eyes widened, Endymion's defiant character made her nervous, he was nothing like his father and that could difficult her plan.

"Y-Yes…" Charmindy stuttered "Your Majesties, Your Highness…" she bowed and turned to leave, Beryl did the same and followed in silence. Walking towards the wine table, she gritted her teeth and placed her hands on the cloth covered surface of the long buffet table "This is going to be harder than I thought…" she took a deep breath.

Beryl turned to the prince's direction and blushed slightly "Your Highness…" she breathed softly. She felt she didn't need to meet any other man in the world, she was declared a woman in love of a man that was obviously out of her league.

* * *

**I do not own sm, just this plot and some of the characters. Thank you.**


	55. Chapter 55

**A/N: This is another chapter i loved writing, I hope you like it too :) ps. Yes! it will happen anytime now! muahaha! love you guys. ps2: I was just thinking...what if i post a new chapter after this one? hmm...it's only an idea, but i am putting myself a goal, if i get 10 different reviews in the next 24 hrs, i will post another chapter tomorrow (it's only a game) it doesn't matter i don't have too many chapters left to spare, I have to write new ones anyways :)**

**I want to thank you for your reviews, I love to read from all of you and know what you think, thank you to the ones who have been following me since day one, it means the world. Please, keep reviewing! it keeps me motivated and helps me write more cool chapters for you ;)**

**Enjoy!**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter fifty five**

* * *

The rest of lunch went smoothly, neither Charmindy or Beryl were able to go and talk to the royals again, Beryl turned to look at the royals talking from time to time and wished to be there at least for a couple of more minutes. The prince's presence was addictive somehow; she wanted to be there, with him.

Charmindy was talking to three women that seemed a little less aggressive than her; Beryl smiled at them from time to time and turned back her attention to the group in the front. Endymion took a sip of his wine and sighed, Queen Gaia turned to look at him "Is something wrong dear?" she asked softly.

The prince smiled at his mother and shook her head "I'm tired, that is all"

"You do not wish to be here am I correct?" Gaia asked knowingly.

Endymion smiled and lowered his face "It is not that I do not like to be with all of you, but…I feel like I'd rather be doing something else"

"It's normal son" King Eros commented.

"Eros!" Gaia hushed, the king smiled "Dear, even you have the same feeling"

Endymion chuckled. Gaia squeezed Endymion's arm "Your grandmother arranged all this in your Honor"

"I know, I understand…" the prince sighed.

At the other side of the immense garden, Lady Charmindy was standing next to the beautiful redheaded Beryl. Because her beauty was outstanding, many men tried to approach and have a word with her but Lady Charmindy always hushed them away and Beryl could understand why.

Her mind was blown away the moment she saw the prince and immediately fell in love with him; something inside her wanted to hear his enchanting voice again and to see those mystical blue eyes of his. Looking back at him she noticed he was rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Queen Gaia turned to look at him with a concern face "Dear, are you alright?"

Endymion closed his eyes "I'm having another strong headache"

Gaia frowned "Another? You've been having migraines?"

Endymion nodded his head "Only when something is about to happen…"

Gaia widened her eyes "What…" she trailed off. Kunzite walked over and bowed his head "Your Highness…" the tone of his voice was all Endymion needed to hear to know what he wanted to tell him.

"Where?" Endymion asked.

"Not too far from here, one of our soldiers just informed us" Kunzite said low.

"What is happening?" King Eros asked, Endymion turned to look at him "What we feared, another assault"

"Assault?" Gaia asked worried.

Endymion turned to look at his mother "I need to take care of this matter Mater. Excuse me"

Gaia nodded her head and turned to look at Eros "What is happening?"

Eros kissed the top of her wife's head "I think you have all the right to know but I will tell you later this evening" his voice was low and soft, only for her to hear but still it worried him and that worried her as well.

The guests watched the prince leave the garden with his father and shitennou. Once they were at the hall away from the people Endymion watched the soldier standing in the doorway waiting to hear his polemarchos' command.

"What happened?" Endymion asked hesitantly.

"We've found several people dead by the river…" the soldier said. "They do not show any sign of being assaulted, their bodies just lie there lifeless…"

Endymion frowned "I need to see the bodies, where are they?"

"In the dungeon"

The men walked in silence towards the dungeons to see the corpses, one of the guards opened the gate and guided them to one of the chambers. The prince opened the door and walked in, King Eros turned to look at Kunzite "Please, try to identify the corpses so we can inform their respective families" Kunzite nodded his head and turned to his comrades, giving them the sign to follow him, Jadeite, Zoicite and Nephrite followed the white haired man in silence.

King Eros walked inside and stood next to his son in silence, Endymion sighed and removed the blanket that covered the lifeless bodies and observed them, placing his hand on one of the dead man's forehead he closed his eyes for a couple of minutes. King Eros watched his son in silence; aware of what he was doing he sighed and looked down at the other men lying there dead.

Several images crossed the prince's mind; yes they all had the same characteristics there was not a single trace of blood or any bruises on them but somehow they felt empty. Endymion was about to give up and open his eyes when the image of a man captured his attention, opening his eyes he looked down at the dead man again and then at his father "It's a man…"

Eros frowned "What?"

"It's a man… and I do not know how…but he is the responsible of all these assaults" Endymion said lowly and closed his eyes again "But I could not visualize his face…all I could see was a strange symbol and a gray cloak" the prince covered the bodies again and walked outside the small room, King Eros followed and placed a hand on his son's shoulder "We will find this person…"

Endymion sighed and nodded his head "We need to identify the corpses se we can inform their families…"

Eros nodded "I asked your shitennou to take care of that matter; I will go and talk to Leonidas"

Endymion watched his father walk away and sighed **"Who are you and why are you doing this?"** he thought.

Ooooooooo

"All chores are done. I lit up another candle for protection High Priest"

Obelix smiled "Thank you Helios"

Helios looked up and smiled at the priest, he was grateful to have been found by him and to be trained to help protect the Kingdom "Anything else I can do for you Priest Obelix?"

Obelix sighed and nodded "Pray for the Guardian of this planet…he needs your help"

Helios nodded and lowered his gaze "High Priest, how can't I meet His Highness?"

Obelix looked at the young man and smiled softly "Because you are not ready yet"

Helios looked up and widened his eyes "I do not understand"

Obelix smiled again and sat on a bench in the temple, the light filtered from the crystal dome printing beautiful patterns or the marble floor "I am not eternal young Helios; it will come the day where I will have to leave this place…"

Helios looked at Obelix with a worried expression "You talk with such melancholy High Priest…"

The priest sighed and looked his surroundings "I have come a long way…"

Helios sat next to Obelix in the bench "What do you mean when you say I am not ready yet?"

"I will tell you a story…" Obelix looked up and smiled "Once upon a time, there was a beautiful Goddess who also was protector of this planet. She was incredibly strong and many Gods asked for her hand in marriage many times but she was well aware what they wanted the most was her power"

Helios listened carefully "And what did she do?"

Obelix smiled "She had a priest, who always prayed for her"

"She had a protector? But if she was the protector of this planet how come she had a protector?" Helios asked confused.

Obelix chuckled "Every protector holds a special crystal, which is the source of all their powers. In this particular case, the crystal this Goddess held happened to be one of the strongest in the universe and it order to protect her and the sacred stone she had a priest to help her pray and protect this planet"

Helios looked at the priest amazed "And what happened to her, is she still alive?"

"She is. That beautiful Goddess fell in love with a person from the planet she protected…and being that against the rules up in the heavens she was banned from Olympus but, she married her love and gave birth to a beautiful child" Obelix smiled to himself.

"Is she still our Protector?" Helios asked curious "Is her priest still with her?"

"The crystal chose another strong being to carry its power and with that her duty as a guardian ended, her priest stayed by her side all the time until today" Obelix said softly.

"Really?" Helios asked amazed.

"Yes, that beautiful goddess is now our queen…and that priest is… me" Obelix chuckled.

Helios' eyes widened and stood up "Queen Gaia? Wait, you are our protector's priest?" he said dumbfounded.

"You are not listening young Helios, I am our former protector's priest. We have a new protector, and he needs somebody to pray for him and the crystal's safety"

Helios walked towards one of the windows of the temple and looked outside. Obelix stood up and walked over Helios, placing a hand on his shoulder he smiled "It is Prince Endymion…"

Helios' eyes widened in shock "He is…" he trailed off, Obelix nodded "And you are his priest"

Helios turned to look at Obelix with a shock expression "Me?"

"You have the strength to be the crystal's next priest; you are a very disciplined young man. You still need to learn more and keep preparing yourself, until then you are not allowed to meet him. His presence is very strong and even you are the person who prays for him every day for his safety, you still need to prepare yourself" Obelix said.

"Is he kind?" Helios asked.

"He is very noble, you will meet him someday soon until then…you need to stay here" Obelix said, closing his eyes he smiled "It's time to light more candles, the sun is on its right position"

Helios smiled and nodded "Yes, High Priest" he started walking towards the prayer room. Obelix turned to look at him "You know…" he said, making Helios stop in his tracks "There is a good reason why your name is the same Queen Gaia's grandfather"

Helios blinked a couple of times and smiled seconds later "Thank you for your trust High Priest, I promise I will always do my best" the young man started walking again.

Obelix smiled and closed his eyes again "Your soul is troubled"

Endymion sighed and sat on a bench "I believe everything in me is troubled"

Obelix walked towards him and sat next to the prince "Why is that?"

"I am not taking too well my place as prince. I feel somehow trapped and that makes me feel guilty" Endymion rested his head in his hands "Everybody expects too much from me and that is alright, but sometimes I feel like it is too much. I can't stand being in every social meeting…There is so much I feel I need to be doing…"

Obelix looked at the prince in silence and patted his back "Everybody expects too much from you because you are a triumph, you the Prince of Earth and Head of the Royal Army, the best warrior this kingdom has ever seen"

Endymion sat straight and looked at the distance "But I am just a man…those are just titles"

Obelix stood up and took a few steps away from the prince towards the entrance giving him his back; the sun of the afternoon contrasted against his pale tunic making him look like he had an aura around him "I remember when you used to say how much you wanted to become a warrior, that way you would be admired and respected"

"I also wanted it to protect my family" Endymion tried to defend himself "The guilt I have always felt was the engine that kept me moving no matter the circumstances…"

Obelix frowned "Guilt?" he heard Endymion sighed, Obelix looked up and tried to take in this new information, he never knew the prince felt guilt about something. Endymion lowered his gaze and watched the marble floor "The day I decided to go and talk to my Father about joining the army…" he trailed off, sighing he tried to fight the sense of breaking into millions of pieces, not looking up he ran a hand through his dark hair "I went to my parent's chambers to give Mother a flower I picked on the garden and I overheard a conversation she was having with Aurea"

Flashback

_"That doesn't depend on me or us Aurea…you know that…" the terran queen sighed._

_Endymion frowned, he knew that overhearing other people's conversations was rude but hearing his mother speak with so much worry in her voice worried him, standing next to the door he remained quiet to hear what the two women were saying._

_"But we can do as much as we can…think about your husband, think about your son" Aurea said with worry. Endymion frowned while he listened Aurea speak._

_"I knew this perfectly before having Endymion, we were very aware of what could happen to me if I had a child. To them is an opportunity to have me controlled"_

_Endymion's blue eyes widened __**"What could happen if she had…me?"**_

_"Yes, giving birth to Endymion brought you to this state, but that is why you need to be careful…that is why we are all so worried about you. You cannot fight them, we cannot fight them…that is why you need to be healthy and we need to look after you" Aurea's voice was determinant._

End of flashback

Obelix pursed his lips and closed his eyes, fighting the urge to cry he sighed **"Oh Endymion…I did not know…" **the priest opened his eyes and turned to look at the prince with a sad face "Does your mother knows about this?" the prince stayed silent and shrugged his shoulders in response. It was the first time in many years that the prince opened his own Pandora box of memories and confessed his true feelings; back in the army he never allowed himself to prove the rest of his comrades he was sentimental; for him that was a sign of weakness and he wasn't allowed to be weak. He made a promise to himself, he had to become the best; he had to become a feared man in order to get the respect he wanted but only to quiet the guilt in his heart. Now that he was what he promised himself to be, the same sentiment was still there, hunting his thoughts and his heart; and he started to wonder if it was all worth it in the end.

Obelix lowered his head, this time he did not know what to say. There he was, the son his little princess wanted him to be, the prince a whole nation waited anxiously. He always knew how much silence would hurt Endymion; he is an exceptional warrior, a very noble man and yet he wasn't aware of his true self and on top of that he felt guilty for the state his mother was in. Walking over the prince, he crouched in front of him and placed a hand on his forearm "You are far from being the reason of her state…"

Endymion raised his face and looked at the priest with a stern face "Why can't you just tell me the truth?" his voice was deep and at the same time, it sounded hurt. Obelix looked at him and swallowed softly "I do not know what you are talking about…" he managed to say.

Endymion chuckled with sarcasm and shook his head, moving Obelix' hand aside he stood up and started to walk towards the prayer room, standing under the ceiling he looked up and stared at the magnificent design "This whole place tells a story that nobody seems to notice, there are thousands of bits everywhere…"

Obelix stood up and looked at the prince's back "Endymion…"

"Why insist on treating me as if I were 12 years old?" Endymion asked upset "Why do you still keep things from me? I thought we were friends…"

"Endymion, listen to me…" Obelix tried to reason with the prince, but it was harder than he thought and he understood him. He was right, he was no longer a boy and he was well aware of his surroundings. Walking closer to him he tried to take the prince's hands "All this you have at this moment is because you are overwhelmed by everything…your life has changed drastically and it is understandable, but you don't have to let your hurt feelings take over your noble character" Obelix watched how the prince's eyes turned from a darker shade of blue their normal shade again, sighing he lowered his gaze "I am so very sorry you had to hear that…"

Endymion sighed and stood up "Forgive me Obelix…" running a hand through his dark hair he looked back at him "Sometimes I just…" he trailed off. Obelix stood up and gave him a worried look "Sometimes what young prince?"

Endymion half smiled "Nothing… I need to go and talk to the generals about the new incident that happened earlier today…I will see you around" turning his back at the priest he left the temple in silence, his spirit somehow felt broken and also felt that no matter how much he accomplished it was never enough. Obelix watched him leave shook his head and whispered to the wind "Oh little princess…what have you done…"

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**i**


	56. Chapter 56

**A/N: I was going to do it anyways...lol, I know how much you like the story and I am very grateful to have the best readers in the world supporting my crazy ideas and understanding when i can't update. You guys rock! Enjoy this chapter...which...I know YOU WILL! muahahaha**

**ps. because i don't have too many backup chapters, this will take monday's update place, 'kay? so it means, there will be an update until wednesday :)**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter fifty six**

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Charmindy walked inside the large living room and threw her umbrella a few feet away from her with force breaking a crystal vase with flowers. Taking her silky gloves off she threw them away from her as well and gritted her teeth "He is more difficult than his father!"

Beryl closed the door behind her and lowered her gaze, something made her think the incident today will be another weight over her shoulders giving Charmindy the great opportunity to blame her for _not taking the action_ she wanted. The blonde woman walked around the room for a couple of more minutes, then rested her arms on the back of a chair and looked away "I told you to take action!" her voice was cold and angry but this time she didn't elevated it to a very high pitched level like she always did. The redhead sighed, just like she has thought, Charmindy was blaming her "I tried but he soon left the garden"

Charmindy turned to look at Beryl "Are you excusing yourself?"

Beryl looked at the blonde woman with a serious expression "No…I am just saying what happened" she tried to defend herself. Beryl was getting used to Charmindy's bad temper but what it was still hard for her was her harsh words, after all she was a woman and she had feelings and sometimes she wondered if Charmindy ever cried in her life. She remembered when Filemina once confessed she didn't cry when her parents died instead, she looked happy like if nothing happened.

The blonde woman walked over Beryl and grabbed her chin strongly "Remember I pay you to do a job, the next time you don't do as I say I will send you back on the streets were you belong…"

Beryl fought the urge to cry; instead she nodded and lowered her gaze. Charmindy released her and walked out of the room. Filemina walked in seconds later and started to pick the shards of crystal of the base and the flowers on the floor in silence, Beryl stood in her place looking at her feet "Why is she like that?"

Filemina knew what Beryl was talking about and sighed "She has always been like that…you should know"

"She is always angry…" Beryl breathed sadly.

Filemina sighed again and turned to look at her, standing up she walked over her and frowned "Just do your job…" patting her hand on Beryl's shoulder she left the room, leaving the young woman alone. Turning her face to the window she walked over it and moved the thick dark red curtain aside and looked the Palace in the distance; the ghost of a smile was formed on her lips "Prince Endymion…" she whispered.

Ooooooooooooo

Aurea was with Gaia at the rose garden drinking tea, after the lunch party the queen wanted to feel less pressured by the court. It was always exhausting for her to deal with pointless issues like social status and cheap gossiping from some women and when she referred to some women she talked about Charmindy's friends. Aurea poured hot water on Gaia's porcelain cup and frowned slightly "Why are you so thoughtful?"

Gaia smiled and took the cup in front of her, blew the steam and took a sip. Placing the cup down again, she looked at her friend "Endymion was upset today…"

Aurea arched a brow "It is very easy to know why" taking a sip of her tea, she looked at the queen in front of her "He doesn't like these types of gatherings"

Gaia sighed and watched the steam come out of her tea "He needs to make an effort…" Aurea frowned and crossed her arms "Effort to what?"

"To be friendly…"

Aurea laughed "To whom?"

Gaia shrugged her shoulders and kept her eyes on the cup in front of her "I don't know, to everybody"

"I remember you were the same way when you were at reunions like those in Olympus…" a male voice joined their conversation, Queen Gaia turned to look at Obelix who was standing a few feet away from them, smiling she tried to stand up "My dear priest"

Obelix walked towards her and made a gesture "Don't stand up, it is fine…"

Aurea noticed something was wrong with Obelix, if there was somebody with a light spirit and a smile on his face all the time that would be him but this time his serious expression worried her. Gaia noticed his low voice and frowned "Is something wrong Obelix?"

"I need to talk to you about your son" Obelix said.

Aurea turned to look at Gaia and then stood up from her chair "I believe you would want to be left alone…I will come back in a while" Obelix turned to look at the brunette woman and shook his head "No Aurea, stay" his voice startled the maid and immediately sat down again, Gaia kept her frowned expression and nodded her head "Is something wrong with my son?"

Obelix sighed and sat on a chair next to her "The prince is upset…very upset"

"Why?" Gaia asked worried "Has something happened?"

"I believe you are aware of the incidents that have been happening recently" the priest commented, his eyes fixed on his queen. Aurea turned to look at the priest and then at the queen "What…incidents?"

Gaia nodded and turned to look at Aurea "It seems there is somebody killing people in a very peculiar way…" Aurea gasped and brought her hand to cover her mouth in fright "Does somebody know who is behind of such horrible thing?"

Obelix turned to look at Aurea "That is one of the reasons of why the prince is upset…he is still looking for the responsible"

"One of the reasons?" Gaia asked.

"The prince suspects little princess, he is aware something is different about him. You need to talk to him, this can't go any further…" Obelix warned the queen. Aurea turned to look at Gaia with a worried expression "You can't hide him the truth"

Gaia closed her eyes and sighed, they were right. The queen knew Endymion was well aware of his capacity as a leader but even if he is who he is it worried her what the Higher Gods could do to him "Obelix you know I can't…"

"Then are you going to keep it a secret? To keep something this important a secret?" the priest raised his voice slightly "What are you going to do when he finds out on his own, are you going to deny it?" Aurea held the queen's hand "Obelix is right Gaia, Endymion needs to know the truth…" her voice was soft. Gaia lowered her gaze "No"

Obelix and Aurea looked at her perplexed "What?" Obelix said softly.

Gaia raised her head, her soft green eyes shone with tears "No, I won't tell him" moving her hand away from Aurea's, she stood up and showed her back at them "I won't…" she trailed off, a knot was forming in her throat and it barely let her speak; bringing one hand to her neck she took a breath and let it go "There is not a single day that I don't think about them, I remember my father as a righteous god, a soldier, a superb warrior and my mother as the personification of class and elegance…there is not a single day without me thinking how they are, if they are well…if they miss me the same way I miss them…if they think of me the same way I am always thinking of them…" the terran queen turned to see her companions, this time her tears couldn't last longer and started to fall without measure "Since the moment Endymion was born, I wished my parents were here to meet their grandchild, to see him grow and listen to his first words…"

Aurea was fighting the urge to cry as well, although her queen was known to have a strong character she knew her well and after all she was a woman with feelings, she was hurt and sometimes she felt lonely. She understood she needed her parents to comfort her in times like this but they gave her their back instead.

Gaia looked away and wiped the tears off her face with the back of her hand "He didn't want to meet him, he denied him! He came here to kill him! Endymion doesn't deserve this, any of this! What do you want me to tell him? That the higher realm in Olympus wants his soul for the rest of eternity in Tartarus? Or, do you want me to tell him that my brother almost brought destruction to the universe, his own uncle… or that I was once a goddess with the same powers as him and gave up everything to marry his father because she fell in love? What do you think he'll say when he was trained to be a warrior, when he was thought to put his obligations and responsibilities first? His own mother didn't follow the rules…"

Obelix lowered his head, the truth hurt very much. He remembered King Geb discussing with Gaia, Queen Nut telling her how worthless she was, God Ares fighting her and Metallia telling the Higher Gods about her romance. Nodding he raised his head and looked at her "You have kept too much sorrow in your heart little princess and it is affecting your son…"

Aurea wiped the tears off her face with her hands and sniffed, standing up she went to hug Gaia who as soon as Aurea put her arms around her she let herself go and broke into tears. Obelix watched the scene sadly, everybody had suffered enough and even though he didn't approve her decision of not telling Endymion since the beginning he was aware she did it to protect him "A mother will always do anything to protect their children… this is your way but you got hurt in the process as well"

Gaia started to calm down "I don't regret anything, what I did I did it for love…" she looked at the priest "I did it for love…" she sobbed.

Obelix looked at her with knowing eyes and nodded softly "I know little princess, I know"

Oooooooooooo

Princess Serenity was walking through the gardens with Mercury; the silver haired princess sighed catching the mercurian's attention "Is something the matter Your Highness?"

Serenity smiled at her friend and shook her head softly "No, I was just thinking…"

"May I ask in what?" Mercury asked softly, her voice never reached a high level; she always spoke with delicacy and with a powdery tone that always marveled the princess. Smiling, Serenity ran a hand through the mercurian shoulders and chuckled "Have you ever felt trapped in a crystal cage?"

Mercury's eyes widened by the question, turning to see her princess she pursed her lips "Trapped?"

Serenity nodded and moved her arm away from Mercury, walking over the fountain she started to play with the crystal water; her finger traced a circular pattern over and over "You are always so calmed and collected…I wish I could be like that sometimes. I let my feelings get in the way most of the time" she chuckled but Mercury noticed a hint of sadness in her soft laugh "Are you alright Your Highness?"

Serenity turned to look at the blue haired woman and smiled "I'm fine"

"It is impossible for you to look back…" a male voice interrupted the two women, Serenity turned startled to see the man "Athamas…" she breathed in surprise. Mercury smiled and turned to see her princess standing with one hand in the water and the other playing with the soft fabric of her ivory gown "I will leave you two alone…" the mercurian princess left in silence.

Athamas chuckled and walked closer "What are you doing?"

Serenity turned to see her hand in the water and then back at Athamas, taking it out quickly she dried it with the skirt of her gown "Nothing"

Athamas chuckled and walked closer "It is nice seeing you"

"Did you come here to talk to my Mother?" Serenity changed the subject drastically; turning her head to the side she walked close the fountain again and sat on its rail. Athamas followed her and stood in front of her "Yes"

Serenity lowered her gaze and nodded her head "Good…I hope everything is working out just fine" she smiled and looked up at him again "Convincing Mother is not an easy task to accomplish"

The blonde general frowned "Are you mad at me for some reason?"

Serenity imagined herself standing up and punching him in the chest "_YES I AM MAD AT YOU! I AM HERE IN LOVE WITH YOU AND YOU APPEAR OUT OF NOWHERE LIKE NOTHING HAS HAPPENED!"_ she thought, shaking her head she smiled "No, why would I be mad?"

"I would like to come more often if you agree…" Athamas said.

Serenity blushed and blinked a couple of times "You are no longer busy?"

"I am, but…I want to see you…" Athamas said softly.

Serenity looked at him in silence and wondered if she was dreaming. She wanted anything else but to be accompanied by him and to be together all the time, the man was gorgeous but still his character was always cold and sometimes distant "I would like that…" she said and then frowned at her answer.

The general smiled and nodded his head, turning his head to see the entrance he saw one of his men waiting for him "I must go…Her Majesty is expecting me"

Serenity nodded and looked away "I understand" and watched the general walk towards the study with the soldier. Standing up, she brushed her skirt and walked back to her chambers; walking in silence through the long hall she heard a familiar voice talking to someone else "Did you do it?"

"Yes, General"

Serenity frowned and pressed herself against the wall and turned her face to see the two men talking in a low tone. Athamas looked both sides and then turned to talk to the soldier in front of him "Has he already noticed?"

The soldier nodded "He is aware but he is still looking for the responsible"

Athamas cracked a laugh "I want him to be desperate, that way I can bring him down"

Serenity frowned "Bring down who?" she asked herself and kept paying attention to the conversation in the hall.

The soldier chuckled "Isamania is asking for you"

Athamas chuckled "She probably misses me, tell her I will be back shortly"

"She is quite anxious" the soldier said. Athamas scratched the back of his head "I haven't seen her in quite a while; I want to continue pursuing the Moon Princess…I can't do it if she is in the way…"

Serenity's eyes widened "What?" bringing a hand to her chest she tried to suppress the hurt feeling in her heart "Are you pursuing somebody else?" she whispered to herself, her eyes started to fill with hot tears.

Artemis interrupted the men's conversation seconds later "Her Majesty is ready to see you"

Serenity watched the three men walk inside the study and then turned her head to the other side, closing her eyes a tear ran through her cheek "I can't take this anymore…" turning quickly she began running towards her chambers, her slippers made a soft noise against the marble floor. Reaching her doors she opened them wide and entered quickly closing them right after. Leaning on them, she took a couple of breaths and walked quickly to her closet; searching between her dresses she took out a light gray cloak and put it on hiding her tiara and hair. Walking over her dresser she looked herself in the mirror for a few minutes in silence and watched another tear ran through her cheek.

"This time I will do things my way" she whispered and wiped the tears off her face with the back of her hand. Turning to her balcony she looked at the sky and smiled to herself "It's time for me to get out of this cage"

Walking over her balcony she stood outside and looked at the blue planet in front of her, closing her eyes she started to summon her inner power and in a matter of seconds she was gone, leaving only silver sparks in her place.

Ooooooooooooooo

The sun was soon starting to set, Queen Gaia walked through the hall looking for her son. She already looked for him in his chambers and in the study but had no luck, minutes later she saw Zoicite walk in her direction "Your Majesty" he bowed his head. Gaia smiled "Zoicite, have you seen my son?"

Zoicite frowned "A while ago…but he said he was going to his chambers"

Gaia brought her hand to her lips "He is not there or in the study"

"He is probably outside in the gardens" Zoicite noticed his queen's worried demeanor "Are you alright Your Majesty?"

Gaia nodded "Yes, I'm fine… I just, wanted to see him and have a word with him"

"I watched him leave the palace grounds in his horse"

Gaia turned to see Kunzite with wide eyes "He left?" the queen walked closer to the white haired general "Did he say anything of where he was going?"

Kunzite frowned and shook his head no "He said he needed to go and see something" noticing the queen's worry he took a step closer "But do not worry…he will be back shortly" he wasn't sure why he said that to the queen but he didn't want her to worry too much, he knew Endymion was upset by the earlier events. The prince didn't like to pretend he was in a good mood when something else with much more importance was happening and put everybody in danger; every time the prince felt fed up he used to do what he just did a while ago, disappear. Gaia smiled at the general and placed a hand on his forearm "Thank you Kunzite for understanding"

Kunzite nodded his head and both men watched the queen go in silence towards her chambers. Zoicite frowned and turned to see Kunzite "What was that all about?"

Kunzite sighed and turned to see Zoicite "Endymion was angry when he left…these events are affecting him greatly"

Zoicite pursed his lips "Do you actually think he will come back shortly?"

Kunzite shrugged his shoulders "I don't know what is going on…but it is not like we can go after him. I don't know where he went"

Ooooooo

Endymion rode his horse outside the kingdom and into the forest, stepping off his horse he let him walk alone while he directed towards the place he visualized in his mind when he touched the dead man's forehead "It was here…" he whispered.

Crouching he grabbed a pebble and looked at it carefully, oddly it was tainted black on one side while on the other it was light gray "This is not normal" he said. Standing up he continued walking to see if he could find another clue of the assaulter, he paid attention to all his surroundings and waited for his beloved Earth talk to him when suddenly something caught his eye.

Turning his face he watched a cloaked figure walk around the forest. He noticed the color of the cloak and remembered the vision he had of the mysterious being wearing that same pale tone, taking his sword out of his belt he started to walk closer to it like a feline catching its prey.

Serenity's eyes widened the moment she touched the blue planet's ground. Looking down at her feet she felt cool and wet, a feeling she didn't get to sense on the Moon. The fresh smell of the plants and trees filled her nostrils and the beautiful composition of bright and deep colors enchanted her "I'm on Earth…" she smiled.

Walking around she took in all her surroundings, the melodic sound of the birds flying from one tree top to another and the feeling of the breeze crashing against her skin, she was about to turn to the other side when suddenly she felt a cold blade against her neck and froze.

"Identify yourself" the deep voice sent shivers down Serenity's spine, pursing her lips she closed her eyes _"Oh my…"_ she thought in fright. Serenity tried to speak but her voice wouldn't come out, instead she ran already knowing in her mind that was a terrible mistake. Endymion didn't move and watched the cloaked figure try to escape, without taking his eyes off the mysterious person he grabbed the small blade on the other side of his belt and threw it in a swift move stabbing the cloak against the trunk of a tree, impeding Serenity to keep running. Closing her eyes he felt tears starting to form but fought them with all her might.

Endymion walked towards her and put his sword back on his belt "It's useless, you cannot escape"

Serenity tried to free herself from her cloak but she tied it very well that she cursed herself for doing it so, Endymion noticed the person was trying to escape once again and frowned "It seems you are either deaf or mute, but I won't waste any more of my time trying to figure that out" turning her around he moved the cloak away from her face and widened his eyes in surprise.

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**I do not own sm just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.**


	57. Chapter 57

**A/N: Hi. I know I was supposed to post yesterday but I had a lot of work to do and I got sick so... yeah it sucks hehe, but, I know I have the most understadable readers in the world and that a day will not make any difference, right? I hope you enjoy this chapter and I will see you guys soon!**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter fifty seven**

* * *

Serenity gasped and watched the man standing in front of her, her eyes where shining with unshed tears that would fall any minute now; pursing her lips she cleared her throat "I'm not mute…" she said softly, her heart started to pound faster, the moon princess was entranced looking at her 'attacker' and blushed.

Endymion didn't know for the very first time how to react, of everything he would expect this cloaked figure to be it was never a woman that beautiful. Both stared at each other in silence for a few seconds before Serenity broke the silence again "I'm sorry…" she said softly lowering her gaze "I…" she trailed off, she was in shock and didn't know exactly what to say or how to act in front of this "Handsome man…" she thought.

Endymion pursed his lips and moved closer to her in silence making Serenity feel her heart beat like a thousand times per second, but then parted again with the small blade he threw in his hand "No" he said showing her the small onyx blade "I'm the one who should be sorry…" he put the blade back in his belt next to his sword.

Serenity stared at him and admired in silence his perfect and handsome face, of all the men she have met since she turned fifteen she never met a man like him. She looked at his pitch black hair, his straight nose and inviting lips and then she looked at his eyes and her heart skipped a beat.

"Are you alright?" he asked confused. Endymion looked at her and in the same way she was doing with him he admired her mystical beauty, there was something in her that told him she was a normal girl; he noticed her platinum hair that gracefully caught the light of the afternoon sun. Her delicate oval shaped face and beautiful pale blue eyes.

Serenity shook her head slightly and looked at him again "Yes" she managed to say.

Endymion frowned "Who are you, where are you from?" he asked with interest. It was too strange to see a woman like her in a lonely place like this and wearing a cloak at this time of the day. Serenity lowered her head and pursed her lips; she couldn't tell him the truth and somehow she felt afraid of what he could do to her if he knew who she was, the myth of the monster that lived in this planet haunted her thoughts "I…"

"Are you lost, do you want me to take you back home?" he asked, what he impressed him the most is that she seemed to ignore who he was. Not that he minded but he founded it very strange.

Serenity bit her lip and shook her head no. Endymion started to get anxious and a little annoyed "Do you at least have a name?" he asked.

It was the first time Serenity didn't know what to say in front of a man, he really intimidated her, looking at him she frowned slightly "You can't take me home…"

"I know I can't take you home and that was not what I just asked you" Endymion responded in a dry and low tone of voice.

Serenity widened her eyes in shock "Are you always this way?" she asked him, startling Endymion "Like what?" he asked confused.

"Like this!" Serenity raised her arms in frustration "Rude"

Endymion frowned and let out a sarcastic laugh "Are you talking serious? Rude? You are the one that appeared here out of nowhere with a cloak and when I asked you to identify yourself you preferred to run away"

"You attacked me first!" Serenity defended herself. Endymion crossed his arms and looked at her with a serious expression "It seems everybody wants to lie to me today, how…interesting"

Serenity frowned and lowered her arms "What?"

Endymion ran a hand through his hair and sighed "I see you are perfectly fine then" he said in a tired voice and turned to leave, Serenity looked at him in shock and sided her head "What?" she repeated again. Endymion turned to look at her "I don't have time for this…" he turned again and walked away, leaving Serenity confused and alone "What just happened?" she asked to herself, after a few seconds she widened her eyes and remembered she needed to be back home before somebody noticed her little escapade, closing her eyes she did the same ritual she did before and in a flash of silver she was gone.

Endymion walked closer to his horse and when he was about to ride it again to go back home he turned to see if he could see her standing there but found nothing, frowning he shook his head and stepped on his horse and rode away.

Serenity appeared in her balcony again and walked quickly to her room to take her cloak the fastest she could, she knew somebody would come and look for her right away. She heard Luna's voice ask for her making Serenity jump and hide the cloak in her closet; in a quick and nervous move she closed the door as soon as Luna walked in "Your Highness"

Serenity leaned on her closet and smiled nervously "Luna…"

Luna frowned "Dinner is served"

Serenity laughed nervously "Right! Dinner!" she exclaimed "Good, because I am starving!" she started walking towards the door when Luna held her hand "Aren't going to change your dress Your Highness?"

Serenity blinked a couple of times "Change?" Luna arched a brow in question "Are you alright?"

The princess scratched the back of her head and smiled "Yes of course, why wouldn't I be alright?" Luna looked at her with a serious expression "You are quite nervous…and I seem to know why"

Serenity paled "You do?"

"Yes" said Luna, her voice didn't give Serenity any hint of what she could be talking about and that made her nervous, Luna smiled and walked to her closet "You are nervous because General Athamas is waiting for you downstairs"

Serenity turned to look at Luna and paled even more, walking faster than the mauian women she placed a hand on her closet's door impeding the black haired woman open it "Princess?"

"He is here?" she asked, Luna frowned "Yes, I sent one of the maids to inform you to get ready but it seems nobody told you about it, come, let's find a nice dress for you to wear" Serenity leaned on her closet "No, no…I did know he was here, but um… I thought this dress was too nice to change it. I think I want to stay this way"

Luna looked at the princess with a curious face "You sure are in love with the General"

Serenity closed her eyes and the image of the black haired man coming close to her came to her mind, shaking her head she opened her eyes again quickly and smiled at Luna "He is very polite…" she said softly.

Luna smiled "And handsome"

Serenity nodded absently and smiled again "Let's go Luna, they are probably expecting us"

Ooooooooooooo

Endymion took his horse to the stables and walked back to the Palace, sighing he started to walk through the long hall towards the stairs that would lead him to his chambers. Today had been a really long and stressing day and all he wanted to do was to take a shower and go to bed.

"Endymion" Kunzite's voice stopped the prince in his tracks. The prince turned his face to see a very concerned Kunzite leaning on the wall near a window; Endymion sighed "Yes Kunzite?"

Kunzite remained in his place and looked at the prince with worry "Where have you been?"

Endymion scratched the back of his head and walked towards the shitennou "Please Kunzite, don't make my absence a big deal. I was just out" he said dryly, his comment puzzled Kunzite "Your Mother has been looking all over for you…she's worried and waited for you to have dinner" placing a hand on the prince's shoulder Kunzite frowned "What is going on Endymion? You know you can trust me"

Endymion sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair "I just had a rough day, that's all Kunzite. It is nothing against you, the guys or my mother…I am just tired and all I want to do right now is go to sleep" his voice did sounded tired, Kunzite nodded and half smiled "I understand…" he stepped aside to let the prince leave.

Endymion half smiled this time and placed a hand on his shoulder "You are a very good friend and I thank you for being worried about me but I will be fine" the prince started to walk up the stairs leaving Kunzite alone "What happened Master?" he whispered with concern.

Endymion opened the door of his chambers and walked in, closing it right after he walked pass the living room to his bedroom taking his jacket in the meantime, he threw it over a chair near the window and started to unbutton his shirt absently; closing his eyes he pictured the beautiful face of the mysterious women he met a few hours ago "I wonder who you are…" he whispered and took his shirt off, pursing his lips he rested his arms on the window frame like if he was pushing it marking the muscles of his arms and back. The prince closed his eyes again and gritted his teeth, all the day's events started to rewind in his mind, the meeting with his father that early morning, the incident with the dead people, the discussion with Obelix, the girl he met a while ago, the lunch with the court… the red headed woman. He opened his eyes.

Moving himself away from the window he sat on his bed with his hands on his head, there was no doubt the redhead made an impression in him. The woman was beautiful, light skin, green eyes, apparently she was curvy and long rich red hair; shaking his head Endymion ran a hand through his dark hair "Endymion…don't!" he warned himself "You have better things to do" then his thoughts went back at the girl with light hair, a superb contradiction of the first woman. Petite, fair skin comparable to the finest porcelain, pouty lips (he noticed) and a gorgeous pair of pale blue eyes. For a moment he wished to talk more to her, have her name or any clue of where she lived so he could personally apologize with her for his behavior but he didn't get that lucky, again, he put his hands on his head and sighed "What the hell are you thinking Endymion? Again, you have better things to do…" he said annoyed to himself.

Lying on his bed he took a deep breath and stared at the ceiling for the very first time not sure of what to do but what he was sure is that he was upset and very frustrated. He was supposed to be strong but he couldn't find the responsible for those missing lives, he was supposed to be a warrior prince but there he was attending to social events, he was well aware that once he get back home his life would change but he never thought of how much "Things weren't supposed to be like this…" he regretted, sighing he placed a hand on his forehead covering his eyes "I feel like I don't know who the hell I am anymore…"

The prince stayed silent for a couple of more minutes and when he least expected he fell asleep hoping tomorrow will be a better day.

Oooooooooooooooo

General Athamas was looking outside one of the windows of the long hall; looking at the blue planet in front of him he smiled absently, a soft cough caught his attention and turned to his side to find Serenity standing there with Luna at her side "General…" she said.

Luna bowed her head and left the couple alone, Athamas waited for the mauian women to disappear before start talking "Good evening Princess" he said in his most charming voice.

"Good evening General" Serenity said softly, Athamas took her hand and kissed it softly sending shivers to her spine "What brings you here, it kind of a surprise"

"Are you not happy to see me Princess?" Athamas asked, playing to be hurt. Serenity chuckled "No, please don't misunderstand me but… we just saw each other not too long ago"

"I know I've been acting…distant towards you beautiful, but it is just that I was busy with the treaty and well some issues that needed to be arranged back home" Athamas excused himself, Serenity pursed her lips and remembered the conversation he had with his soldier "General, do not worry if you want to see somebody else…you are free to do so" she said nonchalantly startling the blonde general.

Serenity looked at the man standing in front of her and looked him in the eyes trying to see if there was that same 'passion' in them but found none. Still, he had beautiful eyes but somehow she felt something was missing, was his hair? Was his smile? "Serenity…what are you even thinking?" she thought.

Athamas noticed Serenity was distracted and frowned "Are you alright?"

Serenity shook her head dismissing her previous thoughts and chuckled "Yes, why?"

"I don't know you are…distant" Athamas said. Serenity looked away and sighed softly "We should go to the dining room, Mother is probably expecting us by now…" she started walking towards the dining room but Athamas held her hand and stopped her, the princess turned to look at him with a puzzled expression, Athamas smiled "I didn't came to have dinner"

Serenity frowned "But Luna…" she trailed off and shook her head no in confusion. Athamas still had a smile in his face "I came to see you Beautiful, I am not looking for somebody else…I'm looking for you"

Serenity blushed and felt how her heart started to pound faster "I…" she trailed off, Athamas took her hands in his and looked at her in the eyes "Things are finally starting to result the way I am expecting…I want to keep seeing you…" he whispered.

Serenity looked at him with a surprised expression "I don't know what to say…all this is too overwhelming"

Athamas smiled "Your heart shall be mine"

Serenity widened her eyes in shock and blushed a deeper shade of pink "General…" she breathed.

"Athamas" the general said. Serenity smiled "Athamas…I believe is late and…well, there are too many things to do tomorrow"

Athamas nodded "I will come back tomorrow…"

Serenity smiled and nodded "Until then"

Athamas kissed the top of her hand again and started to walk away; Serenity watched him disappear in the hallway and sighed. The man she was hoping to love her seemed to not be as exciting as her new secret adventure; she was happy and curious to know more about that blue planet she barely got to see.

"Princess…" a woman's voice interrupted her thoughts. Serenity turned to see Mars standing in the soft light coming from outside the window; the princess smiled at the raven haired beauty and walked closer "Mars, I did not see you"

Mars looked at the princess with a serious face, then after a few seconds she half smiled "Are you really that interested in the Andromedian?"

The question startled Serenity, Mars never really talked too much about her love interests and pursuers that was Venus' kind of conversations, she gave the fire princess a questioning look "Why do you ask me that?"

Mars pursed her lips and hesitated in answer her princess' question, lowering her gaze she sighed "General Athamas seems to be very interested in you…"

Serenity sighed and looked away "That is what he says…"

Mars looked up "Are you going to give him an opportunity?"

Serenity motioned Mars to walk with her through the corridor towards her chambers "I think I like him Mars…"

Mars arched a brow "You think?"

Serenity shrugged her shoulders "I do not know what am I going to do…his visit was unexpected" her voice was soft and confused. The white princess sighed and looked away, true, she was in love with Athamas or at least she thought she was in love with him because of the light feeling she had every time she looked at him; but something echoed in her mind, her new adventure and again, the image of the man he captured her a few hours ago came to her mind and for some reason she had wanted to have more time with him.

"_I do not have the time for this…" _he said, his voice filled every space in her mind. It was the first time she took a risk and went to a place she didn't know what to expect, the result of her mischief left her with more questions and the urge to go back and see that planet one more time.

* * *

**I do not own sm, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.**


	58. Chapter 58

**A/N: I want to send out a special ''happy birthday to Carmen!" I hope you had a wonderful time, I know your bday was on the 23rd so I dedicate this chapter to you :) **

**A special thank you to you too my dearest readers, thank you very much for your wonderful reviews and get well wishes, I do feel better now. I hope you like this chapter :) Enjoy!**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter fifty eight**

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The next morning Aurea walked into Endymion's chambers to wake him up, but as soon as she opened the curtains she noticed he wasn't there, walking to his bathroom to see if he was there she knocked softly but had no response. Frowning, she turned to leave "Maybe he is having breakfast already…" she said softly to herself.

Closing the door softly, she sighed and closed her eyes. Gaia told her about what happened with Obelix, the prince's frustrations and worries; she loved him very much and wished he could be fully happy but something inside her told her he was suffering in some way. But then she thought about her friend and queen, the decision she had to make in order to keep him safe from her past; Aurea remembered Gaia fighting that superior being in a golden armor, asking her to love him back and remembered the strong power she summoned when she sealed the black witch, but what Gaia still didn't understand is that she was trying to protect her son while her son was already protecting her; his role as guardian of this planet started since he was very little and unnoticeable. Gritting her teeth in regret, she started walking towards the queen's chambers to help her get ready for breakfast.

A carriage arrived minutes later; Lady Charmindy stepped out of it followed by Beryl, wearing a beautiful green gown. Her fiery hair was lose and had a tiara on her forehead with an emerald on its center. Charmindy was trying too hard to like the royals specially the queen, because of their "previous" interactions she was not too much of her liking and Charmindy always held a grudge towards her. Luckily, she was friends with several girls from the court and that opened the royal doors to both women. The blonde woman turned to look at the red haired girl "I hope you do something this time"

Beryl sighed and lowered her gaze "I do not think it is a good idea all this…"

Beryl's words were like a thousand bricks falling to her head, she looked at her with angry eyes "I am not paying you to think! I am paying you to swoon the Prince!" she held Beryl's arm with a strong force making the girl flinch in pain "You are hurting me…" she whispered.

Charmindy gritted her teeth and let her go "Do as I say" she said in a serious tone "Or otherwise I will send you back to the streets"

Beryl held the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes, even thought she didn't have too much time living with the always angry blonde woman she was the only person she had in the world. Not sure if that was a good or a bad thing, she sighed again and tried to dismiss her harsh words. She had to get used to her tantrums and bad humor, but she found it very hard.

"Yes, My Lady…" she breathed in defeat. Charmindy turned to the guards at the Palace's guards at the door and smiled like if nothing had happened "I believe I have an appointment with Her Majesties" she said in a sweet tone of voice.

One of the guards looked at the woman in front of him and then at the girl beside her and then at his colleague "An appointment?"

Charmindy side smiled and waved her fan a couple of times "You heard me" she said with confidence, Beryl widened her eyes in shock at the older woman's fearless character and wondered how she have never been hurt before. The guard turned to look at his comrade and shrugged his shoulders; the other man arched a brow and looked at him "I think I heard something about a breakfast…" he talked slowly.

The other man cleared his throat and turned to look at the two women standing in front of him "Somebody will lead you to were the rest of the party is"

Charmindy faked a smile and walked closer to the guard "Do you know by any chance if His Highness will be there?"

The two guards turned to look at each other and started laughing; Charmindy frowned deeply and waved her fan faster "What? I asked you two a question!"

One of the guards wiped a tear away from his eye and calmed down, they were aware of Charmindy's character and knew the prince perfectly well "Prince Endymion is busy doing something else" the guard simply answered.

Beryl felt her cheeks flush an intense shade of pink as soon as she heard the prince's name. Something inside her made her want to see him, talk to him and be able to hear his warm voice once again. Charmindy on the other side remained silent and walked inside the palace upset, the guards bowed their heads at Beryl and allowed her to follow the blonde woman inside "Thank you…" she mouthered.

Inside the palace, another guard was waiting for them "Another guard?" Charmindy said annoyed "Did all the maids die or something?" the guard looked at the woman with a serious face and cleared his throat "We only follow orders"

Charmindy waved his hand at the guard showing no respect. The young guard looked at Beryl "If you can follow me this way…" he turned to walk towards one of the rooms in the palace. The two women started walking behind the guard in silence; Beryl admired the beauty of the palace walls, the decorations and the vases full of fresh flowers. Looking outside the windows along the wide hallway she could see one of the inner gardens where she imagined they would be spending the day.

In all her life, she never imagined she could be in this place. She heard about the beauty of the golden palace and the queen's beauty when she was young but to be standing inside the famous palace and soon to see the queen was something she never imagined she could do.

"Here we are" the guard said.

Charmindy smiled at the guard and walked inside the spacious room. Beryl gasped at the beauty of it and admired the peace she could sense from this place. The large living room was all decorated in light neutral colors, the panel walls had thin golden trimming and the vases were full of pink and yellow roses giving a delightful aroma.

Inside the room were two other woman from the court that came with their respective daughters, of course, they all were after the same thing: The prince.

Beryl lowered her gaze and felt bad for what she was doing, going after the prince only to get the crown was something she didn't want to do, that was some sort of using him only to get something in return and the worst thing is that it would be something another person wants.

One of the women standing near the window wearing a light blue dress smiled at them "Charmindy, what a surprise…" she said in a soft voice.

Charmindy smiled the same way the woman did "How are you doing?" she asked.

The woman walked towards them "I'm doing fine; I brought my daughter Ademis to meet Her Majesty and His Highness"

Beryl knew Charmindy would feel like if a carriage ran over her, from the time she have been knowing her she was well aware of her explosive character, looking at her she noticed her ears starting to turn red; a sign she was getting upset of course, faking a smile she sided her head "Oh, that's good…nice to meet you dear" she said in a slightly high pitched voice.

The young woman smiled at them and looked at Beryl "Is that your daughter Lady Charmindy?" she asked.

Charmindy smiled and ran her arm over Beryl's shoulder "Unfortunately she is not, she is my goddaughter" Beryl felt weird Charmindy's tender care towards her, she had never said anything nice or sweet but actually the other way around but she was aware of what she was doing and she had to accept it, Charmindy was doing a marvelous work.

"You said you brought her to meet His Highness?" Charmindy asked sweetly.

The woman in blue nodded "Of course"

Charmindy giggled startling the other woman "What?" she asked confused.

"Nothing is just that, you were misinformed, His Highness will not be present today" Charmindy said in a triumph like mode. The woman in blue turned to look at her daughter and pursed her lips "Maybe you are the one mistaken Charmindy…I was assured he would be present"

Charmindy raised both brows and raised her hands in defeat "I was just telling you what I heard…maybe I am mistaken" Beryl rolled her eyes at the blonde's words. Minutes later, a maid entered the room and bowed slightly "Her Majesty Queen Gaia"

Beryl's heart felt like it was going to come out of her chest, she met the queen at the royal lunch where she met the prince but didn't have the opportunity to actually see her closely and see if the things said about her beauty were true. Queen Gaia entered the room with Aurea by her side in silence; looking at her guests she smiled not really realizing Charmindy was there as well.

As soon as she saw her walk in, the red haired girl gasped softly. The queen was wearing a deep royal blue gown with matching heels, her dark brown hair was styled in a loose updo with an emerald incrusted hairpiece on its side; she was not wearing her crown but a thin tiara with sapphires and emeralds, her makeup was light and delicate. The queen didn't need much, she was beautiful.

All six women bowed before the queen "Your Majesty" they all said in unison. A particular high pitched voice caught Gaia's attention and turned to look at Aurea then back at the woman. Walking closer to them, she smiled "Good morning" she said softly.

The woman in a light blue gown couldn't fight the urge to ask "Your Majesty…is His Highness going to join us today?"

Gaia pursed her lips and felt her heart cringe, she hasn't seen him since yesterday morning and that was something it was tearing her apart. Obelix' words echoed in her mind, he was upset and she knew he didn't want to see anybody just now; the queen faked a smile "Please excuse him, my son will not be able to be present here today…he is attending some political matters as we speak" Aurea lowered her gaze, she commented her friend he didn't find her son in his room this morning and that probably he would go missing all day again or if not missing he would avoid her and she was aware of how difficult that was for her queen.

The woman in blue pursed her lips and turned to look at Charmindy, then back at the queen. Queen Gaia noticed the change of tone in the women's voice and chuckled "Sorry to disappoint you" the beautiful queen walked over to a chair and sat, Aurea followed and sat on the chair next to her.

Charmindy walked closer and smiled at Gaia "I'm glad to see you are fine…Your Majesty"

Gaia blinked a couple of times and tried to fight the urge to laugh at the woman's sarcasm but she was classier than that "Thank you, Lady Charmindy" her voice was cold and distant. She noticed then the girl with the red hair next to her and looked back at the blonde woman in front of her "You are…" she trailed off.

"Beryl, Your Majesty" Charmindy said, holding the red haired girl's arm. Beryl took a couple of steps forward, the queen opened her mouth softly at her beauty "You have beautiful eyes..." she said softly.

Beryl blushed and smiled softly "Thank you, Your Majesty" she admired the elegance the ethereal queen portrayed. Gaia looked at her other guests and smiled at them "Please, sit…breakfast will be served any minute now"

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

Endymion was with his father in the study reading some papers before starting to sign them. Eros looked at his son with a worried face "You have dark circles under your eyes…" he commented.

The prince moaned in agreement, his eyes never left the paper in his hands "I didn't sleep well"

Leonidas looked at Eros and Eros at him then back at his son "Is something the matter?" Gaia informed him the conversation Obelix had with him. He was well aware his son was upset, frustrated and confused; the prince ran a hand through his midnight hair and sighed "There seems to be everything in order with this paper…you can sign it" he gave the piece of paper to his father avoiding the subject.

Eros sighed softly and took the piece of paper from his son's hand, looking at Kunzite to see if he had some kind of an answer; the white haired man shrugged his shoulders and pursed his lips indicating his king he had no idea of what was happening. The king turned to sign the paper in his hands and gave it back to Endymion "You see, things normally get better when you talk about it"

Endymion raised his face and looked at his father with a serious expression; they were so alike when it came to sarcasm "I'm tired…that's all"

"He was supposed to have breakfast with Her Majesty and some guests from the court…" Zoicite commented. The prince immediately gave the blonde general a cold look "But he decided to come here instead" the blonde general finished his sentence.

"There are more important things to do than just being seated, listening to random talks" Endymion said coldly. Jadeite opened the door and walked into the room with a grin on his face "Your Majesty, Your Highness…I have great news"

"What is it?" both men said in unison. Jadeite gave Endymion a piece of paper with a note from the southern kingdom "King Isra sent this"

Eros turned to look at his son "What does it say?"

"It seems our strategy to protect the four kingdoms is working, there hasn't been any damage or deaths…" the prince said. The shitennou and Leonidas, including the king widened their eyes in surprise and joy "So that means…" Eros trailed off.

"That we soon will be able to catch this bastard…" Endymion said "Are there papers to read and approve before signing Pater?" he asked changing the subject quickly. He was not sure why the image of the mysterious woman with the gray cloak came to his mind, like a ghost or more like an angel.

Eros looked down and gave a quick glance at the papers in his hands but shook his head no "No, everything is already signed…you started working pretty early today" Endymion pursed his lips and nodded his head "Well then, I will go and take a walk around the palace to see if everything is alright"

The king looked at his son "Very well…I will stay here and talk with Leonidas about or next move with the exportations"

Endymion faked a smiled and walk out of the room followed by the four generals; as soon as he closed the door Kunzite stood in front of the prince "Whatever it is…please, trust us"

Endymion smiled and patted the general's shoulder "I know Kunz, I know. Thank you"

"Now what do we do?" Jadeite asked the prince, Endymion looked at the blonde man and chuckled "You sure are an anxious man" he was glad to have his friends as his generals, he was upset yes, but being around them reminded him he was human and that he was not entirely alone.

Jadeite shrugged his shoulders "I already talked to one of the guards at the entrance, everything is under control" Nephrite nodded "I talked to the ones at the gate and to one of the commanders of the group guarding the surroundings, no threats were found…it seems the plan is working"

"I'm glad to hear this…" Endymion breathed "It is somehow like a breath of fresh air…"

"Are you worried about something?" Zoicite asked puzzled. Kunzite chuckled "You know how he is…stubborn, he will never tell us what is going through his mind…but I know a good remedy to lift all that stress off your shoulders"

Endymion arched a brow "Really, what is that?"

Kunzite side smiled "How about a little sword fighting?"

Jadeite made a 'yes' gesture making the rest of the guys laugh "We haven't trained since we got here…we better start doing that before we get all rusty" Nephrite suggested, Zoicite laughed "Neph is right, we do need to practice more…"

"Kunzite is right…it is a stress relief" Jadeite rubbed his neck. Endymion chuckled "Say no more…let's go" the five men started to walk towards the garden they used for training when the prince noticed he left his sword in his chambers "You go on, I will catch up with you in a minute…" he turned to leave to the other side.

"What? Where are you going?" Zoicite asked.

"I left my sword in my room…I won't take long" Endymion waved his hand without turning back.

Ooooooooooo

The women in the living room were talking about everything and nothing at the same time; Gaia knew exactly what they were up to, they wanted to see the prince. Queen Narella joined them right after they started drinking tea which meant she was just in time for gossiping.

Gaia remained silent most of the time in those kinds of meetings. Not that she looked tired or anything but she preferred to talk about more serious matters others than just fabrics, sweets and men; besides, she had the best two men of the entire world in her life: her husband and her son.

Aurea looked at the blonde woman from time to time, just like Gaia she wasn't feeling too comfortable being in the same room with her but because of the protocol she couldn't say anything not even when the woman tried to break the royal couple apart years ago.

Beryl paid close attention to the terran queen then to the other girls wanting to get the queen's attention but her heart ached for some reason and kind of knew why. She hoped to see him _'as much as these other girls'_ she thought.

Aurea stood up from her seat and walked out of the room, like if someone was waiting for her to tell her something. Another woman with a pink dress and sandy blonde hair smiled at the queen, her daughter a living copy of her mother chuckled and took a sip of her drink "Your Majesty is it possible to meet His Highness one of these days?"

Gaia coughed softly "My son has been very busy…there has been a lot to do here in the palace that he barely has time for himself" defending her son's position, she answered in a sweet manner. The girl in a paler pink dress than her mother's smiled "Perhaps he needs to distract himself from all the diplomatic issues"

'_Wrong comment'_ Gaia thought. Faking a smile she took a drink of her hot tea; Charmindy fought the urge to laugh, she knew the queen would always defend her precious and untouchable son but the bad comments of the blonde girl gave Beryl some points in her favor even thought she barely spoke.

Aurea walked inside the room again, walking over the queen she whispered some things only for both of them to hear. Gaia widened her eyes and stood up "If you excuse me for a moment…" Gaia smiled and walked out of the room with Aurea. The six women stood up and bowed before the queen until they were alone. Charmindy turned to look at the woman with pink dress and her look alike daughter "You are aware of what your lovely but imprudent daughter just did, right?" Beryl widened her eyes and looked at her _godmother. _

The girl lowered her head pleasing Charmindy "That is right" she chuckled "You better surrender…Beryl will win His Highness' heart"

The four women turned to look at Charmindy and Beryl, Beryl sighed and lowered her gaze and felt her cheeks go red as an apple. The woman with blue dress rolled her eyes and laughed "Please, that girl is nothing but a peasant you just picked up from the streets!"

Beryl pursed her lips at the woman's words. Charmindy stood up and arched a brow "You will eat your words when she becomes the next queen, then, we will see who is going to be sent to the streets" her voice was threatening. "Stop this" Beryl stood up and raised her hands to her face, turning to see Charmindy she shook her head "I…" she trailed off, scared of how the blonde woman might react "I need some fresh air…excuse me" she walked out of the room, leaving the women alone "Beryl!" Charmindy said out loud, trying to stop her.

Beryl walked out of the room and turned to her right, trying to go outside; she had a mix of feelings, hurt, anger, embarrassment and fright. Panting she leaned on the wall near a door and sighed "Why this had to happen to me?" she said out loud.

"Are you alright?" a male voice broke her from her affliction reverie. Widening her eyes she raised her face to meet the one's with the voice, paling she bowed her head "Your Highness! I did not see you…"

Endymion frowned "What are you doing here all by yourself?" the attractiveness of this woman made him want to lose his mind, forgetting his meeting with the mysterious girl that was stealing his thoughts lately. He wasn't sure what it was, her long red hair, her green eyes, her pale skin he couldn't figure it out.

Beryl felt her heart skip a beat, the fact of knowing the prince was standing in front of her made her feel her legs lose control "I…Forgive me Your Highness… I just needed some fresh air, Her Majesty was called for a minute and I thought I could stretch my legs for a little while…"

"Oh right, the meeting…" Endymion muttered. Of course he remembered it but he wasn't in the mood for more social gatherings "I have so much to do that I totally forgot about it…"

Beryl smiled "It's alright, maybe you can join us some other time"

Endymion looked away and sighed "Do you enjoy all these things?"

Beryl widened her eyes, not sure what was happening "Y-Your Highness?"

Endymion pursed his lips and chuckled startling Beryl "Never mind…I'm just mumbling nonsense"

Beryl's hands started to tremble and lowered her head "Maybe you can join us with a cup of tea? Her Majesty is probably back in the room…"

Endymion moved his head softly "No…" noticing he answered too harsh; he smiled "I mean, I still have several things to do…but you are always welcome to visit"

Beryl blushed and looked at him with desire. The sexual attraction was evident, both felt the impulsiveness and the need to dig deeper into their _souls more like bodies. _Endymion was about to say something when they were interrupted by Aurea "Your Highness…" she called him softly; the prince looked at her with a serious expression not saying anything, walking towards him the she turned to look at Beryl and frown slightly "Lady Charmindy is asking for you My Lady…" she said in a dry tone of voice.

Beryl turned to see the prince, bowed her head and walked back to the living room leaving the prince and his nana alone "Where have you been?" she asked. Endymion sighed and looked away "I don't think it is necessary to explain myself, I'm old enough to do what I please…"

His words startled the brown haired woman "It is still necessary, your mother is worried about you"

Endymion crossed his arms "There is a kingdom to protect…my mother is too busy arranging meetings with potential women I could use to marry"

Aurea let out a sarcastic laugh "Well you didn't seem to be upset a while ago…it seems that girl caught your attention" she was starting to get frustrated, she didn't understand why he was acting that way. Endymion was caught off guard by Aurea's words and stayed silent. Aurea walked closer to him and tried to caress his face but he moved away "Why are you so angry?"

Endymion frowned "I'm tired to be treated like if I was some stupid boy…"

"Nobody is treating you that way" Aurea said. Endymion started to walk away but Aurea caught up with him and pulled his cape with force making him stop; he turned to look at her with a dead glare "I am not afraid of you, if that is what you think or want" Aurea's defiant attitude startled the prince but his pride was heavier than anything else "Watch who you are talking to Aurea" he said with a defiant tone of voice.

"I am well aware with who I am talking. I'm talking to the boy I once babysit, with the boy with I once played with…a boy that seems to be missing inside that hole of negativity and pride…" Aurea said softly "I don't know what is going through your mind right now but…please, don't let your anger blind your true feelings…I know you are smarter than that"

Endymion looked at the woman still pulling his cape and suddenly felt his anger melt slowly, turning into regret and sadness "I know you hold too many secrets to tell"

"Secrets are made to be buried dear, not to be told…you need to let that anger go and you need to stop avoiding your mother, she is very worried about you…she didn't take her medicines last night and this morning" Aurea let go of his cape and sighed "She loves you very much…"

Endymion pulled Aurea into a hug "I will talk to her…" he kissed the top of her head "Thank you" Aurea encircled her arms around the young man and let out a soft sob, she didn't care how difficult this all was, she was going to do as much as she could to help the royal family because after all, they were her family too.

* * *

**I do not own sm just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.**


	59. Chapter 59

**A/N: Be prepared, chapters are about to become longer and with a lot of...how should I say it? Intrigue. I think that is the word. Intrigue. If you do not like reading long loong chapters (I personally do) I recomend you to um, divide the chapter or something lol I remember when I did that everytime I had to read something long. I hope you like it, see you soon.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter fifty nine**

* * *

Aurea walked in to the room and sat next to the queen never taking her eyes off Beryl. Charmindy turned to look at the red haired girl next to her and frowned letting her know she will listen to what she had to say as soon as they get home, Gaia turned to look at Aurea and then at the girl with red hair "Are you feeling alright?"

Beryl turned to see the queen "Yes Your Majesty"

"She seemed to have lost a while ago…" Aurea commented, Charmindy stared at the girl with angry eyes but then Aurea continued "His Highness found her in the hall and guided back here" Aurea turned to look at the queen letting her know she finally could find him, Gaia understood the maid's hint and nodded her head "I see…" she said softly and turned to look at Beryl "You were lucky, then"

Charmindy changed her face from angry to one of excitement "She has always been lucky Your Majesty" she chuckled. Gaia forced her lips into a smile and turned to look at the other girls and continued talking. The blonde woman placed her hand over Beryl's arm and for the very first time she didn't put pressure like she always did but the contrary, startling the red head.

Oooooooooo

Jupiter walked into the tea room and smiled at the moon princess and the rest if the girls "Princess, you have a visitor" she stepped aside to let Athamas walk in, flashing a charming smile he bowed his head "Good morning, Your Highness"

Serenity widened her eyes and stood from her seat "General…" she breathed, she wasn't expecting the general to come and visit her so soon or that early. The man walked closer and bowed again "I hope it is not a bad timing…"

Serenity turned to look at the girls and widened her eyes and then back at the man in front of her "N-No…it is alright"

Venus smiled and turned to look at Mars who just shrugged her shoulders in defeat "If she is happy…" she said softly. Venus ran an arm around Mars shoulders "We will pay very close attention"

Mars sighed softly and nodded her head "Maybe I was overreacting… he seems to be very interested in her" the black haired princess caught Mercury's attention "Is there something you are sensing that we are not aware of?" at the blue haired girl, the amazon turned to look at them "What is going on?" her loud voice made turn the lunar princess and her guest with a puzzled stare "Jupiter, is something the matter?" Serenity asked.

Jupiter swallowed hard and blushed, Venus pursed her lips and stood up "Everything is alright Your Highness, we will give you some privacy…" the four girls left the room in silence but tried to stay close just in case of anything happened. Serenity turned to look at the man in front of her and smiled softly "How the alliance going?"

Athamas frowned "It's going well…"

Serenity noticed his gesture and moved back a few centimeters, frowning she crossed her arms "What?"

The general chuckled "Nothing is just…strange that you asked me that"

The comment made the princess feel uncomfortable, frowning deeper she tried to understand what he was saying but seemed to not work so she preferred to stand up and walk around the room with her arms crossed "Strange?" was the only word that escaped her lips. Athamas chuckled again and remained seated "Well yes…you know, politics are not your forte"

"…Are not my forte?" Serenity turned to look at him "I am the crown princess, how would that not be my forte?"

Athamas stood up "Don't misunderstand me Princess, what I tried to say is that… well, Her Majesty is the one that arranges all the meetings and attends to all the meetings and it's understandable, she is the queen"

"And I am just a princess…" Serenity breathed. The handsome general thought she was only a mere doll, just like everybody else or at least that was what she felt. Athamas noticed her sudden change and tried to reach for her eyes "Princess, I am sorry if I made you feel bad…that was not my intention…"

Serenity lowered her gaze and sighed. For the very first time she did not wish to be with him at the moment, she felt trapped in a sea of suppositions. His words hit her hard and felt he, like many men though she was only a prize to be acquired. Her mind drifted to the moment on earth and on the man who stopped her from running and that was what she wanted, that feeling of danger and at the same time of freedom to decide and to choose what to say or do and not to follow a protocol, shaking her head softly she looked at him again and faked a smile "Is it alright if we see at another time?"

"What?" the general asked startled. He was not expecting that.

Serenity stayed still "I am not feeling alright…I think I need to have some rest, all that studying I think it tired me out"

Athamas looked at her with confusion in his handsome features "Is there anything I can do?"

Serenity smiled and shook her head softly "No, that's alright, I just need to rest…" the urge to leave was killing her. She had the necessity to do something exciting and new; she wanted to go to that planet again and had the urge to make up another excuse and plan that could give her more time to explore the terran surroundings. Moving towards the door she turned and smiled at the general "Maybe we can see each other some other time?"

Athamas stayed still "Sure…" he said softly and watched the princess leave the tea room leaving him completely alone and puzzled "What did just happen?"

The princess walked quickly to her room and closed the door. Walking pass the living room she entered her bedroom and looked at herself in the tall mirror in front of her; she watched her long off white gown, the way the silky material clung to the curves of her body and how the draping at her hips gave a greek accent. She looked at her face and studied her features, her pale eyes, her pointy nose and her delicate lips then she paid attention to her silver blonde hair and noticed how long it was "Of course…" she muttered and turned away walking to her closet again "Of course you will think I am just a princess who likes to take tea…" she said again while rummaging through her clothes a smile formed in her lips as soon as she found what she was looking for.

Taking it out, she looked at her light cloak and looked for the small blade cut "Who are you?" she whispered "So alone and sad…you were sad…" Serenity turned her face to see the blue planet outside and walked towards the balcony "How can somebody be so sad in a place like that?" looking down at her cloak she smiled "The girls will be busy all day training today…Mother is in a meeting with Luna and Artemis…hmmm"

ooo

In the immensity of his palace, a tall man with a dark green attire was sitting on his throne, a golden clock hung from his right hand from a golden chain. Looking at it he closed his eyes and smiled sadly "You can never stop the inevitable…" Chronos opened his burgundy eyes and sighed "…And time is inevitable as much as destiny"

Ooo

"It was lovely to see you all here today" Queen Gaia stood from her seat, followed by Aurea. After a long social meeting, the terran queen was starting to feel exhausted, she was already used to these kind of encounters and was well aware of what she could always expect, which was too much of everything.

The ladies in the room stood up as well and bowed before the queen "Your Majesty" said the woman in the blue gown "It was lovely to see you…" she said softly. Gaia smiled at her and her daughter and then turned to look at Beryl ignoring completely the blonde woman standing next to her "I would like to have a word with you…"

Beryl's green eyes widened in surprise and so Charmindy's who already thought they had a victory in their hands, Queen Gaia walked closer to the redhead "Alone" she said and turned to look at Charmindy which tried to dissimulate her anger.

Aurea nodded at the queen and led the rest of the women to the door so the guard could take them to the entrance where their respective carriages would be waiting for them. Beryl put her hands together nervous and waited for the queen to start talking.

Queen Gaia cleared her throat and looked at her straight in the eye "How old are you Lady Beryl?" her voice was soft but dry. Beryl pursed her lips, being in front of the mighty queen was intimidating, stuttering she answered "Twenty one, Your Majesty"

The queen arched a brow "You seem lovely and it is quite obvious that beauty is on your side but I won't tolerate any kind of indiscretions…"

Beryl widened her eyes in shock "I-I do not understand, Your Majesty"

Queen Gaia arched a brow "How are you related to Lady Charmindy?" she asked directly, startling Beryl. The redhead on the other hand tried to think of an excuse, Charmindy once told her she didn't want her to tell the truth about how she ended up living with her because that would make too many suspicions. Beryl lowered her gaze and sighed "Her family was friends with mine, when they died se decided to take care of me" some words in her answer were true, her family was dead but she was never friends with them, how can a woman like Charmindy would look up for somebody instead of her first? Impossible! She thought.

Gaia frowned slightly "We are not used to have guests roaming around the palace alone" she knew she was being somewhat harsh towards her but she couldn't help but feel hurt that she got to see him before her. It was her feelings the ones who were talking not her. Beryl bowed her head in respect "Forgive me Your Majesty…it won't happen again"

Gaia half smiled and turned to leave, Aurea opened the door seconds later and waited for Beryl to leave the room as well and join Charmindy at the palace's entrance. Standing next to the queen she sighed "What happened?"

Gaia lowered her gaze "That girl is very pretty…but the fact of her being related to Charmindy somehow makes me want to feel unsure about her"

Aurea frowned and turned to look at her "You really think she is just like Charmindy?" the question made the queen frown a little "I hope she is not…her beauty would be all ruined"

Aurea cracked a laugh and shook her head "You sure are a jealous mother"

Gaia frowned deeper and turned to look at her friend "What?" the question startled her, but deep inside she knew Aurea was right. Aurea walked along with her through the long hall and chuckled "You will be a jealous mother in law, that is all I am saying"

The terran queen laughed softly "Don't be silly Aurea, of course not!"

"Well, what about this girl? Endymion seemed to be entranced by her beauty or more like her attractiveness, what if he chooses her to be his bride?" Aurea arched a brow. The question fell into place and made the queen stop in her tracks "He likes her?"

Aurea smiled and turned to look at the queen "Haven't you noticed?"

Gaia eavesdropped "Remember I haven't seen my son since yesterday…" the queen started walking again and caught up with Aurea. The brunette maid pursed her lips "For what I saw a while ago, there is some sort of attraction"

Gaia's mind started to wonder. Endymion interested in a girl? Endymion in love? Endymion planning his wedding with a fiery girl who by faith is related somehow to Charmindy? That is odd. She never have thought about this particular moment in her son's life, Endymion making those kind of decisions, sure, he was good in taking measurements and deciding what would be best for the army and the Golden Kingdom but, women? Was he really ready to give his heart to someone? Millions of what ifs started to fill the queen's mind, so much that she didn't even noticed she was inside her chambers.

Aurea noticed the queen's silent state and frowned "Gaia…are you alright?" Gaia sat on her bed and blinked a couple of times before looking at a worried Aurea standing by the window of her bedroom "Endymion is in love?"

The brunette maid started laughing "That is not something we can assure…"

"But…" Gaia said before she was interrupted by Aurea once again "I only said there was an attraction, not that he was in love…besides, Endymion is not that easy to get and there is a very large difference between love and attraction"

Gaia nodded her head and half smiled, her friend was right; but still she never thought about that possibility of him being interested in a woman. That would be something, for sure.

Oooooooooooo

Serenity opened her eyes and smiled to herself. The unknown thrilled her and the apparent immensity of the blue planet enchanted her; but something bothered her though, she didn't know where exactly to go. She seemed to be in the same place she met _him; _the mysterious man with the deep voice that has been haunting her thoughts from time to time.

Endymion was resting in his chambers, after the long sleepless night he spent he was trying to regain the energies he have lost in the morning's meeting he had with his father and the shitennou. His breathing was steady and profound, he had a hand over his face covering his eyes as if he was impeding the light interrupt his deep sleep; as if he heard the loudest noise he snapped an eye open in a second and sat on his bed, running a hand through his hair he sighed and frowned "This feeling again…" Standing up he went to the rack next to his dresser and grabbed his cape and walked out of his room immediately.

Serenity roamed a small perimeter of the place where she appeared; amazed by the textures and the smell her surroundings she sat on a small hill in the woods and watched the way the sun filtered through the foliage of the tall trees, sighing she smiled again "I wouldn't change this for anything…"

At the stables, Endymion quickly prepared his horse to go out and rode him towards the woods unaware of who might be watching him, the need he had to go and find the reason of his anxiety overflowed him. Riding his horse around the place where he knew the last bodies were found he looked around but saw nothing; shaking his head in defeat and confusion he stepped off the animal and started to walk around, leaving the horse roam alone in the woods "What the hell?..." he murmured in annoyance.

The lunar princess leaned on a tree and looked up, the soft filtered light of the sun made a curious pattern on her pale skin, making her smile when she noticed there was a group of men towards her way, nervous she moved quickly away from the tree and hid herself behind some bushes and waited for the unexpected visitors to leave.

"Oy! How much did you get?" one bearded man asked to his three other companions. A man with dark brown hair chuckled "Enough to live like a king for a week"

The other three men laughed loudly "Sure…that would be nice"

"What is?" a man with light hair asked and scratched his head. His hoarse voice from so much smoking made Serenity feel goosebumps. "To live like a royal, that is" the bearded man said again "If I lived like the prince himself I would be more than served"

The last of the four laughed "The prince has everything he wants anytime, he just needs to snap his fingers and viola!"

The blonde man laughed "Yes…what a bastard"

Serenity frowned "Prince? Earth has royalty?" and peeked through the bushes trying to figure out what the four men carried in huge dark bags, she held her dress and cloak tightly but her legs started to feel numb, without her wanting it her feet slid making a loud noise; the four men turned to see each other "Did you hear that?" the man with the beard asked, walking around and looking behind the trees he turned to see the bushes in front of him and smiled.

The blonde man scratched his head and turned to look at his comrade "Yes I did" the dark man pointed his finger at the small white slipper sliding from behind the bushes, with a knowing smile the man walked around the bushed and found the blonde woman hiding herself from them.

Gritting his teeth, one of them chuckled "Well, well, well…what do we have here?" the other three men joined their comrade and watched in awe at the woman crouching behind the bushes. Serenity gasped and tried to run but then men were faster than her and soon were around her impeding her way out "Where are you going sweetheart?" one of them asked and held her face "You have a lovely face" another man said, caressing her cheek; Serenity's looked at them with teary eyes "Please…don't hurt me" she breathed.

"What did you say?" the man with the beard asked "We ain't gonna hurt you, but the other way around…" he chuckled "We are going to have a very pleasant time…" his dirty and hot breath crashed against her delicate skin, the lunar princess was so scared she didn't noticed her tears falling down her face.

"You look like you have plenty of money…what about we have some fun and then you give us everything you have" the blonde man said between laughs.

Endymion was about to head back to the palace when he heard voices close by, walking towards it he watched the men laughing, frowning he moved closer in silence so he won't distract them, looking up he jumped high climbing one of the trees so he could have a clearer vision and was shocked to find the four men were molesting a maiden.

Ooooo

Chronos chuckled and opened his eyes "It's time…" he smiled to himself "Destiny can't be stopped…"

Ooooo

The man with beard was about to rip Serenity's dress off when he felt a blade cut his hand, crouching he yelled in pain startling the other three men "Who is there?" one of them asked, looking at their surroundings but found nothing. Serenity freed herself from the man's grip but then another pulled her dress making her fall, she turned to look at her assaulter in fright "Please…" she breathed, this time her voice started to break.

"Leave her alone"

The man widened his eyes in shock "Who is there?" the three man gasped at the shadow up in the tree, one of them chuckled "What are you going to do? Cut our heads off?"

The shadow in the trees chuckled "Maybe I will…if you don't step away from her"

The three men looked at each other and laughed "You can't win against us, we are armed!"

"We will see about that" Endymion jumped down the tree standing between Serenity and the three men. The blonde man made the first move but the prince moved faster and kicked him in the stomach sending him several feet away from Serenity, the other two ran at the same time in his direction and took out their swords.

Endymion chuckled "A fight! I needed one…" never moving from his place in front of Serenity, he turned and took a branch from one of the trees next to him and moved it in an X motion, knocking one of them in an instant. The remaining man pointed at the prince with his sword "Surrender!"

Endymion laughed "That word is not in my vocabulary"

Serenity widened her eyes in shock by this man's security and assurance in his strong voice, she have never witnessed a scene like this in her life and never imagine her very first time would be involving her. The bearded man looked up and gasped in shock "Matus! Step away!"

The dark man turned to look at his fallen friend and gasped in shock when he saw his blooded hand "You are hurt!"

"Move away!" the other man yelled. This was Endymion's perfect opportunity, in a swift movement he kicked the sword off the man's hand, making him flinch in pain "You are a very lame fighter…" he looked down at the man. The last man standing moved away when he noticed the uniform he was wearing and immediately knew "We have to get away from here" he said scared.

Serenity frowned and tried to stand up but her dress was hooked in a branch and was hard for her to lose it from its grasp. But the man's words confused her even more, they were acting like if they knew who her savior was and watched how they started to move away from him.

"I told you to move away!" the man with the beard said. Endymion walked closer and grabbed the man's chin tightly "I better not see your dirty faces again or otherwise I will cut your head off…" the man looked at him with panicked eyes and nodded several times "Yes, Your Highness…" he said slowly.

Serenity's eyes went wide "Your…Highness?" she thought.

Endymion crouched in front of the two hurt men "Good, now get lost" his voice was cold and demanding; both men nodded and ran away in a matter of seconds. The prince sighed and stood up, turning to see the girl on the floor he offered his hand to help her stand up which the princess took. As soon as she stood up she gasped in surprise "You!"

Endymion frowned and crossed his arms "What?"

"It's you again!" Serenity exclaimed, forgetting the recent events. Endymion arched a brow "Yes, it's me and the least you could do is say thank you…" he sighed and started to walk away, starting Serenity "Do you always tend to walk away in the middle of a conversation?" she asked annoyed.

Endymion stopped in his tracks; the boldness of this woman's words impressed him, turning to look at her he arched a brow "Let me see if I get this straight, I need to stay here and listen to your mumbling and complaining of being me the one who saved you?"

His words startled her and made her think he was actually right, the man just saved her life and she was here complaining about him, but somehow she didn't understand why she felt like she needed to be this way towards him "Maybe because of last time…" she thought out loud.

"Excuse me?" Endymion asked.

Serenity gasped and covered her mouth "Nothing!"

The prince walked closer to her and moved her hand away, his warmth made her blush an intense shade of pink. Looking at her straight in the eye he half smiled "You can say it to my face"

"Say what?" Serenity kicked herself mentally for her stupid question.

"Why are you so upset" Endymion responded with a soft tone of voice that sent chills down the princess' spine.

Serenity felt her cheeks couldn't get any hotter and lowered her gaze "I wasn't expecting to see you again" she said softly. Endymion moved his face away from her and frowned "Why? Am I that annoying to you?"

The lunar princess pursed her lips "For the way you were the last time we saw each other I believe it is the other way around"

Endymion found her character enchanting and somehow adorable, she acted like she didn't have the slight less clue of who was he and he liked it. The terran prince was tired to be haunted by the court girls and all their false pretentions, he wasn't looking for love, he was just looking for some reality and this seemed to work for him.

The handsome prince chuckled and lowered his head startling Serenity "What is it so funny?" she asked confused. Endymion raised his face and looked at her, this time she noticed and felt her heart race incredibly fast; he was smiling at her out of nothing and that was something unexpected and beautiful to her.

Endymion shook his head "You"

Serenity pursed her lips "And why is that?"

The raven haired man looked at her with curious eyes "Because we don't know who we are and still here we are arguing like if we knew from a long time ago" he tried to hold his laughter and lowered his face again. For the very first time, Endymion, the prince of earth and the almighty respected polemarchos was being shy.

He was right, Serenity thought. Somehow she didn't feel nervous being around this man in fact it was all the contrary, maybe it was because he saved her… "He saved me" she thought again, taking a step closer to him she sighed "Thank you…" Serenity whispered.

Endymion looked up and arched a brow "Did I hear just right?"

Serenity looked at him and smiled "You saved my life…thank you"

The prince blinked a couple of times. He wasn't expecting it "You do realize you are thanking a man you don't even know, right?"

Serenity pursed her lips "You are a royal…" she said softly, with a hint of sympathy and sadness.

Endymion half smiled and crossed his arms "Are you pretending not to know me?"

"I do not know you" Serenity said and realized she have been there for too long, she had to go back to the moon before somebody would notice her absence, walking pass the prince she looked away, Endymion noticed and frowned "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"I need to go…" Serenity said softly.

"Do you want me to accompany you?" he asked.

"No!" Serenity turned nervous to look at him "I… I will be fine" she started to walk away not really sure where she was going. Endymion looked at her and held her forearm, the lunar princess gasped when she felt the warmth of his hand and turned to look at him wide eyed "You are right, you don't know me…but at least, tell me your name" he said softly.

Serenity bit her lip and lowered her light blue gaze. She wondered if telling her name would cause any harm or not, but the man just saved her life, it would be rude of her to just disappear; but it was not like if she would come back, right? She thought. Looking down, she flashed him a genuine smile "Serenity…" she whispered before freeing her arm from his grasp and walk away.

Endymion stood there, mesmerized by the simplicity and sweetness of her voice and her smile. Looking at his hand, he smiled to himself "Nice to meet you…Serenity"

* * *

**I do not own sm just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.**


	60. Chapter 60

**A/N: The name suits this story perfectly...everything really is a question of honor. Be prepared from now on...because longer chapters awaits us, the real deal is starting to begin :) I hope you enjoy this chapter. See you soon!**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter sixty**

* * *

Serenity returned to the moon palace, this time appearing in one of the secret gardens near her chambers. Taking the cloak off, she side it behind one of the large plant pots there "That should do it" she whispered. Her lips curved into a wide smile and blushed at the thought of what just happened moments ago and closed her eyes, after she revived the events she frowned slightly and opened back her eyes "I do not know my savior's name…" she whispered sadly.

Walking out of the small garden she met a very worried Venus "Your Highness! There you are!"

Serenity pursed her lips and wished her guardian didn't noticed where she was, trying to sound cool and collected she smiled "Yes Venus?"

Venus sighed in relief "We were looking all over for you…you have been there by yourself?" she asked in an unreadable tone of voice, making Serenity feel nervous "I…was" she said softly, hoping nobody has looked for her there. Venus frowned "I never thought you would be there… you never come to this side of the palace…"

Serenity felt tired and attacked by her guardian's questions "My cage is quite big…the least thing I can do is to roam around once in a while, don't you think so Venus?"

Venus widened her eyes in shock, the lunar princess has never answered in that way before not even when she was upset. Sighing she bowed her head in respect "Forgive me Your Highness if my questioning has bothered you…" she said softly, startling the princess.

Serenity bit her lower lip when she realized the harshness in her voice, smiling, she shook her head softly "No, Venus…I'm sorry…I shouldn't have talked to you that way…" the princess looked away.

Venus looked at the princess and saw a hint of sadness in her face "Did something happen?"

Serenity turned to look at the orange dressed woman with melancholically "No…it's just that…sometimes I feel trapped in here…" Venus sighed and held Serenity's hand "You are not just a simple goddess but a jewel, it is my duty to protect you"

Serenity frowned and lowered her head; Venus noticed the change in Serenity's behavior and gave her a puzzled look "Princess?" she asked. Serenity moved her head in denial and walked away from Venus in silence, fighting the urge to cry. Venus blinked a couple of times and tried to catch up with the princess "Your Highness!" she called out, Serenity kept walking "Don't follow me Venus…I wish to be alone"

The venusian warrior stopped in her tracks shocked and watched her princess lost herself in the immensity of the empty corridor "What happened?" the blonde beauty whispered to herself.

Serenity entered her chambers and closed the large door behind her, sighing she looked up to the ceiling of her room and felt how the tears in her eyes started to fall uncontrollably. Closing her eyes she remembered the exiting feeling of being on the blue planet and then the face of the man that saved her; her lips curled up in a smile "It was lovely meeting you…" she said softly. Opening her eyes she walked to her balcony and watched the blue planet in the sky with emotion "So alive…like a fairytale"

Ooooooo

Luna was walking through one of the corridors towards the study where the queen and Artemis were waiting for her to have a meeting with some visitors from another galaxy when she saw Venus walking with her head low; the image of the beautiful guardian worried her "Venus?" she asked softly, making the blonde woman raise her head and look at the advisor "Good afternoon Luna"

Luna walked closer the guardian and placed a hand on her forearm "What is the matter?"

Venus pursed her lips and looked away, Luna frowned and turned Venus' face to look at her "What happened, is the princess alright?" she asked with worry in her voice.

Venus looked at Luna and nodded "She is fine…"

Luna gritted her teeth "Then why are you like that?" Venus shrugged her shoulders and lowered her gaze again "I think I made her mad"

"Why do you say that?" the mauian woman asked puzzled. Of all the people she knew Princess Serenity was the least likeable person to get mad and make somebody feel bad and specially one of her guardians, the fact startled her "Maybe you are imaging things…" she tried to enlighten the young woman's mood.

Venus pursed her lips again and sighed "I don't know, maybe she was tired…"

"Where is she now?" Luna asked.

"She is probably in her chambers" Venus said. Luna nodded and looked away "Give her some time of her own…she will come to her senses, she is still surprised by the General's visit"

Venus' eyes widened, she forgot about Athama's visit and how Serenity acted afterwards, Luna was right she thought, maybe she was acting upset because of the general's visit; knowing that she felt more relieved and smiled at the dark haired woman "Thank you Luna"

Luna smiled at the blonde girl and patted her shoulder "You are very welcome. I understand how you feel dear, but you need to be patient and always in the better disposition to help" Luna's words encouraged Venus lifting a weight off her shoulders.

Oooooo

Prince Endymion entered his dark chambers, walking towards his bedroom he sat on his bed and looked at the dancing fire in the hearth in front of his large bed; sighing he took his jacket and boots off tossing them on a chair near the bed, like if he was hypnotized by the memory of the same woman he met days ago he smiled to himself "I wonder where you live…" he thought.

"Where were you?" a male voice interrupted his thoughts, startling him. Endymion turned to his left to find Kunzite sitting on one of the chairs "How long have you been sitting there?"

Kunzite looked at the prince with a serious expression "Quite a while"

Endymion stood up "There is a thing called privacy…you should try it, it's nice" the prince said with sarcasm while he took off his undershirt and went to his drawers to take something else to wear to sleep. Kunzite looked at the prince walk in silence across the bedroom; the fire was the only source of light in the room giving high contrasts with light and darkness "We were looking for you"

The prince scratched the back of his head and turned to look at the general "I thought we finished the pendants of the day earlier than the accustomed"

"We did, but her Majesty keeps looking for you…"

Endymion shut his eyes and gritted his teeth "Mother…" he whispered; Kunzite frowned "Why are you avoiding her?" the question startled the prince. It was a rare thing for his shitennou to talk about this kind of things specially Kunzite since he was known to be the most stoic man after him "I am not avoiding her" he answered in an absent kind of way.

"Are you sure about that?" Kunzite asked.

Endymion sighed and turned to look at him "Why are you so suddenly interested in if I talked to her today or not?" his annoyance gave the general enough reasons to answer his question "So you are avoiding her…" he commented. Endymion walked towards his bed again and lied down "You don't understand…"

Kunzite chuckled "Oh dear friend I do" he stood up and walked over the side of the prince's bed "More than you can imagine"

The prince placed both hands in his head as a sign of tiredness "Please go away…" he mumbled. Kunzite cleared his throat "Since when you run away from your problems? The man I knew on the training field was far from being a coward"

He said it. Coward. The word Endymion never thought he would hear referring him, it fell like being under the freezing waterfall again, like a bomb ready to explode he sat on his bed again and gave Kunzite a dead glare "What did you just said?" the seriousness and annoyance in his voice made Kunzite give the prince a defiant smile, he knew that was the word that would wake the prince out of his senses and probably would start a bloody fight, swallowing and leaving his faith to destiny he repeated "Coward"

Coward was one of the worst names for Endymion, it did not suit him and he knew it. The position where he is right now cost it many years away from his home and too many comrades in battle. It was a bad word and his best friend just said it, referring to him "Dare to call me that one more time and I swear…" he trailed off.

Kunzite took a step forward challenging the prince "What? Crack my face into pieces? You seem to forget I was the man who always challenged you while we were in the army…" Endymion fisted his hands and fought the urge to punch the man in front of him straight in the face "And you seem to forget I was the one who made you change your mind"

Kunzite chuckled "True, but that doesn't mean I won't be…" Endymion took him by his jacket and pressed him against the wall, the white haired man widened his eyes in shock at his master's reaction towards him "Endymion, why are you so damn angry at the world?" Kunzite closed his eyes and waited for the deadly blow that never came.

The question hit Endymion in the face; releasing the man he started to walk back to his bed and sat; resting his elbows on his knees he covered his face with his hands and sighed "You're right, I'm angry…and you're right…I'm avoiding my mother"

"I know that, the question is why Master" Kunzite said, pulling a chair close to the prince he sat and looked at him, waiting for his answer. Endymion moved his hands away from his face and looked at the general "I don't know…that is the worst part of it"

"You don't know?" Kunzite arched a brow "Something must have happened…"

Endymion sighed "I started to feel frustrated, we have been attending social meetings almost every day. Every day I have to deal with the court women's suggestive words, all of them wants to talk with me, all of them wants to dance, or eat, or marry me…I feel like I'd be doing better things than that, on the other side there are the political matters we have to solve every day as well… that is my job and I am not allowed to do so because I have to be stuck in a room full of people pretending to be somebody I am not"

Kunzite nodded his head "Master, this is different from being in war"

Endymion frowned "I was trained to be a warrior Kunzite and I'm here doing everything but that. I am supposed to keep an eye on this kingdom…" he trailed off, Kunzite frowned "Yes, I do understand that but what does this have to do with avoiding Her Majesty?"

Endymion lowered his gaze "I feel like I'm living a lie Kunzite…I don't know why"

Kunzite frowned "Living a lie? What do you mean?"

"Yes…" Endymion stood up and walked over the window, looking at the moon he sighed "I feel there is something Mother is not telling me…something important"

Kunzite turned to look at Endymion "I don't understand"

"This place is full of secrets…I can feel it, I don't know how to explain it I just…can feel it" the prince didn't move from his position on the window "It's frustrating…"

Kunzite stood up and walked to stand next to the troubled prince "You will need to talk to her eventually Master, it is not typical of you to run away from problems…and you need to think that she has delicate health…" Endymion turned to look at Kunzite and pursed his lips "I'll talk to her tomorrow…" he sighed in defeat.

"Tomorrow there is a brunch with several court people…" Kunzite commented, making Endymion growl in frustration "Argh…see what I'm talking about?" Kunzite laughed "I know it is not what you want to do but at least see the bright sight of all this…" he walked back to his seat near the prince's bed.

Endymion turned to look at Kunzite and arched a brow "Which is…?"

Kunzite smiled "The redhead will be there"

Endymion stood still "What about her?"

The general chuckled "What about her? There is an obvious sexual tension in the air whenever you two are near…the rest of the guys think so too, it is too obvious"

Endymion lowered his gaze and put on his white shirt "I don't know what you are talking about" he lied, of course he knew. It was quite evident, every time they met there was some sort of attraction and it was inevitable somehow; Beryl was very attractive.

Kunzite laughed this time "Of course you know what I am talking about! It's okay to say you like her…maybe if you do admit it that would help to stop the insistent brunches and social meetings with the court"

The prince sat on his bed, running a hand through his dark hair he looked at the fire "She is attractive I admit…but I don't think I'm interested in her" he said softly, closing his eyes the image of the girl with light blue eyes he saved a while ago came to his mind and smiled "Yes…I don't think I am interested…" he said again.

Kunzite gave the prince a curious look "You act so strange sometimes…"

Endymion chuckled "I am strange…" lying down on his bed he looked at the ceiling "With a crazy life like the one I have it is quite normal to be strange…so that way my life it stays in balance"

Kunzite arched a brow "Are you even listening to what you are saying? You are more asleep than awake. I should better be going…" the general let out a sigh, stood up and turned to look at the lying prince "Don't stay mad at her, some of us would give up everything in order to have the ones we love close…" the sadness in the general's voice startled Endymion.

"Why haven't you called her?" he asked.

Kunzite half smiled and lowered his head "Because…he came back"

Endymion sat again on his bed and frowned "Who came back?"

Kunzite raised his head and looked at the dark haired man "The man who calls himself my father, he came back…after so many years…"

Endymion blinked a couple of times and stayed silent, giving his friend the cue to continue talking "I know that if I go I will probably kill him…I hold so much grudge towards him. That is one of the main reasons why I joined the army" Kunzite said slowly. Endymion put a hand on his friend's shoulder "One thing is to be mad at the world and other is to feel grudge towards somebody…"

Kunzite arched a brow "Isn't being angry at the world worse?"

Endymion sweat dropped "No…" he looked away making Kunzite chuckle "You are the worst liar I have ever met in my life"

Endymion chuckled and scratched the back of his head "Hey! At least I made you smile!"

Kunzite laughed "Excuse me? At least _I_ made _you_ smile…I'm leaving, I'm tired. Stop being an ass and talk to your mother…" the white haired man turned to leave. Endymion laughed again "Alright, alright…" he muttered and watched his friend walk out the door.

The next morning Aurea walked into Gaia's chambers with a tray with a pot of tea, two cups, a glass of water and her medicines "Good morning Your Majesty, how are you doing today?" she entered the queen's bedroom and watched her doing her hair on her vanity "Good Morning Aurea…" she said gloomy.

Aurea put the tray on a table and walked over the queen and started helping her with her hair "Why are you so gloomy? I prepared you your favorite tea" the maid smiled at the queen's reflection in the mirror and continued combing her long dark hair. Gaia sighed and lowered her gaze, taking the hair piece she was going to wear that day and started to follow the exquisite pattern with her fingers "I haven't seen my son in days…" she said softly.

Aurea watched her friend and queen with great sadness, she hated to see her in this state especially when she knew how delicate her state was, her son was the light of her life and now that he was practically avoiding her it was tearing her apart. When she talked to him she noticed he was angry, frustrated and even hurt the thing is she didn't know much why. Taking a deep breath, she let it out and pursed her lips "Has he talked to His Majesty?"

Gaia moved her head in denial "Not even Eros has seen him, he does his work at hours when nobody is around…I do not know how does he manages to do that"

Aurea started to style her hair in a French braid and looked at the queen in the mirror "He will come around, I'm sure of it"

Gaia took her friend's hands and turned to look at her with a sad expression on her face "I don't even know how he is!"

"Mother"

Both women widened their eyes in shock and turned to see Endymion standing in the doorway wearing a dark green military uniform, most likely to the other ones he had. The serious expression on his face didn't allow neither of the two women read how he was doing, if he was mad or well; Endymion turned to look at his nana "Could you give us a moment?" his voice was calm but serious.

Aurea nodded and smiled softly at the prince, putting the silver hairbrush on the vanity table she exited the room and closed the bedroom double doors. Gaia looked at her son with hopeful and kind eyes, a soft smiled accented her delicate features "Endy…"

"Good morning Mother…" Endymion stayed still and looked at her with a hint of hurt in his deep blue eyes. The magic in them was evident, different tones of navy and sapphire changed in a prismatic kind of way, just like hers did once. To him, see that change of color in his eyes was kind of natural, because his mother always told him it ran in the family but he never paid too much attention to it.

Gaia tried to stand up but Endymion raised his hand up to his chest height "No, it's alright stay sit…I won't take long" His words froze her blood, looking at him with worry she nodded "Alright…"

The prince sighed and lowered his gaze trying to find the exact words to say. Clearing his throat he raised his head again "You are probably wondering where I have been these past few days…"

Gaia nodded "I asked your shitennou but even they didn't know where you were…I want to know what is happening…"

Endymion bit his lip and turned away "I needed some time for myself, to get away somehow…"

"Why?" asked the queen.

"Because I needed to…breathe" Endymion turned his face back to his mother "I needed to breathe"

Gaia frowned and at him with hurt "I know these past events have been taking its toll on you…"

"It is not only that Mater" the prince interrupted, sighing he lowered his gaze "To be honest I've been feeling very upset by all this…"

"By what?" Gaia asked.

"This... the social meetings, the brunches, the dinners…balls, tea parties…I'm sick of it all" Endymion said softly and noticed his mother was about to retort "Before you say anything, I want to say that I know my grandmother plans all those little parties in my honor and with the purpose to introduce me to the ladies of the court…but, I didn't leave for ten years to come back and turn my life into a party…that is not who I am"

Gaia looked at her son and lowered her head "You are right…but something tells me that is not all"

Endymion sighed and leaned on a wall, crossing his arms on his chest he looked at his mother and moved his head "No that is not all…" At his response the terran queen licked her lips and looked back at her son "Then tell me the truth"

Endymion frowned "No Mater, you tell me the truth"

Gaia arched a brow the same way Endymion did, sometimes Aurea was so amazed to see how much the prince looked like his mother in some things, one of them was in their way to express themselves; the queen stood up and walked over to her son "What are you talking about?"

Endymion lowered his head slightly and gave his mother a serious look, one that made perfectly clear he was not joking "Are you going to continue hiding whatever it is hidden?"

Gaia felt a tug in her heart, her biggest fear was about to be revealed if she didn't think things straight and find a solution for that matter, placing a hand on her chest she cough softly "Let's be straight about this, why are you acting like this Endy? Why are you so angry at everybody, at me?"

"Because, you all treat me like if I did not exist!" Endymion raised his voice, frustrated "Because, I have this feeling in my gut that is trying to tell me something I cannot understand…"

Gaia looked at her son with sad eyes _"It's your warrior heart son…" _she thought. Taking a step closer to him, she placed a hand on his arm and looked at him "What is what you are trying to understand? You are a gifted man, blessed with health and beauty, talent and honesty…four qualities you don't get to see in one person very often"

Endymion lowered his head "I've been hearing the same thing since I was a boy but I always felt there was something else…You see Mater, I'm tired of all this…" the prince moved away from the wall and his mother and walked towards the balcony doors and looked outside "Neither you or Pater never really talked about my grandparents…"

"But you know very well who your grandparents are dear" Gaia said softly. Endymion turned to look at her "I meant my other grandparents…" he said in a nostalgic tone of voice. He asked it, a question she was not ready to respond; a question that not only hurt him but her as well because it represented talking about her family and remember the bitter and sad moments she lived with them when she decided to live on earth with the man she loved, his father. Gaia sat on her vanity chair again and sighed, turning to look for her hairbrush she fought the forming tears in her eyes "There is nothing to say about them" she said dryly.

The prince frowned "Nothing?"

Gaia turned to look at him "No, nothing" Endymion made a deeper frown and looked down at his sword and then back at his mother "You gave me a sword that belonged to my grandfather and great grandfather and you are telling me there is nothing to say about them?"

Gaia stood up and turned to look at him "What do you want me to tell you about them Endymion?" she raised her voice.

"Something Mater! _de omni re scibili et quibusdam aliis…_" (about every knowable thing, and even certain other things) Endymion raised his voice again and ran a hand through his dark hair in frustration "Why do you insist on carry that big burden of yours alone? Can't you see Mater, that I did what I had to do in order to protect you someday…you, acting this way…makes me feel all my effort is worthless"

Endymion's words pierced Gaia's heart, this time the tears in her eyes couldn't hold any longer and started to fall silently one by one. It was true what Obelix told her then, her son felt guilt for her health, he felt angry to see her the way she was and being him the responsible for it. Her son's burden was bigger than hers and she wasn't looking straight "Endymion…" she sobbed softly "I…" she trailed off.

Endymion looked at her sadly "It is sad to think about it but…" he looked down and took a deep breath "Pater will not be around forever, I am supposed to follow his steps and continue his legacy…your legacy as well, I was born a boy because faith wanted me to protect you as well…" his words hit a soft spot in Gaia's heart, he talked so regal, so mature and conscious of his position and his obligations, but also his words were full of love and hurt at the same time. After all, he was her son, he lived inside her for nine months and shared a special bond; he have been protecting her since he was in her womb and even after all these years he was still doing the same.

Endymion walked towards her and placed his hands on her shoulders "You Mater, are the treasure of our lives but you are too stubborn to let us help you" he whispered and wiped the tears off her face with the back of his hand. Gaia sniffed softly and put her arms around him tightly, a sensation of fear started to invade her heart "I don't want you to get hurt…I would die if something happens to you…" she said against his chest. The prince looked down and parted her a few centimeters away from him "Nothing is going to happen to me Mother…"

Gaia started crying with an uncontrollable force and fear, worrying the prince "I would die if something happens to you…"

Endymion frowned and held his mother tighter "Mama, nothing is going to happen…why are you so scared?"

Gaia parted away from him and looked up "You are not the reason of why I am in the state I am, do you understand Endymion?"

Endymion widened his eyes in shock "What?"

"You are not guilty of anything…you are the best thing that ever happened to me, never ever forget that" Gaia placed her hands on each side of his face "You are so beautiful…inside and out, so passionate, so regal…a true legend, a true warrior… but it doesn't matter how strong you are, I am your mother and I am always going to be there to protect you. I know you joined the army because of me, because you thought you were responsible for my bad health and you still think that"

"I joined the army because I wanted to. Of course, you were on my mind all the time and you were my motor and the reason to keep going because yes! I want you to stay here for a long period of time, I want you to meet your grandchildren…if I ever get married…I want you to be well, I want you to be happy" Endymion said softly "But please, stop being stubborn and let me help you carry the weight you have upon your shoulders…"

Gaia looked at her son and smiled _"A true god…" _she thought. Wiping the tears off her face with her hand she nodded "I love you…"

Endymion smiled softly and put a strand of her dark hair behind her ear "_Te amo,_ _ab imo pectore" (I love you, from the bottom of my heart) _

Gaia sniffed a little and walked to her vanity to look at herself one last time and turned to look at her son again "You don't have to come with me…I will tell your grandmother you had to attend something with great importance…" she said softly. Endymion half smiled "I will go…but only for a little while. As a matter of fact I do have to attend some matters of great importance later this day" the prince offered his arm for his mother to take and started to walk out of the room, he was about to open the door when he frowned and looked at the tray with the glass of water "Mama…" he said.

Gaia turned to look at him "Yes dear?"

"Take your medicines…" the prince said.

"I already did"

"Don't lie to me"

Gaia pursed her lips "How can you tell I haven't taken them?"

Endymion pointed his finger at the tray "Because your pills are still there…"

Gaia eavesdropped "I thought I would be free of them for today" she mumbled.

"It's for your own good"

"Yes dear, but I don't like being drugged all day...I'm fine!"

Endymion arched a brow "What did we just talk minutes ago?"

Gaia sighed "Fine…I'll take them"

The prince chuckled "That's my pretty girl"

* * *

**I do not own sm, just this plot and some of the characters. Thank you.**


	61. Chapter 61

**A/N: I LOVE writing this story. I actually enjoy the moments when I have to re read it in order to see if there are some errors or something...I get excited! lol. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did, it is a very fun ride...I'm glad you are joining me :)**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter sixty one**

* * *

*Salve: Good morning

"*Salve!" Queen Narellla said happily as soon as she entered the large room full of guests, mostly women of course.

"Salve, Your Majesty" everybody responded in unison.

A few minutes later, Queen Gaia entered the room holding Endymion's arm "Here we go…" he mumbled, making his mother chuckle softly "You will be alright"

At the distance Beryl was looking at the prince and felt her heart skip a beat again, the redhead had been attending to every social meeting Queen Narella has been offering hoping to see the prince, now this was her lucky day. Charmindy walked up to her and widened her eyes as a sign that it was moment to go and try to talk to the prince; Beryl nodded and walked over where the prince was standing with several other girls.

"It is wonderful to see you Your Highness…" a girl in a lavender gown said excitedly.

"I was going to say the same thing" another with a pink dress said.

Endymion half smiled "Thank you…um…"

"Are you going to stay with us today?" a girl in a yellow dress with ruffles interrupted him.

The prince started to get suffocated like every time he was present in these events, whenever he turned his face there was a woman trying to get his attention; Endymion turned to his right and saw her standing in a very provocative ocre gown, her hair fell like a fire cascade down her back, her enchanting green eyes were looking at him with much interest "I…" the prince trailed off while looking at her.

The girl in the lavender gown turned to see what he was looking and saw Beryl smiling at him "Witch…" she muttered. Endymion started to walk, parting the crowd of women catching the queen's attention; Beryl smiled at the prince as soon as he was standing in front of her "Your Highness" she bowed before him.

Endymion looked at her and half smiled "We always end up meeting each other"

Beryl blushed and smiled "Maybe it is because destiny wants us to meet all the time"

The prince chuckled and looked at Charmindy standing behind a pillar "Right…" he said softly, then looked at Beryl again "You look lovely"

Queen Gaia watched the scene with mixed feelings, she noticed how this woman enchanted her son as soon as she appears and it is quite obvious to do that to every man in the world, the woman was gorgeous but there was something about her that didn't seemed to like her, maybe it was the way she could always catch Endymion's attention or maybe it was the fact that she was Charmindy's protégé which that was more than one reason for her. Queen Narella turned to look at her daughter in law watching the scene between the girl and the prince and chuckled "I believe we have a winner…" she said softly.

"What?" Gaia turned to see Narella with a surprised expression. Queen Narella chuckled "I believe our dearest Endymion has found the one that can be by his side"

Gaia felt a wave of anger through her veins and frowned "No regular mortal can be with him…"

Narella turned shocked by Gaia's words "What are you saying?"

Gaia looked at the redhead girl talking with her son "He is not in love with her but enchanted by her looks…"

Queen Narella blinked a couple of times "It's normal to feel that way…you are his mother, of course you want the best woman to be with him, I had the same feeling when Eros was seeing this 'mysterious' woman"

Gaia pursed her lips "Endymion is too much for a regular woman…" he murmured. Queen Narella lowered her head "You are saying that…"

"He belongs to be with the beings of his class…not with…a protégé" Gaia said with annoyance. Queen Narella covered her mouth and tried to fight her urge to laugh; the terran queen was jealous of the girl that seemed to capture her son's heart.

"The day is lovely outside" Beryl commented cheerfully while looking outside the window. Endymion arched a brow and half smiled "Yes, I believe it is. I did not know you were an outside kind of women"

Beryl blushed and lowered her gaze "Your Highness…I believe you have me in other concept. I do enjoy spending the day out"

"Good" Endymion said simply, Beryl felt hopeful with his more relaxed demeanor, the prince looked at her and gave her a another smile "Maybe one of these days we can spend a day out"

Beryl looked at the tall man in front of her with wide eyes and blushed "Your Highness…" she trailed off. Endymion nodded his head and walked back towards his mother "The shitennou are probably expecting me by now, I should go" he whispered in his mother's ear.

Gaia looked at Beryl with defiant eyes, her lips formed a smile of triumph; nodding he turned her face and looked at him "I will see you at dinner?"

Endymion nodded "Of course" he whispered. Gaia winked her eye at him and watched him go.

Oooooooo

Serenity entered the study for her daily lessons with Mercury and gasped in surprise "What is all this?" she watched in awe the room full of white flowers, the light and sweet scent perfumed the air; Mercury turned to look at the princess and chuckled "They do not stop bringing them into this room"

Serenity walked to one of the elegant flower arrangements and looked at the beautiful flowers "Who sent all these flowers?"

Mercury sat on one of the chairs near the ceiling to floor window "General Athamas of course"

Serenity turned surprised "General Athamas?"

Mercury nodded "I think he is trying to win your heart entirely" the comment startled the princess. "Entirely?" she thought, Serenity started to wonder if he was being real with his feelings or just trying to convince her about his intentions. The events in the past couple of days moved something in her mind and heart, her new found secret adventures, the conversation he had with the soldier, him mentioning the name of a women and the gorgeous mortal that saved her life "I want to know your name…" she whispered while looking at the white flower.

"Princess?" Mercury asked.

Serenity turned to look at the mercurian guardian and smiled "Yes?"

Mercury sided her head "Did you say something?" she said with curiosity. Serenity smiled and went to sit next to her "I said the flowers are lovely…"

Mercury pushed a strand of blue hair behind her ear and started to look for the day's lesson "I thought I had the lesson marked…" she mumbled.

Serenity looked at the blue planet in the sky "What do you know about Earth Mercury?"

Mercury froze and looked up at the princess "I beg your pardon Princess?"

Serenity smiled at the blue haired woman in front of her and rested her elbows on her thighs "Teach me about Earth"

The ice guardian blinked a couple of times "Well…that was not today's lesson Your Highness…"

"I know Mercury but as a royal I think I need to know everything I can about almost everything…one of those things is Earth even if we don't have any contact with that planet" Serenity said softly.

Mercury sighed and lowered her gaze "That is a forbidden topic Your Highness…if Her Majesty finds out I taught you things about Earth she will probably…"

"Nobody has to know Mercury" Serenity interrupted the blue haired woman and smiled "That will be our little secret"

Mercury watched the silver haired princess in silence a few seconds and smiled "Well…Earth is a very primitive planet"

Serenity sided her head in curiosity "Primitive?"

"Yes" Mercury cleared her throat "Life there is different from the one we have here, is a mortal planet. That is one of the main reasons why it's forbidden to be there"

Serenity frowned "But as high beings we are supposed to watch over them then…right?"

Mercury shook her head no "They live under a wave of feelings, emotions… they hold their life dear, unlike us they die"

"Earth doesn't have a god?" Serenity frowned again "I have never hear of a god of Earth…"

Mercury closed the book in her lap and put it aside "The legend says that there once was one but mysteriously disappeared"

Serenity's mouth formed an O shape as a sign of surprise "Nobody knows what happened to that god?"

"I heard once it was a Goddess…but I do not know for sure what happened to her…it is a mystery for sure because the legend says that the Terran Goddess held a very powerful stone…the Golden Crystal"

"Golden Crystal…" Serenity muttered "Like the Silver Crystal Mother owns?"

Mercury nodded "Every God or Goddess who protects a planet has a special and sacred stone, but the Silver and Golden have been the most respected, admired and desired crystals in all the universe because of their extremely strong powers…"

Serenity but her lip "If that crystal is that strong then where is it?"

Mercury shrugged her shoulders "That is the mystery…nobody seems to know, apparently, the goddess who held it took it with her when she disappeared"

Serenity put a hand to cover her mouth "Why nobody talks about this kind of things Mercury? Why to keep it a secret? If a stone that precious and powerful is somewhere in the universe why not look for it and bring that Goddess back?"

Mercury was impressed by the princess questioning, she was really interested in this topic; after all she thought Serenity was right in trying to know as much as possible about everything that surrounded her, yes, Earth was a forbidden topic and planet to visit but it was the nearest planet and of course she would be curious about it someday "Gods hold too many secrets Your Highness…"

"Do you think Mother would know who this Goddess is?" Serenity asked, Mercury pursed her lips "I don't know…it was a very long time ago…I don't think Her Majesty actually met her, besides it's just a legend…maybe somebody created that story in order to distract the attention towards the Silver Crystal"

Serenity smiled at her tutor and guardian, she thank her sincerity and her kind heart. The lunar princess admired her greatly; she was incredibly smart and always had the right things to say in every moment. What she loved about Mercury is that she never judged anybody right away; her always rational thinking made her had her feet well planted on the ground and never took any sides, so whenever there was an argument she would have her own opinion and actually help solve the problem. Mercury would never let a friend down, even thought she was always reading, studying and learning new things she would always be there for a friend. Serenity constantly noticed how the other girls did not talk to her as much as often maybe because they felt she was too smart for them, but she was grateful to have a woman like her by her side.

"Do you know how beautiful you are?" she let her admiration escape her lips, startling Mercury.

"Your Highness?" Mercury asked.

Serenity smiled "Yes, do you know how beautiful you are?"

Mercury blushed "I do not understand Princess…"

Serenity stood up and started to walk around the room and smelled the flowers "You are not too much of a talking person…but you don't need to…you always know exactly what to say in the right moment to say it and…" the princess turned to look at her guardian "I admire that so much…" she turned again and walked to another table with another vase of white flowers "You are kind and genuine, you are smart and very pretty…and you never judge anybody"

Mercury felt her eyes fill with fresh tears and lowered her face "Princess…" she whispered.

Serenity took a flower from the vase and kept walking around the other arrangements "I'm so glad to have you as my friend" she turned to look at Mercury and walked towards her "Nobody gets that privilege in this place…" she gave her friend the white flower; Mercury widened her eyes in shock and took the flower "Thank you" she breathed, surprised.

Serenity chuckled "No dear friend, thank you"

"What is all this?" another voice was heard in the room, making turn the two girls. Venus walked in with a shock expression a mix of curiosity and wonder "It's beautiful…" she said softly.

Serenity walked over Venus and hugged her without hesitating "I'm sorry Venus…" she whispered. Venus smiled and hugged her back tightly "No Your Highness…I'm the one that should be sorry…I overprotect you and maybe you are right in wanting more freedom…" she said softly. The blonde's words startled Serenity, breaking the hug she looked at her with surprise "Venus?"

Venus shrugged her shoulders "I know it sounds strange…and I know we all made a promise that we intend to keep but…I also know that behind all the glamour, the crown and the title you are a woman who needs her space…"

Serenity smiled "Thank you Venus…"

Venus giggled and walked pass the princess "Besides, I know General Athamas will look after you while we are out" the blonde woman sat next to Mercury near the window, Serenity turned to see Venus and Mercury with wide eyes "While you are out?"

Venus smiled and turned to look at Mercury then back at the surprised princess in front of them "We have been giving a special permission from Her Majesty to go and visit our families"

Serenity's heart started to race, not really sure why it was the first time in years she would be alone without her friends looking all over for her "You are leaving, all of you?"

Mercury smiled and nodded "But it is only for a few days…"

Serenity put a hand on her chest and sat on the closest chair available "I am going to miss you…"

Venus chuckled "Don't worry Your Highness, like Mercury just said we are going to be away only for a few days…"

"But if you are my guardians, then…who is going to look after me?" Serenity arched a brow. Venus chuckled again "Your Highness…I know you will be fine as long as you don't leave the palace"

Serenity felt her cheeks flush "What? Why…why would I leave the palace? It's silly Venus!" she said nervously but the idea didn't sound so bad at all for her, that would be the perfect opportunity to actually go to Earth and see all its wonder without worrying about the time, her lips curved into a soft smile "I'm glad you are going to get to see your families, I'm sure they all miss you terribly…when do you leave?"

"Later this afternoon, Your Highness" Mercury said.

"So soon?" Serenity asked.

"Her Majesty just informed us yesterday and I didn't get the chance to tell you…" Venus trailed off.

Serenity pursed her lips and lowered her gaze "I know Venus, it's alright, I understand…"

A soft knock came on the door and it was opened, the three women turned to see Jupiter and Mars walking into the room "Good day Your Highness" Mars said softly.

Jupiter bowed her head and smiled "I believe Venus just told you the news"

Serenity smiled and nodded "I will miss you, but I'm happy you all going to see your families"

Jupiter pursed her lips "Your Highness…General Athamas has come to visit you"

Serenity looked up at the amazon and bit her lip, not really sure of what to feel; Mars noticed the sudden change in Serenity's mood and frown slightly "We will come as soon as we can Your Highness" the raven haired word's seemed to have enlighten the princess' mellow mood.

Venus frowned and crouched in front of Serenity "If you need anything, don't hesitate to call for us…alright?"

Serenity smiled and nodded "I will be fine, do not worry so much" she chuckled. The princess stood up and walk with the girls out of the room and through the long hallway; Mars held Serenity's hand making her stop and turn to look at her "Is something the matter Mars?"

"If you don't want us to leave, just tell us" the raven haired woman said in a serious tone, her violet eyes showed concern and almost she could feel her princess was not in the mood to socialize with the general for some strange reason knowing she supposedly was in love with him. Serenity's eyes widened in shock, Mars was not as expressive as Jupiter or Venus but she was sure a strong woman and since day one she had been there for her no matter what.

"It's fine Mars, I will be fine…go and enjoy your free time with you family" Serenity said softly.

The five women reached the gates of the palace; Jupiter was the first to turn to look at the princess "Your Highness if you need anything…"

Serenity chuckled "I am going to be fine, I promise!"

Venus walked over Serenity and hugged her "We will see each other soon" letting her go, she took a step back and turned to look at the other girls "It's time"

The four girls nodded and closed their eyes; summoning their inner powers they were engulfed in a soft and in a matter of seconds they were gone, leaving a trace of colorful sparks behind, Serenity smiled "Good journey, dear friends"

Walking towards the garden a male voice caught her attention "Where are you going with such hurry?" startled, Serenity turned to see Athamas standing near the gates that directed you to the main court "One of the girls told me you were here…" she said softly.

The handsome blonde general kissed the back of her hand gently and flashed her a charming smile "I wanted to see you" he said. Serenity half smiled, even thought she was very interested and she could say madly in love with the man before her the name of that woman still haunted her mind; just the mere fact that there was somebody else fighting for him as well tormented her somehow and not only her but his words as well the thought of him wanting what everybody else wanted from her disappointed her "It's nice to see you Athamas"

Athamas smiled at her again, that same smile he knew well melted the princess' heart "I am willing to spend all afternoon here with you"

"Willing?" Serenity arched a brow.

The blonde man laughed "You know how busy we all are all the time"

Serenity sighed and lowered her gaze "Yes, I believe you are right…" his words hurt her, like a piercing shard of glass passed through her heart, stopping in her tracks she pursed her lips and looked up at him "Will it be fine if we see each other some other day?"

Athamas' widened his eyes in surprise, he didn't expect that reaction from her especially knowing that she was too sweet to say no to anybody "Are you feeling ill?" he asked.

Serenity half smiled "I think I am having a slight headache…nothing serious, I just need to have some rest"

"Is there anything I can do to help you?" Athamas said.

Serenity smiled and moved her head no "It is alright, I will see you soon" without anything else to say she started walking towards her chambers leaving a very surprised general standing alone.

Oooooooooo

"Leaving us so soon Your Highness?"

The female voice made him stop in his tracks, turning to his side he found Lady Beryl standing near a pillar outside the ballroom "I…" the prince trailed off and turned to look at the room then back at her "I thought you were…inside"

Beryl smiled "I felt I needed some air…"

Beryl was surprised by the effort she was putting in trying to catch the prince's attention, this stopped being Charmindy's plan a long time ago she wanted him to look at her the same she was looking at him. Of course, Charmindy was more than happy with her now liberal and confident attitude; she felt her plans were soon to become true and that she will be living inside the magnificent golden palace with her protégé as the future queen of Earth.

Endymion looked at her with a mix of desire and hunger; he couldn't fight the urge to drag her close and know how it is like to touch those lips of her or to run his hand through that mass of red hair. The attraction was stronger every time he looked at her but something inside him pulled him back, almost like protecting him somehow but he was minutes away to succumb to the beauty in front of him.

"Your Highness" Jadeite's voice brought the prince back to reality, turning to look at the blonde man he nodded "Yes, Jadeite?"

Jadeite looked at the redhead standing near the prince and looked back at Endymion "We are all ready"

Endymion mouthed a 'thank you' and turned to look at the woman behind him "Enjoy the party, excuse me" nodding his head he turned to leave with the blonde general. Beryl sighed in disappointment "So close…" she moaned.

Jadeite turned to see the prince walking next to him in silence and cleared his throat catching his attention "What Jadeite?"

"Nothing, nothing…" Jadeite rolled his eyes, of course Endymion knew there was 'something' behind his friend's words, sighing Endymion ran a hand through his hair "You are the least quiet person I know so tell me whatever it is"

Jadeite chuckled "I was just thinking…that woman really wants to be in your bed"

Endymion's blue eyes widened and stopped in his tracks, Jadeite stopped a few steps further and turned to look at him "Don't tell me you didn't notice her antics, 'come on! You…the all Mighty Polemarchos doesn't know when a woman wants to be under your sheets…I don't believe it"

Endymion blinked a couple of times "I do know…what impresses me is the bluntness of your words"

Jadeite laughed "I am not Zoicite, not even Kunzite who is rawer"

"I can now see that" Endymion started walking again "But I really appreciate your honest words…and thank you for freeing me from her presence, she certainly does something to me every time we are close"

Jadeite chuckled "You are attracted to her but definitely not interested in her…"

"Exactly! You do understand me, but I do not want to…just sleep with her…I am not like that" Endymion said in a low voice noticing there were getting close to the study and that several guards and maids were around all the time. Jadeite nodded his head and smiled "Not like you haven't done it in the past…"

Endymion gave the blonde man a dead glare "What did you have for breakfast this morning?"

Jadeite laughed "My usual, why?"

"Because it surely has done something to you…" Endymion sighed. The blonde man chuckled "Are you going to deny my words?"

"Well no, I won't but…that is something I did when I was very young and…what am I even explaining myself to you?" the prince frowned.

Jadeite laughed "A-ha! *_Quid enim sentias victim iam?" (How does it feel being the victim this time?)_

Endymion eavesdropped _"Jadeite clausum, punctum quod nolunt iterum similes**" (Shut up Jadeite, the point is I don't want to be like that anymore)_

Jadeite chuckled "Accipio, accipio…" (I understand, I understand…)

The two men stopped in front of the doors of the study, the guards at the door nodded and opened one for the prince and the general _"Bona post meridiem" (Good afternoon) _the prince greeted.

King Eros smiled at his son as soon as he walked inside the large room _"Bona post merdiem filius, dormire bene?"(Good afternoon son, did you sleep well?)_

Endymion smiled at his father _"Si Pater, gratias" (Yes Father, thank you) _then turned to look at Kunzite who was already there with several parchments in his hand and nodded his head as a signal that he did what he promised him he would do the next morning, Kunzite half smiled and nodded his head back "What are the things for today?"

King Eros sat on his chair and looked at his son "Nothing much son, just to read some of this suggestions and pleads from the three points"

Endymion smiled at his father and went to sit on the other side of the desk, taking the parchments from Kunzite's hand he began reading quickly, Eros looked at him with some sort of wonder and pride. Many memories came back to his mind of when Endymion was little and used to spend all day with him while he read a countless amount of papers.

"There's nothing too urgent or demanding in these papers…just simple things that can be arranged right away" the prince looked up at his father and caught him lost in thought "Pater?"

Eros shook his head softly and smiled "Yes, well…you are the one who has the last word in these matters, it's your call"

Endymion asked Kunzite for a pen to start signing the papers; Eros watched in silence, Leonidas was standing by the king's side and knew exactly what his friend and king was thinking. Endymion started signing the parchments, one after another after giving them a final quick read but felt like if somebody was looking at him, looking up he caught his father and Leonidas watching at him closely "Is everything alright?" he asked confused.

Eros chuckled "No, it's nothing…I was, well Leonidas and I were remembering when you were a boy and asked me to 'draw' in those papers…I told you one day you will and wished to be drawing in the ones you had at that time"

Endymion blushed and looked down at the parchment in his hand "I think I understand now…" he muttered. Leonidas smiled "You spent too much time in this room"

Endymion smiled while he kept signing papers "I liked to be here"

Eros nodded his head "Time went by too quickly for my liking…"

Endymion gave Kunzite the pen back and stacked the parchments on the desk "Done, I read them three times to be perfectly sure of what I was signing, there shouldn't be any problems"

Eros took the papers and started signing them as well "You have always been an impressive fast reader, I trust your good judgment"

Endymion sighed and leaned on the chair and motioned his shitennou to sit as well, the king was right it was not much to do that day. Eros looked at his son "How did you managed to free yourself from my mother's grasp this time?"

The shitennou chuckled, they were now used to the king's sense of humor when it wasn't a very busy day. Endymion smiled "I talked to Mother early in the morning…I am getting quite tired of all that as a matter of fact"

Eros arched a brow "Of talking to your mother?"

"Of going to those events…" Endymion sighed.

"It's part of the protocol Your Highness…even your father had to deal with all that" Leonidas said.

Endymion frowned "How did you managed to survive?

"I found your mother" Eros said simply.

A soldier came into the room panting "Your Majesties…" he said. Eros, Leonidas, Endymion and the Shitennou looked at the man with a worried look "What is it?"

"Polemarchos…it happened again" the soldier said.

Endymion frowned and stood up immediately "What? Where? When?"

Eros turned to look at Leonidas "The deaths…" the general said. The soldier nodded and turned to look at the prince "Near the river, one of the soldiers found the couple a few minutes ago; I came running as fast as I could to inform you…"

Endymion turned to look at his father then lowered his gaze and pounded the desk with his fist "Damn it!"

"Where are the bodies?" Kunzite asked immediately, the soldier turned to look at him "In the dungeon…"

"Did you take a look at the perimeter of the incident?" Nephrite asked.

"There are soldiers doing so at this moment General" the soldier said and turned to look at the prince's back "What should we do know Polemarchos?"

"Do you think it is convenient to look at the corpses again?" Zoicite asked the prince in a low tone, Endymion moved his head in denial "It's no use…I know it is the same cause than before...help me identify the bodies and inform their families…" the prince asked Zoicite and Nephrite.

"Yes, Your Highness" both men left the study quickly.

Endymion turned to look at the Kunzite and Jadeite "Prepare your horses, we live immediately"

Eros stood up "There must be something else we can do…" Endymion turned to look at his father and Leonidas "Leave it to me Pater, you need to stay here in case something shows up in the palace, I will come back as soon as I can" the prince left the study quickly with the soldier behind him. Eros sat on his chair again and rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration, Leonidas noticed and sat on Endymion's chair, looking at the king he sighed softly "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm getting old Leonidas…"

Leonidas gritted his teeth "Since when that is a problem?"

Eros looked at the general "I should be helping my son"

Leonidas stood up and walk around the room "Didn't you see him signing those papers a while ago?"

Eros arched a brow "What does that has to do with this matter?"

The general looked out the window and watched the prince leave the palace in his horse followed by Kunzite and Jadeite in their respective horses, a smile was formed in his lips "I admire the confidence he has to do his work, he knows well what he is doing…" the general turned to look at his king "Endymion is not a little boy anymore...you know how much he is capable of doing and how well respected he is…you said it yourself the best polemarchos this kingdom ever seen"

Eros sighed "I believe I am holding on to the memories…just like Gaia…" the king's words made the general chuckle "It's normal… you wished the prince was younger but…we all had the privilege to watch him grow and I am very thankful for that"

Eros smiled at his long time friend "You are right my friend…_ius es" (you're right)_

Ooooooo

Endymion got to the place where the soldier mentioned they found the lifeless couple, Kunzite and Jadeite turned to look at him with concern "The problem here is that the assaulter doesn't leave any clues…" Jadeite said.

The prince turned to look at Kunzite and shook his head "The same happened again, no clues, no damages…no nothing"

"What should we do Master?" Kunzite asked.

Endymion sighed in frustration "We need to go back to the palace and see if they have a family… without any hints of what happened we can't do much but to be alert and send a noticed to the three points to reinforce the security in every kingdom"

Kunzite and Jadeite nodded "Very well, are you coming with us?" the blonde haired man asked the prince.

"I will in a moment" the prince said.

"We will inform the King as soon as we get to the Palace Master" Kunzite said, at the prince's nod he move the reins of his horse and head back to the palace, Jadeite followed behind quickly. The prince sighed again in frustration and went deeper in the woods trying to find peace. He was about to go back when he suddenly heard somebody stepping on a branch; aware that the sound of the horse steps might scare whoever was there he stepped off his horse and let it go lose in the woods.

Walking through the trees he heard somebody cursing in a low voice, hiding behind a bush he widened his eyes in surprise.

* * *

**I do not OW**


	62. Chapter 62

**A/N: Oww fewww! I was starting to get worried, something strange happened that i couldn't upload a chapter, it didn't marked me an error or anything, just the page stayed blank. Anyways...here goes a fresh new chapter, I hope you like it! :)**

**To all big mothers, little mothers, petite mothers, want to be mothers, mothers to be, pretty mamas and all... happy mother's day.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter sixty two**

* * *

Flashback

_Serenity started to walk back to her chambers where she knew she would be alone and nobody would be waiting for her, thinking that she might be a little too mean to think it was some sort of relief, the sense of freedom she has been asking all these years finally was happening even if it was only for a few days; she stopped in the middle of the hall and turned to both sides to see if anybody was around, her lips turned into a grin and instead of going towards her chambers she turned to her left and went straight to one of the gardens. Like a child who is about to do a devilry she walked quickly to one of the plant pots near the fountain and crouched, looking for something "A-ha!" she said taking a very wrinkled cloak from behind and sighed happily, turning to look to the blue planet she smiled "What are the chances to see you again?"_

_Putting the light silky cloak on, she made sure nobody was around and repeated the same ritual. Summoning her inner powers she closed her eyes and in a flash of silver she was gone. As soon as she opened her eyes she knew she was on the blue planet, her feet had that strange cool feeling again. Giggling she walked around happily, not sure of where she was going she tried to take 'a chance' and walked even deeper in the woods, a light and indulging sound echoed in her ear "Is that…" she trailed off._

_Following the calming sound of the water, she noticed several men were talking out loud with evident worry "We need to inform His Highness…"_

_Serenity hid behind a tree and frowned, trying to look clearer what the uniformed men were saying "I wonder what is happening over there…" she said to herself._

_A man ran a hand through his hair and sighed in frustration "Faciam nostra turbetur Polemarchos…" (our Polemarchos will get very upset…)_

_The other four men nodded their heads in agreement, Serenity was not sure of what he just said, she had never heard any language like that in all her years studying different dialects this one was different, strange and somewhat indulging…almost romantic she thought._

"_Quid faciemus iam?" (what should we do now?) another man asked._

"_Ascendam et nuntiabo celsitudinem nostrum, indicet nobis quid agree…" (Go and inform Our Highness, he will tell us what to do)_

_Serenity watched one of the soldiers nod and leave as quickly as he could, leaving the three men alone looking at something in the ground "I wished I knew what they are saying…"_

_The three soldiers put blankets over the bodies they found and put them over a dolly to take them back to the palace, soon after they started walking away giving Serenity the opportunity to come out; walking towards the place where the three men were standing she saw nothing. Moments after she heard loud noises again, similar to the ones she heard when she got there; hiding behind the same tree she waited until they were completely gone._

_Three men riding a horse appeared next with the same soldier Serenity watched leaving first, she pursed her lips and payed close attention to what they were saying but again, they were talking in that same foreign language._

"_Quaestio est quod hic non assaulter clues reliquit…" a blonde man in a brown horse said._

_A man wearing a dark green uniform turned to look another man wearing a dark grey uniform and watched him shook his head "Idem accidit nec est clues nulla dampna…" Serenity widened her eyes, she recognized that deep voice. _

"_Quid faciemus sit?" the man with white hair asked the other._

_Serenity frowned "I don't understand anything they are saying…but I better walk away from here before somebody sees me" she started to walk away as quiet and unnoticeable as possible but continued listening the male voices in the back. _

_She heard one of them sigh in frustration "Necesse est redire ad palatium, et si familia sunt sine…insinuate quid factum esse non possumus, nisi ut multo et misit alert observatus tria puncta salutis supplementum in omni regno"_

_The blonde and the white haired men nodded "Bene, venis nobiscum?" the blonde haired man asked the one who gave the order._

"_Ego in momento" the man with the deep voice said._

"_Tibi nuntiarent regi primum accepimus magister Palatium" the man with white hair said, at the other man's nod he move the reins of his horse and head back to the palace, the blonde man followed behind quickly. _

_Serenity was walking behind some tall bushes and didn't noticed she stepped on a branch, making a noise "No…" she moaned softly._

_The prince was about to go back to the palace when he suddenly heard somebody stepping on a branch; aware that the sound of the horse steps might scare whoever was there he stepped off his horse and let it go lose in the woods. Walking through the trees he heard somebody cursing in a low voice, hiding behind a bush he widened his eyes in surprise. _

End of flasback

Serenity was doing a little tantrum because her dress got hooked to one of the branches of a bush "Agh…" she moaned again pulling at her skirt. Endymion fought the urge to laugh and without her noticing he grabbed the side of her dress that was hooked to the branch and released it "Moto si, cultu rapiet" (If you keep moving you'll rip your dress)

Serenity's eyes widened in shock and turned to look at the man standing behind her and stayed silent. Endymion arched a brow "Mute vadis rursum?" (Have you gone mute again?) he asked softly. The white princess pursed her lips, she didn't understand anything he was saying and that frustrated her; if he finds out she can't understand he will figure out she is not from this planet, then she would get in tremendous trouble and even probably take her to the 'monster'.

Pursing her lips she lowered her gaze and prayed for the best "I do not understand…" she said softly.

Endymion shook his head and half smiled "You seem to love this place quite much…"

Serenity raised her face and looked at him with surprise _"He didn't ask me anything…" _she thought, looking at her dress she noticed the slight rip on her skirt and bit her lip "Why do you say that?" she asked him.

Endymion chuckled "Because we seem to meet at the same place every time…"

Serenity gritted her teeth "You are the one who probably likes this place much more than me…I do not come here very often…I just…seem to end in the same place all the time, I do not know why"

Endymion crossed his arms and frowned "You seem to end? What is that supposed to mean?"

Serenity pursed her lips tight "Nothing, is it a tradition of yours to harass women?"

The prince let out a laugh, Serenity turned to look at him and frowned "What's so funny?" Endymion went to sit to a stone near the white princess and looked at her, she looked at his piercing blue eyes and was marveled by the way they changed from a darker shade to a lighter one, more like a sapphire blue "I asked you something" she said. And blushed seconds after "It was the first time she would act so rude towards somebody…and it was so unlike her"

Endymion chuckled this time and sighed "I will ignore your bad temper and just say thank you"

Serenity was about to retort but then her eyes went wide "What? Why are you thanking me?"

The dark prince side smiled at her and the lowered his gaze "Because I was having a terrible time until now…I thank you"

Serenity watched his demeanor go from demanding and authoritative to kind and 'almost' friendly, siding her head she looked at him "Are you troubled about something?" the women's question startled the prince, raising his head he frowned slightly at the memory of the recent events "Trouble is what I have now most of the time…"

"What?" Serenity's voice was soft, the man's calm and stoic persona marveled somehow. Even though she was a stranger and he had never talked with her in his life he was there, being friendly in his own way. Taking a small step forward she sat on a small rock and looked away "In a beautiful place like this…all your problems and worries should go away" she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Endymion turned to look at her and took in her beautiful profile, he started then to notice the delicacy of her face, her hands and how she could easily pass for an angel "I highly doubt you have problems" he said, regaining the deepness of his voice, the white princess opened her eyes and turned to look at him, something inside her boiled like a steaming cup of tea "What do you know? You don't even know me" she said.

"Your name is Serenity" Endymion answered, startling her. She had completely forgotten she had given him her name, lowering her gaze she frowned "The fact the you know my name doesn't mean you know me at all"

Endymion lowered his face and smiled, he didn't know why or how he wasn't upset at all. She was right, she had a point; he didn't know her and yet he was there talking to her that was very strange even for him. Looking at his hands for a couple of minutes in silence he chuckled "You are right, I do not know you…" he stood up "So then I believe I should go…"

Serenity looked at him and frowned again, what was wrong with this man? She thought. First, he was nice to her and saved her life…he saved her life; she remembered and started to feel a little (just a little) guilty for her harsh behavior, sighing she also stood up "I'm sorry…that was not my…intention"

Endymion arched a brow "You shouldn't be here talking to a stranger in the first place"

Serenity bit her lip and looked away "You are not a stranger I believe…" she said softly and blushed slightly, startling the man next to her "You just said…" he trailed off.

"You saved my life…two times…and you already know my name so I believe that we are no longer strangers…" she sighed in defeat. Endymion's lips curved into a playful grin; Serenity gave him a puzzled look "Why are you smiling? It's not funny…"

Endymion started to chuckle, her face was too adorable for him. Her soft voice, the way her nose scrunched every time she frowned; that made him chuckle even more and he understood now why he likes to have a discussion with her. Since day one, they have been antagonisms unlike his usual meetings with every girl, she was aggressive and at the same time incredibly polite and sweet; that worked like magic on him and since then her image came from time to time to his mind in the day and almost every night.

Serenity frowned deeper and turned to leave. Endymion tried to fight the urge to laugh and between chuckles he asked "Where are you going?"

The lunar princess mumbled something and tried to walk to the other side away from him "It's clear you don't have the slightest education at all! I am here, telling I am sorry and grateful that you saved my life and you find that funny and start to laugh in my face! There is a word called politeness that you could find very usef…" she tripped with a stone and watched she was about to fall into a big hole in front of her.

Endymion noticed it and moved fast grabbing her hand he turned her over making her crash against his chest; Endymion looked down at her with concern "Are you alright? Did you get hurt?"

Serenity felt her cheeks flush a intense shade of pink, it was the first time she felt her heart pound so quickly and strong and even she could swear she could hear his own heart, blinking a couple of times she took a deep breath and let it out "Yes…No…" she answered.

Endymion frowned "What?"

Serenity shook her head no and looked up "I'm…" she trailed off and looked into his eyes "Just like the color of earth…" she thought, blinking a couple of times she follow with her baby blue eyes the shape of his brows and his nose, the indulging shape of his lips and the strong line of his jaw; then again she looked into his eyes like if she was enchanted by them. Endymion looked at her, the feeling of having her in his arms somehow felt right; unlike with the redhead woman he didn't felt the urge to rip her dress on in this case cloak off, he didn't felt the strong sexual tension, he felt calmed, marveled by the delicate and exquisite beauty in front of him looking at him the same way he probably was looking at her.

Clearing his throat, he pulled her gently away from him and helped her sit again on the same rock she was sitting a while ago. Crouching in front of her he asked again "Did you get hurt?"

Serenity looked at him and moved her head no "I don't think so…" she said softly. Endymion smiled at her, this time it was a genuine and warm smile she noticed "Good"

The lunar princess lowered her gaze and bit her lip "Thank you…for saving my life again"

The terran prince chuckled "I believe that is going to happen pretty often…" he joked, making the princess chuckle "I finally get to make you smile"

Serenity looked at him and smiled again "I'm sorry…I…" she trailed off and looked at her feet, then up at him again, Endymion arched a brow "It's fine…I understand, I am a stranger…"

"I never asked you your name…" the girl interrupted him. The black haired man widened his eyes in wonder "You want to know my name?"

Serenity nodded. Endymion licked his lower lip and stood up, sighing he ran a hand through his dark hair and frowned confused; Serenity watched him puzzled "Did I said something wrong?"

Endymion took a few steps away from her and then turned to look at her "No, you didn't say anything wrong…but I want to know where are you from"

Serenity's face turned to one of fright "I don't understand your question…"

"Where are you from? It is not a difficult question to answer…is it?" the prince asked again. Serenity pursed her lips and tried to stand up again "Don't try to run…please…" he said softly. Serenity turned away from him and remained silent.

Endymion started walking around her "You maybe think I haven't notice, but you have been sending me clues since I met you that you are somewhat special…"

Serenity remained silent and closed her eyes. Her heart started to pound faster and faster "He will send me with the monster…" she thought and could feel tears starting to form in her eyes.

"You said you always appear in the same place, you always seem to be lost…you are wearing a cloak…you didn't understand anything I asked you earlier…and…" he walked close to her looking at her in the eye "You don't have the slightest clue of who I am…" he pulled back the cloak, revealing her silky silver blonde hair and the magnificent symbol in her forehead, he didn't felt threatened by her but marveled.

Serenity pursed her lips and remained silent with her eyes closed fighting the urge to start crying, Endymion smiled and moved her face up with his finger under her chin "Which I don't seem to mind, but find it very refreshing…"

Serenity opened her eyes surprised that he was not upset or even trying to hurt her, the calmness in his voice startled her "Are you going to hurt me?"

Endymion smiled "I don't have a reason to hurt you…" and walked back to sit on a rock and looked at her puzzled; Serenity frowned slightly when she noticed he didn't say a word but kept looking at her with curiosity "What?"

"Where are you from?" Endymion asked again. Serenity walked around and looked up, sighing she looked back at him again "I can't tell you…" she said softly.

Endymion frowned "You can't tell me? Why?"

"Because you are going to hurt me..." she trailed off and looked away "And you will send me with that monster of yours…"

Endymion gritted his teeth "Monster? What monster?"

Serenity turned to look at him puzzled. This was too confusing for her, every time she asked about Earth they told her there was a monster living in this planet, against her own thoughts and beliefs everybody told her what was now obviously not true, what bothered and confused her the most was that talk she overheard the other day with the lord of time and her mother "The beast…the assassin…the monster!" she said again, trying to convince herself that everybody's explanations of why contact between the earth and the moon was forbidden.

Endymion chuckled and scratched the back of his head "You sure are something special… I do not know what you are talking about…what assassin? What beast?"

"The monster that sends souls to Tartarus…" Serenity said softly.

Endymion frowned again; he did not understand why she was talking about a monster and Tartarus. Standing up she chuckled again not very sure why "That is another reason I don't think you are from here…I really don't understand what you are saying. No, I won't hurt you…if my intentions were those I would have let you being attacked by those men the other day…or…let you fall into that hole…"

He had a point. He was not trying to hurt her, she noticed how he was being more friendly than defensive, so different from the other days, licking her lower lip she sighed softly "You won't believe me and probably think I am crazy…."

Endymion arched a brow "Try me"

Serenity lowered her gaze and remained silent for a few minutes, she was having an internal battle with herself. The princess underestimated him, she never thought she was giving all those clues to him but then thought about her life in the immortal world, what everybody would say if they find out she was here in the first place; what her mother will say or even do, her senshi, Luna and Artemis and then thought about the blonde man that broke her heart and closed her eyes; pursing her lips she pointed up with her index finger "It's too late to hide my true identity…I have to tell him" she thought.

Endymion followed her thin finger and looked up, frowning he looked down at her again "The sky?"

Serenity opened her blue eyes and nodded "The Moon to be precise…"

The terran prince widened his eyes in shock; he had the choice of not believing her. This woman just told him the most incredibly and impossible thing in the world, there was no life on the moon, she was lying; Endymion ran a hand through his dark hair and remained silent, now he was the one having the internal battle. He had learned in all his years of study that earth was the only planet with life; he turned to look at her with confusion written all over his face and tried to say something but he couldn't figure out what.

Serenity opened her eyes and sighed in defeat "I knew you were not going to believe me"

Endymion rubbed the bridge of his nose "Don't take it on the wrong way but… your existence defies all my life's studies…how can you be from the moon?"

Serenity tilted her head to the side "Maybe because I am not a normal person…"

Endymion looked at her and frowned "What?"

Serenity walked closer and smiled "Do you believe in the Gods of Olympus?"

Endymion chuckled and stood up; he started to walk to help him clear out his mind "I do not know…"

The white princess frowned "You do not know? What is that supposed to mean?"

Endymion looked up again and sighed "Don't let me get started…"

"I don't understand…"

Endymion sighed again "Why are you asking me this?"

Serenity licked her lips and took a step closer "I am one of them…"

The terran prince turned to look at her, Serenity was surprised that he wasn't surprised of her confession. This man confused her but at the same time made her want to stay more time with him. Endymion started to put all the pieces together and nodded without saying one word "Serenity…Goddess of the Moon" he said slowly.

Serenity's eyes widened in shock "How…" she trailed off. The dark prince walked over her and moved her long bangs to the side "The symbol on your forehead…" he breathed, he was amazed but didn't want to show it. He heard about the immortal beings, he knew who they were; his mother told him many stories about them when he was little, Obelix taught him to pray up to them and his father always told him they lived under their protection but he held some grudge towards them after he joined the army, then he started to forget about them, when the war started he felt he was praying at the wrong god and changed to another, then something worse things happened until he stopped believing in them or just preferred to forget they even existed. Never in his life imagined he would talk to one of them one day or even saved the life; frowning he gritted his teeth "Wait a minute…"

Serenity arched a brow "What?"

"I did not save your life…" Endymion said "You don't have a life span…or at least that was what I was taught"

Serenity widened her eyes in interest "You know about us then? You had lessons referring us?"

The terran prince leaned on a tree and crossed his arms "When I was little…yes"

The lunar princess took a step closer and smiled "Is that why you are not surprise to meet me?"

"Oh no, I am surprised…" Endymion said and scratched his chin "I am just…trying to understand something"

"What is that?" Serenity asked.

"Well, there are actually two things I would like to really understand…"

"What is that?"

Endymion looked at her, his blue eyes changed into a deeper blue color "What are you doing _here?"_

Serenity was taken aback by his question, biting her lip she lowered her gaze "I…" she trailed off and looked away, how could she explain what she was doing there, would it be a good idea if she just tell him that in her world, this planet is primitive and dangerous?, she thought about her own reasons and how much she liked to be in this place and experience what freedom feels like, looking at him she took a moment and then let out a soft sigh "I wanted to feel free…"

Endymion arched a brow "Free?"

Serenity shrugged her shoulders "I felt tired of the same routine, I felt tired of feeling trapped in my own world, I wanted to know more…I have always found this planet enchanting a mystical place and I finally got the opportunity to know it by myself…"

"Tired of feeling trapped…I know that feeling very well" Endymion said, his words reminded Serenity she heard one of her assaulters called him His Highness. The man in front of her was a royal and yet he didn't never mentioned it, not like the men she have met over the years that used their title to make themselves look unreachable "You are a royal…" she said softly "One of the assaulters called you Your Highness…"

Endymion sighed and gritted his teeth "I was hoping you would never find out" he looked at her with playful eyes making the lunar princess blush softly "I never asked you your name…"

The prince half smiled "True, you just… started complaining about me" he joked.

Serenity lowered her gaze "Yes, well… sorry about that" she looked up at him again "But you are not an easy person to talk to…are you always like that?"

Endymion started laughing "But you were wondering what my name was…right?"

Serenity blushed and bit her lip "I'm sorry…"

Endymion chuckled and walked closer to her "Endymion"

The white princess smiled "You have a strong name, what does it mean?"

The dark haired man chuckled again and looked away at the horizon "When I was little my mother told me it meant setting sun..."

Serenity smiled "That is nice…my name was just given to me to follow a dynasty, there is no much thought to it" she chuckled, she realized then that she had already told him about her and nothing had happened instead they were talking like if they were friends. Endymion smiled at her "There is one more question I want to ask you"

Serenity chuckled "What is that?"

Endymion walked closer to the lunar princess "Do all the people that lives on the moon wear cloaks?"

Serenity laughed and moved her head no "No, I thought nobody would notice me if I wore this…"

Endymion laughed "It didn't work" the prince turned to look at his horse that appeared near the creek; turning to see the woman in front of her again he smiled "I feel honored you found this place enchanting…"

Serenity smiled "I always wanted to come here" she looked up and noticed there were stars starting to appear in the sky and gasped softly "It's time for me to leave…" she looked at him "But I hope that if we see each other again, don't start fighting like an old couple"

Endymion laughed again, Serenity was starting to love that laugh, it was strong but yet playful and warm. The prince looked at her and smiled "I don't know…I do not come here as much as I think you do"

Serenity smiled "I don't know why I always end up here…I don't know any other place…I think it is lovely"

Endymion gave the princess a charming smile "If I see you again, I will take you to somewhere new…"

Serenity blushed and tilted her head "There is more to see?"

The prince smiled "More than you can ever imagine" his voice was warm, soft and enchanting. Serenity started to feel her legs weak and her heart started pounding fast, similar to how she felt when she met Athamas but stronger. Serenity smiled at him and turned to leave, stopping in her tracks she turned to look at him again "So that means we are friends?"

Endymion chuckled and nodded "Of course"

Serenity gave him a wide smile and started walking away "Thank you…" she said before disappearing into the thickness of the forest. Endymion stood there and after a couple of minutes he noticed he was still smiling; for the very first time in his life he felt at peace; looking where she was standing minutes ago he sighed "No Serenity, thank you…"

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**I do not own sm, just this plot and some of the characters.**


	63. Chapter 63

**A/N: I am incredibly tired but glad that i got to post a new chapter today for you all. Thank you so much for all your reviews...thank you so much for all your support and a special welcome to my first story readers! I'm glad you found the second part of the story! PriestessHelene :) **

**Oh, yes... I changed my pet name. That is one of the things I love from being an artist...I get to find a new inspiration everytime I think it is the right time...I'm still waiting for the best to come...I want my heart to become whole again, I am still hopeful.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter sixty three**

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Endymion turned looking for his magnificent white horse, as if it knew the animal was waiting for him next to a tree; taking its reins the handsome prince chuckled and patted the superb animal "Let's walk back home" he played in his mind his meeting with the delicate and ethereal woman and his lips curved in a soft smile. Even though she wanted to appear to be cold hearted and tough, her eyes expressed all the love and sincerity in her heart and he liked it.

"Your Highness?" an hypnotic voice interrupted his thoughts. Endymion turned to find Beryl standing a few feet away from him wearing a deep blue gown which as always hugged her notorious curves "Lady Beryl…" he said absently.

Beryl smiled widely at him and bowed "It is such a pleasant surprise to see you here at this time of the afternoon…" her heart pounded fast in her chest, her green eyes looked at his with desire and a deep affection. The royal prince had captured Beryl's heart and she wanted nothing more but to him looking at her the same she looked at him, taking a few steps closer she smiled again "I believe this is my lucky day"

Endymion frowned slightly "I don't understand…" he looked at the palace's entrance and then back at the provocative woman in front of him with desperation, he was not sure why but he felt the strong necessity of walk away from her almost like not wanting to erase the beautiful image of the lunar woman. Beryl giggled softly and lowered her gaze "We saw each other this morning and found each other again…" she breathed.

The prince arched a brow, pursing his lips he wished somebody would come and interrupt this strange and uncomfortable moment "I see…um, yes…I believe you are right, destiny can be very tricky sometimes…Lady Beryl…I…" he tried to find the right words to excuse himself without sounding rude "I…" he trailed off again.

Beryl raised her head and blinked a couple of times "Yes, Your Highness?"

Endymion started to become frustrated and cleared his throat "I have to…"

"There you are child…" a woman's voice interrupted. Endymion thanked the person who came to interrupt the moment but then the anxiety came back again as soon as he saw who this person was "Wonderful…" he thought.

"What are you doing…Your Highness!" Charmindy said too excitedly and bowed in respect "What a casualty!" she giggled.

Endymion bowed his head and faked a smile "Lady Charmindy…I was just telling Lady Beryl that I had to…"

"I know! It's dinner time!" she said excitedly. The prince nodded his head and smiled, this time genuinely. Charmindy waved her fan a couple of times and giggled "We were running late but I am so glad we are not the only ones" she joked. The words didn't seem to make too much sense to Endymion, frowning he shook his head slightly in confusion "I believe I am not following…"

"We were invited to join the Royal Family for dinner!" Charmindy answered for Beryl.

Endymion felt his blood freeze, if he loved something very much besides fighting, reading and chocolate was to have quality time with his family and that was at dinner time. He started to feel the frustration curled up in his chest and mind, his life was being taken away and now this woman was getting almost to every private moment he had with his family and that bothered him, very, very much "I didn't know you were joining us…" he said more dryly, this time he couldn't mask his discomfort any longer. Beryl noticed the coldness in his voice but thought it was maybe because of Charmindy's presence.

"Yes, yes!" Charmindy smiled "It is always an honor to spend time with Our Majesties…"

Endymion frowned and couldn't pretend to be happy anymore. The peaceful and fun moment Serenity gave to him was all gone by the presence of this woman intruding "I have to get going, there are several things I still need to do…"

"Of course, of course" Charmindy bowed again and pulled Beryl down with her, the red head looked up at him and pursed her lips. Endymion didn't mind to bow his head back and stepped on his horse and rode as quickly as he could back to the palace. As soon as he left it in the stables he walked inside the palace slamming doors and cursing under his breath.

Aurea walked in with the Megumi behind, she turned to look at the young girl and smiled "You can start preparing his bed and then take his clothes to the laundry room" Megumi bowed her head and began undoing the prince's bed. Minutes later Endymion walked out of the bathroom wearing a clean pair of dark blue pants and an unbuttoned white undershirt, his hair was damp and still dripped some water; stopping in his tracks as soon as he saw Aurea with the young maid he cleared his throat to let them know he was there. Aurea turned and pursed her lips "I have to tell you something dear…"

"I know…" the prince mumbled and pushed his dark hair back in frustration "I thought that would be over…I thought I would be left alone…" he grumbled and let the frustration tightened his heart "Of all the people I could see on my way back home…" he began to walk to one side of his bedroom to another "Why did they have to be invited!" he raised his voice. Aurea widened her eyes in shock and turned to look at a very surprised Megumi standing near the bed, the young maid never have seen the stoic prince lose his senses that way; blinking a couple of times she began picking the prince's clothes from a nearby chair. Endymion sighed, lowered his head and put his hands on his waist as if he was waiting for some kind of response.

Aurea walked closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder "I know dear…I know…but you know how your grandmother is…"

Endymion raised his head and nodded in defeat, turning to see the girl picking his clothes he chuckled "What would she think of me Nana? That I am a spoiled prince probably…" he joked, trying to lighten the mood when he noticed the young maid was nervous. Aurea smiled, knowing what Endymion was doing "Of course, with tantrums like this…anybody would think that!" she chuckled.

Megumi raised her head and looked at the prince wide eyed, Endymion walked closer to her and smiled, looking down at his jacket he pointed at the medals on it "Those things can be tricky to take off, let me help you so you can take it to the laundry room" he began to take the medals off his jacket with care; the girl blushed and thanked the gesture. Aurea walked to his closet and took out a military jacket with the same deep blue color of his pants "Just think dinner time will pass quickly…"

"That woman never stops talking…I don't like her…" he looked up at Megumi and smiled "She is too loud…" he whispered then he looked down again and continued taking the medals off his jacket, the young maid giggled softly by his gesture "I don't know why I have the feeling that I've met her before or heard her voice many years ago…"

Aurea's eyes widened in shock "The only way he could hear her voice was when he was in his mother's womb…she never met him when he was a little boy…" she thought amazed and turned to look at him "Maybe it's just her voice the thing you don't like…"

Endymion turned to look at Aurea and shrugged his shoulders and started putting the medals to his clean jacket "I don't like the way Lady Charmindy looks at Mother…"

Aurea sat on a chair and turned to look at Megumi "Did you ever imagined your prince liked to gossip?" the question made Endymion laugh; Megumi giggled. The prince looked at the young maid "Would you keep that as a secret?" he smiled at her, making her blush "Of course Your Highness…if you need anything else, just let me know"

Endymion smiled again "Thank you Megumi" sighing he turned to look at Aurea "They're probably here by now..."

Aurea walked over the prince and turned to look at Megumi "Thank you Megumi, that is all"

Megumi nodded and bowed in respect, leaving the prince and his nana alone in his chambers, Endymion arched a brown and looked down at the brunette woman "Is something the matter?"

"Do you like Lady Beryl?"

The question startled the prince, widening his eyes he shook his head in confusion "You sure are direct…" Aurea bit her lip and frowned "Do you like her?"

"Why are you asking me that?" Endymion eavesdropped "It is a little bit uncomfortable…"

"You like her!" Aurea's eyes widened in surprise.

Endymion lowered his head and closed his eyes; the image of Serenity appeared in his mind, her smile and the way her eyes looked at him. His lips curled up in a soft smile; opening his eyes he looked at Aurea and sighed "Beryl is attractive…"

Aurea couldn't believe what she was hearing, she was right. The prince was developing feelings for the redhead but she was not sure if she liked the idea or not, just like his mother she had her own thoughts about her and found very strange how she always seemed to appear at the right place and at the right time to meet the prince whenever he is, of course, Charmindy was helping her very much but Beryl did things on her own as well. She knew she was beautiful and was not afraid to use her appeal to try to catch the prince's attention. Endymion pursed his lips "I like her, yes, but I don't know her enough to say I love her"

Aurea let out a soft sigh and chuckled "It is going to be so strange…"

Endymion finished putting on his black boots and turned to look at his nana; he frowned and smiled "What?"

Aurea smiled and walked closer to him "To see you in love with somebody…"

The prince laughed and shook his head "Nana…let's be realistic, I won't fall in love"

"How is that?" Aurea arched a brow and crossed her arms. Endymion sighed and looked at himself in the mirror in front of him "Being a royal is a two sided blade, you can have anything you want but also can't be sure if what you get is genuine. I have never liked to be in social events because all I see nana are fake desires…they want my mother's crown not her respect, my body but not my soul, they want to sleep on my bed but not to actually sleep with me…"

The prince's words made sense to Aurea and felt sad to know he was right. She remembered when she was young and always dreamt to live in the palace; she remembered imagine how the royals always getting what they wanted, jewelry, luxuries and a very well status position. But it was since she started working there and became the queen's personal maid all her ideas changed. Royals were normal people, they had feelings and dreams just like her; they wanted love in their lives and always wished for the thing she had and never actually learned to appreciate until then, freedom. Now she understood Gaia when it came to give Endymion a normal childhood; he was taught to always be polite, true to his own feelings and thoughts and of course passionate about his own dreams, she was lucky to have had a son like him and the golden kingdom was lucky to have an heir to the throne with such kind heart. Smiling, she looked at his reflection in the mirror "You deserve the same happiness your mother and father share. You will find it someday…"

Endymion smiled at her "My father was incredibly lucky to have found a woman like my mother; she is one of a kind"

Aurea nodded her head "As a royal herself, she was looking for the same thing as you…after all her struggles, she found it and stayed true to it and brought you to this world…that is the best gift anyone could have…a son like you, my handsome prince…" she thought.

"She sure is one of a kind…and you are so much like her…that makes you, one of a kind as well" Aurea said softly, caressing Endymion's cheek "They are probably expecting you…"

Endymion sighed and nodded "Walk with me nana" he said softly, Aurea almost could find that childish voice of so many years ago that asked her to stay with him until he fell asleep. That same sweet melodic voice so full of love and care; she didn't care if he was stoic, strong or the great polemarchos of the royal army, to her he was the same boy who liked to play with his wooden horses and played hide and seek every time she told him it was time for his bath. She never had a baby on her own but she almost felt like he was also hers; placing an arm around his shoulders she smiled "I will walk with you always…"

Endymion bent and kissed her on the forehead "You are like a second mother to me, I love you because it doesn't matter if I am angry, frustrated, stressed out or just annoyed; you are always willing to challenge me and pull my feet back to the ground again, thank you" he whispered in her ear, making her feel a lump on her throat. Her eyes started to fill with unshed tears and pursed her lips as if the action would help her fight the urge to cry to such beautiful words, sniffing softly she smiled "If you don't get there any time soon they are going to blame me!" she joked, the prince laughed and nodded "Alright, alright…I'll go now…" he walked out of the room and his nana walked right after him, closing the large door behind her.

Ooooooooooo

"_What are you doing here?" _

Serenity opened her icy blue eyes; his voice had reached the deepest corners of her mind "His eyes…" she breathed "So deep, so expressive…just like his planet" the white princess put a hand on her chest and felt her heart beat with an unusual force "Why am I feeling like this? I have only met him three times…but his voice…his laugh…those eyes…" she breathed in a dreamy tone.

A soft knock was heard and soon Queen Serenity appeared at the door "Serenity?" she asked softly. The princess turned to see her mother and smiled softly "Mother, come in" she walked to her living room and waited for her mother to kiss her on the cheek "Is it a bad timing dear?" the queen asked.

Serenity moved her head in denial and thanked her luck for letting being there right on time "Not at all Mother" she sat across her mother on a white silky couch and looked at her with curiosity "It's been so long since you could come at this time of the day"

Queen Serenity "I know dear, but it is not because I don't want to…" the lunar princess waved her hands interrupting her mother "I know Mother, I understand" sitting in a chair she crossed her legs and smiled at her mother. The queen sat across her on the living room and looked at her daughter "How have you been feeling without your guardians around?" she chuckled.

Serenity smiled and sighed, the memory of her secret meeting made her feel butterflies in her stomach. She wanted to tell her mother she met a mortal and that it was actually a royal from Earth, she wanted to tell her that they weren't aggressive as they all thought but if she did that could bring her serious consequences "It's strange but I am doing good…I try to enjoy my free time"

Queen Serenity pursed her lips "Dear, General Athamas has been coming to visit regularly…How are things going with him?"

Serenity sighed and looked away "He is very polite but he has been so busy recently, there is not much to say"

"Are you interested in him?" the queen asked again, this time with more interest. Luna had informed her of Serenity's absent behavior and that worried her, she have fought to give everything to her daughter and to know that she was having problems broke her heart. Serenity stayed silent for a couple of minutes before answering her mother "He is a very nice man…attractive, well prepared…" she said softly and frowned "But I don't understand why are you asking me about him?"

Queen Serenity lowered her gaze "Luna told me you have been acting like if you were sad…I want to know why"

Serenity stood up and walked over to one of the large windows in her room and looked outside "I won't lie to you Mother, it's true…I've been feeling sad" she placed a hand on the crystal window and traced the form of the blue planet in the distance with her finger "Trapped…more likely"

Queen Serenity frowned "Trapped? I do not understand, you have everything you need right here"

"Exactly…here, I don't get to see beyond this place…" she trailed off and took a deep breath "Why can't we go there Mother?"

Queen Serenity's heart froze when she looked at her daughter pointing the blue planet hanging in the sky "Where?" she asked. Serenity's finger touched the window right where Earth was "There" she repeated softly. The image of the blue planet brought Queen Serenity so many memories and her eyes started to fill with tears, she remembered her dear old friend and her contagious laugh; all the time they spent together, her wedding day, her trial with the higher gods, her own wedding with the mortal prince and her son. The lump in her throat was getting bigger impeding her to actually speak; it was too much emotion for her but managed to clear her throat and lowered her head "The blue planet is not part of the Silver Alliance dear…"

Serenity turned to look at her mother "Why not?"

Queen Serenity walked over to her daughter and looked at the blue planet with love and admiration "Even from here, it looks magical…"

Serenity's eyes widened in shock "You have been there?" she asked amazed and felt somehow identified, maybe her mother did the same thing she did a while ago, maybe she went to see what that planet was about just like her "Is it true what everybody says about the terran monster? Is it true there is a deadly assassin living there?"

The question startled the lunar queen, she was surprised to know that her own daughter knew about the 'monster', the very own word gave her the feeling that she was betraying her best friend, she knew who the so called monster was and have pleaded many times in Olympus to leave Gaia's son alone, licking her lips she frowned "We do not question what the Higher God's informs to us" she answered.

"The Higher Gods…" Serenity trailed off "Do you know why we are not allowed to go there?"

Queen Serenity lowered her head and sighed, all the memories of her friend being chained, cursed and humiliated came back to her mind, the rage of Metallia, Ares' hurt, Geb and Nut's denial "There are some things that should be left the way they are dear…in order to maintain the peace"

Serenity frowned "You know then…" she breathed "You know the truth about what happened to the blue planet..."

The queen turned her head and started to walk away "I don't know what you are talking about" she said. Serenity started to feel her heart pound faster "Why are you keeping things from me?"

"What?" Queen Serenity turned to look at her daughter.

Serenity walked closer to her mother and arched a brow in indignation "There are so many things I do not know…" she said, her voice held frustration and hurt. Queen Serenity looked at her and frowned "I do not understand…"

"You never talk about my father…for instance" Serenity said. Her pale eyes looked at her with confusion, hurt and anxiety; there were so many things she didn't know, she was right. The queen looked away and pursed her lips "Your Father died in battle, saving us both…is that what you wanted to know?" her voice broke at the mention of the only man in her life "Why do you want to know things of the past?"

The queen's words hit a special place in Serenity's heart. Her father died in battle, he was a warrior then "Because…I know you and I love you with all my heart…but I also want to know who was he…and why he died…who killed him…"

Queen Serenity closed her eyes; the image of that dreadful night came to her mind again. Nehelenia standing proudly in front of Serenity, her pale golden eyes looking at the young baby in Luna's arms a blade made of glass was in her hand, threatening at her only daughter; and suddenly all the pain started to come again, the anguish and the fear started to crawl on her chest; opening her eyes she sighed "We were under attack…" the queen took another breath and let it out in order to continue talking "And we were under the enemies' watch…your Father came to our rescue and took the blow for us"

Tears started to run from Serenity's eyes "He was a warrior…" she trailed off.

Queen Serenity was hurting but never cried, even though she felt her tears on the verge of falling "He was the Polemarchos of the Andromedian Army…"

"Polemarchos…" Serenity repeated softly and frowned slightly, the word sounded very familiar and tried to remember where she heard it, her eyes widened when she remembered the soldiers on earth while talking in their language 'polemarchos' was one of their words, looking back at her mother she wiped the tears off her face "Mother, what is a polemarchos?"

Queen Serenity sniffed softly and regained her posture again "A Polemarchos is the highest rank in an army…a place only made for strong beings, it is not easy to become one"

Serenity lowered her gaze "Father was a strong man then…" she sat on a couch, Earth as her background, the dim light the planet emanated from the sun's strong and warm light filled the room, making the lunar princess look like she belonged to it. Queen Serenity sat next to her daughter "Your Father was the best of his class…he was strong, regal and a little prideful…" she took a time to think what she was about to say next "He had a strong character and lived difficult times but he loved us very much and you… you were the apple of his eyes"

The words gave Serenity a sense of belonging, for so many years she waited to know about the man that joined his life with her beautiful and ethereal mother. "When you were born…he started to cry uncontrollably…he said you were the most beautiful baby in the whole universe…he loved you, very, very much…"

Serenity looked at her mother again, silent tears fell from her eyes "Is his soul in peace?"

The question startled the queen "His soul rests in the land of the brave…where all the fallen warrior souls go" looking down at her hands she pursed her lips "His last will was to find you a great man to be by your side…"

Serenity nodded, she understood now why so much insistency in finding the right man to be with her; the man of the blonde hair came to her mind "Athamas is from Andromeda…" she said softly. The queen nodded "He has so many things that reminds me of him, maybe because all Andromedians have their own ideals…he seems to be very interested in you dear"

"Do you think he is the right man for me Mother?" Serenity asked; her eyes looked at her mother with doubt.

"I think…you should give him an opportunity" Queen Serenity said "It is very difficult to find the best of the best in the immensity of the universe and to find a Polemarchos is even more difficult because it is very rare to find one"

"Do you think the best of the best exist?" Serenity asked again with the same curiosity as before. The queen sighed and lowered her gaze in thought. Closing her eyes she visualized a pair of mystical blue eyes and a faint smile formed in her lips "Yes" she opened her eyes again and looked at her daughter "The best of the best exists but it is very difficult to find that being…"

"You speak of that being as if you knew that warrior…" Serenity said softly. The queen smiled sadly "Only one time…a long time ago…that warrior is a legend, a myth…every soldier wants to be him but the fact that he is a mystery it is what makes him even more intriguing" looking at her daughter, the queen smiled "General Athamas is very well prepared and he seems to be very interested in you…"

"I am starting to wonder if he really is interested in me or what I own…" Serenity thought but nodded her head to her mother, the conversation she overheard still echoed in her mind "He is nice but I want to think things clearly…I want to take my time Mother, please…give me some time"

The regal queen stood up "He will continue visiting, he still have some important matters to deal with this Kingdom. I'm only asking you to be polite…"

Serenity sighed and nodded again "Yes, Mother…"

The queen smiled and kissed her daughter on the forehead and turned to leave the room "See you later this afternoon" she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her, leaving Serenity alone. Turning to see the planet behind her, she rested her elbows on the back of the couch and looked at the blue sphere with excitement "I will go back…" she whispered "I will go back…"

Oooooooooo

"Have you ever wondered how is she?"

"…"

"If she is healthy or in pain…"

"…"

"If she remembers us…"

The woman with sad green eyes walked to one of the large windows and sighed "It's been so many years now…" behind her was a man sitting in a chair, his hands covering his face _"Don't you want to hold him?"_

The man ran a hand through his light hair and sighed "It is too late Nut…" he said slowly "We cannot fight against the Higher Gods wishes…Hades, especially"

Queen Nut turned to look at her husband "Do you think he knows about us?" her voice held a hint of hope, King Geb shook his head and sighed again "I don't know Nut…I don't know…I…" the man trailed off, tears started to fall from his dark and tired eyes, closing them he remembered the face of his daughter, her eyes pleading him to love her _"Daddy…"_ he remembered the sweetness of her voice that echoed in his mind everyday "Our punishment is to live forever remembering her and knowing a child with our blood lives beneath us"

Queen Nut lowered her gaze "Do you think we'll ever meet again?"

"I don't know Nut…I don't know" Geb answered and sighed "Ares gave me a report of…our son"

Nut turned to look at her husband with wide eyes, she opened her mouth but words didn't come out. She had nothing to say about him "We are alone Geb…completely alone" tears started to fall from the goddess' eyes, King Geb walked over her and embraced her "We are together…don't cry"

Nut looked at her husband; her dark green eyes kept shining with tears "I want to meet him…we can go there and see him…she probably needs us…he…" Geb put a finger on his wife's lips with delicacy and shook his head "You know we can't do that…and you know she does not need us"

The goddess of the skies turned her head away from her husband, her dark blue shimmery gown gleamed in the light of the room, her dark hair was in a high up do with blue crystal pins around it; looking at the blue planet in the distance she pursed her lips "Hades is waiting for her…"

Geb sat on a chair and looked at the same thing his wife was staring at "Hades is too busy helping Persephone with their child"

Nut frowned and turned to look at Geb "Child? Persephone was expecting?" Geb nodded "That is what Ares told me, of course…since is the Lord of the Dead, he didn't say anything to almost anybody"

"Is it a boy?" Nut asked curious. Geb shook his head no "She is another chosen senshi…under the blessing of Saturn"

Nut raised her brows in amazement "Saturn, the planet of silence…so the keeper of the dead has arrived then"

"When this world turns into disaster, she will be the one to put all of us to sleep" Geb breathed, his voice held a hint of worry "She is Hades' new jewel…"

Oooooooooooo

Queen Serenity walked inside the study and opened the windows behind her white marble desk; looking outside to the blue planet she sighed "Gaia…my dear friend I miss you greatly"

Luna walked inside to large room and cleared her throat interrupting the monarch's thoughts "Your Majesty" she whispered. Queen Serenity turned to see the woman in a pale yellow gown and smiled "Yes Luna?"

"General Athamas is here…" Luna said softly. The queen nodded "I know, I was expecting him to come and talk about some important matters between the relations of Andromeda and the Moon"

Luna waved her hands "But also, God Ares is here"

Serenity's eyes widened "Ares is here?" it had been a long time since the Lord of War visited her, since his position became one of the Higher Gods as the one who controlled the disturbance between kingdoms and galaxies his time reduced considerably, the lunar queen pursed her lips "Please tell General Athamas that I will be attending an unexpected matter and that he can come by later if that is okay with him…"

Luna nodded and excused herself, minutes later Ares walked in, wearing his ochre uniform with his golden cape. His sandy blonde hair was tied in a low ponytail; he looked impeccable as always "Good day little flower"

Queen Serenity smiled at him "What a surprise! Please, come in!" she walked closer to him and hugged him tightly "It's been so long since you came to visit" Ares hugged her back and after a few more seconds he let go and went to sit to one of the chairs in front of the queen's desk "I know, I have been very busy I spend most of my time in Olympus now"

Queen Serenity smiled widely "I know, I heard the news…you have your position there as High God. Congratulations"

Ares chuckled "I am not exactly a High God, but I do have a higher position that I did before…but between that and my family I don't have too much time to come and visit you as much as I wished. But, for what I know you are very busy all the time as well, I hear only but good news about the Silver Alliance"

Queen Serenity smiled "I had to continue Athan's work…"

Ares nodded "How are you doing?"

The lunar queen laughed and looked away "It's been so long since somebody asked me that…so long…"

Ares crossed his arms on his chest "So, how are you doing then?"

The question was so small for the queen's answer, she felt she had so many things and at the same time she tried to convince herself everything in her life was under control but after the talk she had with Serenity she was not so sure anymore "I think I am doing well…" she sighed.

"You think?" Ares arched a brow "Thinking is very different from believing. Why don't you just tell me the truth, I'm your friend you can trust me…you know that"

The queen smiled "I live under a blanket of mixed feelings…but I have to be strong, for Serenity. I still cry at night when I think of Athan, when I remember what happened…I feel lonely sometimes"

Ares lowered his gaze "You miss her" his voice was soft and full of melancholy. He knew she missed her friend as much as he missed her magical eyes and her endearing smile. Serenity nodded at his comment and sighed softly "I know you miss her too…"

Ares looked at the blue planet behind Serenity and nodded "She is unforgettable…"

Serenity pursed her lips "How are things with Eris going?"

Ares looked at the white queen in front of him and sighed "You know, Eris will always be Eris…we try to be at peace, now that Mars is with us, we must try harder" he chuckled but his expression was one of a sad man; the image of a defeated Ares in the field of love was heart wrenching; Serenity warned him several times when he told her about his plans to marry Eris but he didn't listen, the hurt he was experiencing was too strong that it was emptying his heart and becoming a man with no feelings. Ares married Eris hoping she would keep him alive in an immortal realm, she wanted to take Gaia's memory away but no matter how much she tried, she never could occupy the vacant spot the golden goddess left in his heart.

"But I have Mars…and that is all that matters" he said softly. His lips curled up into a soft smile "I am very proud of her"

Serenity smiled and nodded "Yes, me too. She is an excellent senshi and has a very strong character, just like you"

Ares chuckled "She had to; I trained her as much as I could. But her forte is in the spiritual field, she is too perceptive…she is well aware of the situation her mother and I live"

Serenity frowned "She knows you love somebody else?"

"Not like that, but…she knows the relationship between her mother and me is damaged" Ares sighed in defeat "I'm tired of arguing with her…I'm tired of everything but it's part of being immortal" he chuckled. Serenity extended her hand and held his on the desk "I'm so sorry Ares…" she whispered. The Lord of War bit his lip and smiled at the lunar queen "Time doesn't stop but we are still the same…we may look slightly older but we are still the same…"

Serenity nodded "I wonder how she is…" she whispered. Ares smiled, like he knew something "She's beautiful" the words rolled out of his lips like silk, whenever he referred to Gaia, his voice changed into one sweeter, softer and hopeful. Serenity's eyes widened in shock "You've seen her!"

Ares looked at Serenity with playful eyes, the smile was still on his face as if he was holding himself a secret; leaning on his chair he crossed his arms again "Age did wonders to her physique but harmed her health…" the smile diminished and turned into a frown. Serenity sighed sadly "Hades is waiting for the right moment to take her to Lethe…"

Ares lowered his gaze "He is very busy attending his newborn. True, he is eager to have her soul in his hands…maybe because he expects to have the crystal in his power but that is not likely to happen…"

Serenity arched a brow "What do you mean?"

Ares sighed and looked at the lunar queen "I never thought I could say this but… Gaia has a superb guardian with her"

"You mean her son" Serenity said softly. Ares nodded "All that involves war, fights and challenges matters to me…he is a warrior by excellence, he has the same technique Gaia had when she used to be a warrior"

Serenity looked at him "You have been spying. If the Higher Gods find out…"

Ares chuckled "The Higher Gods spy them even more! Please, you think they are going to ignore them completely? To ignore _him_? They are well aware of the range of the son of Gaia…I visited Geb the other day…"

The lunar queen widened her eyes in shock "You found them? How are they?"

"Devastated…They are feeling like they don't have much to live for but they have all eternity to remember…" Ares said "They didn't speak for her when they had the opportunity and now they are paying for it…I feel bad for them, they lost their son and daughter in very different ways but in the end were against the law…"

"Their dynasty is still going…but they can't meet their grandson…" Serenity whispered "I have been looking for them for so long but never had the luck to find them…"

Ares nodded and scratched the back of his head "They live in Omega…"

Serenity lowered her gaze and nodded "I thought they lived in Andromeda…"

Ares shook his head "They used to but they moved to Omega after Hades talked to Geb…" he trailed off and frowned "Speaking of Andromeda…I think I saw an andromedian outside when I got here"

The lunar queen nodded "Yes, since Andromeda is part of the silver alliance and he is their Commander he comes regularly. The Andromedian army is part of this kingdom as well"

"Yes, I am aware of that, what I don't understand is why?" Ares frowned and put a hand on his chin in thought. Queen Serenity arched a brow "Ares…" she warned. Ares raised his hands in defense "You know what I think of Andromedians…you know Athan was not in my favorite's list, not after all he put you through"

"He died saving our lives…" Serenity defended the memory of her husband which bothered Ares, he stood up and walked close to a window "No Serenity…he died trying to clean up his mess…I was against him going to the land of the fallen warriors…he deserved to be sent with Mnemosyne to remember for all eternity his faults but just because it was a very delicate matter and because you try to keep a clean image of him to your beautiful daughter I didn't say anything…"

Serenity sighed "I still mourn his loss…I loved him…" her voice started to break catching Ares' attention, turning to look at her he sighed "Serenity…I'm sorry I…" the lunar queen shook her head in denial "I don't cry because your words hurt me, I'm crying because you are right…but I just don't want to admit it after all this time…I still want to think he changed, when Serenity was born he became a different person…but…" she trailed off.

"Is he a good soldier?" Ares asked the queen, bluntly. Serenity looked at him and wiped the tears off her face "He is well prepared, yes…he…" she took a deep breath and let it out "He has very good strategies and he is interested in Serenity…"

Ares raised his brow "He is interested in your daughter? So the story is meant to be repeated?"

"The General being from Andromeda doesn't mean he is like Athan…" Serenity said again, trying to defend her late husband. Ares chuckled "You sure live trying to bend straight the image of Athan. But you have a point there, he may not be like him but I would be very careful, your lovely daughter is a precious jewel…she deserves to be with the best suitor out there. A woman like her needs a very strong man capable of protecting her"

"That was Athan's last words…" Serenity whispered. Ares sighed and walked over the lunar queen, placing his hands on each side of her head, he wiped the tears with his thumbs "He was right in that"

"Serenity wants to find somebody to love…Athamas looks like he can give her love…" Serenity whispered. Ares frowned and wiped off another tear from Serenity's face "Love is not a thing you find in this place little flower…But your daughter is as dreamer and innocent as you"

"Your words hurt me" Serenity frowned.

"But you know they're true…and you know I am the only one that could tell them to you" Ares whispered back.

"I know…" Serenity breathed "My daughter wants what I thought I had with her father"

The Lord of War smiled sadly "Maybe she succeeds, unlike us…a bunch of old failures" he joked, making Q ueen Serenity chuckle "Thank you"

Ares arched a brow "For what?"

"For coming and give me a shook of reality…I missed you" the lunar queen smiled. Ares chuckled "I believe I'm becoming a cheap copy of Chronos" he laughed and walked away. Serenity frowned and chuckled "Why?"

Ares turned to look at her "I appear at the right time to bring you back to reality" they both laughed "But let's keep it a secret" Serenity chuckled and nodded. Ares smiled at her "I must go…Eris must be probably wondering where the hell I am…"

Serenity chuckled again "Send my regards to her and to Mars as well…and don't be a stranger…"

Ares smiled and waved at her, opening the large door he walked out of the room leaving a giggling queen. On his way out of the palace he saw Athamas talking to the lunar princess and shook his head "I wished the story doesn't repeat itself…"

* * *

**I do not own sm. Just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.**


	64. Chapter 64

**A/N: Ah, here goes another chapter. I hope you like it as much as I did when i wrote it... thank you for your kind reviews. I will see you soon, hopefully next friday for a new chapter :)**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter sixty four**

* * *

Serenity looked into his green eyes, she felt excited and happy to see him but also felt something was missing; maybe it was his voice, maybe it was the way he held her or maybe it was the fact that he turned her down and treated her like a second option when she should have been the first one.

Everything was right, he was the perfect man but finding out he had his flings behind her back made her have second thoughts about her wanting to have some kind of formal relationship with the man in front of her, but also something or better said somebody was stealing her thoughts as well, the ocean blue eyed man.

"It was lovely to see you after all this time…you have been very busy I suppose" the general commented while holding her hand. Serenity looked at his hand and wondered if it was a good time to sneak again to earth and talk to the terran prince _"What if he doesn't wants to see me again?" _she thought. Athamas frowned softly; he noticed the princess was distracted by something "Princess?"

Serenity imagined the terran prince's voice calling her and turned to look at Athamas with a dreamy expression but as soon as she focused right she cough softly "I'm sorry…I…I was…" she trailed off. Athamas sighed in frustration and took a step back; Serenity looked at him and lowered her gaze "I'm sorry Athamas"

"How can I pursue you if you don't let me see you?" he asked annoyed "You are always busy or troubled…and now distracted! A normal couple is not like this!"

Serenity frowned "A normal couple? Are we a couple?" Serenity asked "I don't understand…"

Athamas cursed under his breath "Princess…"

"Because last time I knew you were trying to pursue me but then asked me for some time then came back out of nowhere…I do not understand" Serenity said with annoyance in her voice. Athamas pursed his lips and held her hands "I'm sorry…I know…I shouldn't have said that…it is just that…" he trailed off.

"What?" Serenity asked.

Athamas looked at her in the eye "I feel something for you…"

"_Something…" _she repeated in her mind "You keep doing it wrong…" she breathed and released her hands from his grasp "I need to go…"

Athamas sighed "Where are you going now?"

Serenity shook her head and started walking "To a place where I can actually breathe…" she left him standing alone in the corridor "I hope the political treaties can be solved by now…" she said, not looking at him again. Athamas stood there startled; he was trying to understand what happened to her. The last few days she has been acting different from before, he thought he had her in his hands and now she was distant and sometimes cold "I will win your heart again Serenity…I swear"

Serenity entered her room and closed the large doors behind her, walking to her vanity she looked at her reflection in the mirror and sighed "What am I doing?" she asked herself softly, lowering her gaze she traced the pattern in her silver hairbrush and several images came to her mind; closing her eyes she could remember the fresh smell of the grass beneath her feet, the clear sound of the water and the cool air that blew her worries away, then the image of her new friend came to take its place. She opened her eyes and bit her lower lip "Endymion…" she whispered "Your name is so strong that could match your confidence and skills but also so sweet that indulges my thoughts…"

And suddenly something hit her, bringing a hand to her chest she gasped, widening her eyes in realization. She recognized the exciting feeling, the nervousness and the butterflies in her stomach but this time it was a stronger intoxicating feeling "Serenity…you have only seen him three times…that…" she trailed off and looked at herself in the mirror again "That can't be love…or is it?" she whispered at her own reflection, almost wishing that it could answer her back.

Moving to her bed, she sat and placed her hand around her throat and started to rub her chest like if she was trying to touch and identify the feeling she was experiencing; the princess started to analyze the situation and realized that even though she liked to see Athamas and felt excited to spend time with him it was not compared to what or how she felt everytime she met Endymion, maybe it was something in him that made her feel like a feather in the wind "His voice maybe?" she said to her and lay on the large fluffy bed and smiled "His smile…perhaps?" she giggled and started playing with her hair, turning to her balcony windows she looked at the blue planet and blushed "Your eyes are the same color of that beautiful blue planet…" her own eyes widened "Your eyes…" sighing she turned completely to her side still looking at Earth "Your eyes are full of emotion…like if you were always searching, always analyzing…I've never seen eyes like yours before…"

"I want to see you again…if I go, will we meet again?" Serenity asked softly and closed her eyes "I want to see you again…" she said sweetly and smiled.

Oooooooooooo

The soft sound of the silverware against the china echoed softly in the room. Beryl was in awe by her surroundings, the more she saw the palace the more she fell in love with it and of course the same happened everytime she saw Endymion "Dinner was delicious" Charmindy said happily.

Queen Gaia hummed and took a drink of her red wine, her green eyes never leaving the table. She thought that avoiding any eye contact with the blonde woman would prevent any harmful words towards her. King Eros looked at his wife from time to time and then at Charmindy for very short periods of time, Prince Endymion barely spoke; he was still upset that his precious alone time with his family was being interrupted by a very spoiled woman, he was not too annoyed to have Beryl joining them but when she was next to Charmindy it was like she didn't existed.

Queen Narella was the one who spoke the most with both ladies; she asked many questions to Beryl in order to get to know her better and so Gaia could realize that she was harmless.

The former queen found fascinating the kind of interest Beryl showed towards the prince; Endymion was too educated to ignore her but his mind was elsewhere. He barely ate, most of the time he played with the food with his fork and sighed from time to time; Charmindy continued talking as always and in order to diminish her loud and high pitched voice he drank his seventh glass of wine and turned to the maid again to ask her to fill his glass for the eighth time; Gaia's eyes widened when she watched her son having another glass of wine, Eros noticed Gaia's worried stare and patted her thigh under the table as a sign to calm down; Gaia turned to look at him and frowned "Endymion is drinking too much…" she whispered, Eros looked at his son and smiled "Let him deal with this situation at his own way"

Gaia rolled her eyes "The only way I can deal with this situation is excusing myself for the night…"

"Dear…" Eros warned "Mother planned this" he whispered.

"You and I will have a serious talk when we get to our room" she whispered back, making Eros chuckle. Charmindy turned to look at the two royals whispering to each other and chuckling and felt her blood boil "Are you feeling alright Your Royal Grace?" she asked Gaia with the intention to spoil her romantic moment with her husband.

Gaia cleared her throat and raised her glass "I'm perfectly fine, thank you" she took a sip of her wine. Charmindy fought the urge to explode and make a jealousy scene in front of the queen; of course she had everything measured; if she did that it would jeopardize her plan for Beryl winning the prince's heart, she thought that once Beryl becomes queen it would be easier to break the marriage between Eros and Gaia. Endymion rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed "Are you feeling alright Your Highness?" Beryl asked, she looked stunning in her evergreen dress, her fiery hair was up in a curly up do, a few ringlets framed her delicate face. Her makeup was soft and in earthy tones, her lips had a soft pink gloss.

Endymion looked at her and nodded "Yes Lady Beryl, I'm just tired…that's all"

"Taking care of an entire kingdom must be exhausting, always demanding, always wanting things but you cannot do it all, you were born to give orders and let others do what you do, but I do not think you should exhaust yourself that much…after all you are the High Prince of this Kingdom, you were born to just give orders and let others do the job" Lady Charmindy said and took a sip of her wine. The prince frowned slightly and let the wine take control of his body "I was not born to give orders, being a royal isn't just sit on a stupid chair and give away orders, it is not this kingdom the only thing I do, I have to be aware of what happens on the four strong points as well…and believe me My Lady…there are other things that are more exhausting than that"

Queen Gaia pursed her lips and fought the urge to laugh, King Eros's eyes widened in shock, he always knew his son was more polite than he ever was in his life but this time he was showing the similarities between him and the prince. Queen Narella put a hand on her mouth in shock "Endymion…" she hushed.

Endymion turned to look at his grandmother and shrugged his shoulders and drank another glass of wine in just a gulp giving Gaia more reasons to fight the urge to crack laughing; the prince looked at Charmindy with serious eyes intimidating her "It is so easy to give a void opinion of something you just don't seem to know…am I correct My Lady?"

Beryl turned to look at Charmindy and then back at the prince "What My Lady was trying to say was that…"

Endymion stood up and chuckled in sarcasm "It's alright Lady Beryl…" then he took another sip of his wine refill. Charmindy pursed her lips and tried to fix her wrong comment "Your Highness…maybe I did not explained correctly…"

"It's alright Lady Charmindy…I am actually not feeling well, if you excuse me I'll go to my chambers…" he pushed his chair back and kissed his grandmother's hand and whispered in her ear "I'm sorry, I love you"

Placing a hand on his mother's shoulder, he knew she understood what he meant; Gaia nodded and patted his hand as an understanding response; he walked out of the room leaving a very ashamed Beryl and Charmindy "I'm sorry…I…"

Queen Narella waved her hand and took a sip of her wine, Beryl turned to look at Charmindy and felt happy that she could point that fault at her for the very first time, she thought how much she would enjoy that moment. Charmindy lowered her gaze and pursed her lips fighting the urge to make a tantrum "I believe it's a little late, you must be exhausted"

The three royals stood up "I'm glad you enjoyed the moment..." Queen Narella said softly, feeling ashamed by her grandson's behavior, she took Beryl's hands and smiled "He was just tired…forgive him" Beryl nodded and smiled "Yes Your Majesty…I understand, thank you very much for having us"

"One of the guards will guide you to the entrance" King Eros said softly. Charmindy nodded her head "Thank you…Your Majesty"

The two women bowed before the three royals and walked out of the room, like Eros said, a guard was waiting for them at the door and walked them to the entrance. Beryl turned to her right and recognized the prince walking towards the stables _"Where is he going?…"_ she thought.

Endymion entered the stables and stood in front of his horse "I think we are going out again" he said to the majestic horse. As if the animal knew it snorted and moved its head, the prince placed the seat right in its position and mounted the horse, riding it outside the palace grounds again this time he was not exactly sure where he was going.

Serenity appeared once again in the same place where she last talked to Endymion, she recognized the small creek and the rocks aside of it, she was not sure why she was there…well she was but she was not sure if she was going to see him or not, in case she did, the princess changed her clothes before she had dinner with her mother and once she made sure everybody was asleep she went down to earth again. The sound of laughter startled her, her heart started pounding faster once she recognized it "How…" she whispered softly and walked to closer to where she heard the echoes of his laughter, trying to find him.

Endymion stepped off his horse and let it roam free; standing near a tree he started laughing at the reminder of what just happened. He was not sure if he was actually happy or if his frustration turned into sarcastic laughter, the annoyance of that woman amazed him. Turning to look at the tree next to him he gritted his teeth "I hate you!" he said and threw a punch at the trunk leaving a slight mark "You can just be here and be left alone!"

"Stupid tree…" he muttered again.

Serenity hid behind one of the trees around the terran prince and frowned, noticing his frustration she thought it would be best if she left him alone but she was unaware there was a brunch on the ground, as if it planned to be there she stepped on it making a sound, Endymion turned to his right and frowned "Who is there?" he asked out loud, his predator mode was off so he had no intentions to go and look for whoever was there, he waited for the 'spy' to come out but soon after got tired "Ugh…fine, don't come out…I don't give a damn!" he said out loud.

Serenity noticed something was definitely not right with him, moving away from the tree she coughed softly "I'm not a spy…I just happened to be here"

The soft voice made Endymion turn immediately "Serenity…" he whispered in surprised "What…" he trailed off because he couldn't find the right words to say "I thought you went home…" he said.

"I did, but I came back…" Serenity walked closer "Does it bother you?"

Endymion sighed and waved his hand, he was having difficulties in staying balanced "Of course not…you are welcome to come whenever you want to, after all, you are a goddess…you can do whatever you want" he leaned on a tree and ran a hand through his dark hair; his words worried Serenity "Are you alright?" she asked concerned.

Endymion chuckled "No"

Serenity angled her head "Do you want to talk about it?" she walked closer and stood a few feet away from him. Endymion moved his head "I'm tired…" he whispered. Serenity frowned "Then what are you doing here?"

Endymion chuckled again "I don't know…"

"You are acting weird…" Serenity muttered softly.

"I'm drunk Serenity" Endymion answered.

Serenity widened her eyes in shock "How did you…?" she trailed off and blinked a couple of times, startled.

"I have good hearing" Endymion said, his back was still at Serenity. The lunar princess bit her lip "Are you really drunk?"

Endymion nodded "Oh Yes…"

"Why are you drunk?" Serenity asked.

"Because that was the only way to stop listening to her"

"_Her…" _the word hit Serenity's heart "Her?" she asked softly. Endymion nodded "Do you ever wanted to escape from a place where you can't run away because you _have_ to be there in order to please your loved ones?" he asked, the question made sense to Serenity, nodding she lowered her gaze "Yes…most of the time"

"Well…I just discovered that alcohol helped me in that but screwed me in other things…" Endymion said, still giving his back at Serenity. The lunar princess noticed a hint of sadness in his words and decided to walk closer to him; she stood in front of the prince and noticed he had his eyes closed "Getting like this will not solve whatever problems you have…" she whispered "I believe you are smarter than that"

Endymion kept his eyes closed and chuckled "Smart…yes…everybody tells me I am very smart…"

Serenity sighed "Well, if you are smart then you shouldn't drink"

Endymion opened his eyes and looked at the beautiful woman in front of him, the light of the moon bathe her like a silver blanket, it was the first time he saw her without her cloak and admired the length of her silver blonde hair, her one shoulder white gown flowed like the breeze but what he admired the most was her worried look and smiled "You don't have your cloak on…"

Serenity's eyes widened "What?"

Endymion smiled "Don't worry for me…I'll be fine" he assured, taking a step closer to her, his nose was millimeters away from her nose; placing his hands on each side of her face he smiled again "Can I confess you a little secret?" his soft and low voice sent shivers to her spine, she was starting to get lost in his sapphire eyes and nodded, Endymion smiled without taking his eyes off hers "I came here hoping to see you again"

Serenity felt her cheeks flush, her heart started beating faster than she could ever imagine "That is the alcohol talking…" she whispered; the warmth of his hands made her feel secure; the prince shook his head no "No...you see, I do not know what is happening to me that I cannot stop thinking about you…call me crazy, call me drunk…"

Serenity felt a warmth in her chest, he was feeling the same things as her but then doubt started to cloud her thoughts but as if Endymion knew what she was thinking he chuckled softly "It's so strange…we've only seen three times…well…four times counting this one"

Serenity nodded and looked at him in the eye. Endymion let out a soft breath and lowered his gaze; smiling shyly he pursed his lips "I'm sorry…"

Serenity frowned and blinked a couple of times, her eyes missing his "Why are you sorry?" she whispered; Endymion raised his gaze and looked at her again "For what I am about to do…" he whispered.

Serenity stayed silent, not understanding what he meant; she was mesmerized by the warmth of his hands, the mystique of his eyes, the perfection of his handsome face and the fresh and musky smell of his cologne, Endymion closed the tiny gap between them; closing his eyes he caressed her lips with his and kissed her with tenderness. Serenity was taken by surprise but soon she closed her eyes slowly and responded him the same way.

They stayed there for a few more seconds; Serenity felt a sweet warmth all over her, like if he was sharing his feelings to her, Endymion on the other way felt like he didn't need anything else; the sweet perfume of this incredibly beautiful woman intoxicated him, the delicacy of her lips enchanted him the way he was never enchanted before. Perfection existed and it was her, he parted slowly breaking the kiss and opened his eyes; Serenity opened hers slowly right after and blushed, noticing he was also blushing as much as her, giving her a smile he lowered his gaze "I'm sorry…" he whispered and moved away from her "I've never…" he trailed off.

Serenity lowered her gaze "Don't be…" she whispered back, the terran prince smiled and lowered his head "Do you want to see something special?" he smiled and extended her hand at her, Serenity smiled and took it "But the sun is gone…I won't be able to see anything"

Endymion started walking, holding Serenity's hand softly "You don't need the sun to look at beautiful things…besides, I have the moon right here with me" he said softly and covered her eyes "What are you doing?" Serenity chuckled.

Endymion smiled "It's a surprise" he said "Watch your step" he said softly.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked curious.

"You'll see…"

"Can I see now?"

"No…"

"And now?"

Endymion chuckled "No"

"Mmmm…now?"

"Nope"

"You are taking forever…" she joked.

"Aren't we a little restless?" he chuckled.

"Can I see now?"

Endymion stopped and smiled; standing behind her he moved his hands away from her face "Yes…open your eyes"

Serenity opened them and gasped in awe at the scene in front of her. They were standing in front of a lake with swans swimming across it, but what amazed her the most was the little lights floating in the air like stars "What are those?" she asked pointing at them. Endymion smiled "They're called fireflies…"

"Fireflies…" she repeated softly "They look like stars floating in the air…" she turned to look at Endymion and smiled "It's beautiful…" she whispered. The terran prince smiled back at her "I promised I would take you somewhere nice next time you came..."

Serenity's eyes widened "You remembered"

"I always keep my promises" Endymion smiled.

The white princess turned to see the magnificent white birds gliding through the crystal and calm water with delicacy "Those are beautiful…"

"They're called swans" Endymion said softly "There is something funny about swans…" he chuckled catching Serenity's attention "What is it?"

Endymion looked at the birds swimming peacefully "When they come out of their shell, they are born ugly, featherless and with no grace at all…but once they grow older, they morph into what you see there swimming"

Serenity looked at the white swan in awe and then at the fireflies "And what about the fireflies? How come they shine like stars?" Endymion loved her innocence and her admiration for the same things he loved about his home "Fireflies shine to find themselves a mate"

Serenity lowered her gaze and sighed "You live in such a beautiful world…"

"But?" Endymion asked, looking at her. Serenity raised her face at him and frowned "Do you read minds or something?" the terran prince laughed "What? No!"

"You always know what I am going to say…like if you did" the lunar princess said, making Endymion laugh again "If I had a gift like that things would be different, but you were trying to tell me something" Serenity sat on a rock near the crystal water "You seem to be so sad…if I lived in a place like this I would be so happy all the time…"

Endymion sighed and sat on the grass next to her crossing his legs in Buda style and ran his hand through the grass "I'm not sad to be living here I am sad for what happens here sometimes…" he said softly "Everybody expects something from me…since I got here everything has been different and I don't learn to get used to it"

Serenity bit her lower lip "I understand…" she turned to look at him "What are you?" she asked bluntly, Endymion chuckled "What do you mean what am I? unlike you…I am a mortal"

Serenity frowned "When…those men were trying to…hurt me…one of them called you a strange name…and the other called you differently…"

Endymion looked at her and arched his brow "Strange word?" he chuckled. Serenity nodded "Yes…I don't remember which one is…" she tapped her chin with her index finger. Endymion chuckled "Your Highness?"

Serenity shook her head in denial but then looked at him "He called you Your Highness…is that because…?" she trailed off, Endymion chuckled again "Because I am the Royal Highness of this planet…"

"You are a prince…" Serenity breathed, Endymion nodded "Well…yes…but I don't know if it's a good or a bad thing…" Serenity smiled "I know…you have to be polite with everybody it doesn't matter how much you dislike that being/person" Endymion smiled at her "That is why I got drunk…"

Serenity laughed "That is right…you are drunk"

Endymion laughed "I think I am no longer that drunk" he shrugged his shoulders "Sorry" he joked "You were referring to my title then?"

Serenity shook her head "No…there is another word… a strange, long word. One of the men that was with you called you that"

Endymion arched his brow again "Polemarchos?"

As if the word could solve something, she widened her eyes and nodded her head "Yes! that is the word…Are you…?"she trailed off.

Endymion chuckled "A Polemarchos? Yes…"

Serenity remembered what her mother told her about the meaning of a Polemarchos and widened her eyes in amazement "Are you really one?"

Endymion chuckled "Why are you so surprised?"

Serenity blushed and lowered her gaze "No… it is just that…that title is very difficult to achieve…it is very rare to actually meet one. How did you become one?"

Endymion widened his eyes, it was actually the first time he was asked so many questions about him and not about the rest. He was amazed that there was somebody interested in his life more than the typical things the rest of the women always wanted to know. Smiling he looked at the lake and sighed softly "When I was young I was sent to the army to train…and well…after a long time, I earned the title"

His story caught Serenity's attention and sat on the grass next to him "You were sent there to train?"

Endymion nodded "Well...it was my decision, I could have trained at the palace but I wanted to be equal…it wouldn't be fair to just become a high ranked warrior out of nothing just because of my royal title…so, I trained like everybody did, suffered the same way everybody else did, ate horrible food, lived good and bad experiences…"

Serenity liked the prince's sincerity and was thankful that he trusted her to actually tell her private things of his life "You look after so many people…I admire you" she said softly. The prince smiled at her "Thank you…and I admire you as well"

Serenity blushed "Me?"

"Yes"

The lunar princess frowned "Why?"

"Because you are so beautiful…inside and out" Endymion whispered. Serenity blushed and bit her lip "You barely know me…" she said softly. The terran prince smiled at her "I don't need to know much to tell you how beautiful you are" he looked at her, his eyes memorizing every detail of her. Serenity felt butterflies in her stomach again, she couldn't stop looking at him; placing a hand on his face she smiled "Maybe I am the drunk one this time…"

The terran prince arched a brow "Why?"

Serenity moved closer to him and placed a hand on his face and traced the line of his jaw "You have beautiful eyes…" she said softly, Endymion chuckled "Thank you, so are you"

"Your eyes are the same color of this planet…" she said again, tracing his brow shape with her finger. The terran prince enjoyed the delicate touch on his face "How does this planet look from your home?" he asked softly, entranced in the soft princess' touch. Serenity smiled softly "Like a crystal marble…so beautiful"

"Why do I feel so at peace when I am around you Serenity?" Endymion asked softly, almost like a whisper. Serenity moved her face closer and touched his nose with hers "I don't know…but you make me feel the same when I am around you…"

Endymion smiled "Even when you say I can read your mind?"

"That is some trick of yours" she said playfully.

Endymion chuckled and looked at her "I wish I had some kind of a trick"

Serenity placed her other hand on the other side of his face and without thinking about anything else she closed the gap between them and kissed him again, this time with more feeling. He bit her upper lip gently with his in a playful but at the same time gentle manner sending shivers down her spine and realized he was the one that kissed her for the very first time. After a few more seconds they parted and smiled to one another "I'm sorry" she whispered.

Endymion winked an eye at her "I believe we are both drunk"

Serenity giggled and nodded, looking up to the sky she watched the moon gleam "It looks beautiful from here…" she said softly, Endymion nodded "It soothes me…"

The lunar princess looked at him "The same happens to me when I look at the earth"

Endymion smiled "It's late…you need to get home"

Serenity frowned "Do you want me to leave?"

Endymion chuckled "No…but something tells me you came here without anybody knowing"

Serenity looked at him with a strange face "I am right when I say you can read minds"

Endymion laughed "I do not read minds, I see what it is obvious…" he stood up and extended his hand at her, taking it she also stood up and brushed the grass of her dress "You are right…I need to go…" she whispered softly. Endymion smiled at her and kissed the top of her hand "Thank you…Princess" he said softly.

Serenity gave him a curious look "For what?"

Endymion smiled at her "For bringing me back to life…"

Serenity blushed and lowered her head shyly "Good night" she whispered and turned to leave disappearing minutes later into the woods. Endymion stood there, looking at the darkness; minutes after his white horse appeared and walked close to the prince "I was about to look out for you…" he said softly and patted his head. He took the reins of the horse and started walking back home.

The lunar princess appeared in her balcony and looked at Earth, her cheeks blushed into a soft shade of pink and her lips curved into a soft smile; bringing her hand up to her lips she sighed dreamily "My first kiss…" she whispered. Turning happily she walked inside her room and laid in her bed, sighing again she grabbed a feathery pillow and hugged it; turning to her side she looked at the blue planet shine like she said before, a blue crystal marble.

Oooooooo

The next morning Endymion stirred in his bed and covered his head with the sheets and his pillow. His head pounded and felt his throat incredibly dry. A soft knock was heard in the distance and minutes later the door was opened; Megumi shoved her head and looked to both sides but saw no movement so she walked in to the living room and closed the door behind her softly.

Walking over the table next to the window she picked up some glasses and papers, then put them all in a tray, taking her cloth she started cleaning the tables and the shelves with books humming a soft tune. After she was done she walked towards the bedroom and opened the curtains and started picking up the clothes from the floor, the young maid found it strange to actually see the prince's clothes scattered all over the floor, she was aware of how neat and organized he was "Maybe he was in a hurry…" she thought.

She turned to the other side of the room and noticed a lump in the bed, thinking it was probably the sheets all tangled she began pulling them away from the bed but once she pulled the dark red cover she let out a loud yell "Ah!" she jumped and covered her eyes with her hands.

Endymion opened one eye and looked at the maid standing there with her eyes covered, frowning he scratched his head "What…what time is it?" he asked in a very raspy voice.

"Forgive me Your Highness…I thought you weren't here!" the young maid bowed her head. Endymion took a deep breath and sat on the bed, rubbing his face with his hands he turned to look at Megumi again "What time is it?" he asked again.

Megumi moved her hands away from her face and blushed, the image of the prince in his pijamas was something she never thought she could witness, he was always up very early in the morning and always smelled fresh and clean "It's past noon Your Highness…" she answered softly.

Endymion's eyes widened "What?" he stood up quickly "Past noon?" he asked again, his voice was still raspy and ran a hand through his tousled hair "Everybody must be wondering where the heck I am…" he sighed "They'll be here in no time…" he muttered.

Megumi giggled softly but as soon as she noticed she shouldn't be laughing but working she pursed her lips and whispered "I'm sorry"

The terran prince shook his head no "No…it's alright to laugh…my life is laughable. You'll see…they will come in here with a strange look on their faces, wondering why I wasn't up for breakfast…" he said. Megumi smiled "It is quite strange to find you here at this time of the day Your Highness but it is normal to feel tired…"

Endymion smiled at her "I'll go brush my teeth…" he walked towards his bathroom. Megumi started making the bed when a loud sound was heard on the living room, catching her attention she walked over there to see what it was and was surprised to see Kunzite, Jadeite, Nephrite and Zoicite with a strange look on their faces "Is Prince Endymion here?" Nephrite asked with worry. The young maid nodded her head and pointed her finger at the bedroom; Kunzite was the first to walk in "Master?" he called out loud.

Endymion walked out of the bathroom and looked at the white haired general and then noticed he was not alone but the other three generals were there with the same expression on their faces, he looked at Megumi and sighed "What did I just told you?"

Megumi smiled and pursed her lips; bowing her head she continued cleaning the bedroom. Kunzite frowned "What?"

"Nothing…" Endymion sat on a chair next to one of the windows of his room "Is something the matter?" he asked.

Zoicite stood next to Kunzite "Your Highness…" he trailed off. Jadeite's eyes widened "You look like if a thousand people walked all over you…what happened?" Endymion sighed again and looked out the window "You probably know what happened last night…"

"We only heard you got upset and stormed out of the dining room" Nephrite said. Kunzite arched a brow "Master, what happened? it is not like you to do such thing…"

Endymion turned to look at the four men "I got drunk"

Jadeite laughed, Nephrite turned to look at him with a frown "What is so funny?" Jadeite looked at the brown haired general "I thought this would never happen…again"

Endymion ran a hand through his hair "Shut up Zoicite…" Zoicite widened his eyes in shock "What? I did not say a thing!"

"I mean, Jadeite!...I'm not thinking straight" Endymion rested his head on the table. Kunzite pulled a chair and sat in front of the prince "Why did you got drunk?"

"I couldn't stand the voice of that woman any longer…"

"What woman?" Zoicite asked curious.

"Lady…Charmindy…."

"Ahh…I can now see why" Nephrite said "I can't imagine the faces of the king and queen"

"Or the face of Queen Narella…" Zoicite said softly. Endymion raised his head and turned to look at his fellow shitennou "Are you here to mock me or something?"

The three men sat on a chair next to Kunzite "No, we are here because we were worried about you…we are your friends in case you forgotten" Jadeite said.

"I haven't forgotten…I just…" Endymion trailed off. His problems were taking too much of his life, the socialite took too much of his patience and when he had some free time he wanted to be by himself, it was not because he didn't want to be with his friends it was because he felt exhausted "Don't think I have abandoned you…"

"We don't think that, we see each other everyday but you seem to be annoyed most of the time…the issues you have to solve everyday, the mysterious deaths, unexpected social events… it's tiring you" Nephrite said. Endymion smiled at him and sighed "I got very upset last night because that lady was meddling into my personal time with my family…"

"But I thought you liked Lady Beryl" Jadeite said confused, the prince looked at him and shook his head "I like her…but I am not interested in her…that is very different"

"She is very attractive…" Zoicite said, Endymion sighed "She is…but, the tension the fills the room everytime we are alone is only sexual…I don't want to sleep with her and Lady Charmindy is always by her side with her…annoying voice and annoying comments…"

"What did you do after you left the room?" Kunzite asked "You said you were drunk, do you remember anything that happened last night?"

Endymion ran a hand through his hair "I remember being upset by Charmindy's comment, I know I said something and that I excused myself and walk out of the room…"

"What did she say?" Nephrite asked curious. Endymion frowned "That my job was to sit and just give orders…and bragged about how easy that was…she does not have a clue of how things work, I didn't leave ten damn years to come back and give the illusion that I just sit on a chair and give orders…that was what made me angry"

"Wow…she really said that?" Zoicite whistled "Of course you got angry…"

"That proved to me then, than either her or Beryl are interested in the well being of this kingdom or any of the other three points, I was angry…I was tired and I was drunk. I walked to the stables, mounted my horse and rode away from the palace grounds" Endymion said.

"You must have been back very late…because you just woke up" Jadeite said, the blonde general's words fell into place and vague images started to come to his mind then the image of a beautiful woman in a white dress interrupted his thoughts, his blue eyes widened in shock and remembered what happened "Serenity…" he thought.

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**I do not own sm, just this plot and some of the characters. Thank you.**


	65. Chapter 65

**A/N: I want to thank life for allowing have the best readers in the world. You know? when I first started writing the story from it's very beggining I was not sure of how it would turn out, if there would be somebody to like it or follow it, I was very very nervous because I was a reader, I was the person who reviewed and asked for new updates to the authors of my favorite stories, you have no idea how much this means to me, that is why I want to do a great job in writing this story. I promise you that even if I take a little while to post new updates I WON'T leave this story abandoned. Thank you sooooo much (And of course, how can I leave something I am loving to do)**

**Well, here goes another chapter. As I said, chapters will become longer (like in Divinity) so... I hope you like to read! lol. Enjoy and have a great weekend!**

**(for some reason I cannot write the disclaimer at the bottom of the page, so I'll rite it here: I do not own SM just this plot and some of the characters)**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter sixty five**

* * *

Endymion closed his eyes and thought about the other events that happened last night, he couldn't tell his comrades about the woman he kissed because that would lead a chain of questions and events that could affect her and him as well. He didn't need to know much about the laws of nature to have clear that a romance between a mortal and an immortal being was probably not allowed "That's all I did, I think I fell asleep near the lake, I don't remember how I even got back…"

Kunzite let out a deep breath and stood up "Well, we covered for you this morning and said that you were busy in a meeting with a few soldiers…"

Endymion smiled slightly "Thank you" he said and also stood up, Jadeite walked close the prince and arched a brow "You are too happy to be with a hangover. Something happened, right?"

The prince blinked a couple of times _"How did he know this kind of things?"_ he thought "Nothing happened, don't start imaging things" Jadeite gritted his teeth and snapped his fingers "Damn, I thought I could find something…" he chuckled. Endymion turned to look at Kunzite "I actually am not feeling well…if you see my mother or if anyone asks for me could you please say that I'm alright but I just wish to be left alone for the rest of the day. There are some parchments I signed yesterday before that dreadful dinner you can send them to King Isra"

Kunzite nodded "Very well Master, about the mysterious deaths we finally identified the last body"

Zoicite joined the two men "What should we do with it? It seems that it doesn't have a family or any relatives…" Nephrite sighed and lowered his gaze "The stars are not saying much but that it has something to do with a person with too much jealousy"

"Jealousy?" Endymion frowned, Kunzite turned to look at Nephrite "Can you read the stars tonight again? Maybe we can find more of this person…" Jadeite crossed his arms "Yes, Endymion said it was a man wearing a grey uniform"

"I don't know if it's a man I just know that it has the power to deprive a life…I know I haven't have much time to investigate this matter because of the constant meetings and stupid social meetings but I ordered to increase the security level like we did before, we cannot let any more people fall into this persons trap" Endymion said in a serious tone. Zoicite scratched the bridge of his nose "What should we do with the corpse Master?"

The prince looked away and pursed his lips, thinking for a moment what would be the best option "Give him a proper burial in the village's cemetery…" he said sadly. The four men nodded their heads "Very well Master" Nephrite answered "Is there anything else you need before we leave?" Endymion shook his head in denial and smiled at his shitennou. He was incredibly grateful to have them as his right handed generals and felt bad that they don't get to spend too much time together like they used to when they were at the training field, both they all knew this could happen. The life of a monarch is never easy, it involves too many time investment in too many things not just the army; the prince was grateful they all understood and that he could count of them no matter what could happen.

Knowing that, he felt guilt to be keeping his meeting with the Moon Goddess a secret but then he thought that after he was incredibly entranced and marveled by her and that he wished to see her again and again and again, he had to step aside and leave her be free, biting his lower lip the prince moved his head no "That is all…thank you, for understanding"

Jadeite smiled "Hey, we all had a hangover before…"

Endymion smiled in response and shrugged his shoulders, as soon as the four shitennou left his chambers he turned to look at the young maid finishing cleaning up his room "I prepared your bath Your Highness…"

The prince turned to look at her and smiled "Do I smell _that_ bad?" he joked. The young maiden chuckled and moved her head no "No Your Highness…but I assumed you wanted to take a bath to feel better"

Endymion nodded "Yes…and then I will go back to sleep…"

Megumi bowed her head "Do you want me to bring you your supper later today?"

Endymion nodded his head "Please…" the young maid nodded again "Do you need anything else Your Highness?"

The prince shook his head no "I'm fine…just please, I'm sure you heard it and now are clearly aware that I have a hangover because I got drunk last night and well…did stupid things…if Lady Charmindy or Lady Beryl comes to visit again or anyone from the court asks for me, could you tell them I am busy…I don't know, make up something for me to do today…please?"

Megumi nodded her head "Of course Your Highness…do not worry. About what happened yesterday, I won't say a thing"

Endymion smiled at her "Thank you Megumi, have a nice afternoon" the young maid blushed by the prince's kind nature and bowed "Thank you, Your Highness…" she turned to leave and closed the doors of his chambers with delicacy. Endymion sighed and ran a hand through his hair and took his shirt off, walking to the bathroom he closed the door and touched the water of his tub. Looking outside the bathroom's window he sighed again and stepped into the water letting the soap and bubbles cover his entire body, rubbing his face with the warm water he pushed his dark hair back and started remembering everything. Her smile, the way she looked at him, her pale and mysterious eyes, her shiny hair, her smooth and delicate skin; closing his eyes he remembered the kiss he gave her.

_Flashback_

_Serenity nodded and looked at him in the eye. Endymion let out a soft breath and lowered his gaze; smiling shyly he pursed his lips "I'm sorry…"_

_Serenity frowned and blinked a couple of times, her eyes missing his "Why are you sorry?" she whispered; Endymion raised his gaze at her again "For what I am about to do…" he whispered. _

_End of flashback_

"You are the woman every man would die for…" he whispered and looked away, placing his right hand on his right temple he pursed his lips "But you are forbidden…"

Then he remembered her happy face when she watched the swans swimming in the lake and the fireflies flying close like falling stars like she said and felt contempt to share something special with her. How she caressed his face and traced the line of his jaw and brows, how she looked into his eyes and how they shared a very intimate moment finishing it with another tender kiss.

"Serenity I cannot stop thinking about you…" he whispered and rubbed the bridge of his nose "But we cannot be together…"

Ooooooo

Serenity was in the garden enjoying the day, the sun didn't shine as much as it did on earth but it was nice. Her hand caressed the pale and thick grass underneath her; she was humming a soft tune she mind repeatedly remembered the romantic moments she shared with the terran prince

"_I'm sorry…for what I am about to do…" _his sensual voice echoed in her mind and his soft and luscious lips still sent shivers down her spine, never in her life she thought she received her first kiss from the prince of the planet she longed so much to see in person, it was like a dream come true. Her heart pounded faster everytime her lips whispered his name "Endymion…"

The day was lovely and her mother was in Olympus with Luna and Artemis in a meeting, she had all day for herself, of course she knew her mother asked the guards to keep a close eye on her but sneaking away from them was too easy that she decided to go and see the terran prince one more time.

"Princess…" a male voice interrupted her thoughts. Looking up she covered the light of the sun with her hand "Yes?" the man moved in front of her to cover the light completely from her face "Athamas…" she said softly. The blonde general looked at her and smiled "Are you enjoying the day all by yourself?" he asked.

Serenity stood up "It's a lovely day" she said softly, she looked away "Mother is in Olympus…" she turned to look at him. Athamas sighed and lowered his gaze "Princess…I'm so sorry for what happened, I shouldn't have raised my voice the way I did…" he excused himself.

"Athamas…" Serenity whispered, the general grabbed her by the arms and looked at her straight in the eye "I know I have been acting stupid…but I know I can do better…it is the first time I feel this for somebody and I do not know how to act…" he pleaded. The white princess looked at the man in front of her and pursed her lips "I…" she trailed off and looked away "I have to go…" she whispered softly and started to walk away, leaving the general alone.

Athamas felt another opportunity was about to escape from his hands, he moved fast and held her hand in desperation "Princess wait…no…don't leave"

Serenity turned to look at him with wide eyes "Athamas…" she breathed. The andromedian general looked at her determinant "Why do you always leave me alone?" the silver haired goddess sighed and closed her eyes, the kiss Endymion gave her clouded her thoughts and all she wanted was to go back there and see him again, but then there was Athamas, a man that wanted to be with her, a man that could be with her and that had her mother's approval, biting her lip she lowered her gaze "You were the one that needed some time…you made me feel like I was taking your valuable time"

"No…no…no….Princess…you would never do something like that, but please understand…I was finishing a treaty with your mother and the Silver Alliance…there were several problems back at home, as a general I have so many things to do…you can't imagine" Athamas said softly.

Serenity frowned slightly and remembered Endymion being worried most of the time because of problems in his own kingdom and made her realize that Athamas was not acting the way he acted because he didn't like her but still, he was acting a little too late, her lips were already taken first "I understand what you say Athamas…but just like you have many things to do I am as well, it is not because I do not want to be near you…it is that I want to figure some things out on my own…please, don't take it personally" she shook her hand free from his grasp with delicacy "I am not running away from you…but I have to go…" she whispered.

Athamas sighed and watched her leave, his teeth clenched in frustration. Turning to the other side he started walking towards the entrance disappearing minutes after. Serenity closed the doors of her room and walked to her bedroom and looked at herself in the mirror, turning to see if her reflection she approved her own dress. Beautiful actually, the fabric had a slight shimmer, it had and ethereal look with very sheer fabric flowing from the shoulders up to the length of the dress giving the illusion of wings every time she moved her arms. Serenity fixed her hair one more time and smiled at her reflection in the mirror, closing her eyes she summoned her powers and in seconds disappeared.

Ooooooo

Endymion walked out of the bathroom dressed with clean clothes, his white shirt was half buttoned showing his well defined chest; some droplets that fell from his wet hair crashed against his sun kissed skin. Walking to the mirror, he looked at his reflection and finished buttoning the white undershirt. Taking his navy blue jacket he started to button it as well without taking his eyes away from the mirror. He was about to secure his long cape when he felt a tug in his chest "You are here…" he thought; biting his lip he lowered his gaze, he felt guilty and like the most cruel being in the world but he had no other choice, he had to talk to her. Turning to leave he opened the door and walked out closing it behind him, he knew that as soon somebody would see him he would be followed or asked to join some meeting or a random event he was not aware of, as soon as he saw a guard coming his way the prince turned to his right and opened a hidden door behind a pillar and found his way out of the palace without being noticed.

He was about to walk towards the stables to get his horse but as soon as he saw another group of soldiers he cursed himself for a moment to have ordered so many security, then thought that it would be too noticeable him leaving mysteriously in his horse once again. Declining that idea, he sighed and decided to take a walk; not that he minded besides he needed to clear his thoughts.

He walked for at least twenty minutes to get to the lake where he last saw the beautiful goddess but as soon as he arrived, the prince felt another tug in his chest "Hello…" her soft voice pulled him out of his thoughts making him turn to his left. There she was, wearing an exquisite white gown that seemed to be made of stars because of the soft gleam; her hair was in her strange but adorable style. Her light blue eyes were searching his with excitement, glee and tenderness.

"Salve…" he whispered, smiling softly.

Serenity smiled at him and walked closer "It's nice to see you again…" she breathed dreamily. Endymion stayed silent for a few minutes and then smiled again, he looked tense, she could tell and that somewhat worried her "Are you alright?" she asked softly.

Endymion pursed his lips and walked closer "It's nice to see you again as well…" he said. Lowering his gaze he chuckled "I never thought I would be in this position…" he sighed. Serenity looked at the man confused "What do you mean?" she took a few steps closer and smiled again "You don't look alright…is something…"

"Serenity…" Endymion interrupted her, he had a strong feeling in his chest, like if his heart could burst of excitement and joy to see her again but also felt incredibly guilty for his actions "I want to apologize…" he said softly, raising his gaze he looked at her with sad eyes "For what I did last night…"

Serenity looked at him, her heart pounded fast and pounded strong. Her hands started shaking uncontrollably but managed to hold her dress in order to dissimulate her nervous state "You don't have to apologize…" she whispered "I…"

"I believe I am not making myself clear…" Endymion said, sighing he ran a hand through his hair "I know I did things…I know…I said things…I was upset…I was drunk…"

Serenity walked closer; the prince's words started to worry her, she thought her heart couldn't handle another disappointment and this would be bigger because the man before her gave her her very first kiss ever "I know you were drunk…you told me but are you saying that you took advantage of the moment of me?" she asked, her voice trembled a little. Endymion noticed it and felt more guilty than before, this was going to be harder than he thought "I know I did wrong…" he trailed off.

"So you did take advantage?" Serenity asked, frustration and hurt started to fill her tender heart. Tears started to fill her eyes, lowering her gaze she bit her lower lip for a few seconds "Why do you all have to be the same way? Why do you have to look only for yourselves? You are all selfish and ignorant to what a woman really wants…" she sobbed softly. Endymion frowned and lowered his head "Serenity…"

The princess in white took a couple of steps back "You are like the rest…" she breathed. Endymion raised his head and frowned "Princess, I did not take advantage. I do remember clearly what happened last night"

"Don't try to defend yourself" the lunar princess felt the hurt crawl up to her chest, walking towards the prince and looked up at him, since he was considerably taller than her "You think that just because you are a royal you can do whatever you want and treat everybody how you please…just because you are what you are?" she asked, her voice sounded hurt startling the terran prince. Endymion sighed "You are mistaken"

"I do not think so" Serenity said. The terran prince looked away and let out a sarcastic laugh "Just because I am what I am…" he repeated Serenity's words "I do not with whom I am being compared…I do not know how gods are where you are from" he muttered. The lunar princess watched him walk around the same place where they met the night before, the lake didn't look as magical as she remembered but it was maybe because the moment was far from being tender and romantic "You do not need to be god to be a bastard"

Endymion turned to look at her and raised a brow but the annoyance was something he couldn't dissimulate "What did you just called me?" his voice was dark and deep. It was clear that he was starting to get upset "Don't call me a bastard just because you feel superior, just because you are a goddess…" he challenged her. Serenity looked at him with sadness "I thought you were different…but you are a bastard"

"Take it back" Endymion said lowly. His deep angry voice sent chills to her spine but the hurt was so big that she needed to say what she thought, he kissed her, made her feel like he could be the one, shook her senses and stole her thoughts for days and now here he was saying it was something that never should happen, excusing his actions behind the alcohol "All of you are alike it doesn't matter if you are mortal or not…"

Endymion frowned deeply "Serenity…" he was angry, yes, because she was disrespecting him by calling him a bastard but he also understood how she must be feeling and he hated the fact that he was causing her that pain. A woman every man would want to have by their side. Serenity felt her tears starting to fall silently; lowering her head he wiped them off with the back of her hand "I thought you were different…but I can see now that I was wrong…again…" she breathed and started to walk away.

"You don't understand" Endymion said, making her turn "I do not understand? what is I do not understand? that you were drunk? That you were upset? Of course I understand… you wanted to distract yourself from your own problems by using me as your way out! You think that I was not…" Endymion walked over her and grabbed her by the shoulders carefully, even though he was upset he couldn't hurt her, he would never put a finger on her with the intention of hurting her "Serenity I did not kiss you because I wanted to run away from any problems…I kissed you because I couldn't take it anymore…" he said interrupting her. Serenity widened her eyes in shock "You…" she trailed off.

Endymion lowered his head and closed his eyes, sighing he shook his head softly "I don't know what happened to me but since I met you I can't stop thinking about you…I won't lie, I have tried to fight this feeling because we just met! I have tried to convince myself that it is silly to feel something for somebody I just met a few days ago…but…" he trailed off and raised his face, looking at her "But we started talking like we have known for so long and I started knowing about you…how kind you are, how beautiful you are…I cannot stop thinking about you Serenity, that is why I kissed you…I didn't mean to disrespect you, I didn't have the intention to hurt you…"

Tears started to fall from Serenity's eyes; it was the first time somebody talked to her in that way. It was the first time a man told her about her beauty as a person not as a princess "Endymion…" she said his name softly, almost like a whisper. The terran prince kept looking at her "And I've come to realize that any man would give anything to have a woman like you by his side…I would…" he said in a softer way, the anger and frustration in his voice disappeared.

Serenity widened her eyes in shock "You…what?..."

"You heard me" Endymion whispered and placed his hands on each side of her face, lowering his own to only be a few inches away from hers. Serenity felt his respiration and her heart started to beat faster, the intensity of his eyes drowned her and made her realize she was not just infatuated by his beauty but also by his kind and honest personality. Endymion looked at her and smiled sadly "But I do not think it is permitted for us to be together…"

Endymion's words fell into place, Serenity looked at him with the same sad expression he held on his face. She knew he was right, they could not be together it was against the law. She thought about her mother and guardians, what would they say if they found out about their romance, how much would she suffer to know that her only daughter broke an important taboo; she nodded and lowered her gaze. Endymion closed his eyes and kissed her close to her lips and moved away "I would never hurt you…" he whispered.

Serenity felt ashamed by her earlier outburst; walking closer to him she took his hand in her smaller delicate ones and bit her lip "You are not a bastard…"

Endymion widened his eyes in surprised and then gave her a kind smile "I hope you find the right person to look after you, I hope you find happiness" he whispered "You are truly one of a kind" he smiled sadly at her and started to walk away leaving her behind; stopping a several feet away he turned to look at her "It was wonderful meeting you…Goodbye" and started walking again.

Serenity watched his figure disappear between the tall trees and bushes of the forest, bringing a hand to cover her lips her tears started falling uncontrollably. Sitting on a rock near the beautiful lake she started sobbing softly, she couldn't help cry for the terran prince; he was right they have only met for a few days but it felt like if they knew from a long time, the security he made her feel every time they were together, the tranquility and depth of his voice, his sincere and expressive eyes, her soft sobs echoed the immensity of the forest.

Endymion continued walking in silence, a feeling of emptiness invaded his chest. He was well aware what he was leaving behind, the opportunity to experience the honesty and purity of a beautiful heart like Serenity's. It was not the fact of who she was, in fact he cursed for a moment of her nature; if she was mortal, if she belonged to this planet, it wouldn't have mattered if she were a peasant or a servant, he would have fought for her, he would have given everything to have her by his side. Stopping in his tracks, he sighed and closed his eyes "Serenity…" he whispered. Opening his eyes he turned to look behind and without thinking it twice he ran back.

Serenity cried softly, the feeling of losing something she never really had hurt broke her heart. She had found what she was looking for so long and didn't get to experience up in the heavens; staring at the lake, she noticed a couple of swans swimming across it, smiling she breathed one last time the fresh scent of the terran planet before she leaves.

"Serenity…"

The lunar princess' eyes widened in shock by the sound of the prince's voice, turning her face she looked at him standing a few feet away from her "Endymion…" she whispered and stayed sitting on the rock near the lake, not sure of what to do or why he was back. Endymion stayed silent for a couple of minutes and without thinking it more he started walking towards her, holding her hand he pulled her to a standing position and placed his hands on each side of her face; bending down he closed the gap between her and locked his lips with hers in a tender but more passionate kiss.

Serenity was taken by surprise at first but then let herself go and responded the kiss the same way. She placed her hands on his face the same way he had his on hers, Endymion parted his face slightly and kissed her tears away "If you were from here…you were already with me…" he whispered, their faces were only centimeters apart. Serenity looked at him with sad eyes "And I would already said yes"

Endymion arched a brow and chuckled "You would have said yes? What is that supposed to mean?"

Serenity smiled "Yes because you would have asked for my permission to pursue me of course…" she smiled widely at him. Endymion chuckled again "Um…no…I would have kidnapped you"

Serenity giggled and blushed "Because you are prince and have the power to do that?"

Endymion rubbed his nose against her softly "No…because it would be incredibly stupid to let you go"

Serenity looked at him and traced his jaw line with her index finger "Then don't"

The terran prince sighed softly and pressed his forehead against hers "You know I cannot do that. It would put you in great danger…I can't do that to you beautiful" his voice was incredibly soft "I have to go…" he whispered. Serenity pursed her lips, feeling new tears fill her eyes again and one managed to run through her cheek; the prince frowned when he noticed she was crying "Why are you crying beautiful?" he wiped it with his thumb carefully.

Serenity lowered her gaze "I don't want you to go…" she whispered.

Endymion looked at her with sad eyes "I don't like to see you cry…don't cry…" he said softly. Serenity nodded but still kept crying silently. Endymion wiped her tears with the back of his hand "Walk with me…" he held her hand and started walking, Serenity nodded and followed never letting go off his hand, his warmth filled her like a thin protective blanket, she felt so secure when she was with him that she could not explain. They walked in silence for a couple of minutes before they reached a grassland with several trees around forming some kind of a circle, the sky was full of fluffy clouds that changed colors with the setting sun of the afternoon; Serenity gasped when she saw the small grass blades move back and forth with the soft and cool blowing wind "It's beautiful…so peaceful" she breathed.

Endymion smiled, he knew that having a walk would helped her clear her mind and make her feel better "I used to come here very often when I was younger…" he said softly "But the best thing is not beneath our feet but above"

Serenity turned to look at the prince with a puzzled expression and then looked up. Her eyes widened in amazement by the beautiful scene playing in the sky, gasping softly she took the prince's hand and smiled "This place is so full of magic…" she whispered. Endymion nodded "Come…it won't last too long…" he helped her sit on the ground and he followed.

The clouds moved slowly changing their form in the process, Serenity watched in awe how they caught the sunlight in them and how they decorated the deep color of the afternoon sky, soon after a knowing smile plastered on her face "Your mother must love you with all her heart…you must be the most important person in her life" she said softly. The lunar princess comment caught Endymion's attention "Why do you say that?"

Serenity didn't turn her face away to look at him, she was mesmerized by the spectacle above her but she held the same kind and adorable smile "Because she named you after something so beautiful and perfect…" Endymion arched a brow and then looked up, a memory of his mother tucking him at night came to his mind; her soft voice caressed his ears and her soft kiss on his forehead was better than the best lullaby in the world _"Good night…my setting sun"_ she whispered in his ear, right before he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

"Setting sun…" he whispered, it was the first time somebody actually brought this up and it was the first time his nickname made sense. A feeling of melancholy filled his chest "Mater…" he breathed softly. Serenity turned to look at him "Is something wrong?"

Endymion shook his head no "I'm fine…it's just that nobody ever pointed that out and I am just…mesmerized…it means too much"

Serenity moved closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder "Thank you" she whispered, looking up at the sky again and watched how it started to turned into darker shades, it was time for Diana to come with her blanket and cover it all and let the moon take over the night sky. Endymion looked down at her "For what?"

Serenity smiled sadly "I know you brought me here to make me feel better…"

Endymion pressed his lips together and looked up the sky "Did it worked?"

Serenity looked at him this time, her grey blue eyes memorized every little detail of his handsome face "You have done so much more than anybody has in my entire life…you made me feel free for once and that is something I will never am going to forget…how am I going to forget you Terran Prince?"

Endymion lowered his gaze at her and pushed her lose bangs aside carefully "I won't forget you either, Lunar Goddess"

Serenity closed her eyes when she felt her eyes fill with fresh tears again, she didn't want to cry again but the feeling of going away and never be able to experience the magnificent feeling of love and freedom she always wanted to have in her life and that she have found in Endymion. She pressed her face against his jacket and sobbed softly, Endymion frowned softly and lifted her face with his index finger under her chin "Don't cry beautiful…" he whispered.

"I can't help it…" Serenity trailed off and let her tears fall down uncontrollably.

Endymion sighed softly "Serenity…look at me" The lunar princess looked into his eyes and sniffed softly, getting lost in his deep azure eyes again; she waited for him to say something. Endymion sighed again "I cannot help it either, it makes me feel like I am losing something great, something that makes me feel at peace…something that could turn out to be perfect and beautiful…" he broke eye contact with her for a minute and then looked back at her again "But…nature is against us as well…I am a mortal being, I will grow old and die someday…I will not stay this way forever; my life is a breath of air to you…"

He was right, she knew it and it hurt. Sighing she nodded "I understand…" the princess whispered and wiped the tears off her face with the back of her hand "It would be so unfair for you to be with somebody immortal like myself"

Endymion smiled and lowered his head "I think it is the other way around, it would be too unfair for you to be with somebody that will grow old, ugly and eventually die"

Serenity giggled "Ugly?"

Endymion smiled "I will become an horrible old man" he chuckled "Time never forgives"

Serenity caressed his face with the back of her hand "You are not ugly…I'm glad I met you" she whispered. Endymion smiled at her "I wish you well…" he whispered, pressing his forehead with hers "I'm glad I met you too, _Luna parum bunny_"

Serenity smiled "What does that mean?"

Endymion moved his face away a few inches "Little moon bunny"

Serenity bit her lower lip softly "I wanted you to teach me your language…"

Endymion arched a brow "Really? Why?"

Serenity smiled and shrugged her shoulders "Since the first time I heard it I thought it was so romantic in some sort of way…" Endymion smiled at her "Nobody ever told me that before about it"

Serenity looked at him with curiosity and interest "Speak to me like that…"

Endymion chuckled "What do you want me to say?"

Serenity chuckled as well "Whatever you want…it doesn't matter if I don't understand…"

The terran prince smiled and pushed her bangs to her side again with delicacy _"__Tu pulcherrima muliere I've Poeteli in vita aeternum ... invidia ego vir evadat tuo et capiet vobiscum in æternum__…__ego semper zelare vir molli osculantur labiis tuis contingere pellem formosam inspicere oculis..."__ (You are the most beautiful woman I've ever met in my life...I will forever envy the man that gets to capture your heart and be with you for all eternity...I will always be jealous of the man that will kiss your soft lips, to touch your skin and look into your beautiful eyes...)_

Serenity listened to his soft voice and blushed. She didn't know what he meant but just hearing him speak that way she felt her heart skip a beat "Can I know what it means?"

Endymion chuckled "It's a secret"

Serenity pushed his arm softly and frowned "That is not fair!" she whined softly, making Endymion laugh "Don't whine! You said it didn't matter if you didn't understand"

"Well yes, but I was hoping you would translate it to me…" Serenity crossed her arms. Endymion laughed again "You are too adorable…but sorry, I will take that secret to my grave"

Endymion's words made Serenity feel sad. Just the idea of him dying broke her heart, how could somebody like him have to perish and be forgotten. Olympus needed more men like him instead so many that claimed to be the greatest "You speak of death as if it wasn't important…as if you didn't care…" she said sadly. The prince arched a brow and sighed, lowering his gaze he felt the grass caress his hand "I don't have another option Serenity…" he breathed "Death is something…" he trailed off, the images of the soldiers that died in battle while he was still just another soldier perturbed him.

Serenity frowned and looked at him puzzled "Death is what?"

Endymion looked at her "Inevitable…it is life who is unfair"

"Life?" Serenity asked confused. She didn't believe she was talking about life, what was life after all? She wondered that it was something that filled their bodies, like a whiff of fresh air that filled their lungs every day? She never thought about life until now, maybe because she is destined to live forever but then she started questioning her life as well; was she even eternal? What if she died too after a certain time, she thought about her grandmother, her great grandmother…if they were supposed to be eternal, where were they? She thought.

Endymion smiled, not looking up at her. To him, life was something that should be treasured forever even if he questioned it every day. There were so many people in this world longing to have a better one, like his mother. Nodding, he sighed softly "Life…makes you feel, makes you wonder. Life gives you everything but it only allows you to enjoy it for a certain amount of time before it decides you had enough and brings death to take you away…"

"Are you afraid of death?" Serenity asked curious.

Endymion lay down on the grass and looked at the night sky "I've had too many close encounters with death that I am not afraid anymore…" he sighed deeply. Serenity frowned "How is it like…death?"

Endymion pressed his lips together, still looking at the starry sky he frowned "It's…" he trailed off, images of war came to his mind, how his comrade was killed the first night they were sent to fight the enemy and when he gave him the letters to his bride, then remembered walking through the field covered in blood and dead bodies; blinking a couple of times he sighed trying to find the right words to say "It's a feeling I do not want you to ever experience…when you experience the loss of a person is like you run out of air…like you're lost and you don't know where to go or what to do…"

Serenity felt sorry for Endymion, she never imagined mortals held their lives like the most precious treasure. She never imagined how much they could suffer or feel pain, their emotions were real and they were always exposed to have disappointments or triumphs unlike gods, they held close their loved ones and they fought for their dreams "I'm so sorry…" she whispered, Endymion turned to look at her "Dealing with death is part of my job as a Polemarchos…I had to learn"

Serenity looked down at him and sighed "Is that what you always wanted to be?"

The question took Endymion by surprise and then gave her a soft smile "Yes" he said simply "I wanted to follow my father's steps and being able to protect my family"

Serenity smiled and nodded her head. The more she talked to him and the more he learned about him, the more she felt she didn't want to let him go. Endymion sat back up and moved closer to her, wiping the tears off her face he smiled sadly "There must be a strong god for you up there…"

Serenity sighed and lowered her gaze; she knew what she had to do. Nodding she sighed again and looked up at him "There must be a beautiful women waiting for you as well…"

Endymion looked at her with sympathetic eyes "Don't get into trouble _Luna parum_…"

Serenity smiled softly at him, lowering her head she giggled softly at her new pet name "I will try…" she felt the terran prince stand up, the lack of his warmth made her feel chilly for the grass and the soft breeze, he extended his hand out to her "Let me help you"

Serenity took his hand and stood up "How am I going to be away from trouble if you won't be there to take me out?" she joked. Endymion chuckled "Sorry I cannot go up there and save you as many times I would like to"

The two royals looked at each other in the eyes, Serenity got lost in his strong and deep azure eyes; closing her eyes she took a deep breath memorizing his scent, his warmth and tranquility that made her feel. Endymion caressed her cheek with the back of his hand wishing that the moment never came to an end, it was going to be impossible for him for forget her. Both knew it was time to say goodbye and part ways, Serenity opened her eyes and looked up at him "Goodbye…"

"Goodbye…" Endymion whispered and kissed the back of her hand softly.

Serenity started to walk away, back into the woods and disappeared seconds after in a flash of silver light. Endymion never watched her disappear; instead he always waited for her to walk back to where he knew she would find her way back home. Closing his eyes he sighed and let the breeze of the night filled his lungs as a way for his planet to soothe the emptiness he felt in his chest.


	66. Chapter 66

**A/N: Hello everyone, last chapter was too sad to be true right? I know...this one I don't know if it's a good or a bad one but here it is. I know, I was supposed to post it yesterday but my internet connection was so freaking slow and well, it got late and I started to feel sleepy and oh well... the same started to happen today but finally I could give it a quick read and I hope you enjoy it.**

**Thank you so much for reviewing, you know? maybe it is not important for a lot of people but now I understand why writers want to receive them, it keeps us motivated, (Well in my case, that happens) I feel like I am one of the zillions of lucky writers here that has the best followers in the world :) And I am so so so SO happy that you like or love or heart of even feel a little obssesed with the story (I feel the same way too...hehe) THANK YOU SO MUCH.**

**I will write the disclaimer here: I do not own SM just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter sixty six**

* * *

Serenity opened her eyes the next morning and adjusted them to the soft light of the day. Noticing she didn't changed her clothes she sighed sadly when she remembered the events from last night; she had experienced pure bliss for a moment to only to feel sadness and emptiness the next. Sitting in her bed she undid her hairdo and watched the light come in from the silky sheer curtains from her balcony doors.

Luna walked in a couple of minutes late "Good morning Princess" she said softly, with a smile on her face. Serenity turned to look at the mauian advisor and smiled softly at her "Good morning Luna…" she whispered. Luna noticed her princess was wearing the same gown she wore the day before "Did you sleep wearing that Your Highness?"

Serenity looked at her wrinkled gown and sighed, shrugging her shoulders she looked at Luna "I fell asleep completely forgetting to change my clothes…"

Luna walked quickly to the princess bathroom and walked out soon after "Your bath is ready"

Serenity frowned slightly "Is everything alright Luna?" she frowned when she watched the lunarian advisor choosing a gown for her to wear that day with such hurry and excitement. Luna turned to see the princess still sitting on the bed with a puzzled look and chuckled "Her Majesty wants to see you"

The comment stopped the princess' heart beating for a second "Mother…" she whispered "Is something the matter?" she asked with a hint of annoyance. Luna noticed Serenity was not acting the same way she acted every time she knew he would come to visit her, frowning she went to stand in front of her with a worried look "Princess…are you feeling well?"

Serenity lowered her gaze and fought the urge to start crying as soon as she remembered the events that happened the day before. Closing her eyes the image of the terran prince appeared in her mind wiping the tears off her face with a delicate touch; Luna frowned and put a hand on her shoulder "Princess what is the matter?"

The princess opened her pale eyes and looked at Luna "I'm fine Luna…I'll go take a bath…I will change alone today if you don't mind?" she asked her the sweetest way possible. Luna looked at Serenity with a concerned face "Very well Your Highness…I will go and tell your mother you are awake and getting ready" Serenity nodded and gave the black haired woman a faint smile "I will see you in a little bit" Luna nodded and walked slowly out of the princess chambers leaving Serenity alone in her room.

Standing up she walked to her bathroom and closed the double doors softly, taking off her gown she tossed it aside and stepped in the white marble tub, taking a deep breath she submerge into the warm water and stayed there for a couple of seconds until she couldn't hold her respiration any longer, going to the surface again she couldn't help but start crying silently "Now that I have met you…how am I supposed to forget you?" she sobbed softly.

She stayed in the water more than she accustomed, thinking in every minute she spent with him. Maybe he was right, she thought, to stop something before it happens, to try and continue her way looking for the right man to be by her side, the man that could share laughter and tears with her. Turning her head to a side, she let go a sad sigh and thought about what she should do now; realizing her bath was taking too long she sighed again and closed her eyes for a moment "Breathe Serenity…breathe" opening her eyes, she grabbed her towel and stepped out of her tub.

Ooooooooooo

"Do you think that will be the best thing to do?"

Jadeite shrugged his shoulders "If he ordered it it's probably that it is…I mean, he is one of the commanders of that area"

Zoicite pressed his lips together and turned to look at Nephrite with a worried face; Nephrite bit his lip and turned to look at Kunzite who was sitting in front of Endymion who was reading some papers in silence, completely ignoring the shitennou's talk. Zoicite cleared his throat but didn't get any response from the prince who seemed to be very interested in the paper in his hand. Jadeite sighed, crossing his legs he looked away "I don't think this new tribe has to do with the mysterious incidents"

Kunzite turned to look at Nephrite "Is there something the stars wants to tell us Neph?"

The brown haired man shook his head in silence "No…it shows just a small abnormality but I believe it has to do with the recent incidents but I still haven't found the characteristics or clues of who the main responsible is…"

Endymion started reading another paper in silence, not paying attention neither the four men talking in the study or the paper he was supposed to be reading; his mind was in another place and in another time. To be more precisely he was thinking in the lunar goddess, her pale blue eyes gleaming with tears every time they said goodbye, her soft smile and her delicate features.

Kunzite frowned when he looked at the absent prince "Do you approve that Master?"

"Mmmhm…" he mumbled.

The other three generals looked at each other and then back at the prince "Did you really give Sophos that order?"

"Mmmhm…"

Jadeite frowned "That was stupid…"

Endymion looked back at sheet of paper he was holding minutes before and gave the same answer. Startling them completely, Zoicite stood up and walked over to where the prince was standing "So you are accepting your decision was stupid…"

Something caught the prince's attention this time, he was not sure if it was the word stupid or the fact that Zoicite was standing in front of him giving him a very strange look "What?" he asked and turned to look at the three men looking at him with the same expression Zoicite had on his face "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Jadeite smiled playfully "So you admit it then?"

"Admit what?" Endymion arched a brow. The blonde man laughed softly "Your mind is on the moon!"

Endymion felt his heart stop beating for a fraction of a second when he heard Jadeite mentions the moon "Why? What are you talking about?"

Kunzite frowned "Master is something wrong?"

Nephrite moved forward in his seat and cleared his throat "Yes Master… you are like…"

"Lost" Jadeite finished Nephrite's sentence. Zoicite arched a brow and turned to look at Jadeite "You have no shame…" he muttered. Jadeite widened his eyes in shock at the sandy blonde man "What?"

Endymion frowned and let out a soft breath "I'm sorry…I was…" he trailed off, leaving the papers in his hands on the desk. Jadeite leaned on his seat and crossed his arms "Lost"

Zoicite turned to look at him and then back at the prince "Jadeite is right…"

Endymion sighed and rubbed his temple "What were you saying?" he asked tiredly. Jadeite chuckled "Did you get drunk again?" the three generals gave Jadeite a dead glare startling him "What?" he asked in his defense. Zoicite arched his brow "You really have no shame…"

"No, I didn't get drunk…I am just… I don't know…But you were saying?" Endymion said, looking at his shitennou. Kunzite pressed his lips together and looked down at the papers in the desk "Sophos gave the order to withdraw the excess of security in all three kingdoms…"

"What?" Endymion frowned "Why did he do that?"

"He says it is stressing the inhabitants of all three villages" Nephrite said "And that he has the power to do so…"

"What?" Endymion raised his voice slightly.

Jadeite shrugged his shoulders "He is moving the soldiers back here, he thinks this kingdom needs more security because here is where the royals live"

"Since when he decides what is best? I gave him specific orders!" Endymion asked annoyed and stood up "Where is he now?"

All three men stood up as well, Zoicite took a step forward "At the training field with the rest of the soldiers, he just got back" Nephrite scratched his nose and cleared his throat "I was informed by the soldiers that went with him that he went to see the commanders in every post to order them to retreat"

Endymion growled, Kunzite crossed his arms "What I do not understand is why he says he is following your orders… this change of strategies confuses the rest of the soldiers…it can cause a big damage if we are not careful"

"Of course it can cause tremendous damage, it could cause millions of deaths…this man is moving away all security!" Endymion said with annoyance "I hate when these things happen…"

"What Master?" Nephrite asked.

"When power gets into people's minds…they feel like can do whatever they please. They start thinking for themselves rather than what they should be thinking, our job is to protect the people of this planet…not kill them!" Endymion raised his voice and started to walk out of the room.

The four men stayed silent for a few seconds, Zoicite scratched the back of his head "He is right…"

Nephrite bit his lower lip "I am sure Sophos does not expect Our Highness' visit…"

Jadeite laughed "Of course not! He doesn't even have a clue…oh…this is going to be entertaining"

Zoicite arched a brow "To whom?"

Jadeite chuckled "To us!… I highly doubt Endymion will be all nice and fluffy with him… he just disobeyed him and put everyone at risk including the Royals…"

Kunzite remained silent with his arms crossed, Zoicite frowned "What are you thinking Kunzite?"

Kunzite stayed silent for a couple of seconds and then chuckled "Sophos does not have a clue of what he is about to hear…Endymion is clearly not happy… this is going to be good"

The three men eavesdropped, Jadeite turned to see Zoicite and arched a brow "And you say I have no shame…"

Zoicite sweat dropped "Yes…well, that only happens rarely with him… with you is almost every day"

Jadeite sweat dropped as well "Oy, oy…I get it…you don't have to be that harsh"

"We better go after Endymion, we need to be there in case anything happens…" Kunzite said.

"In case Sophos hurts our Master?" Zoicite arched a brow. Jadeite laughed, Kunzite pressed his lips together "No…the other way around"

"Let's go…" Nephrite was the first to leave the room, the other tree generals followed suit.

Ooooooooo

Serenity finished getting ready and watched herself in the large mirror in front of her "I believe that is my destiny…" she breathed and rearranged her dress again. The hem of the gown had pale pink fabric flowers, the dress was quite simple it was an off white color and had a v neck and half sleeves, her matching heels hid under the long skirt.

Sighing in defeat, she walked out of the room in silence. Luna widened her eyes in surprise when she watched the princess coming her way "Your Highness, I was going over your chambers to help you finish getting ready!" she said surprised. Serenity gave the mauian a soft smile "That's alright Luna…"

Luna gave the princess a worried look "Princess…are you feeling alright?"

Serenity let out a soft breath and pressed her lips together for a few seconds. No, she was not alright; she felt like if her chest was empty, her eyes held no emotion, her body didn't feel excitement or the same joy she felt the past few days but she tried to think that someday, maybe someday that would change and go back to her old self "I'm feeling alright Luna…" she sighed and looked away "Where is she?" she asked softly.

Luna noticed there was something wrong with her princess, it was very strange to see her that serious and absent, like if she was thinking in something else "In the tea room, Your Highness…" she answered softly. Serenity nodded and started walking away without saying another word, leaving Luna behind with a worried look "What happened princess?" she whispered to herself.

Serenity walked towards the tea room in silence, her heels made a soft click sound on the marble floor echoing in all the long corridor. From time to time she would stop to take a deep breath in order to keep her tears in place; she definitely didn't want her mother to notice something was wrong with her "You need to control yourself Serenity…" she said to herself while wiping some tears away from her face.

The tea room was only a few feet away and she could hear the soft delicate sound of the china, indicating that her mother was indeed inside; standing still and while taking another deep breath, the lunar princess walked into the room.

"Good morning Mother" she said softly, faking a smile. The queen smiled at her daughter and stood up "Dear, I'm glad you finally arrived" she kissed her cheek and turned to look at their guest "I was just telling General Athamas that you were probably on your way here…"

Serenity's heart froze as soon as she saw the blonde man waiting for her as well; Athamas took her hand and kissed it softly. The gesture sent chills to the princess' spine "General…" she said softly. Athamas smiled at her and bowed his head in respect "You look lovely Princess…"

Queen Serenity smiled at the couple and sat again on her chair "General Athamas came to see you dear" she said happily. Serenity moved her hand away and was about to sit when Athamas pulled her chair for her and waited for her to sit "Thank you…" she said to him.

Athamas sat next to her and took a sip of his own tea. Serenity looked at her mother and faked another smile "He has been coming very often, the General has been very kind"

Queen Serenity smiled again "Well, it has been quite a while since you two met…"

Serenity frowned softly "Yes…quite a while, but I do not understand…what?..." she trailed off, confusion was written in her face. Athamas turned to look at the princess and held her hand softly into his "Princess…"

Serenity turned to look at him startled; Athamas smiled at her and looked into her eyes "Since I met you…you have captured my thoughts and my heart…."

Serenity looked at her mother with a hint of confusion and then back at the blonde general "General…" she managed to say. Athamas smiled and lowered his gaze "I just talked to Her Majesty…and asked for your hand"

Serenity's eyes widened and turned to look at her mother, the queen smiled at her "I will approve your relationship with the General if you accept his proposal dear…"

Serenity's heart started pounding fast, lowering her head she closed her eyes and started remembering the moments she spent with the terran prince and how he made her feel so many things in so little time. Unlike Athamas, Endymion showed her the wonders of life and the meaning of what love should be; but then she thought about what he told her, that it would be unfair to her to be with somebody that will eventually grow old and die, did it made sense? She thought, did she really want to be with the blonde general?

She looked at her mother and watched how wide she was smiling at them, her mother wanted her to be with him, that would make her happy and in peace. Staying with Athamas meant that she was protected and safe for the rest of her life, she would turn at him every time she would feel sad or lonely and he would support her… _right?_ She thought.

"_You will be alright…"_ she remembered Endymion's deep voice assuring her; looking up at the man holding her hand, she sighed softly and nodded softly. Athamas smiled widely and kissed the top of her hand happily "Yes?"

Serenity looked at the blonde man in front of her and bit her lower lip "Yes…" she said softly.

Queen Serenity stood up happily "Ah! It's settled then…My beautiful daughter has finally found her charming prince"

Serenity didn't know how to feel, this was a moment she waited for so long, since she met Athamas she wanted him to ask for her hand in marriage and now that he did she wasn't feeling as happy as she thought a moment like this would make her feel. Queen Serenity went to hug her daughter "I'm so happy that you have found your match"

Serenity lowered her gaze and nodded "Thank you…Mother" Queen Serenity turned to see Athamas standing next to her daughter "Take great care of her…"

Athamas smiled at the queen and bowed his head in respect "Of course" he said softly, placing an arm around the princess' shoulders "She is a treasure"

Serenity lowered her gaze again and stayed silent, feeling her heart being taken away by a man she was not sure she could love deeply like she thought she could. The lunar queen noticed her daughter was acting strange "Dear, are you feeling alright?"

Serenity watched her mother's worried gaze and faked a smile "I'm fine, I am just…"

"Surprised?" Athamas asked her.

"Surprised…" Serenity said softly.

Queen Serenity smiled widely and held her daughter's hands "We should give a ball"

"A ball?" the princess asked shocked. The lunar queen nodded "Why of course! Now that you are an official couple, everybody should know you are going to marry anytime soon"

Serenity shook her head "But I haven't agreed to marry soon…" she defended herself. Athamas arched a brow "Are you saying you don't want to get married?"

"I'm not saying I do not want to get married, I am just saying not now…it is too soon…" Serenity said.

Queen Serenity smiled, waving her hand she dismissed Serenity's comment "Dear, everything will be just fine, there are so many things to do" the queen was so excited that her daughter finally agreed to marry a suitor and in her opinion, Athamas was the best man for her, sighing she closed her eyes for a minute _"Athan…I believe our daughter just found the one…"_

Serenity felt like she was running out of air, everything was just happening too fast. All of the sudden her hand was already taken, her mother was planning an engagement ball and was probably going to start planning her wedding as well, it was too much, lowering her gaze she fought the urge to cry and ran away from the once peaceful room.

Artemis interrupted the moment calling for the queen "Your Majesty, can I have a word with you?" the lunar queen nodded and smiled at the new couple "I will be back in a minute… why don't you go and take a stroll in the garden? It is a lovely day" Athamas smiled at the queen and nodded his head in respect "Of course" turning to see Serenity looking at her mother absently he smiled and offered his arm "Shall we dear?"

Serenity was startled and nodded, taking his arm she started walking alongside him towards the garden in silence. Athamas smiled to himself and let out a soft sigh "We are finally together, just like you wanted"

Serenity was taken aback by his comment "What?" she asked annoyed. Athamas chuckled "We are going to be very very happy…." He said, not really listening to her.

"Just like I wanted?" Serenity repeated his last words "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Don't be silly dear, things will get better" Athamas said, patting her hand on his arm. Serenity rolled her eyes and looked away, wishing there would be something that could interrupt their moment together, all she wanted was to be alone and cry the loss of something she never got to have.

"Your Highness…" as if her prayers were heard, a soft voice interrupted their small talk. Serenity raised her head and widened her eyes in surprise "Venus!"

Venus was standing in her imperial wasted gown in a soft orange tone. Next to her soon appeared Mars, Mercury and Jupiter "Your Highness, they said in unison"

"Oh! it is so good to see you!" Serenity broke free from Athamas and walked to her guardians and gave them a hug "I missed you…" she whispered. Venus smiled at her princess and then turned to see Athamas standing a few feet away from them "I'm so sorry…" she said softly "I did not see you, General" the venusian bowed her head in respect.

Athamas cleared his throat "It's good to see you're all back…" he said softly, walking towards his girlfriend he placed an arm around her shoulders "My love here was starting to wonder when you were going to come back, she has been very lonely" the comment made Serenity shrug her shoulders "Don't be silly…dear…I was not lonely…"

Venus gave the couple a puzzled look, something didn't click "Your Highness…?" she asked softly. Mars frowned and looked at the couple in silence, she recognized that look in Serenity's eyes, she knew she have seen it before somewhere but she wasn't still sure where. Serenity smiled softly at the blonde "It's good to have you back"

A guard interrupted the moment, clearing his throat he bowed in respect "General Athamas… Her Majesty wishes to speak with you"

Athamas nodded and turned to see his princess "I will see you tonight at dinner" Serenity nodded her head and sighed softly, Athamas turned to see the four guardians standing with a strange look on their faces "Senshi…" he said.

The four senshi bowed their heads in respect and waited for the general to leave the gardens. Venus was the first to break the silence "Your Highness…did we miss something while we were away?"

Serenity pressed her lips together and looked away _"If you only knew my dear Venus…" _she thought.

"I have never seen General Athamas that…happy…" Mars said dryly. Jupiter gritted her teeth "Oh, maybe if we leave our Princess to tell us we might know what has happened over these past few days we were away"

Serenity smiled sadly or at least, she was the only sad in the palace apparently and with obvious reasons "He…asked for my hand just a while ago…" she breathed. The four senshi widened their eyes in surprise "He did?" Jupiter asked, Serenity nodded her head "Yes…"

Mercury blinked a couple of times "What did Her Majesty say?"

"She couldn't be happier" Serenity said softly, looking away. Venus frowned, something was not right but she was not sure if she should ask her in front of her fellow senshi or wait until she is alone with her princess. Her time away with her family helped her to strengthen her powers as a senshi of love. Maybe she needed to take a couple of days off to actually see the full picture and see there was something strange happening to her princess "What did you say?"

Serenity turned to look at Venus "I said yes"

"So then, it is official?" Mars asked.

"You are engaged?" Jupiter asked right after.

Serenity sighed "Let's say he is more than just my suitor…"

"This is a big step" Venus whispered "And finally he asked…"

Serenity smiled at her guardians "He finally asked…"

Mars noticed a hint of sadness in her princess' voice. Turning to see her fellow senshi she waved her hand "Why don't we go unpack our things? We should leave our Princess to dream a little bit more with her special day don't you think?"

"You haven't unpacked?" Serenity asked curious.

"No! As soon as we got here we went here looking for you, Your Highness" Mercury said softly. Serenity smiled at the blue haired senshi "I missed you dearly"

"We missed you too Your Highness…" Venus said softly "Well, we better go unpack…General Athamas will be back in no time" the four senshi started to walk away when Serenity called for them "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Your Highness" Mars said softly. Serenity smiled softly at them "Could you join us for dinner?"

"But… it will be a special night… General Athamas will be here and…" Jupiter trailed off. Serenity waved her hand "He will understand…please?"

Venus smiled at her princess "We will be there Princess"

Serenity smiled at her guardians and friends "Thank you…" she breathed. The four women bowed their heads in respect and left the princess alone in the gardens. Serenity let out another sigh, this time with more feeling; walking towards the fountain she sat on its rail and looked up to the sky, especially to the blue planet miles away _"I miss you terribly… I wonder what you are doing right now…if you think of me the same way I am thinking of you…" _she thought, letting her feelings take control over her; her eyes started to fill with fresh tears that immediately after started to fall "I don't know what I am doing…Endymion…how am I going to forget you? How am I going to look into another eyes and not wish I could be watching yours…how am I going to kiss another lips without thinking in your tender kisses? … I wish I could be with you…I miss you…" she whispered to the wind.

Oooooooo

Several soldiers were outside the ward house talking and joking around when one of them spotted the prince walking their way and widened his eyes in shock "P-Prince…" he stuttered. The rest of the soldiers turned to look at the surprised man and as soon as they watched Endymion they formed into a line and bowed their heads in respect "Polemarchos" said in unison.

Endymion turned to look at one of them "Where is Sophos?"

The soldier turned to see the soldier next to him and pressed his lips together as if he knew what the prince just came to talk about with the man. Endymion noticed their exchange of glances "I asked you something" he said with great annoyance in his voice but still keeping it in a low tone which was more intimidating than when he raised it; the soldier bowed his head again and swallowed hard "Inside…" he said slowly.

Endymion walked pass all the soldiers in line and entered the ward house, closing the door afterwards. The four shittenou turned to look at the soldier who just answered looking down; Kunzite frowned "You know something else…"

The soldier shook his head no with nervousness "What would I know…no…you are mistaken General Kunzite"

Zoicite came close the two men and also frowned "You know His Highness doesn't like to be lied in his face…"

The soldier pressed his lips, still looking down; the soldier next to him elbowed "You better tell them…"

"Tell us what?" Nephrite arched a brow.

"We only followed Sophos orders, but because he said it was our Polemarchos' wishes" the other soldier said. Jadeite gritted his teeth "Our Polemarchos would never order something like that…you should know better"

Endymion opened the door in one swift move startling the brown haired man and his right handed assistant smoking a cigar "Polemarchos!" the assistant said nervously.

"Why did you remove all security from all three kingdoms?" Endymion asked Sophos. The commander put down his cigar and bowed his head in respect "Because I thought there was an excessive amount of…security…it might wake up too many suspicions that something bad in happening…."

Endymion frowned and crossed his arms "Since when you make a decision without consulting me first? Do you even realized what you just caused?"

Sophos widened his eyes in shock "I…I…" he stuttered.

The four shittenou entered the room where Endymion was having a discussion with the man in question. Kunzite moved closer to the prince and whispered something in his ear that made him snap out of his always stoic persona "What?" he asked out loud and turned to look at Sophos.

Sophos lowered his gaze nervously and looked at his assistant look away pressing his lips together. Endymion walked closer to Sophos and hit the surface of the man's desk making a very loud noise "You risked all those people's life to go and take credit for an investigation that should have been informed to me first?"

The brown haired man swallowed hard and looked at the prince with fearful eyes "I wanted to make sure first before I informed you…"

The words pissed Endymion off; walking behind the desk he grabbed him by the collar "Too many people are paying the consequences of your jealous actions…"

"Your Highness…you were absent for several days in all those social gatherings, I did not know who to inform…"

The assistant widened his eyes in shock and turned to see the four shittenou who were looking the uncomfortable scene wide eyed as well. Endymion let out a sarcastic laugh "Are you talking serious?" he let go off his collar.

Sophos widened his eyes and realized he was digging his own grave hole. Endymion laughed and then punched the desk one more time already angry "You know very well that I will always give preference to anything concerning this planet, second of all if I am nowhere to be found like you say, you can always inform one of the four generals"

Sophos lowered his gaze, his plan didn't work out. Endymion shook his head "I can't believe it Sophos…and on top of that you treat the soldiers like pawns…that is not worthy of a soldier"

"I am a Commander, not a soldier" Sophos snapped but as soon as he realized what he just said he widened his eyes and looked back down again; Endymion pursed his lips "And I am your Polemarchos and you will follow my orders from now on not as Commander, but a low ranked soldier"

Sophos looked at the prince wide eyed "What?... No… Your Highness…wait… I did it because I thought that was the best to…"

"To do what? To give yourself credit for something that could even cause more damage?…what if that thing causes something worse and all the people from each kingdom is unprotected…you didn't look after their safety, you looked after your damn pride. Take all your things out of this place; your rank has been revoked and when you leave this place give your honor medals to Kunzite on your way out…" Endymion turned around and left the room without saying another word.

"No…Your Highness….you can't do that! I did it for what was best for the army!" Sophos raised his voice and looked at Kunzite who was waiting for him to take off his medals "Oh no… he can" Kunzite said slowly "You should have thought of that before you decided to do something behind his back"

Sophos let out a loud breath and started taking his medals off "All of them?"

"He didn't say anything else…right?" Kunzite asked dryly.

Sophos sighed in defeat and gave the white haired man all of his medals. Kunzite passed the medals to Zoicite "Your position will be supervised by the Polemarchos himself until he decides who is the best qualified soldier to occupy your place" without anything else to say walked out of the office, leaving a very shocked former commander.

"I told you it was a bad idea…" the assistant said softly.

"Shut up Alquimedes…" Sophos muttered.

Endymion walked back to the palace and started feeling a pressure in his chest. Looking at his surroundings he wondered what could it be, it was not the same feeling he had every time Serenity appeared this was different and slightly painful. Sighing he ran a hand through his dark hair "Serenity…" he whispered to the wind.

Ooooooooo

A few miles away from the Northern post, where the Northern Kingdom used to be many years ago a sulfur smell started to fill the air and its surroundings. Many of the people that lived closed said that the strong smell concentrated by each day that passed, the people from the southern and the northern post tried to cover the cracks on the ground where the smell found its way out until they started to notice that the ground near a deep and dark cave was starting to crack in a very concerning way.

Smoke and ashes came out of that deep hole that many inhabitants tried to investigate the reasons of such intoxicating smell but never managed to find their way out. Inside the cave the walls were damp and dirty, the echoes of laments and enchanting whispers filled the dark place.

In the deepest of the cave a soft chuckle could be heard in between the sound of decay and humidity "It is near…" the sultry whisper said, between the pieces of burnt stone and acid a burnt decayed hand traced the surface of a rock "My love…I know you are out there…thinking of me…I know you will help me take revenge"

The entity chuckled again "Once I rise again…you will meet your damned faith! I SWEAR! YOU WILL CRY TEARS OF BLOOD GODDESS OF EARTH!... we will meet again… I swear that we will meet again…"

The soft sound of pebbles falling indicated the trapped being was trying to move its way out "I can feel it…the feeling of death and decoy…the feeling of revenge…"

Ooooooo

Queen Gaia was looking outside from her balcony and let out a deep breath "Exhausted?" a male voice interrupted her thoughts and smiled "Of doing nothing perhaps?" she answered.

Obelix chuckled and walked closer to the terran queen "How are you doing little princess?"

Gaia smiled at the man next to her "It's been so long since I heard that pet name"

Obelix chuckled "To me…you will always be my little princess"

Gaia turned to see the immensity of earth, from her balcony she could see the thick foliage of the forest, the village and all its people walking around "It's seems like yesterday when all this happened"

Obelix smiled "But I sense an air of melancholy in your words"

Gaia smiled sadly "The priest has spoken"

Obelix pressed his lips together "You are worried about something…"

The comment startled the terran queen, it was true. There was something that worried her "I have the feeling that my time in this place is almost over…"

Gaia's words worried Obelix, turning to look at her with sad eyes he frowned "Don't say that little princess…you are safe and…" he trailed off.

"It doesn't matter if I am safe or not…they will come for my soul…I can feel it" Gaia's words were full of sorrow "I am starting to worry even more for Endymion…I'm afraid Obelix...I've been having these dreams of my son covered in blood…if something happens to him I don't know what am I going to do…" her voice started to tremble, tears started to fall from her light green eyes worrying Obelix even more.

"He is under the protection of the sun…" the priest said.

Gaia turned to look at him with fright "Even the sun experiences an eclipse…"

Gaia's words filled Obelix's chest with worry, the priest looked away and stayed silent. Gaia was right, even the sun could be covered by darkness and if that happened that could put the prince in great danger. Closing his eyes he thought about the night when he was doing his last prayers for the day and the image of dark spot covering the sun startled him interrupting his thoughts.

Flashback

_Obelix opened his eyes with fright, the clear image of the sun being covered by darkness filled his mind "It can't be…" he murmured. Standing up he walked to the prayer tower and lit all the candles with a flick of his hand, looking at the sacred obelisk that pointed to the sky as a way to send his prayers to the Gods he closed his eyes._

"_Helios O Deus summus. Vos qui nobis principem Sub tuum præsidium, discutient sacra solem umbra audire ... orationibus meis defendit reginae custos sacri vitro tuetur terra ... infinitum" (Oh Helios, god supreme. __You who have our prince under your protection, dispel any shadow of sacred sunshine ... listen to my prayers, as protector of the queen mother, keep the sacred crystal that protects this sacred land of infinite power safe...)_

"_Audi preces meas Helios! Audi preces meas…" (listen to my prayers Helios! Listen to my prayers…)_

_The light of the candles started flickering as if he was getting a response from the High God itself "Your grandson will need your guidance…" Obelix whispered and closed his eyes, the image of the holy sword came to his mind and heard a soft echo of a male voice "__Hoc signum clavis malum aureum et vitrum tueri ab iniuria. Protector planetam et scies quae facias__" (this is the key to seal evil and protect the golden crystal from harm. The protector of this planet will know what to do)_

_Obelix opened his eyes and gasped "The holy sword…"_

End of flashback

"He has the holy sword in his power…" he said softly. Gaia turned to look at him "What?"

"The Prince has the Holy sword in his power…" Obelix repeated and turned to see Gaia "It is not that easy to have full control of the crystal, you need the sword and you need the strength. Gaia frowned and gave the priest a puzzled look "What are you saying Obelix?"

"The Holy sword is the key to unleash the full power of the Golden Crystal…that is why you were able to seal your brother away" Obelix said "The prince has the sword and the crystal within him… he can unleash the power to its maximum strength…"

Gaia felt her heart beat faster "Obelix…"

"He has the power to fight against everybody…" Obelix said.

Gaia put a hand on her head and closed her eyes "I don't want him to fight against them… I just…" she trailed off, her voice started to quiver "Why does it has to be so difficult?"

Obelix sighed, taking the queen's hands into his he looked at her sadly "Things are meant to be difficult Little Princess…"

Gaia lowered her gaze and let the tears she has been holding start to fall; thinking about everything that happened in the past she admitted that sometimes she felt guilty. She felt guilty to have given her son the faith that he has, she thought about it very often if the same thing happened to him if she followed the rules and never married Eros. She fought against the immortal beings wishes and preferred to live a short life in her home planet loving and being loved in return; after all this time, she still had what she always wanted: Love.

"If you had decided to stay immortal and never married His Majesty… you probably wouldn't have the son you have now…but either one way or another, your child would have had the same destiny he has now…" Obelix cleared the queen's mind "_They_ wished they had a son like yours…"

Gaia nodded and smiled "I'm so proud of him Obelix…so proud…" looking away she smiled sadly "He has so many things _he_ used to have…"

Obelix cleared his throat "Nice try, but no…he is a copy of yours…"

Gaia chuckled and turned to see the priest leaning on his back on the balcony rail "We all have similar characteristics…"

"He has his grandfather's same defiant character and his grandmother's stoic persona that makes him so regal...but mostly, he got so many things from you" Obelix smiled.

Gaia chuckled "Like my hair…and the same prismatic eyes…but that is because of the crystal"

Obelix smiled warmly at his queen and moved his head no "He talks with the same eloquence as you…" he trailed off, Gaia laughed softly. Obelix started to walk around the balcony and put his hand on his chin "And have the same face expressions, you both raise the same brow every time you try to figure something out… he has your sarcasm but also your kindness…he may look a little like his father, but he is a copy of you"

Gaia smiled "He is the best thing that ever happened in my life…" she lowered her gaze "You understand now why I want him to be always safe…no matter how strong he is or how determinant he is…I am his mother and he is the best of Eros and me"

Obelix sighed "A secret that big…can't be held for too long little Princess…you are hiding your own son the truth about him, the essence of his own life…you need to start thinking in if living in oblivion is the best thing for him if that actually is going to keep him safe…"

The priest's comment made sense to Gaia, he was right, there were too many secrets kept away from Endymion but also thought about how the truth could put his life at risk as well.


	67. Chapter 67

**A/N: Hi. I'm so sorry this chapter had to be posted this late, I hope you like it. xoxo**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter sixty seven**

***I do not own sm, just this plot and some of the characters.**

* * *

Soft laughter and voices filled the living room at the Moon Palace; the queen had just announced her daughter accepted the andromedian's proposition and that they were going to start thinking in joining their lives for all eternity. As soon as queen heard her daughter said yes to Athamas, she contacted the seamstress and a special person that could help her plan the engagement ball and of course, the wedding.

"I was thinking small white flowers everywhere…so it could give the illusion of her walking through clouds…" one of the organizers commented happily. Queen Serenity smiled and nodded "That sounds marvelous!"

The four guardians were sitting around the white princess listening to the woman's ideas. All of them were excited except for one person, Venus sighed softly and moved closer to the princess "Princess…why are you so serious?"

Serenity turned to see the blonde beauty and shook her head "I'm fine Venus…"

Mars looked at Venus with a worried expression and then at her princess "Is there anything we can do to help you?"

Serenity sighed and lowered her gaze _"Make this stop…" _she thought desperately; moving her head again she smiled softly "No Mars, I'm fine, really"

A maid interrupted the older women's talk and bowed in respect "Your Majesty…there is somebody looking for you"

Queen Serenity diverted her gaze from the planner to the maid at the door "Did this person give you a name?"

The maid nodded her head "She said you know her well"

The queen smiled widely, like if she did know who the visitor was "Send her in" she stood up immediately and walked towards the door. A few minutes after a woman wearing a royal blue gown came in; her dark hair was styled in a bun at the top of her head surrounded by crystal blue hair pieces, her skin was fair, her green eyes accentuated her exotic features and her presence made clear that she was not a maid or a seamstress, but a Goddess.

As soon as Serenity looked at her, her eyes widened in surprise; something in this woman caught her attention but she was not sure what it was. The woman was stunning and event thought they were timeless it was clear that she was older than her mother.

Queen Serenity sighed happily and extended her arms at her "I'm so happy you came…" she breathed. The dark woman nodded her head and the ghost of a smile haunted her lips. Serenity noticed there was something wrong with her, like if she was mourning, like if she was sad, very very sad.

"It's been so long since I was here…" she whispered and looked around with melancholy "These walls hold so many special memories"

The lunar queen nodded "I know…" she whispered "I want you to meet her…"

The green eyed woman took a deep breath and waited for her commotion to pass "Well… where is your lovely daughter?" she asked in a more cheerful tone. Queen Serenity smiled and turned to see her daughter, nodding her head she asked her to stand up and join them to they were standing.

Serenity looked at her with amazement; she felt some familiarity with her like if she knew her. The older woman widened her eyes "You are beautiful…" she breathed.

Serenity blushed and bowed her head "Thank you"

Queen Serenity smiled at her daughter and then turned to look at the woman in front of them "Dear Serenity, I want you to meet Nut, Goddess of the Skies"

Flashback

_The lunar queen walked through the long corridor with a mix of excitement and worry. She found strange that there was nobody there to tell her if she was in the right place or if she was actually lost. She felt lost, but she wanted to believe that she was in the right place._

_Taking a few more steps forward, a wave of memories reached her heart, for what she saw she knew then that she was at the right place. Their home was not a palace, not even a small castle. It was a shrine, it was her shrine. _

_Everything was exactly the same, the walls, the dome ceilings and the fountains. Serenity actually wondered if they took the shrine up to here because it was like if time never passed, she felt like the young princess she used to be coming to visit her long time friend._

"_Yes it is…" a woman's voice startled the lunar queen. Serenity turned to her left and saw Nut standing near one of the fountains in the main court "You may find it strange…but it is our way to feel ourselves at home…"_

"_Nut…" Queen Serenity breathed. Nut smiled, but it was not the same cheerful and happy smile. It was more melancholic, her eyes reflected all the sorrow and pain she held in her heart, age did nothing to her body but it did to her soul; it was evident, like in every god the miracles of time; although they didn't look old and wrinkled they did look like they held all their life experiences in their eyes "You are a magnificent queen…Your mother must be very proud"_

_Queen Serenity smiled sadly at the memory of her own mother "I try to do my best…it is not easy but with love you can do anything"_

_Nut gave the lunar queen a sympathetic gaze "I'm sorry about your loss…"_

_Serenity lowered her gaze and sighed "Thank you…"_

_Goddess Nut walked closer to the lunar queen "I am assuming that Ares was the one that guided you here…"_

_Queen Serenity nodded "I've been looking for you for so long…the last thing I knew was that you lived in Andromeda but it turned out to be that you lived here…" Queen Nut chuckled softly, her voice was still warm and slightly raspy "We did lived there but Geb and I… preferred to move to a quieter place, we happen to found out that Omega was a perfect place for a more…peaceful life if you can call this peace…"_

_Queen Serenity looked at the goddess of skies with sad eyes "How are you? How is Geb?" _

_The question broke the stoic goddess and tears started to fall from her eyes "We live punishing ourselves, questioning what we did wrong?" Serenity frowned "Maybe the only thing you did wrong was to give your back at her when she needed you"_

_Nut wiped the tears off her face "All I wanted for her was to be regal, marry a wonderful and handsome prince that could actually take care of her, turn herself queen and have a family…"_

_Serenity smiled "But she did"_

_Nut widened her eyes in surprise "What?"_

"_She did" Serenity reassured. Holding her hands, she smiled widely at the woman in front of her "She has always been regal, she did marry a wonderful and handsome prince that takes care of her, turned queen and had a family…yes, she broke a taboo but…she did follow your wishes and she fought for them and her own dreams…"_

"_Have you seen her?" Nut's hope died as soon as she saw the lunar queen move her head in denial "I am not allowed to go to Earth anymore now that I have a higher profile…it would be very noticeable and it would put my daughter in danger…"_

_Nut's eyes flickered with joy, something that she never thought she could see again in her "You have a daughter"_

_Queen Serenity nodded "Serenity"_

"_How old is she?" Nut asked curious. The lunar queen smiled "She is soon turning twenty years of age…"_

_Nut smiled "She is just a little flower. She must look just as beautiful as you"_

_Queen Serenity smiled "No…her beauty goes beyond…because she is beautiful inside and out"_

_Nut sighed softly and started walking towards the main court, Serenity followed suit "She is younger than…" she trailed off. Serenity smiled and nodded "Than your grandson? Yes…"_

"_I would have liked to know him…" Nut said sadly "Geb had the opportunity and instead of that he…" she trailed off, new tears started to threaten to fall. Serenity noticed the pain in the goddess' heart "You happen to have…the best warrior this realm has ever seen as grandson…"_

_Queen Serenity's words startled Nut "You know him?"_

"_I met him when he was still a baby…he has the most beautiful eyes you will ever see…Gaia and his father, raised him to become the superb warrior he is now…" Serenity said softly "The Higher Gods have their eyes on him…because they are well aware he is the rightful protector of Earth"_

_Nut was amazed; her heart was filled with a missing joy and pride. Her desire to know him grew and was certain that once Geb learned about this information he would too; Serenity smiled at Nut "He is alright and takes good care of his mother"_

_Nut nodded "Thank you…"_

_Queen Serenity smiled and looked at her surroundings "It's like being on Earth again…" she breathed. Nut cleared her throat "I am sensing you are here for something else…am I correct?"she arched her brow in curiosity. The lunar queen pressed her lips together in a playful manner and nodded "I wanted to see you…but I also wanted to ask you for something…something that will mean so much to me and I know you are the perfect being to help me"_

_Nut crossed her arms "What is it?"_

_Serenity smiled at the stoic goddess "My daughter is getting married…"_

_Nut widened her eyes in shock "Your little flower? With who?"_

_Queen Serenity sat on a bench near a fountain "With the Head Commander of the Andromedian Army" she said proudly. Nut pursed her lips startling the lunar queen "What?" she asked. Nut went to sit next to Serenity on the bench and sighed "I sense a very familiar story is repeating itself…"_

"_What?" Serenity asked. Nut chuckled "Dear, are you sure you don't want to rewrite your own story?"_

_The words startled Serenity, frowning she looked at the dark haired goddess "Why would I want to rewrite my story? It's hers…she decided to marry him, just moments ago…" Nut sighed and looked away "Maybe lunarians are made to marry andormedians then…but I would like to know where do you need my help…"_

_Serenity smiled at Nut "I want you to meet her and help me plan her wedding…"_

_Nut's eyes widened "What? You want me…why would you want that?"_

_Serenity nodded "You helped my mother plan mine...I would love to have you helping me plan my daughter's"_

_A crash of emotions hit Nut, she put a hand on her chest and let out a deep breath "I don't know dear…I…" she trailed off and took another breath "I am flattered and feel very honored but…I can't…it would bring too many memories that I don't know I would take…my dream as a mother was to plan my own daughter's wedding…but it never happened…I'm so sorry dear…I can't…" she stood up._

_Queen Serenity stood up as well "Please Nut, think about it…maybe it is time to stop punishing yourself so harshly…You and Geb can stay at the palace as our guests and meet my daughter, you will be safe there…I promise…"_

_Nut lowered her head "I am not sure if it is a good idea…it can cause trouble in your political and social matters…"_

_Queen Serenity held her hand "You are my best friend's parents. They know it, everybody knows it and I really don't care…"_

"_Yes…but we became a taboo just as Gaia" Nut said softly "We are no longer what we used to be Serenity…"_

"_I can keep the truth secret to my daughter, nobody goes to visit me at the palace anymore since I am always busy with the treaties of the Alliance, I am the one that actually goes to Olympus and settle countless of matters…you will be safe…please Nut…think about it…" Serenity held Nut's hands. The dark haired woman pursed her lips and started to walk away leaving Serenity alone in the court._

End of flashback

Serenity bowed her head in respect and smiled softly "It is a pleasure meeting you" Nut turned to see Queen Serenity smiling at her "She is a magnificent jewel"

The lunar queen smiled proudly "Yes…" she turned to look at her daughter "Nut has been a family friend for a very long time..." Serenity smiled at Nut, "Please, come in…join us for some tea?" the queen thanked she had a lovely and educated daughter like hers, taking Nut's hand she turned to look at the four girls sitting in a chair "These are my daughter's guardians: Venus, Jupiter, Mars and Mercury"

"How do you do?" they all said in unison, bowing their head in respect. Nut green eyes widened in surprise and turned to look at the queen "They are…"

"Yes…" Queen Serenity said softly. Nut smiled at them "Nice meeting you…"

Turning to see the white princess she smiled in a very peculiar and familiar way she thought _"Where have I seen those gestures_…" Serenity tried to remember "What date is your wedding dear?"

The question startled the princess "D-Date?" she turned to see her guardians giggling and then back at the woman in royal blue "I haven't settled a date yet…" Nut arched her brow "That is very important dear…but also it is a good thing, that won't rush the celebration's arrangements"

Serenity smiled softly, Nut winked an eye at her like if she knew that the lunar princess was not sure of her commitment yet, the older woman understood by close experiences that rushing things are not the best way to solve or forget something. She tried to rush her own daughter to marry a god she was not sure she could love the way she expected to and preferred to risk her own life to live the life she really wanted.

The warm gesture the goddess in blue showed to the princess made her feel like she somehow understood her position. Like if she knew she was not interested in the man she just chose to marry, almost like if she knew she didn't want to get married with him at all. Queen Serenity knew inviting Nut to spend some time with them would help her heal a little all the weight she carries on her heart "Is Geb joining us as well?"

Nut sighed softly and moved her head no "He…found to difficult to come here after everything that has happened…"

Queen Serenity lowered her gaze "I see…" smiling at the older woman she held her hands happily "I am very glad you decided to come and stay with us…"

"It will only be for a few days…" Nut said softly. The lunar queen nodded in response.

Ooooooooo

"I am glad you decided to join us…" Queen Narella said happily. Beryl smiled widely at the former queen and bowed in respect "Thank you for the invitation Your Majesty" the red head decided to wear a chocolate brown gown that accentuated her fiery red long hair. It was the first time she was invited to the palace alone, which was something that she imagined had to do with the past events where Charmindy made the prince get upset with her comments.

"I hope Lady Charmindy won't find it offensive…I would love for her to join us as well but I wanted to talk with you in private" Queen Narella served herself a cup of tea "Tea?"

Beryl smiled and nodded "Thank you very much" she watched the delicacy of the older queen in serving her the hot liquid on the exquisite porcelain cup "You wanted to talk with me?"

"I invited Queen Gaia as well…" the mere name of the actual terran queen send her chills down her back, Gaia was imposing when she decided to be and that intimidated Beryl, Queen Narella took a sip of her tea and then put down her cup "She is probably busy arranging something…maybe she won't be able to join us"

"Forgive my tardiness" Gaia interrupted. Beryl stood up and admired once again the beauty of the terran queen, wearing a deep plum gown with long sleeves and a small trail that was tied up at her lower back, the front of the gown was exquisite, it had a V neck with a tall collar, and on her chest rested a magnificent golden broach with the symbol of earth: the circle and the cross. Her hair was in a half ponytail allowing to see the length of her dark hair, her makeup was subtle, her lips were taking all leadership in her look with a ravishing red tone that matched perfectly with the deep turquoise stone in her thin tiara.

Queen Narella smiled "Oh dear, there you are I thought you were not going to be able to join us for tea"

Queen Gaia smiled at her mother in law and watched the young woman standing in front of her "You may sit Lady Beryl…" she said in a dry tone. Beryl did immediately and took a sip of her tea; Gaia occupied her seat on the round table "Did we change scenarios?" she asked trying to avoid any eye contact with the red haired woman.

Narella smiled "It was so long since we were here…"

"The rose garden is very special…" Gaia commented.

Narella smiled again "Maybe today it is a special moment"

The table was strategically placed under the shades of two large cherry trees, giving a very dreamy look to the gardens, even when it was known to be the rose garden and one if not Gaia's favorite place in the palace she always loved the delicacy of the two pink trees and reminded her of the times when she and her baby boy used to sit and talk all day about everything and at the same time about nothing at all.

"What do we owe this…_special moment_?" Gaia asked.

"I asked Lady Beryl to come as a way to get to know her better, I think she and Endymion get along quite well" Narella said softly. The comment offended Gaia in some way; it was not that she entirely disliked the woman in front of her but her always uncomfortable companion "I see…what I am interested is in how well they get along…"

Beryl choke on her tea and looked at Gaia "I…well he…is always very nice to me"

"He is nice to everybody…" Gaia said and took a sip of her own tea. Beryl bit her lower lip "Um…well, we always happen to meet occasionally… we are not close or anything but…he always stops to say hello"

Queen Narella smiled "I will be very honest Beryl…so I hope you can answer me the same way"

"Of course Your Majesty" Beryl said softly.

"Endymion is not an easy person as you may have noticed. He…" Narella turned to look at Gaia "He has a very strong character and has his own ideals, for the people of this kingdom and the rest of the world; he is very sure of what he wants and fights for it until he gets it…" Narella cleared her throat "I love my grandson very much and although I know he does not need any help in protecting himself we are his family…"

"I understand, Your Majesty and I completely support what you are doing…" Beryl said.

Gaia chuckled to herself, startling the former queen "Of course…" Gaia said. Beryl looked at the queen and felt her intense gaze looking back at her, the queen acted as if she knew Charmindy's plan, but was she still following the blonde woman's plan? She wondered. No. She had feelings for the prince "_Yes. I love him_" she thought.

The girl seemed innocent but something didn't make her feel like she was being completely honest, Gaia thought. She looked at her closely and tried to understand her necessity to provoke any human being with those exuberant curves of hers. She knew what she had and she was trying to achieve it no matter the cost, but just as she was fighting to get her son's attention and her approval she was not going to leave her the path free of tests, yes, she admitted her mother instinct started to flow "May I ask where are your family?"

Beryl was taken by surprise, of all the questions she could have been asked and she actually practiced with Charmindy this was something she was definitely not expecting "My family?..." she trailed off.

"Yes" Gaia answered simply. The question got Queen Narella's attention as well and admitted to herself that this was one of the main reasons she wanted Gaia to be present, because she would look through her jealous and protective eyes unlike her that were full of excitement for his only grandson would finally find the right woman to marry and give her great grandchildren. Beryl fidgeted slightly in her seat "They passed away…" she said softly "In a fire accident…"

"Lady Charmindy said they were close friends to her…" Narella said.

"Yes…"

"What were their names?" the former queen asked "Perhaps we knew them…"

Gaia found quite strange that Charmindy helped out a girl like her out of nothing, knowing the blonde's ambition and how she always thought about her, it made found extremely mysterious her sudden kind and merciful heart. Beryl shook her head "They were…" she trailed off and felt her heart cringe at the lie she was about to say "They worked for Lady Charmindy since she was very young…when they died…she promised to my parent's grave that she would take care of me the same way they took care of her…"

Queen Narella put a hand on her chest in sympathy, Queen Gaia frowned "I see…"

"Would you mind staying for dinner?" Queen Narella suggested. Beryl widened her eyes "What?"

"What?" Queen Gaia asked the former queen as well. Queen Narella smiled "It would be lovely to have you with us…and you will have the opportunity to salute Endymion and well… explained what happened with Lady Charmindy the last time you were here with us…"

Beryl smiled and nodded her head "I would love to Your Majesty, thank you very much…"

Gaia sighed in defeat; Queen Narella was apparently in the red head's side. She already knew that her son would get very upset once again to be _intruded_ like he always said they were as soon as he sees this girl in the dining table with them again.

Oooooooo

"Do you really mean it?" Kunzite caught up with the prince, once he stopped at the palace's entrance "Are you going to lower his rank to soldier?"

Endymion arched a brow "What's wrong with being a soldier?"

"You really mean it" Kunzite said wide eyed. Endymion sighed and ran a hand through his midnight hair "If he had been more humble I would have probably just given him a warning but instead he lied to me, put many people at risk and on top of that he ordered things that were not part of his jurisdiction…he disobeyed my orders Kunzite, orders I gave in order to keep everybody safe from these strange attacks. Of course I meant it"

Kunzite pursed his lips and looked at the medals in his hands "Then I believe I should give this to you…"

Endymion sighed and took the medals from Kunzite and then turned to leave startling the white haired general "Wait, Master where are you going?"

"I'm giving these to my Father…and to make sure my orders are being followed" Endymion walked inside the palace. The three other generals caught up with Kunzite "Where's our Master?" Zoicite asked. Kunzite sighed "He went to look for His Majesty to give him Sophos medals…"

"He was very upset…" Nephrite murmured. Kunzite turned to see him "Who, Sophos?"

"No…His Highness…well Sophos as well…"

Jadeite shrugged his shoulders "His former squat seems pretty thankful that he is no longer their Commander"

Nephrite frowned "Well, at least our Master is back to his old self…"

Jadeite chuckled "What?"

"Didn't you notice him very absent these past few days?" Nephrite asked.

"I feel there is something else…" Kunzite said worried "There is something else…"

Endymion walked through the long corridor looking for his father; he had looked for him in the study and the throne room but had no success "Maybe he is with Mother at the court" he searched for them everywhere but didn't find them and started to wonder if something happened and he didn't know, he saw Megumi at the distance carrying a bag full of clothes to the laundry room "Megumi" he called out loud, catching the young maid's attention "Your Highness!" she bowed her head and felt the weight of the idler bag rolled off her back "Ow…" she moaned.

Endymion chuckled "Let me help you with that" he grabbed the bag and put it straight aside "There…you should just…pull it, it is too heavy to be carried around"

Megumi blushed and lowered her gaze "Your Highness is so kind…is there something I can help you with?"

Endymion smiled at her "Yes…I'm actually looking for my father I thought he was at the study but I can't seem to find them anywhere…have you seen him?"

Megumi placed a finger on her chin in thought "I'm sorry I don't know…but Her Majesty is at the rose garden…"

Endymion smiled at her "Thank you Megumi…" he started walking towards the gardens again looking for his mother, turning his head he chuckled "Pull the bag don't carry it"

The young maid smiled at his noble gesture and did what she was told and continued her way to the laundry room. Endymion heard familiar voices as soon as he entered the gardens, walking in a more relaxed manner he chuckled "Where is the most beautiful woman…" he trailed off as soon as he watched Beryl sitting with Gaia and Queen Narella "Of…this…earth…" he finished his sentence in a more dry manner. Queen Narella smiled at her grandson and extended her hand "Oh dear! It's so good to see you are here! Come and sit with us…"

Gaia turned to look at Endymion and widened her eyes and shook her head slightly as a way indicating not to do what his grandmother just suggested, Endymion caught the signal very well but then noticed Narella's excitement and glee to see him there at this time of the day and felt some kind of guilt. Sighing he shook his head no and stayed standing "I'm fine right here…thank you Grandma…"

Queen Narella smiled and then turned to see Beryl, who was still blushing "Lady Beryl came to visit us, isn't it wonderful dear?"

Endymion faked a smile and nodded "I see…how do you do Lady Beryl?"

Beryl nodded her head in respect "I'm well Your Highness…thank you for asking"

Gaia turned to see her son and extended her hand at him which he immediately took "I need to have a word with you Mater" he said softly. Endymion didn't need to ask twice for her attention; she excused herself and stood up. For a moment Beryl wished she had that power over him, it was very clear that they shared a very strong bond "Is something the matter dear?" Queen Narella asked him what Beryl was wondering with all her might.

"Nothing serious…I just need to steal her for a brief moment" Endymion said softly. Queen Narella smiled and turned to see Beryl "Good, but be free by dinner time, Beryl will be joining us again"

Gaia looked Endymion's failed attempt to hide his discomfort and fought the urge to laugh, Endymion on the other hand rubbed his right temple with his hand "Marvelous…" he faked excitement and started to walk back to the corridor inside the palace "She is staying for dinner?" he asked his mother with annoyance.

"It was your grandmother's idea" Gaia rolled her eyes.

Endymion sighed "She is actually nice when Lady Charmindy is not around"

Gaia frowned "You like her…"

Endymion shrugged his shoulders and looked away; his thoughts went back to the image of the goddess in white that stole his heart that night. After meeting her, nothing would be the same; he would always compare everybody to her authenticity, her kind and wonderful heart and of course her beauty will never be matched "She…she does not seems to be like her godmother"

Gaia sighed and lowered her gaze "I won't decide who you should marry…if you like her, there is nothing I can do"

Endymion scratched the back of his head "Why everybody keeps saying I am going to marry her?"

"I am just saying…she seems to really like you…" Gaia sighed "No matter how much I oppose to that relationship…"

"What relationship!" Endymion raised his hands in frustration.

"Well…the one you apparently have with her…she says you meet up all the time" Gaia muttered making Endymion laugh "She probably says it because I ran into her a few times in the past but that doesn't mean we meet all the time…it is ridiculous"

Gaia arched her brow "I hope it is…but I sense you didn't steal me from the _oh so great_ meeting to tell me that, am I correct?"

Endymion chuckled "You are certainly right Mater, I was…actually looking for Pater, I thought he would be at the study with Leonidas but they are nowhere to be found…do you happen to know where they went?"

Gaia crossed her arms "Ahh…so, you were looking for him instead of me…" she said jokingly "He went to see Isra…apparently the security guard that was supposed to watch their surroundings disappeared mysteriously…Isra was very upset and confused, Leonidas went with him, I thought you knew dear…" she frowned.

"I did know, the shitennou informed me as soon as it happened…that is why I was looking for him actually, to tell him I took several measurements in order to fix this issue…" Endymion said slowly. Gaia arched her brow again "Are those medals in your hand the measurements you took?"

Endymion looked at the pieces of metal in his hands and sighed "I had to Mater…he did something against my orders, took advantage of his rank and bossed everybody around just to achieve something that would only benefit him…I discharged him from his rank as Commander…"

Gaia frowned "Dear, you have never done something so precipitous before…" gritting her teeth she sided her head in curiosity and worry "You have something else…"

Endymion widened his eyes in shock "What?"

"You have something else…tell me what it is…" Gaia said, her delicate and well defined brow was still arched. Endymion blinked several times shocked that his mother would sense something, he was trying to act as normal as he could and he was actually but there was a said that a mother always had some kind of supernatural powers and speaking of his own mother that was something very special, he always thought she had a sixth sense, like she knew more than she appears as a kid he always looked at her more as an angel than just a queen. To Endymion, his mother was a Goddess.

"I'm fine Mater…why should I have something else?"

Gaia gave him a knowing smile "Of all the excuses you could think of…you had to give me the silliest one…"

Endymion eavesdropped "I don't know what you are talking about…"

"Dear, you can't fool me...I know you more than you think…" Gaia raised her index finger at him, Endymion sweat dropped "Don't start with that again…" he muttered.

"I carried you for nine long months, we lived so many things together…I changed your diapers! I woke up in the middle of the night…"

"No you didn't" Endymion continued sweat dropping.

"Only to give you your food!...what?" she stopped talking. Endymion smiled at her "No you didn't…but it is fine…I do not blame you"

"What makes you think I didn't? Of course I did!" Gaia widened her eyes in shock "Agh… don't tell me you remember because that would be too much…"

Endymion laughed "No Mama I don't remember but I know for a fact that Aurea helped you with that…maybe not always but she did most of the time and it is understandable, you were tired…and sick…" the last part of the sentence held some sadness. Gaia placed her hands on each side of his face, and smiled warmly at him "It didn't matter, having you in my arms…was the best thing I could ever experience…"

"Was it Mama? I mean…really?" Endymion asked softly, his stoic persona melt as soon as his mother looked in into his eyes, they shared something special she was right and then realized that Serenity was the second woman that could actually make him feel in that great same peace like when he was with his mother alone. Gaia brushed a lock of hair away from his face and smiled kindly "Never doubt it my setting sun…"

Endymion widened his eyes in realization.

Flashback

_A knowing smile plastered on her face "Your mother must love you with all her heart…you must be the most important person in her life" she said softly. The lunar princess comment caught Endymion's attention "Why do you say that?"_

_Serenity didn't turn her face away to look at him, she was mesmerized by the spectacle above her but she held the same kind and adorable smile "Because she named you after something so beautiful and perfect…"_

End of flashback

"Mama…why did you give me this name?" the curiosity in Serenity's comment triggered in his head, Gaia smiled widely and sided her head "Well…since I knew I was expecting you, I always felt it was a blessing from the sun…because you always made me feel like I was safe and loved…when you were born, I remember turning my head to the balcony…your grandparents were asking what name we were going to give you and at the moment I didn't know but then I saw the sun starting to set…giving the sky the most beautiful palette of colors…it was…the most beautiful scene I had ever witnessed…and then I knew, like if the mere sun gave me the answer…that your name should be something that represented all that warmth you gave to my heart, all that joy, all that safety and pure perfection…and then I knew, that Endymion was the name destined for you"

Endymion's eyes filled with unshed tears, Serenity was right, without knowing his mother she knew the magnitude of her love for him, lowering his head he pressed his lips together holding his urge to cry, clearing his throat he held his emotions very well again and looked up at her "Did you really change my diapers?" he asked jokingly to lighten the mood, Gaia laughed and slap him in the arm "Of course I did!"

Endymion laughed and raised his hands in defense "Alright alright…I believe you…"

Gaia arched a brow "I am dying to see you change your baby's diapers one day…"

The terran prince laughed louder "What?"

Gaia laughed "You'll see what I am talking about, you will drool as soon as you hold your baby in your arms…you won't want to leave his o her side…you better have a baby girl, because I want a granddaughter!"

Endymion kept laughing "That is something you don't know…"

"I don't know what will you have to do…but…I want a baby girl" Gaia chuckled, Endymion smiled "If I do have her…will you be there to watch her grow as well?"

Gaia smiled and nodded her head "I promise"

Endymion made the same gesture "Very well…so then I believe I will have to ask Beryl to be the mother then…"

Gaia's color drained off her face "It is not funny…"

Endymion laughed "I better go…"

"You are leaving me? Why don't you join us and who knows…maybe I can have that granddaughter sooner than I expected…if you are so interested in her…" the terran queen muttered.

The prince laughed and kissed his mother on the forehead "See you at dinner Mama" he turned and started to walk away, Gaia did not have another choice but to go back to her tea meeting for another while until it was time for Aurea to ask her to take her medicines. Endymion entered in the study and closed the doors, leaning on them he smiled when he remembered what his mother just told him.

"A daughter…" he chuckled to himself "I haven't even found the mother of _my daughter_ yet…" the smile on his face soon faded away when he thought about Serenity "You are going to be a wonderful mama…someday…" he said sadly, realizing she was not going to be the mother of his child.


	68. Chapter 68

**A/N: Hello. Guess what? I have a surprise for you all...**

**disclaimer: I do not own SM just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**_Chapter sixty eight_**

* * *

"Doesn't she look gorgeous?"

"Beautiful…"

"Breathtaking…"

Serenity lowered her gaze as soon as she took her seat on the dining table, she thanked that she was not alone with just her mother and Athamas; her guardians were next to Athamas at her right side. Across her on the table was their new guest Nut, Luna and Artemis as well. Their before meal chat didn't last long, the maids soon brought the large bowls of food inside "The preparations for the engagement ball have started…" Queen Serenity said happily.

Serenity felt her hand being taken by Athamas and somehow it didn't felt as exciting as she thought it would feel when this moment came. She looked at them and noticed how they didn't even matched together, his hands connoted a strong character but not a hint of desire and care something she did notice in Endymion's "His hands are cold…" she thought as she continued looking at Athamas hand holding her for another moment.

"Do you agree dear?" her mother asked her, interrupting her thoughts "What?" she asked puzzled. Queen Serenity chuckled "I just said that it should be as soon as you know the date of when you want to get married"

Venus paid close attention to the princess, she was not sensing the excitement the rest of the people in the room felt and it worried her. Nut noticed the lack of attention the princess paid to her engagement matters "What do you think Nut?" Queen Serenity asked the Sky Goddess, Nut smiled "I believe we shouldn't hurry the event…"

Serenity raised her gaze in awe at her, Nut arched her brow and regained her stoic posture "I think that if we want something memorable we should take it slow…the perfect gown can't be tailored in just a few weeks…at least not for this beauty you have for daughter"

Queen Serenity smiled and nodded "I believe you are right…"

Athamas chuckled "I do not think My Princess needs too much to look beautiful…"

"That is very true…" Queen Serenity said. Serenity felt desperate and turned to look at Venus and then back at Nut and then at Athamas "I think Goddess Nut is right…" Serenity said softly "Things will turn out better if we don't rush them…"

The lunar queen smiled at her daughter and admired her mature point of view, she thought that when this moment came she would want everything to happen incredibly fast but instead, she remained in a very collected way which she liked.

Serenity on the other side felt her heart started beating faster, she felt like if she was running out of air, like if her life was starting to become pointless and with no joy at all. She knew why, she didn't want Athamas, she wanted Endymion and she wanted him to be in Athamas' seat; she wanted the terran prince to be the one complimenting her and holding her hand under the table, the man that would be joining his life with hers. She wanted Endymion because she loved Endymion, period.

Her mind started to drift again, everyone else's voices became a blur as soon as she started to think about the moments she shared with the terran prince, the way they looked into each other's eyes, the way his lips caressed hers and how he was always there to safe her every time she was in danger.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized it. She started to compare both men again and the differences were very noticeable; starting with the fact that Athamas had sandy long blonde hair and Endymion's was short and deep black, so black that could be compared to a night sky. Then she thought about the way they spoke; Athamas had a low voice but it was plainer than other thing, Endymion's on the other side was deep, rich and warm, sensuous to be more precise, _"Like drinking a glass of red wine" _she thought.

Both men were in well shape but Endymion was taller, both were strong but the terran prince showed more passion, both were older than her _"Hmm…I never asked him his age…" _both were very handsome but again, the terran prince won the match. Serenity never thought she could meet a man that could be attractive, handsome and beautiful at the same time.

Serenity closed her eyes for a brief time and sighed softly _"Serenity…what you are thinking is crazy…is it really what you want? Do you really want to sneak around to see the man of your dreams or to marry a man that can actually be with you because he shares the same life quality you do?"_

Oooooooo

The maids entered with large bowls of food and placed them on the buffet table at the end of the room and started serving the diner plates. Endymion sighed for the fourth time in the evening and tried his best not to look like he was there by obligation more than pleasure.

He thought about the option of starting to drink again to overpass the awkward moment but then he thought about what his grandmother would say and not only her but his parents as well. King Eros arrived home a little late but just in time to have dinner with his family and just like Endymion he too was shocked to see Beryl sitting in the guest's seat once again.

The talk was nothing too relevant; as much as Beryl tried to establish a conversation with Endymion he would find his way to divert it into something else. Endymion didn't need to analyze it too much, he didn't felt anything exciting when he saw the red headed woman, sure she was gorgeous but that was it, everything in her emulated sex more than sincerity and was tired of women like her, he was tired of the same thing over and over, false smiles, false compliments, false emotions, he was very tired.

He had no doubt that she was more humble than Charmindy but still, what he felt for her was only a vacant attraction more than a desire to hold her in his arms, look her in the eyes and whisper in her ear 'I love you…'

"_It will soon be over…the question here is…for how long?"_ he thought and took another sip of his wine looking at the woman in front of him on the table.

Oooooooo

Her heart pounded fast and strong, she looked at her mother talking happily to Nut and the advisors; she then turned to see Athamas suggesting some things to their political talk, her guardians stayed silent and said things from time to time nurturing even more whatever conversation they were having, all Serenity could think of was her own feelings, if she was old enough to marry then she was old enough to make her own decisions. Queen Serenity noticed her daughter was very quiet "Dear are you feeling alright?"

Serenity looked at her mother and smiled.

Oooooooo

"Please forgive My Lady for her comment…I am sure she didn't mean it…" Beryl said softly. Endymion took a sip of his wine and arched a brow "You don't need to defend her Lady Beryl…it's alright"

"Perhaps is she comes and asks for your forgiveness…"

"That won't be necessary Lady Beryl…really…" Endymion interrupted her.

Beryl lowered her gaze and bit her lip, maybe she was pushing the prince too much but she wanted to win his heart no matter what, it was more difficult than she thought and considered the former queen's words he was indeed a very reserved and defiant man which made her intent for winning his heart almost impossible.

The evening was starting to become dull and the energy in the room started to become dense; Beryl's attempt to clean Charmindy's name was futile, Queen Gaia didn't say much, King Eros commented a few random things to the prince but nothing too serious, he didn't feel it was appropriate to talk about political matters in front of people that were not part of the royal family; they didn't need to know out if they were having problems or not.

Queen Narella was the one that continued the evening alive. She believed strongly that Beryl could be the perfect woman to marry Endymion, she was beautiful, educated and incredibly sweet (in her opinion) and that was more than enough for her to follow Gaia's steps, she was not a goddess like her but she was sincere with her feelings.

Endymion tired of keep playing with his food pushed his plate aside and waited for one of the maids to take it away, looking at his glass of wine he sighed again. Dinner was taking an eternity to come to its end, he heard absently the random talk the former queen and Beryl were having and each question became more boring than the last one; responding from time to time and giving short answers he looked at his mother and arched a brow, Gaia did the same and sighed, she knew he was suffering by just being there pretending to be he was glad and comfortable to have visitors at this time of the night.

"Your mother can't continue doing this anymore…" Gaia whispered in her husband's ear; Eros lowered his gaze and sighed "Understand her please…"

That was something Gaia was not expecting from her husband "Excuse me?" she exalted. Eros rubbed the bridge of his nose "Dear, I cannot do anything to prevent this…"

Gaia arched a brow in discomfort and ignored Eros' words, extending her arm she took her glass of wine and took a sip; Eros watched her lips stiff a sign she always gave every time she got upset about something but he understood her, his queen was right; he would have preferred to talk about the day's events and what happened with Isra instead of listening to a conversation between his mother and Beryl.

Endymion let out a soft breath and looked at his crystal glass, admiring the way the soft light of the candles got trapped in between the cut of the crystal creating hundreds of rainbows in between, he smiled unconsciously when he started thinking about the white goddess. Somehow the rainbows on his glass he was looking and the way the wine danced inside the glass every time he moved it reminded him of her; maybe it was because she was delicate like the crystal of his glass or beautiful as the rainbows caught up with the light, maybe she was as addicting as the wine in it…maybe she was all of the reasons he was thinking.

He remembered her soft laugh and her delicate smile, the way her nose wrinkled every time she got frustrated about something he said or did, the way she looked at him every time they were about to kiss, her soft caresses, her scent and the way her silky hair fell from the two buns on top of her head, he realized that maybe that was why he gave her that pet name _"Bunny of the moon" _he whispered softly.

Beryl paid close attention to the prince and wondered why he was smiling in that peculiar way. She had never seen that smile before in him, every time she looked at him smiling it was a more reserved and polite smile but never as warm as the one he was showing, his soft whisper caught her attention "Did you say something Your Highness?"

Endymion's peaceful state broke as soon as Beryl asked him something, the once warm smile on his face disappeared in a matter of seconds and returned to his serious attitude "Excuse me?" he asked, frowning. Beryl flashed him her most kind smile "I thought I heard you say something…" she said softly. The terran prince pressed his lips for a few seconds and gave her a cold smile, she noticed it was not the same he had a few moments ago "No, nothing Lady Beryl…I…" he trailed off, he suddenly felt a warmth in his heart, something he learned to know very well, his heart started to beat faster and stronger _"Could it be…" _he thought. Beryl shook her head puzzled "Your Highness?"

Endymion lowered his gaze trying to assimilate the feeling he was having in his chest for a moment, the same smile came back on his face but only to be clouded by a slight frown _"What happened…" _he thought again; raising his head he sighed and stood up, the king and queen looked at him with worry "Is something the matter son?" King Eros asked. Endymion turned to look at him and shook his head "I'm sorry…there is something very important I need to do…"

"Right now?" Queen Narella asked puzzled.

"Yes…"

"But we have a guest…." Queen Narella turned to look at Gaia, hoping she would do something to retain her son with them, Gaia did not recognize that unexpected reaction from him but understood that if she was extremely bored he would be worse because after all, that dinner plan was organized for him in order to talk to Beryl but since he didn't have too much to say to her she felt it was fair enough to let him go against her mother in law's wishes; shaking her head she waved her hand "If it is so important, go and resolve it" she said.

Queen Narella widened her eyes and turned to look at her son, Eros sighed and waved his hand at his mother "We always need to be prepared for the unexpected…" he said slowly. Endymion turned to see Beryl with a releasing smile "Have a pleasant night" and without anything else to say he walked out of the room leaving everybody wondering what was so important to just interfere with their sharing moment.

Endymion walked as fast as he could to the stables and prepared his horse. As soon as he finished he rode as fast as he could to the place where they last met, his heart pounded stronger in his chest that he almost felt like it could come out of it, he did not know what to expect if she was alright, if she was troubled if she was happy or sad or if she just came to be alone for a while; at this time he didn't care he only wanted to see her at least for one last time before he could resign to lose her forever.

Stepping down off his horse, he let it roam like he always did and walked towards the lake but found nothing. The feeling in his chest dissipated and for a moment he thought he could go to the place where he first met her near the creek but decided not to; sighing he ran a hand through his dark hair and shook his head as a way to say to himself how stupid he was to think she was actually in that place. He looked at the calm water reflecting the soft light of the moon and sighed again, he was about to leave when something caught his eye.

And there she was.

As magnificent and beautiful as always, wearing a one shoulder gown with a silver moon broach on her waist, the dress hugged her small waist and fell graciously until it reached the floor hiding her satin heels completely. Her hair was in its same style, a few strands of pale silver hair came lose framing her delicate oval shaped face.

Endymion took a deep breath in awe, then noticed her pale blue eyes gleamed with tears; it was until he saw one of them fall graciously down her cheek that made him break the silence "Beautiful…" he whispered sadly.

Serenity shrugged her shoulders and smiled "You see…I tried to be fine, but I just came to realize that I will never be fine with somebody else that is not you…"

The words startled Endymion, looking at her mesmerized his soul and reason "Serenity…"

Serenity pressed her lips together and looked away "Tonight I asked myself two things…one was to know why I still tried to please everybody else's wishes instead of mine…I am old enough to make my own decisions and to choose which path I should follow…" looking back at him, her tears could hold any longer and started to fall uncontrollably "I want to follow the path that will lead me to you…"

Endymion looked at her with love "Are you sure of what you are saying?"

"Yes" she answered.

Endymion sighed and walked towards her "Serenity…being with me will put you in great danger…"

"I don't care…" Serenity whispered and watched him come close to her. Endymion stopped a few feet away from her "I cannot be with you forever…"

"I'll find my way to be with you forever…" Serenity said.

Endymion frowned "Why me? I'm just a mortal…"

Serenity smiled softly and took a step closer to him "Because no immortal being has the passion you hold in your heart, no immortal being has ever saw me with those eyes so full of wonder and love…no immortal being has ever made me feel the way you have…"

Endymion lowered his gaze and chuckled "You deserve someone better than me…"

Serenity frowned and walked until she was right in front of him "Haven't you noticed it yet Terran Prince, that there is nobody else in this universe better than you?"

Endymion widened his eyes in shock and raised his head to look at her "There is actually one being…"

Serenity frowned a little and crossed her arms "Oh? please tell me…"

Endymion smiled "You"

The lunar princess smiled widely and blushed "Let me be with you…" she whispered. Endymion couldn't fight the urge to hold her, kiss her and love her anymore; looking at her he lowered his head again and watched her hand playing nervously with her dress, smiling he took her hand into his and brought it to his lips, looking up again at her he placed his other hand on her back moving her closer to him, closing the small gap between them with a deep passionate kiss. Serenity let all the feelings in her heart unleash; her free hand rested on the back of his neck and let herself go.

Serenity sighed happily and parted a few inches away from his face to look into his eyes "How did you know I was here?"

Endymion kissed her nose and rested his forehead on hers "Maybe I do read minds after all" he smiled; Serenity moved her head and looked at him "Let me be with you Endymion…" her soft voice captured his heart, pushing her bangs aside he smiled at her "Forever darling" he said softly.

Serenity smiled happily and ran her arms around him in a tight hug "I missed you…"

Endymion kissed her head "I missed you too…"

Serenity smiled, this is all she wanted and all she needed, Endymion was the man she wanted to see, his voice was the one she wanted to hear, his warmth was the one she wanted to feel. She was in love with him and didn't want to let him go. Snuggling in his chest she sighed "Do you love me?"

Endymion's eyes widened by her straight question but then a charming smile crossed his handsome features "Let me see…" he bit his lower lip jokingly; Serenity looked up at him with wide eyes while the terran prince looked down at her, caressing her face with the back of his hand he sighed "I once told you that if you lived here you were already with me…"

Serenity blushed but kept her eyes fixed on him "I love you Serenity…more than you can imagine…." he whispered.

The lunar princess sighed when she heard those sweet words from him "I love you too…" she whispered back; reason came immediately after "Nobody knows you are here right?" he asked softly, holding her hands.

Serenity lowered her gaze and sighed "No…I excused myself for the evening so I do not think anybody will go and look for me…"

Endymion bit his lower lip and thought for a moment startling Serenity "What?" she asked.

"_Amor,_ do you really want to stay with me? Is this really what you really want?"

"Yes" Serenity answered "You don't want to be with me?" she asked softly. Endymion kissed her forehead "Of course I want to be with you but…It won't be easy…" Serenity lowered her gaze and sighed "I don't care about that…" thinking about her situation back at home, she didn't really care if she had to come down to earth to see the man of her life but she noticed a hint of sadness in his voice "There is something else…right?"

Endymion sighed "It is that… I would love to tell the world that I have found the woman of my life…I would love to have you with me by my side all the time…" kissing the top of her hand he looked at her "But for you…I would do anything…even if I have to hide this enormous feeling I have in my chest…"

Serenity looked away "I wished I could tell my mother about you…about how we met and how we feel for each other…I know that someday we will be able to tell the whole universe about our love" Endymion smiled at her "There is something else…"

Serenity blew her bangs "There is more?" she asked playfully. Endymion started walking towards the lake "Amor…As much as I would love to…I won't be able to come to this place very often"

Serenity pouted her lips and looked down making Endymion chuckle "Don't pout me those pretty lips of yours…" Serenity sighed "I understand…" she whispered. Endymion placed his finger under her chin and moved her face up so she could look at him "I said I won't be able to come here as much as I would love to but I never said we were not going to see each other"

"May I ask why not?" Serenity asked softly.

Endymion sighed tiredly "Because of my duties as Prince…there have been some…issues that requires my full attention"

The lunar princess looked at the lake "Is there is something I can do to help you?"

Endymion smiled at her "It's part of the charm I guess…it's funny actually because there are some people that think that I just do nothing all day, attend to social meetings and just give orders…" his smile faded soon after and sighed again "Serenity…there is something you should know about me"

Serenity turned to look at him wide eyed "What is it?"

Endymion lowered his gaze and thought the right words to say "I…" he trailed off "As a Polemarchos there are certain duties I have to achieve every day… one of them is to provide security to all the inhabitants of this planet…" sighing he ran a hand through his dark hair "What I am trying to say Beautiful is that I am not a saint…I have fought many times and killed many people…"

Endymion's last words echoed in Serenity's mind, somehow his high ranked position made sense and for what she saw on previous ocassions he was well respected "Isn't there other way?" she asked, Endymion bit his lower lip "Your perception of me might change after knowing this…it changes mine every day…nobody likes to be with an assassin after all…"

Serenity frowned "I do not think you are an assassin…Endymion…" she turned to look at him "…It must be so difficult…to deal with death at such a short age…you told me you had to learn to deal with depriving life to those who caused evil…those who harmed your dear ones…I know…that if there was other way to solve any of the things you have gone through you might have took it…"

Endymion lowered his gaze "You know more of myself than so many people that have been near me for so long…"

Serenity ran her hand through his hair "You are a very noble man…you have a very kind heart…you have to be strong because you are the High Prince, soldiers must look at you with respect and I'm sure they do but that does not define your heart…I know it…you have shown it to me over these past few days…if you were an assasin like you say you are…you would have killed me the very first time we met…instead of that, you let me free, without knowing who I was or where I came from…"

The terran prince smiled at her "You are so wonderful…"

Serenity rested her head on his arm "You are so tall I cannot rest my head on your shoulder…" she said softly, Endymion laughed at her comment; placing his arms around her waist he lifted her up "Now you can…" he said softly.

"We can always see each other at night…" Serenity whispered in his ear. Endymion nodded and turned his face to look at her "We always have the night but…" he trailed off and put her down "It is dangerous for you to come to this place alone…because maybe there will be times I am going to be very busy…I don't want you to wait for me here all by yourself every time you come…"

Serenity frowned softly "Then what are we going to do?"

Endymion smiled at her "Come…" he took her hand and started to walk back to the forest "Where are we going?"

"You will see…" Endymion said softly. As soon as he made a soft sound his horse appeared from behind a large tree; Serenity gasped as soon as she saw the magnificent creature, Endymion smiled and patted its head "Its name is _Æthon_ which means fiery red"

Serenity smiled at the horse and patted its head as well "Your name is the same of one of the High God's horses as well…"

Endymion smiled "Helios"

Serenity smiled at him and nodded "Is that why you named it that way?"

The terran prince shook his head "It was my mother the one who suggested the name…I was practically a boy when my father gave it to me…we grew up together…" Serenity smiled "It's beautiful…" the horse moved its head close to the lunar princess as if it wanted more patting from her "I think he likes you, very much" Endymion chuckled "He is as stubborn and difficult as me…"

Serenity chuckled "You know what they say… everything resembles their owner"

"Hey" Endymion laughed. The lunar princess giggled and patted the animal one more time; looking at him she smiled "Where are we going?"

Endymion helped her sit on the horse and the he sat behind her and shook the reins softly to give the horse the signal to start walking, Serenity smiled and reclined herself on the prince "I want to make sure that every time you come…it won't be a wasted trip…" he said softly, making a slow hush, the horse stopped behind tall bushes. Serenity's eyes widened in shock and gasped softly "It's so beautiful…where are we?"

"This is where I live" Endymion said softly, Serenity admired the magnificence and beauty of the terran palace; it was nothing she ever imagined. Her ideas of the terran people and buildings were still very primitive looking in her mind, as soon as she looked the elegance and magnitude of the palace she immediately knew she had been very misinformed about the terran culture and their way of living "It's beautiful…" she whispered "But…why are we here? I thought we wanted to keep our relationship a secret…"

"And we are but as I said, I don't want you to be alone at night in the woods…it's dangerous…I don't anything happen to you" Endymion kissed the top of her head; Serenity looked back at him "I can come here whenever I want?"

"Of course" Endymion smiled. Serenity looked back at the palace and frowned "But…there are guards everywhere, how am I going to find you?" the princess looked in awe at all the security around and knowing that she could not appear and disappear as much as she would like to in this place, she only knew how to summon her powers to come to earth and then find her way back home; Endymion noticed slight worry in her voice "I will tell you how to get in without being noticed…next time you want to come here it would be easier to find me"

Serenity smiled and nodded, Endymion started to explain how the times in the security worked, when it was time for every shift of guards and who did what and at what time and why, he pointed at her where the main entrance was and where are the alternate entrances to the palace, Serenity paid close attention to all his specifications because she was sure that if she made a slight mistake that would cause him a big problem that it would be impossible for her to fix because she would definitely freeze the same way she froze when he first met her.

Oooooooo

Athamas entered his room in the west wing of the andromedian palace, although he was not a royal he had his own room as every high commander of each planet. Throwing his jacket away he gritted his teeth with annoyance; soon after a knock on his door startled him from his thoughts.

"You wanted to see me General?"

Athamas growled and looked at the soldier standing next to the door "I want you to send another troop to the moon's palace"

"Yes General" the soldier said "Anything else?"

Athamas tapped his fist on his chin and frowned "Get more energy from Earth"

The soldier widened his eyes in shock "But High General…if we continue doing that…the mortal will notice it…"

"And that is exactly what I want" Athamas raised his voice "The time has come, I am to become the rightful King of the Lunar Kingdom and fulfill my duty taking control over the Silver Alliance…if we speed up our plan and take charge of the terran planet as well I would be admired not only by the Lunar Kingdom but Olympus as well!"

The soldier frowned, since he started working close with Athamas his only obsession has been to destroy a mortal being and even after he thought about it many times he couldn't understand why, thinking this might be a right moment for it since they were alone and was very unlikely that somebody would come asking the general something, he took a step forward "General…what it is so important about this mortal?"

Athamas frowned "Since I was a boy all I wanted was to be the greatest warrior in the universe, a well respected Polemarchos…and when I was this inch to achieve it…" he made a gesture with his fingers, indicating how close he was "I heard about the mortal warrior for the very first time…"

The soldier shrugged his shoulders confused "But why does it bother you so much? You just said it, he's a mortal! He can't have more power than any of us…"

Athamas turned to look at him "That is where you are wrong…" the long blonde haired man turned to look out his window "The mortal holds a very strong power…so strong the Higher Gods in Olympus are very interested in him…if I break the mortal I will get the recognition I have always wanted and become the greatest King of all times!"

The soldier nodded "You are getting close to become the next lunar king General"

Athamas looked through his window and smiled "I am not close, I already am the next Lunar King" he started laughing "The time to completely destroy that 'living legend' as they like to call him is near…"

Ooooooooo

Serenity leaned her head on Endymion's chest while he was riding his horse outside the kingdom's grounds again, the soft light of the moon was again the only thing that illuminated them, covering them like a silver blanket so full of peace and love, a love they were starting to nurture and would sure endure for the rest of their lives.

"You live in a very beautiful place" Serenity said softly, Endymion lowered his head to look at her and smiled "I imagine you live in a very beautiful place as well"

Serenity moved her head away from his chest and sighed, looking at him she smiled "Yes…is a place full of peace but it does not compared to this place…we don't self sustain like you do…" she looked at the moon "God Neptune gives us water and God Uranus gives us air…but it is not like here…"

Endymion chuckled softly, startling the princess "What?"

The terran prince scratched the back of his head "Nothing…it's just that…it is so strange to talk about them…"

"Who?" Serenity frowned in a playful way; Endymion shrugged his shoulders "Gods…"

"Why?" Serenity asked softly, Endymion stopped the horse once they were in a safe area in the woods and stepped down, extending his hand out to the princess to help her step down as well. Serenity took his hand and slide her way down gracefully "You didn't answer my question…" she commented softly; Endymion chuckled softly and turned to see her "Aren't you a little curious?"

Serenity blushed but kept her eyes focused on him "I actually am…very much"

"I can see that" Endymion smiled. Serenity arched a brow and crossed her arms "Why do I feel like you are avoiding my question…what is what you don't want to answer?"

The question caught Endymion unaware, she was right, he was avoiding the question but not exactly because he didn't know what to say but the other way around…or maybe he didn't have much to say, he never actually thought he would meet at least one of them, it was not like he even wanted to until he met Serenity but that was different "There is not much for me to say Bunny…" he looked away.

Serenity pursed her lips, frowning she moved closer to him "You once told me you knew about us…"

Endymion raised both brows as exaggerating his surprise "You paid attention…"

"Of course…" Serenity eavesdropped "You are still avoiding my question! You are good!" she pointed her index finger at him, Endymion laughed "I am, right?" his smile erased quickly, knowing he couldn't avoid her question because after all she was one of them he sighed and leaned his back on a tree, crossing his arms he looked at her "When I was a boy I was taught that we should pray to the Gods who live up in the heavens and we would always get a response from them…" he looked up remembering his praying time with Obelix everyday at the temple.

"I knew every chant, every prayer…every praise…but then I learned my mother had very delicate health and started to wonder if my prayers were said in the right way because all I wanted was to make her feel better…" the prince made a short pause and looked at her with those intense azure eyes that would always make Serenity blush "Time went by and I grew up…even though my mother was still ill I kept praying to them hoping they would hear me someday and eventually help her…but then I decided to join the army and protect her myself once I returned home…innocently I continued asking for protection but then I was sent to war and I met face to face with death and defeat, I knew what sorrow actually was and how loneliness felt like and then realized that the Gods my mother would always ask me to pray to didn't listen…"

Serenity could feel tears starting to fill her eyes, threatening to fall any moment now, Endymion took a moment and sighed softly "In desperation I changed my prayers to several gods but never got any response, people kept dying and we still had to fight…then I learned what grudge actually felt like and that is what I started to feel towards them, grudge…disappointment and of course promised to myself to never waste any more of my energy praying to somebody that would never listen and that in order to make the frightening events disappear was to actually take justice with my own hands...and that is what I did…my hands are forever stained with blood…but I could finally see the massacre we were living stop…"

Serenity didn't noticed she was already crying until she sniffed softly, widening her eyes she brought a hand up to her face and touched her moistened cheek "I'm so sorry…" she whispered and lowered her gaze. Endymion moved from his place near the tree and went to stand in front of Serenity "Why are you sorry Bunny?"

Serenity sniffed and looked up "For not listening to your prayers…"

Endymion pressed his lips together, looking at her like that broke his heart "Bunny…don't cry…that is not your fault…it was actually mine" Serenity widened her eyes in shock "Yours, why?"

"Because I believed before actually taking action…"

"But you killed so many people…" Serenity whispered "You killed so many people because we didn't listen"

Endymion wiped her tears away with the back of his hand "Bunny…I had to kill all those people because I had to find my way to survive so I could protect all the innocent of this planet and my family…you didn't have to do anything with it"

"Gods are not bad…" Serenity trailed off, remembering what Mercury told her before made click on her mind "The Silver Alliance…" she thought. Endymion frowned and rubbed her arm softly "Bunny?"

Serenity looked at him "They are not bad…they are just misinformed"

Endymion hugged her and look away "Serenity…I don't know their reasons…I do not know if they actually look after us and I actually don't care anymore…I don't send a prayer since…I don't know…it's been too many years…"

Serenity encircled her arms around his waist and breathed in his intoxicating and masculine cologne "What else did you ask for?" Endymion smiled at her kind gesture and placed his arms around her protectively "Um…let's see…when I was little I always asked them to give me a new toy for my birthday…" he chuckled, trying to enlighten the mood and he did, Serenity looked up at him and smiled "Did you get it?"

Endymion laughed "Yes I did…but I know that was not because the Gods send it to me personally…" the prince broke the tender hug and started to walk with Serenity towards a small hill a few feet away, sitting on the ground Serenity took her earlier position encircling her arms around his waist and him his right arm around her shoulders while the other one player with the grass. Serenity's eyes widened and looked at him excitedly "When is your birthday Endy?"

Endymion blushed at his new pet name and chuckled "August 3rd" as if his answer was made of candy, Serenity's eyes gleamed with more excitement and glee "Are you excited?"

Endymion arched his brow "Why?"

"Because it is almost August…"

The terran prince laughed "Actually I am not…"

Serenity sided her head in curiosity "Why not?" she pouted her lips "Birthdays are fun and exciting!" she smiled widely, Endymion chuckled "My birthday is only a reminder of how old I am getting…" Serenity looked at him "Are you very old?"

Endymion chuckled "Well…not too much but I am…at least I am positive I am quite older than you…"

Serenity smiled playfully "I am not a child you know" Endymion arched his brow and laughed "I know you are not…but I was referring that you are younger than me…"

Serenity sat on her knees in front of him and gave him a puzzled look "How old are you?"

Endymion smiled at her "Twenty four"

The lunar princess widened her eyes in surprise "Really?"

Endymion laughed "Yes, why?"

"You don't look like if you were twenty four" Serenity moved closer to him and smiled "You are right, you are older than me" Endymion smiled "I knew it since I met you dear but you know something?"

"What?" Serenity blinked a couple of times.

"I don't care" Endymion smiled; Serenity blushed and giggled "Aren't you going to ask how old I am?"

Endymion gave her a peck on her lips "How old are you Princess Serenity?" Serenity laughed at his use of her royal title "I am turning twenty…"

Endymion widened his eyes "Really? When?"

Serenity smiled at him "On the next full moon"

Endymion smiled "That means is at the end of June…30th to be exact"

Her enthusiasm leveled down a little when she thought she would find very difficult to come and see the terran prince in her birthday, her mother will probably will throw a ball in her honor like every year only that this time things would be different, Athamas will be there instead of the man she really wants to be there. Endymion noticed her sudden lack of excitement "Is something wrong?"

Serenity looked at him "I wish we could be together for my birthday…" she whispered sadly.

The handsome prince gave the princess a sad smile and brushed her bangs aside with tenderness "It's alright; we can see each other the day after…" Serenity lowered her gaze and nodded, Endymion knew that was something that no matter how logical it sounded that was not what she wanted to hear but there was nothing to do for now, he understood their new position and someday they would find the way to spend their birthdays together but for now all he wanted was to make her feel better so he did the first thing that came to his mind, he started tickling her startling her, her soft laughs was like music to his ears and felt relieved to see she had forgotten about the incident at least for now "What are you doing?" she said between laughs.

Endymion laughed and moved his fingers to her neck where he noticed she was more sensitive to the tickling "I'm making you laugh!"

Serenity embraced herself trying to fight against his tickling fingers while she continued laughing "It feels so funny!" she said out loud; Endymion chuckled and stopped "You haven't been tickled before?" he asked surprised, Serenity turned to look at him and shook her head slowly "No…"

Endymion smiled and sighed happily "My nana always used to tickle me every time I felt upset about something…and it helps besides that it is actually fun" Serenity noticed his voice change to his normal deep and enchanting to a boyish one and of course immediately melt her heart "You are actually sweeter than I thought"

Endymion laughed "Oh?"

Serenity chuckled "You know…you are always so…" she counted with her fingers, trying to find the right word to say; Endymion sweat dropped "So what?"

Serenity faked seriousness "So serious…" she tried to imitate his deep voice, pouting her lips in her futile attempt she sat straight and started copying his straight pose and raised her face, pointing her delicate nose to the sky. Endymion watched in amazement at her good intent to look like him "What are you doing?" he asked, trying to hold his laughter.

Serenity turned to look at him and raised her brow "I'm being you"

Endymion arched his brow "I am like that?"

Serenity giggled and regained her straight posture "Yes"

Endymion chuckled "What an arrogant person I am then…" the lunar princess chuckled "No…well…"

"Ah! You admit it!" Endymion held her close; Serenity giggled "At first you were…"

"I did not know you…" Endymion kissed the top of her head "I have too little time for myself that I am like you say most of the time…but because I am always working" Serenity sighed happily and looked up at him "I like you, just the way you are"

"Even if I am arrogant?"

Serenity kissed his nose quickly "You are far from being mean, evil or arrogant…you were just lonely but not anymore"

Serenity's words hit a soft spot in Endymion's heart; she was true he was lonely. Even though he had his family and had a very good relationship with them and that he had his friends that were also his advisors he felt like something was missing in his heart, he needed a companion, somebody to share his life with, somebody that would make him give the best of him all the time and with no effort, somebody with who he could share the good times and also the bad, somebody to love.

His lips curved into a big smile illuminating his charming and handsome face, he was happy, fully happy because he had found what he have been waiting for a long, long time and it happened to be her.


	69. Chapter 69

**A/N: Here it goes, another chapter, I hope you like it. Have a nice weekend.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter sixty nine**

* * *

Beryl entered the mansion where she lived with Charmindy with a very deep frown on her face, she didn't know if she should feel angry or actually afraid because as soon as the blonde woman knows that Prince Endymion left the room considering the short time he shared with her while she was having tea with both queens.

Taking her matching gloves off, she gave them to Felimina who was already waiting for her at the entrance with a look Beryl knew very well and that only meant Charmindy was waiting and annoyed.

Beryl sighed and walked over the living room where she knew the blonde would be waiting while drinking her usual glass of red wine. Knocking softly on the door she waited for her to ask her to come in, Charmindy turned around and took a sip of her wine "Come in"

Beryl entered the room and stood in front of her, Charmindy arched her brow while she waited for a response "He…" the red head trailed off and looked away. Charmindy widened her eyes slightly "He what? Tell me already!"

"Something came up…he had to leave…we didn't talk much"

Charmindy's blood boiled in her veins and threw her glass of wine against the hearth "And you didn't do anything to stop him? You couldn't think of something to stop him? Are you stupid?" the blonde woman turned around and started walking around the large room, chuckling in sarcasm she cracked her fingers "Of course you are…you are nothing but a poor homeless girl…you don't think straight"

Beryl felt her eyes fill with hot tears "I've done everything you have asked me to do…I have done everything in my power to catch Prince Endymion's attention but…"

"But? Wa, wa, wa…are you going to start wining now?" Charmindy turned to look at her with fiery eyes "I asked you to do one simple thing and you are still unable to achieve it…it's been too many months now of waiting, preparing you, spending countless amounts of money in you to look like if you are worth more than you really do and still I do not get anything in return…"

The red head lowered her head and pursed her lips, she shut her mind from Charmindy's constant arguing and disrespectful behavior towards her, she could hear her loud voice as a blur in her mind but her thoughts were focused on something or better said someone else.

She came to realize that her necessity to see him and to talk to him went beyond the arrangement she had with Charmindy, she really cared for him and felt an incredible attraction towards him, but he was always so distant, distracted… she remembered when she was sitting in the dining room across him on the table, the way he looked at the glass on his hand and that unusual smile on his face, a smile that didn't showed any obligation, it was genuine and showed like he was in a place tranquil and beautiful. Beryl wished that smile was for her, she really wished he could look at her and smile like that but her thoughts were soon interrupted by Charmindy's frantic hands shaking her abruptly "You think this is a game? I paid you to do this! Remember you are nothing but a whore that lived on the streets pleasuring the countless drunken men on that bar…"

Beryl looked at Charmindy and frowned "I am not a whore!" she raised her voice "I was poor yes, I lived on the streets yes, but I was never a whore! You better analyze yourself first before you start judging me…" she said in a low voice, startling Charmindy "What are you saying?"

"You heard me, what's worse? Than being a homeless woman with no family or friends…and like you say a whore than a woman who has everything and still she is not happy, a woman that prefers to pay a whore to achieve what she couldn't"

Charmindy's blood boiled and reacted at Beryl's words and slapped her across her face, Beryl's face moved abruptly to the other side because of the impact of Charmindy's hand against her skin; placing a hand over her cheek she looked at the blonde woman with a horrified expression, Charmindy instead turned around with no remorse and walked away from her and out of the room "I'm getting tired of your constant failures… if I don't get any results from you soon I will put you back on the streets and let you rot alone"

Beryl couldn't hold her tears any longer and started to fall uncontrollably, looking up she felt her cheek swollen; Felimina walked in a few minutes later and watched her standing in the middle of the room with her hand on her face and immediately supposed what had just happened "What did you do child?" she asked trying to sound sympathetic.

Beryl looked at the older woman and shook her head in denial, Felimina gritted her teeth and went to stand in front of her and looked at her swollen cheek "You must have said something really bad to make her react that way…" she tried to touch Beryl's cheek but this turned her face away; Felimina sighed "But still…that was no reason to do something so violent like this…" she said softly, Beryl turned to look at her with wide eyes.

"Come, let's put some ice to that cheek of yours…if we don't treat it soon tomorrow will be more swollen and even purple and we do not want your lovely face to be bruised…"

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Beryl asked skeptic. The older woman looked at her "Because one thing is to serve My Lady but other very different is to approve what she does most of the time…" the comment made sense to the red head and only nodded in response, Felimina grabbed her by the arm and walked with her to the kitchen.

Oooooooo

Endymion entered his chambers in silence, it was time for Serenity to go back home and as soon as she disappeared he went to look for his horse and rode back home. Noticing everybody was already sleeping inside the palace he tried to make the less noise as possible, closing the door behind him he walked straight to his bedroom and started to take off his jacket, hanging it aside on a hook he searched for his sleeping clothes and started to get changed in an automatic manner because his thoughts were completely Serenity's property at the time.

Smiling like a five years old when he just gets a new toy, he went to stand in front of his window and looked at the moon "Goodnight Bunny…" he whispered.

"Goodnight Endy…" Serenity whispered from her lying position on her bed, as soon as she got home she managed herself to go to her chambers without being noticed by the guards or her own guardians. Taking her night gown she started to change clothes quickly and hopped into bed, leaving her balcony doors opened, she watched the blue planet hanging proudly in the sky, her lips curved into a big smile; she no longer felt like if she was empty but all the contrary, she felt complete, happy and in pure bliss because finally she found the man she was looking for so long, the lunar princess had finally found real love and she was happy, letting a long sigh she closed her eyes and fell asleep waiting anxiously for the next day to go down and see him again.

Venus entered the princess room the morning after and noticed she was still asleep. Sitting on the edge of her bed she shook her softly "Your Highness?"

Serenity opened one eye and adjusted it to the light of the morning "Venus?"

Venus nodded and pushed the blankets away from Serenity "Good morning Your Highness"

Serenity closed her eyes and sighed, sitting straight on her bed she looked at the blonde in front of her "Good morning Venus" she said softly and smiled at her; Venus smiled back "How are you feeling?"

Serenity frowned and scratched the back of her head "What?"

"Are you feeling better?" Venus asked. Serenity widened her eyes slightly remembering she excused herself from dinner last night because she had a terrible migraine; rubbing her temples she let out a loud sigh "It still hurts a little but I am better, thank you for asking"

Venus stood up and walked over the balcony doors and closed them slightly "Why are you nervous Princess?"

Serenity was taken aback by the venusian's question "Nervous?"

Venus turned to look at her princess and nodded "Is it because you are getting married?"

Serenity rolled her eyes and sighed, standing up she walked away from her bed "I am not getting married yet…our engagement is not even announced"

Venus frowned "Do you want to get married Your Highness?"

Serenity looked away and smiled shyly, her mind immediately went to think in Endymion and his adorable and passionate character "Of course I want to get married…" she said dreamily and closed her eyes thinking of how she loved her perfect wedding day to be, she would love to get married on Earth in broad daylight, she imagined the white fluffy clouds dancing across the sky and the soft breeze crashing against her skin. She would be very happy to live there with him, wake up every morning and see his beautiful blue eyes and smile at him, the dream soon faded as soon as she opened her eyes "But I don't want to marry this soon…"

"I'm confused…" Venus whispered, Serenity turned to look at her with a puzzled expression "Why?"

Venus sighed and looked at her "I see a great amount of love in you but still…your absence every time the engagement ball and the wedding are mentioned startles me…"

Serenity looked away "I don't see why it is so important to rush everything...I still am surprised that he asked for my hand…"

Venus pressed her lips together and lowered her head, she understood her princess, her life had always been planned without giving her the liberty to experience the reality behind all the masks around the immortal world. But still, something didn't fit in the picture, her princess shared a very peaceful aura very different from the one she had the night before or even before she left the palace, this time she portrayed a more centered woman, more happy, like if she felt fulfilled but it didn't feel like it was because of the recent events.

"My duty is to protect you, Princess…you deserve happiness and whatever helps you feel better with this situation I will respect it" Venus said in a serious tone, startling the princess; Serenity walked closer and looked at her "I love you Venus…"

Venus smiled softly "I love you too, Princess…but please, think very well each and every move you make because it can change your life forever…"

"I don't understand…" Serenity frowned. Venus held her hands "Love is something you don't find very often in this place…if you have found it in General Athamas…then you should fight for it…"

Serenity lowered her head and nodded "You are right Venus…" she raised her head "That is why I want to wait…because this time I am going to think for myself and pay close attention to every decision I make…I do not want to marry Athamas and then realize that he was not the man I was hoping him to be…" of course she said that, Athamas was not the man she wanted as her husband, even though at first she was caught up in the moment and felt a twirl of feelings towards him she soon realized that it was not what she thought love actually would be, everything changed the moment she met the terran prince.

When she met Endymion, it didn't just happened, she didn't feel the same attraction energy of when she met Athamas, she had to carve into his stoic persona and peel several layers of pride and self protection to actually meet the man he really is and the result of all of it was what won her heart.

Even though he was a very well prepared man, handsome and incredibly smart, the terran prince was the noblest being she ever met in her life unlike Athamas that could barely show his true feelings. Athamas was still a mystery to Serenity; it was like the roles changed and Athamas turned into a complete stranger while the prince of earth was her best friend, her companion and her true soulmate.

"Mature enough Your Highness" Venus said "I respect your decision"

Serenity smiled and walked to her dresser, sitting in front of the oval shaped mirror she started doing her clean hair, in order to cover her escaping from the night before; as soon as she got back home she hurried to take a bath.

She was a master already in doing her own hair; Venus watched her closely and smiled "Do you want me to help you?"

Serenity smiled through her reflection in the mirror in front of her "I'm alright, actually…I prefer to do some things on my own…" noticing her other friends were not there she looked at the blonde woman "Where are the rest of the girls?"

"They're training" Venus said softly "I came here to see how you were doing after you left so unexpectedly the room last night"

The princess chuckled softly "I am better now Venus…if you have to go, go…we will see each other again later this day" Venus smiled and hugged her princess "I just don't want anything happen to you…"

"I will be alright" Serenity returned the hug, she felt happy to have friends like them but also understood that sometimes they were serious or distant because they had to be, because after all they are her guardians. Venus parted and smiled again "I will see you in a bit"

Serenity nodded and watched her leave the room, turning to see herself in the mirror she started brushing her hair and putting herself a little makeup, she didn't need to be a wizard to know that Athamas would be there any moment.

Standing up, she walked to her magnificent closet and took a gown, standing in front of the large silver mirror she admired her strapless sweetheart dress with beaded detail and draped flowing hips, her hands caressed the shimmer rhinestone belt at her small waistline emphasizing it. A smile caressed her lips, wondering if Endymion would like it; giggling she turned and walked to her balcony and watched the blue planet with adoration, her thoughts were soon interrupted when a maid knocked on one of the balcony doors "Your Highness"

Serenity jumped slightly and turned to look at the young woman "Yes?"

"General Athamas is here"

The lunar princess sighed and nodded, the young maid bowed in respect and waited for the princess to walk first out of the room. Serenity thought of many ways to say to her mother that she would like to wait, she wanted to stop the engagement plans and of course the wedding and it was not only because her feelings towards Endymion but because she felt something was strange.

She was about to enter the study when Athamas surprised her from behind "How is my beautiful woman this morning?" his hands roamed all over her arms and she could feel his cold breath against her neck sending her shivers down her spine; closing her eyes she wished she could free herself from this matter, she wished she could run away from everything and even leave the crown but Serenity knew that doing that could cost her own life and that it would break her mother's heart, biting her lower she faked a chuckle "I am doing fine…" she moved away and turned to see him, Athamas looked at her and tried to kiss her, when he was inches apart the lunar princess moved her hear to the side pretending to hear something "Is my mother inside?"

Athamas sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to keep his temper at bay. He did not understand when did his charms stopped being his best card under his sleeve in order to have the lunar princess under his power, Princess Serenity was her key to all his plans, she would open a million of possibilities; she would give him the rank, the crown, the power of the Silver Crystal and of course the power of the Silver Alliance, something that would definitely help him destroy the blue planet's prince.

His plans in destroying him was the only thing that went well, he had achieved to convince one of his soldiers to move all the security away from each kingdom, allowing him to go and take as many souls as possible; focusing on the beauty in front of him he smiled "Yes, dear"

The silver haired princess opened the doors and walked inside "Good morning" she said softly. Queen Serenity turned to look at her daughter standing near the door and smiled "Good morning dear" she stood up and watched Athamas join them in the room "Ah, Athamas, good morning to you as well"

Athamas bowed "Good morning Your Majesty"

"You remember Queen Nut?" she moved her hand at her, Athamas smiled and nodded "Goddess…" he bowed his head in respect; Nut stood up but didn't make any kind gesture towards him "Good morning General" she said slowly.

The regal goddess of the skies turned to see the lunar princess and smiled, Serenity's eyes widened slightly when she found that smile very familiar, when Serenity had a moment for herself, she always tried to find the reason why the gestures of this woman felt so familiar, like if she have see them before; her eyes widened when she realized it _"Endymion…"_ she thought _"This woman makes the same gestures Endymion does…" _

Nut remained in her sitting position until Princess Serenity walked closer to her "Good morning Goddess Nut" the dark haired woman smiled again "Good morning" she said softly.

"We were starting to plan your engagement ball and come to think that since your birthday is only days away we could announce it the same night and…"

"No!" Serenity interrupted desperate, sighing she lowered her gaze "There is no need to do that…" she stood up and walked towards one of the windows. Athamas looked at her wide eyed, her sudden reaction worried him, if she decides to call off the wedding his plans would be all ruined "I do not want to make that announcement…" she whispered.

"What?" Queen Serenity frowned, the princess turned to see her mother "I said I wanted to wait…"

Nut paid attention to the princess' expressions; she was being dragged to live something she did not want to. Her heart shrank at the image of the princess feeling trapped, she knew that face very well "Fair enough" she said out loud startling everybody in the room, Queen Serenity turned to see her with a worried expression "Nut?"

"She probably has a good reason to wait" Nut said simply and turned her face to the lunar princess. Everybody did the same thing and focused their attention to the white princess, Serenity felt her heart pounding fast "Everything is going too fast, he just asked for my hand but there are still so many things for me to learn before really commit"

"Like what?" Athamas asked.

Serenity looked at him "I want to learn about my people…I want to learn how to fight"

Athamas laughed and shook his head; Queen Serenity blinked a couple of times and looked at Nut, Nut on the other way smiled at her "You want to learn how to fight?"

"That is not something you should do dear" Athamas said. Serenity frowned "Why not?"

"That is my job" he answered dryly. Queen Serenity looked at Serenity "Dear…why do you want that all of the sudden?"

Serenity looked outside the window "There are beings living on the Moon, I want to learn about them…I want to learn how to protect them…"

"You protect them from the inside dear, you don't need to learn how to hold a sword" Queen Serenity said softly. Serenity looked at her mother and started to feel frustrated, she started to understand Endymion's position when it came giving up even his own life in order to keep his family and people safe "I am the Princess of this Kingdom and I do not do anything relevant to help anybody!"

"Dear, that is why we have the army…that is why Athamas is here…the senshi are also well prepared guardians, trained by the mere gods to help us protect our home" Queen Serenity said, Nut stood up and walked over where the princess was standing and looked at her straight in the eyes "Dear, all warriors are different, they have different ranks and ranges, some of them are only trained to serve, others to protect and others to kill. Some of them sacrifice everything in order to keep their people safe but it is because it's their own way to fight…" Nut's words made sense to Serenity; she talked like if she knew what she was talking about.

The princess lowered her gaze, Nut smiled sadly "I know that feeling very well…you have a very kind spirit" Serenity looked at Nut again and returned the smile, Nut sighed softly and turned to see Queen Serenity "The princess has a point, if she is going to marry someday she needs to learn more about the Alliance and it's people involved"

The lunar queen was astonished "You know very well the Alliance's function, who is involved and what is its purpose"

"I want to feel prepared before deciding anything about the wedding…" Serenity said, this time in a more defiant and authoritative manner. Athamas fought the urge to go ballistic and throw everything in his way against the walls, _what was she thinking?_ He thought. If she continued having those ideals his plans would be perfectly ruined.

Turning to see her mother, the lunar princess smiled kindly "I know this is unexpected but I am old enough to start getting more involved in political matters…"

"You are right" Queen Serenity smiled proudly "You are so much like your father, when you want something there will be nothing to stop you…what I am wondering is…what made you change your mind?"

Serenity thought about Endymion and smiled "My heart" she said softly. Queen Serenity smiled "Why don't you go and have some breakfast with your fiancé? Nut and I have some things to do before we join you"

The white princess nodded, Athamas offered his arm and as soon she took hold of it they walked out of the study. As soon as the guards closed the doors and walked away Athamas started chuckling startling Serenity "What it is so funny?"

"You" he said simply, Serenity frowned "Me?"

"Yes, with all that nonsense of learning how to fight…"

Serenity moved her hand away from his arm and stopped "That is not nonsense"

Athamas walked a few more steps before realizing she was not walking along him anymore and turned to look at her "Dear, you cannot do what I do…"

"And why is that?"

"That is my job…" Athamas said again "I won't risk your life training you…besides it is unnecessary"

"I am not saying I want to be like you, I am not even saying I want to take your job…I want to learn how to fight just in case something happens…"

Athamas chuckled "Nothing is going to happen dear, that is why I am here…to protect you" his voice turned cold and sent shivers to Serenity, the general extended his hand "Come on dear, let's have some breakfast. Stop idealizing for just a moment and let's enjoy our company"

Serenity's frown deepened, she was about to leave him alone again but then thought that if she did it constantly that would wake up any suspicion and that wouldn't help if she wanted to go to earth to meet Endymion. Sighing, she walked up to where the general was standing and continued walking thinking how could she have felt something for a man that called her idealistic and who found her needs stupid, at least she was using the situation in order to in a near future say the relationship did not work and she could call off the wedding without too many questions.

As soon they entered the tea room, the maids started to serve them their plates. Giving no opportunity to start a conversation, Serenity started eating and waited for her mother and Nut to join them. Nut, she thought about the goddess and felt she needed to thank her constant help, the first time she met her she thought she would be cold and distant and surprisingly for her she was the other way around _"Just like Endy…" _she thought. She reflected an intimidating presence, always poised and elegant.

"Are you going to ignore me now?" Athamas asked with a hint of annoyance; Serenity chuckled "Of course not dear, it is just that…since I am too idealistic for you there is nothing much for me to say"

Athamas sighed and put his fork down "Dear, I do not think you are too idealistic it is just that sometimes…you say things that really don't make too much sense…"

"Like what?" Serenity arched a brow and blushed softly realizing something "I think I am learning too many things from him now…" she thought.

"Like wanting to 'learn' how to fight" Athamas put a piece of fruit in his mouth, Serenity lowered his gaze "Why? Are you afraid I learn and become stronger than you?" she joked, but the reaction she waited from him never came; Athamas gave her a dead glare and laughed "You? Impossible…You will never have the strength a warrior has, it does not matter if you are a goddess and hold mystical powers the training is what makes us be what we are"

Serenity rolled her eyes "I did not know you were so competitive…"

Athamas took a sip of his tea and chuckled, Serenity bit her fruit from her fork and chuckled "There must be somebody that triggers your thoughts…otherwise you wouldn't be like that"

Athamas widened his eyes and turned to see her "What?"

Serenity smiled at him "I'm sorry…I'm being idealistic, dear"

Athamas swallowed his fruit and remained silent for the rest of the breakfast. His plans were starting to have an unexpected twist, so he needed to start to act faster than before in order to get what he wants. After having the blue planet in his hands he would get the lunar princess easily.

Breakfast turned into lunch and soon to dinner, after their small dispute she had nothing else to say and Athamas was so entranced in his own thoughts that he didn't talk to her for the rest of the morning. Queen Serenity and Nut joined them afterwards and that helped to dissimulate the tension between them, although the lunar queen did not noticed their tension, Nut definitely did and it was her who tried the most to distract the princess from whatever happened.

After they had lunch Athamas excused himself and left the palace, leaving the three ladies alone and after they had dinner earlier than the accustomed Serenity found the right opportunity to excuse herself and got to her chambers with all the intentions to prepare herself to leave, the sun was still shining in the sky so it was a perfect day to spend more time with her love.

Walking towards her chambers, she heard somebody call for her "Princess"

Serenity turned to see Mars standing a few feet away from her "Mars" she said softly. Mars started walking towards the princess "You look tired" she said softly. Serenity smiled and nodded "It was a long…afternoon" she chuckled.

"Has something happened with Her Majesty?" the raven haired woman asked worried, Serenity smiled and shook her head "No..." the turned to open the door of her room and walked in, motioning her guardian to follow her "It is that…well, you know with the wedding and all…"

"Princess…" Mars sighed and sat on a chair in the living room "If you do not want to marry the General, then don't"

Serenity bit her lip and looked down "I just feel…everything is going to fast…everybody is starting to expect things from me that I do not even know I can actually do…I just need some time, I need my space…I know, I am engaged, but I want to really valuate if this relationship can actually work…" Serenity knew her relationship could not work because her heart was with somebody else but she also needed the general as an alibi from her constant escapades to earth.

Mars smiled "You are making a very mature decision"

Serenity smiled back and rubbed her temples, the raven haired woman stood up and looked at the princess with concern "You feel tired, right?"

The white princess nodded, she was not lying she did felt tired. Her head started to pound with great intensity but at least she made clear that she wanted to postpone the engagement ball until further notice, that was something that was really troubling her, even if that cost her a long dispute with her fiancé.

Mars nodded "I will leave you to rest…we are still training but I just wanted to make sure you were fine or if you needed anything"

Serenity hugged the raved haired senshi "Thank you Mars, for everything" Mars smiled and returned the hug "You are very welcome Princess" Mars let go and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

As soon as she was alone, Serenity went to her bedroom and made sure that she was going to have the rest of the afternoon for herself, after a while she prepared to leave and walked out to her balcony, remembering where she should land the next time she would go, she closed her eyes and soon she was gone again.

As soon as the fresh smell of the threes engulfed her, she smiled and opened her eyes, she started to walk towards the small clearing and soon visualized the terran palace "I'll wait here for a little while…" she said softly and watched the guards go one way to another, she noticed a soldier walking towards one of the closest guards to Serenity.

"Oy, is the Polemarchos available?" he said out loud.

The guard shook his head "One of his shitennou came to inform us that he was in a meeting, why?"

"I have to give him a report" the soldier said. Serenity paid attention to what they were saying and hid very well behind the bushes "Is it about Sophos?"

"He is still very upset…" the soldier commented, the guard chuckled "He messed with the wrong person…"

"I still do not know very well what happened, he is on our squat…but he is not collaborating…"

The guard chuckled "His Highness took his medals and lowered his rank, he is not even in the first division…he is below that" the soldier widened his eyes "But he was Commander!"

"Well now he is soldier…"

"Who is in his place?"

"His Highness himself"

"Do you know if I can go inside and give this to him?" the soldier asked and showed him a thick envelope in his hand. The guard nodded "You sure can go inside but I do not know if you were going to be able to interrupt the meeting…"

"Well if I cannot talk to His Highness I will ask to talk to Kunzite"

"Right, let me inform the guards inside and they will guide you to the study" the guard walked to where was one at the main entrance and whispered something in his ear, the guard at the entrance made a signal and motioned the soldier to follow him.

"_The guards change position every thirty minutes, when the time is right they will leave unwatched a small __gap near the a secret door hidden behind the bushes…it will only take them the time they need to switch places which is like five minutes…" _ the princess remembered his words and watched closely the guards movements "_Once you enter you will be led to a long corridor, you are going to walk straight ahead and as soon as you see a small door on your right you will go inside and walk through the long corridor and then turn right, you will go up the stairs and go inside the last door on the right"_

"You can do this Serenity…you managed to come to this planet in the first place…" she encouraged herself and then just like the prince told her it would happen the guards started to move, as soon the one that was talking to the soldier started to walk away she saw the small gap Endymion mentioned, it was her time.

"At the count of three Serenity…one…two…three!" she said and ran as fast as she could towards the door and closed it behind her quickly, panting and nervous she sighed "I did it!" she said softly and noticed she was in the long corridor he mentioned before and started to walk through it, it was not as pretty as she thought it would be and started to wonder if the terran palace actually was on the inside the same way it looked from the outside "As soon as I see a door on my right…" she said softly, she continued walking when suddenly heard somebody coming her way, starting to feel scared and anxious she found the door and entered, closing it behind her quickly.

The hall was darker than the first one and pursed her lips she then found herself in an crusade which way she should go, there it was a hall on her left and a hall on her right, closing her eyes she tried to remember his words a few minutes after she opened them and sighed "I guess I will just take the left side…"

There were torches all along the hallway that illuminated well her unknown path "He mentioned a door on the right…there is no door on the right!" she said, she was about to turn her way back when she heard male voices in the distance "What is that?" she asked and walk closer.

"I do not think that is an appropriate decision, what do you think?"

Serenity frowned and looked through a secret slids on a thick wooden door and widened her eyes in surprise to see all the people inside that room "Serenity…you shouldn't listen to private conversations…" she said softly to herself but couldn't resist the curiosity to know what the terrans could talk about.

"Maybe we should make a new plan…" a man with dark hair suggested and turned to his right "Son, what do you think?"

"The plan was working perfectly…it was his intermission what cause the failure of it but it would be stupid and useless to think of a quick solution just to get out of the situation…"

Serenity widened her eyes in surprise and gasped, she knew that voice perfectly well; it was Endymion's. Somehow she managed to find the study where he was having the meeting she heard the guard say "Well…maybe I am allowed since I am technically seeing him…" she giggled.

Eros sighed and lowered his gaze "Endymion is right Eros, it would be too risky to change plans at this time…" King Isra said from his seat across the table, Endymion walked towards a large table with a map and looked at it, running a hand through his hair he sighed "By this time they know the whole perimeter of your kingdom Isra…but we can still fight against them...if we use their same members to fight against them…"

Kunzite widened his eyes in shock "You are talking about Lord?"

"He has been imprisoned for several months now…how would he know?" King Bernard asked surprised. Endymion smiled and marked an area on the map he was looking at "But he knows…"

Eros stood up "What does he know?"

Endymion looked at him with the same knowing smile "Think about it, suddenly he has been receiving mailing according to the guards and they not know because he went all friendly with them but because they caught him reading something, if he hadn't know any of this the actual people attacking the southern area wouldn't know the exact points of where to attack first. This man has known all protocol since a very long time, this man, could find the information from this kingdom and used it to attack us…now; do you think he would be in peace just because he is locked down?"

"He continues giving orders from prison…" Jadeite said "Amazing…how come we didn't know any of this, why until now?"

"Because we ordered the guards to move him to another prison room and that is when they saw all the letters and maps" he lifted the thick stack of letters in his hand and put them on the table in front of all the men in the room. King Urmanus turned to see King Eros "Unbelievable…"

"Now…if we change the plan right away they could start suspecting that we already know their source, that is why I suggest to continue this way I know it is risky but it would help us capture the second in command next to Lord because we already know where and when is their next attack" Endymion rested his hands on the table and looked at the men in the room.

Serenity was amazed by his serious behavior and the security he portrayed in front of all those men in the room and how they actually listened to him, she realized then that he was not just a simple prince or a man that just gave orders and went to fight with his sword, his title now made sense to her and understood why he was the warrior he was, he didn't just delegate he resolved the issues immediately, a proud smile caressed her lips and sighed in contempt.

"We will do that then" Isra said.

Eros turned to look at his son "It's your call, what should we do?"

"We will continue with our method, but we will warn the guards to be more careful" Endymion said. Isra leaned on his chair and took a sip of his coffee "Of course, all this could have been prevented if somebody wouldn't have given a false order…"

A loud moaned filled the room as soon as they all knew who the southern king was talking about "Of course…" Leonidas said "He was a good soldier…"

"He is still a good soldier…" Zoicite said catching everyone's attention "He is still is in the army…"

Isra turned to see Endymion "Did you let him continue his watch under my territory?"

Endymion shook his head "What Zoicite means is that he is still in the army…but in a lower rank, he is no longer watching yours or any other territory"

A knock interrupted the meeting, a guard came in "Your Highness, there is a soldier outside that would like to speak to you if it's possible…"

Serenity smiled triumphant that she managed to find the prince before the soldier. Endymion sighed "We are in the middle of a meeting, right now it is not a good moment"

"Can General Kunzite attend him?" the guard insisted; Kunzite nodded and stood up, walking towards the door, after a few minutes he came in with an envelope "It's for you…it's the report you requested" Kunzite raised the large envelope in his hand; Endymion arched a brow "Is the soldier still there Kunzite?" he extended his hand to Kunzite and took the envelope from him.

"Yes" the white haired man said simply; Endymion sighed and sat back in his chair next to his father on the large wooden table "Send him in"

"Speaking of the devil…" the prince muttered, everyone chuckled in the room; the soldier came in and bowed in respect "Polemarchos…" he said.

Endymion nodded his head and opened the envelope Kunzite gave him "Have you noticed any changes?" he asked while giving a quick glance to the papers in his hands. The soldier pursed his lips "He is still adjusting to his new position"

Urnamus arched a brow and looked at the prince "Is it permanent?"

Endymion sighed and put the papers aside "We will see…what he did could be considered a fault against the law…I do not consider my word as a law but what he did was something that I couldn't let pass, he jeopardized thousands of innocent lives and that is not acceptable" he looked at the soldier in front of him "Is there anything else soldier?"

"Many soldiers are asking who is going to take Sophos position Polemarchos…we don't have a Commander to actually follow, we only follow the orders you send"

"Yes" Endymion said "You will continue doing that, I will take Sophos position until I find the right person to fill that place" the soldier bowed in respect "Yes, Your Highness"

"If there isn't anything else, you are excused"

The soldier nodded and turned to leave the room. The four kings, their advisors, the shitennou and Leonidas turned to look at the prince, Endymion arched a brow "What?"

"It is an excessive amount of work" Kunzite said.

Endymion sighed "Its part of my job…"

"I admire you" Isra said. Endymion chuckled "Why is that?"

"Not even I couldn't do so many things…" he said jokingly "But I understand, besides you are very aware of the plan they should follow…"

"Yes, but of course it would be easier if…" Endymion trailed off "If he had stayed close to the plan he already had…" said the rest of the men.

"Exactly" Eros said and watched Endymion rubbing the bridge of his nose "We should take a break…we have been here for quite a long time"

"Yes, how about we meet again tomorrow to finish the detailing of what we should do once we capture them, there are still the mysterious incidents we need to solve…" King Isra said concerned "Still haven't found anything?"

Endymion shook his head "Is making me go insane…it seemed to stop as soon as we started to fight this other matter…hopefully we can find the responsible for those actions"

"I know you will…you are well prepared and like many have said and these men won't let me say a lie…you are by far the greatest warrior this kingdom has ever had…" the southern king patted the princes' shoulder and turned to see Eros "No offense…"

Everybody including the King started laughing by the king's comment, King Eros nodded "You are right, he is"

Endymion smiled and brought a hand to his chest, he felt her presence a while ago but since he was in the meeting he couldn't do anything about it, pressing his lips together he felt the urge to look for her and see if she managed to enter the palace.

Serenity moved slightly making a sound catching Endymion's attention and looked to his left, frowning he waited for everybody leave the room and went to open the secret door behind a book shelf, his blue eyes widened in shock when he saw her standing there "Hi…" she whispered.

"Bunny? How did you get here?" he asked with a smile on his face, something she was starting to miss very much, his serious demeanor disappeared in a matter of seconds, Serenity made a gesture if he was alone, Endymion nodded "For now…but they will come back…"

"I think I got lost…" Serenity said softly; Endymion chuckled "I can see that but you managed yourself to find me"

"I know! It makes me so happy!" she said happily "I don't want to disturb you…if you are busy I'll leave…"

Endymion smiled "Absolutely not…"

Serenity blushed "I missed you…"

"I missed you too…" Endymion kissed her on the lips "You have been standing there all this time?" the lunar princess nodded "Well…just a little while…before the soldier came in…I beat him, he entered the palace before me and I got to find you first!" she said playfully, making him chuckle.

"I should take you to my chambers, you are probably bored and tired...as soon as I free myself from this meeting I will join you there, is that alright?"

Serenity shook her head "I want to stay…if you don't mind"

Endymion looked at her "These things are boring dear…"

"You don't want me to stay?" the princess asked softly, Endymion grabbed her hand and kissed it softly "Of course I want you to stay but…these things normally are very boring…why do you want to stay?"

Serenity smiled "Because I care…because it has to do with you…because you care, you were speaking with so much…" she trailed off; Endymion arched his brow "Annoyance?" Serenity shook her head and smiled "Passion…"

Endymion smiled and turned to grab a chair from the large table, Serenity took a step forward and widened her eyes when she saw the immensity of the room, all around it was full of tall book shelves except where the floor to ceiling windows were, behind her was a large wooden desk stacked with parchments, pens and the infamous envelope the soldier delivered. A large (very large) rectangular table that she immediately knew that was for conferences like the one she witnessed a few moments ago, at the other side of the study there was the other table where she watched the prince do some marks; looking back at the desk she looked at the half opened envelope again and curiosity crossed her mind, she heard that it was some report about a soldier but still she wanted to know.

"Is it difficult?" she asked softly.

Endymion turned to see her standing next to the desk watching the envelope and immediately knew what she was talking about "Not difficult but tiring…" he walked over her and stood in front of her "You want to know what's in there…right?" he smiled. Serenity looked up at him and pressed her lips together "It caught my attention…when I was waiting for the right time to come into the palace, I saw the soldier talking to one of the guards and said that he wanted to give it to you personally because of its importance…"

Endymion looked down and grabbed the envelope; taking the stack of papers inside of it he started reading the first lines out loud "Rudeness to some of the soldiers, inability to socialize with the rest of the crew…sometimes he needs to control his temper…tends to sabotage the general's orders…and the list goes on and on…" he looked at her.

"Why is he so upset?" she asked confused, the prince kissed her forehead "Because…I lowered his rank…" he gave her the papers in his hands and allowed her to read, she looked down and continued reading "He denies being against our Polemarchos' orders but instead insisted that he helped improve the attack plan by giving his own opinions…" her voice was soft "Was he a Polemarchos too?"

Endymion shook his head "Commander, there are four points on Earth…North, South, East and West…each point has a king that serves to the high king which at the same time he consults every political and military matters with the polemarchos…each kingdom or strong point has a commander that needs to inform him every detail of what is happening…in case a commander, general or soldier does not get to talk to him he needs to go with his four shitennou which immediately will inform him and then a decision can be made…of course when a plan is being followed if they are caught in a fight he can make a decision and do whatever he needs to do in order to protect everybody"

Serenity widened her eyes in interest, she never imagined they had so many rules and some sort of order in the way they functioned as kingdom. She was immerse in everything Endymion was explaining to her and found it fascinating and at the same time felt grateful that he trusted her to know such important and very private things she knew nobody else should know, nodding she looked at the papers over the desk and then at the prince "A commander can never make a decision without consulting it first with the polemarchos…" she said softly, Endymion nodded "And that is not exactly the reason why I did what I did but his job was to keep the southern point safe, by doing that thousands of people would also be safe but instead he made a decision that could only benefit him in the future and put those people and his own squat in great danger…"

"If he stayed with his rank he probably would have put more people in danger in the near future…" Serenity said sadly. Endymion nodded "Exactly" the prince caressed her cheek with the back of his hand and put a chair inside the secret hall "I don't want you to be standing there…"

Serenity smiled "Thank you…" she took another glimpse of the room "It's so big in here…"

Endymion smiled and leaned on the desk "I used to play here with my father when I was a child…and when I felt tired I normally went to sleep on that couch over there" he pointed the dark couch across the room, Serenity smiled and held his hand "I wish I met that boy…I wonder what happened to him…" she said; Endymion looked down at her and gritted his teeth "I don't have a clue…you know? Some people say that he met a crazy girl with silver hair and ran away with her…"

Serenity chuckled, that is what she wanted and missed. To laugh and have fun, to joke around and she knew that beyond his serious character there was a playful and incredibly kind man that it didn't matter how busy he was, he would always greet her with a big smile on his face and could always find his time to make her feel loved.

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**I do not own sm, just this plot and some of the characters.**


	70. Chapter 70

**A/N: Here you go, another chapter :) Enjoy.**

**I do not own s., just this plot and some of the characters.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter seventy**

* * *

Serenity looked at him with eyes full of love, standing on her toes she closed her eyes and kissed him on the lips; the prince lowered his head and deepened the kiss, encircling his arms around her making her feel protected. In between kisses the lunar princess sighed happily, their sweet and passionate kissed was soon interrupted by a few noises outside the door of the study, Endymion opened one eye and Serenity parted quickly "They're coming" he said, Serenity nodded and walked back to the secret door and sat on the chair he placed there for her; Endymion winked an eye at her and kissed her quickly "I won't take too long…"

"It's alright" she said smiling, the prince smiled back "I will leave the door slightly open…nobody will notice"

The princess nodded and heard the people walk inside the room again "I thought you went to stretch your legs as well" a man said. Endymion walked away from the door "I stayed to read the full report…" he showed the man the stack of papers in his hand, Serenity held the urge to giggle "Liar…" she thought and blushed when she remembered that his 'time' reading the infamous report was actually a kissing time.

"Is there anything we should worry about Master?" Zoicite asked "Something we need to pay special care?"

Endymion turned back to his serious demeanor and sat on his chair "I want Jadeite to be close to that squat in particular…Sophos is not happy and for what I am being informed here…he tends to sabotage the general's orders"

Jadeite nodded "Alright, I'll do it…"

"We need to pay close attention to him then…" Nephrite said. Kunzite sighed "Great, another ass we have to deal with…"

Endymion chuckled "An ass indeed but it is something he brought up to himself…" the smile soon faded from his face "I want to keep a close eye on Lord…he is the one that has been giving me headaches…"

"That bastard…" Jadeite said "Even in prison he thinks he can mock us…"

"Not anymore Jadeite" Endymion said, leaning on his chair "Fortunately, we found out about this and could solve this matter at once…but we need to improve security down there…I don't want that to happen again"

"What are we going to do about the mysterious deaths…do you think he has something to do with it?" Kunzite asked.

The prince shook his head "We will keep looking for the responsible…if Lord is behind that as well…" he trailed off, startling the four shitennou "His head?" Zoicite asked; Endymion nodded.

"Well…with all the deaths he caused I do not think that cutting his head off will be such a great deal…" Jadeite said, Zoicite looked at him and pursed his lips "You are right on that one…"

"Thank you" Jadeite said, "Your welcome" Zoicite answered.

"It still will be blood…" Endymion sighed "I've been trying to avoid it since the moment he was captured…"

Kunzite frowned "He killed too many soldiers…"

"I know Kunzite but cutting his head off will not only cause more fights but also we will employ his own way of solving things" Endymion said tiredly. The white haired man lowered his gaze "I understand" he said softly.

"What should we do then Master?" Zoicite asked concerned, Endymion turned to look at him and pursed his lips "We will continue searching for new clues in the meantime I want Lord be under watch at all times, I don't the same situation happen again"

The four men nodded their heads; Endymion sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose "Is Pater and Leonidas coming back?"

"I don't think so, they are with the three kings I think we will continue tomorrow early whatever we missed today" Nephrite said, Jadeite blew his bangs tiredly "Today was a long day"

Nephrite nodded and chuckled "It was…we've been here since very early…"

"It's part of the charm, right Master?" Zoicite chuckled; Endymion smiled "If you like to call that charm…" Kunzite yawned softly and immediately covered his mouth with his hand "I could easily go and take a nap…"

Endymion smiled at his friend "Why don't you go then?"

"Master?" Zoicite watched Endymion with wide eyed, the prince shrugged his shoulders "What?"

"Are you suggesting us to go and take a nap?"

"Why not?" the prince arched a brow "It is not like I forbid you to do things…besides, we cannot do more than we already did today…the plan is staying the same way, we finally managed to solve very important matters, we got to talk with the three kings…it's alright"

Jadeite laughed "Yes…everything sounds very peachy, now we only have to wait for this moment be interrupted by unexpected visitors…"

Endymion frowned "What do you mean?"

Jadeite stretched his legs and crossed his arms, a playful smirk on his face told the prince that he was about to joke about something "Oh come on! You know what I am talking about!"

Serenity listened carefully from the other side of the secret door; it intrigued her what the blonde man tried to say to the prince. Endymion sighed again and ran a hand through his hair, he couldn't help it, Beryl was a reality and sooner or later his white princess would have to know that there was a woman that would always find the perfect time to interrupt.

"Like if I liked to be interrupted…" he muttered, making the blonde man laugh, Zoicite elbowed him and gritted his teeth "What?" Jadeite raised his hands in defense; Zoicite shook his head "You really have no shame…"

"It is clear that she wants something else…" Nephrite said.

Kunzite sighed and rubbed his temples "Of course she wants something else…"

Endymion stood from his seat "As I said before…I am not interested in her"

"She is trying" Nephrite said from his seat. Endymion shrugged his shoulders "It is not my problem…since I got here, I have been specifically clear about that matter"

Kunzite nodded "True but there is not much you can do, I mean, you are the Prince of this kingdom and with that comes specific obligations…"

"Yes. That means you will need to give this kingdom an heir" Jadeite said, Endymion frowned at him, startling the blonde "It's the truth!"

"Why are we talking about this?" Endymion sighed.

"Yes…I was saying that I might go and take a nap and then suddenly we started talking about all this" Kunzite said. Nephrite turned to see Zoicite who sighed deeply "I don't know…Jadeite started, he always is thinking about this I suppose…"

"What?" Jadeite turned to look at the four men. Nephrite chuckled "Yes…maybe he is the one that want to get married and have some children…"

"What? No!" Jadeite almost fell from his chair "I am just saying…"

Endymion laughed "Don't try to excuse yourself from the matter Jade…"

Serenity smiled at the informality and obvious friendship the five men shared, it was almost like she and her senshi; when they were on their own they would gossip and play each other jokes but when the time was necessary they would take their positions as her royal guardians and as they were called 'inner senshi'.

Nephrite looked at his prince and smiled "Let's just think for a moment about the future…"

"Why?" Jadeite asked, Zoicite sighed "First you bring this topic to the conversation and now you are questioning why?"

"Why yes!" Jadeite sat straight on his chair "I mean…Endymion…" he trailed off, Endymion arched a brow "What?"

Jadeite pursed his lips "Well…you are so stubborn that you might not even marry"

The prince widened his eyes in shock, Kunzite laughed startling the prince "Why are you laughing, I thought you were on my side!"

"I am Master, but…you have to admit that…Jadeite has a point there…you are stubborn" the white haired man shrugged. Endymion leaned on his desk and crossed his arms, sighing he closed his eyes for a brief moment "You may be surprised…" he said softly.

Serenity gasped softly and covered her mouth with her hand; wide eyed she looked at Endymion thru the slid of the half closed door. The four men widened their eyes as well and stayed silent for a moment trying to digest what they just heard "What are you saying?" Jadeite asked.

"You are considering marrying Beryl then?" Nephrite asked askew.

Endymion frowned "What? No! I am just saying…that who knows…maybe that day will eventually come…"

Kunzite looked at the prince wide eyed "I never thought I could hear those words from you…"

"Why?" Endymion asked, Kunzite stood up and walked towards him "Because…all those times we…you know, talked to the ladies, you were perfectly clear to them…you never looked for anything serious"

Serenity widened her eyes.

The prince widened his eyes and blushed, no matter how much he wanted Serenity not to hear that, he knew it was inevitable, sighing he ran a hand through his dark hair "I do not want to talk about that"

"A-ha! We touched a nerve!" Jadeite pointed at him, the prince looked away "I was young…I am no saint either but…thinking about it makes me feel like a bad person"

"Nobody in this place is a saint" Kunzite said.

"At least nobody in this room" Zoicite said.

Nephrite turned to look at him, Zoicite blushed slightly "What? Am I lying?"

Kunzite chuckled "No…Zoi is very right…but as Endymion said…we were young, we only had one responsibility and that was to learn how to fight"

"Fight…" Serenity muttered softly, her eyes widened in realization.

"Master…" Zoicite said in a more serious tone "I am sure…that when the time is right you will find the woman you are looking for"

Endymion smiled "Thank you Zoicite"

"With that being said…I actually want to take our Master's word and go to rest for a while before dinner time" Jadeite stretched in his seat and stood up, Kunzite nodded and patted the princess shoulder "I know you look for somebody special…that special person will eventually come. Love is unexpected"

"Unexpected indeed" Endymion said softly.

The four men nodded their heads "If you need anything Your Highness…you let us know" Nephrite said, the prince nodded and smiled "Thank you"

As soon as the four men left the study Endymion went to open the door for Serenity who was already waiting for him with a smirk on her face "Stubborn prince" she said softly. The prince widened his eyes in shock and bit his lip "I'm sorry…"

Serenity let out a soft sigh and looked down, she felt something in her chest she could not explain, the moment she heard the word 'she' her heart started to pound faster and her hands started to shake and wondered if he was actually in the same situation as her, for a moment she thought she could keep the emotions to herself but a lump in her throat prevented her to do that, Endymion noticed it right away and immediately knew why she was like that "I…" he trailed off and looked away "I told you I wasn't a saint…I did many things when I was by myself that I am not very proud of but soon after I admitted it was stupid and that I need to grow up"

Serenity looked up at him and caressed his cheek with her hand "You may not be a saint like you say…but you are a good person, you have a kind and loyal heart and that is something you don't get to find not even where I live"

Endymion looked at her with kind eyes and smiled softly "You are the one I love…"

Serenity widened her eyes and looked up at him "What…" she trailed off. Endymion caressed her cheek with his hand softly "I know you heard what the shitennou said about that woman…I do not love her, I love you"

"Is she…" she swallowed and bit her lower lips for a moment "Are you…engaged?"

Endymion chuckled "Oh my no…that would be…" he trailed off and rubbed the back of his neck "…Disastrous" taking her hand he looked down "Love is something you don't find so easily in any place, I grew up with that conviction…but then I met you and everything changed"

Serenity blushed; standing on her tip toes she closed her eyes and locked her lips with his in a tender and sweet kiss; Endymion encircled his left arm around her waist, his right hand still holding hers. It was the first time he felt something that strong, that passionate and pure, he now understood the need he had that soldier in war to give his lover his letters no matter what it happened; he wanted to make sure she knew he loved her.

He did love her and Endymion was now sure he loved the woman in his arms.

Serenity savored the kiss and his lips, her free hand roamed in his soft hair and after a few more seconds she opened her eyes and smiled at the man in front of her "When I met you everything changed for me as well…" widening her eyes she smiled "A superb… You!"

Endymion frowned "Eh?"

"You! You are a warrior…" Serenity said happily. Endymion laughed and shook his head "Um…yes?"

Serenity smiled widely "I have something to ask you"

Endymion crossed his arms, noting this was something that apparently was very important to his princess "I am listening…"

Serenity took a deep breath and bit her lower lip, letting out a loud sighed she looked at his seriously "I want to learn how to fight…"

Endymion looked at her and stayed expressionless for a moment "Alright…" he said.

Serenity frowned "What is wrong with you all? Is that a warrior's code or something at least you could have…" she stopped talking startled "What did you just say?"

"Alright" Endymion answered simply; Serenity blinked a couple of times still in shock that he said yes and without any kind of arrogance, jealousy or envy "Is that fine with you?"

Endymion chuckled "Bunny…I am nobody to forbid you to do something if you want to learn, it is alright…but of course, I am going to ask you why"

Serenity was not expecting that reaction from him; she actually was expecting the same response Athamas gave to her when she said she wanted to learn "I feel like I need to know how to protect my people…"

Endymion shook his head "Amor, is that the only way?"

"What?" Serenity asked surprised, the prince nodded "Is that the only way, at least, for you?"

"Well…" Serenity looked away, Endymion sighed "That is not the only way then" he walked closer to her "Serenity, I am going to be very honest with you…I can teach you but killing is not the solution to everything…I don't want you to taint your hands with someone else's blood…"

Serenity looked at him, she was surprised to hear his words because that was something she was not expecting "I feel they think I am weak…"

Endymion held her hands "Just because you don't know how to hold a sword does not mean you are weak, you are far from being weak, be aware of that. Now, I won't teach you how to fight…but I will teach you how to defend yourself" he started walking towards the secret door and held her hand "Where are we going?" she asked.

"Let's get out of here…" he said softly, Serenity walked beside him holding hands "Is the palace always this dark?" she asked softly, Endymion smiled "You tell me…" he opened a door and allowed Serenity to walk outside, she gasped as soon as she saw the immensity of the palace and how the light of the sun entered from one side of the long corridor "Somebody can see me…" she said softly.

Endymion shook his head "Don't worry…at this time of the day everything is this calm" smiling he started walking "I want to show you a special place…"

Serenity looked her surroundings, the tall pillars, the marble floors, the paintings on the walls and the garden she could see from the hall "It's like you have your own piece of forest inside the palace…" she breathed, Endymion chuckled and opened a smithy door "Come with me"

"Where are we going?" she frowned.

Endymion turned to look at her and smiled "A place you can't imagine…"

Serenity looked the road ahead of them "Are we inside the palace? I think I am lost…"

Endymion laughed "We are on royal grounds but nobody really comes to this place…this is not part of the palace as you might see there is a road ahead of us…" extending his hand to her he smiled "Do you want to know why do we look blue from afar?"

Serenity smiled widely and took his hand "Yes"

Both started walking, Endymion held her hand "Has somebody called you weak?" his voice was deep and serious, Serenity turned to look at him and thought he didn't take her petition seriously "Not exactly…"

"Who thinks you are weak then?"

Serenity pursed her lips for a moment "They all want to keep me safe, I cannot go anywhere I cannot do anything…because they think something can happen to me…because I am a jewel and I only need to be on my crystal cage"

"Serenity…" Endymion stopped in his tracks, Serenity turned to look at him startled, now that they were a couple it was very rare for him to call her by her name, she was starting to get used to be called bunny or amor. The prince looked at her "Do you know why they try to keep you safe?"

Serenity frowned "Are you going to take their side as well?"

"I am not taking sides of anything…I would like to ask you if you know why they want you to be safe, that is all" Endymion said, the lunar princess looked away "No"

The prince moved her face at him "Because there is no other woman like you in the universe" his voice was serious and it gave no opportunity to even question his words, Serenity looked at him with loving eyes and smiled at him "Would you look after me?"

"Always" he said simply and smiled, softening the moment "We are here" he said, Serenity smiled widely and then frowned again "I don't see anything…" she said and tried to look through the tall trees and bushes in front of her, Endymion chuckled and covered her eyes "You need to sometimes just listen to your surroundings and let your body feel it…"

Serenity was about to say something when a soothing and immense sound filled her ears while a fresh and indescribable scent filled her nose "What is that?" she asked; Endymion smiled and moved his hands away from her eyes allowing her to admire the magnificence before her, Serenity widened her eyes and gasped, she opened her mouth but there were no words to say that could actually describe what she was feeling, Endymion raised one hand to his forehead covering the sun from his eyes "This is why Earth looks so blue…beautiful isn't it?"

Serenity closed her eyes and smiled in gratitude "I am speechless…" opening her eyes again she watched the waves crash against the rocks and reach the white powdery sand, Endymion kept gazing the ocean "Do you know, why does all that immensity of water moves that way?"

Serenity turned to look at him and then back at the ocean "No…"

Endymion smiled "A very wise man told me it was because the gravitational reaction between earth and moon…" he turned to look at her "It appears that there is a mystical attraction between your home place and mine…"

Serenity smiled at him "Just like you and me"

Endymion looked at her and kissed her on the lips, parting a couple of seconds later he held her hand, Serenity turned to look at the immensity in front of her "it's so intimidating at the same time it is tranquilizing…" the prince started walking towards the beach and turned to look at her "This is what earth feels like Bunny" he smiled and started to take off his jacket and cape; Serenity blushed slightly and stood there watching him for a moment before she decided to follow him, the sea breeze mixed with the warm afternoon sun kissed her skin giving her a new sense of freedom; taking off her slippers her bare feet experienced for the very first time what the prince said "What earth felt like"

Endymion sat on the sand and watched the waves crash, Serenity chuckled "It feels funny…" but kept walking until she reached the shore and waited for the coming water to wet her delicate feet, Endymion looked at her with wonder and endearment, looking her face of excitement and happiness was something he wouldn't trade for anything. Serenity covered her eyes from the sun with her hand and smiled at the prince "You will never stop to impress me" she said happily; walking over to where he was sitting and kneeled in front of him "You have ocean eyes" she smiled.

Endymion smiled back and looked at her in silence, admiring her innocence and beauty. The sound of the water crashing in the shore startled the princess again and again, until she started to get used to the crisp and relaxing sound; the prince rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt and stood up startling the princess "Endy?" she asked puzzled, Endymion extended his left hand at her and waited for her to take it, Serenity looked at him with curiosity and stood up taking his hand.

The prince twirl her and then placed one hand on her lower back while he still held her hand with his other hand, Serenity giggled "What are you doing?" she looked up at him, Endymion smiled "I feel like dancing…"

Serenity giggled again "But, there is no music…"

"You don't need music…just close your eyes" he said softly and closed his eyes. Serenity let out a soft breath and closed hers letting her body to completely relax, resting her head on his chest both royals started moving slowly to a beat they only could hear.

Oooooooo

"What is troubling your thoughts?"

Venus widened her eyes and looked up at Mars standing near the fountain. The blonde guardian pursed her lips and sighed "To be honest…it is our princess"

Mars frowned and sat on the same bench Venus was sitting "Why are you worried?"

"More than worried…I am confused"

"Why?"

Venus bit her lip "Princess Serenity is in love…"

Mars chuckled "She is engaged; of course she is in love…"

The blonde woman shook her head "Princess Serenity is in love but not with General Athamas"

Mars frowned and tried to assimilate what the leader of the four senshi was trying to say, it was confusing in some way and almost did not make any sense because Serenity herself have said that she has feeling for the general "It doesn't make sense Venus…she have said to us many times before that she had feelings for him…have you already forgot how sad she was when he told her he needed more time?"

"I do remember clearly Mars…" the blonde woman trailed off and turned to look at Mars and frowned "Are you defending the General?"

Mars widened her eyes "I do not have any reasons to defend him…but your conjectures are quite strange…"

"Her aura doesn't shine the same way when she is with him…her body expresses something her soul is not" Venus said sadly "I want to know why…"

Mars pursed her lips "I do have my thoughts about the general and I have a great sense of a competitive energy from him when he is around…" closing her eyes she frowned "I once had a vision of a man protecting our princess and It was not the general…it was somebody else"

Venus widened her eyes "Did you see his face?"

Mars shook her head slowly "No…but I felt incredibly sad…there was no sound, there were no words…"

"Is danger approaching us Mars?" Venus asked worried, Mars sighed "We must be prepared…I do not know when or how, but I do visualize a dark cloud covering the Moon"

Venus stood up "How often have you been having that vision?"

Mars sighed again "It comes and goes…I cannot tell you how often I have it, it is like a puzzle…the fire only gives me clues and warnings…"

Venus turned to look at Mars '"Do you think that is why the andromedian army is joining the lunar guard?"

Mars pursed her lips "Father knows when we need to be prepared for something but he never mentioned anything about a war…I don't know why I had that vision…"

Venus frowned and sighed "Her smile does not reach her heart, her aura does not shine the same way…she does not love General Athamas"

"But if she does not love him why is she marrying him?"

Venus gave Mars a worried look "That is what confuses me…"

"There you are!" Jupiter said as soon as she entered to one of the small gardens in the lunar palace, where they usually meet with their princess "Mercury and I were looking all over for you"

Mercury noticed Venus and Mars' worried faces and frowned "Is something wrong?"

Mars turned to look at Mercury "Have you noticed anything strange with Princess Serenity?"

Jupiter frowned "What?"

"Venus says our princess is not in love with Athamas" Mars said; Jupiter let out a soft sigh "Athamas broke our princess' heart once, maybe she is afraid he might do it again…"

Venus sighed "Maybe you are right Jupiter…I was not contemplating that…but still…I have seen her soul when she is by herself and it glows differently…her heart holds an incredibly amount of love for something…or somebody that I cannot explain…"

"She was upset about something when I watched her earlier this day…" Mercury said, the other three senshi looked at her puzzled "Do you think she might have a fight with Athamas?"

"I don't know…" Mercury said softly "But…she did say she had a headache and sounded very tired…maybe he said something that made her feel bad…"

"That bastard…" Jupiter muttered, Mars chuckled "Jupiter, calm down…we do not know if Mercury's conclusions are real…it is just a supposition"

"Well he might be an amazing warrior and all but I can surely punch that lovely face of his…." The Amazonian said dryly, Venus laughed softly.

"At least you laughed…" Mars told Venus, which she nodded "Our training takes a lot of time off our hands to spend with our princess…" she said sadly.

"But it is in order to protect her…" Jupiter said.

Mercury nodded "I do not want to think something bad about the general until we really find something wrong with him…"

Mars shrugged her shoulders "I believe Mercury is right…maybe we are jumping to conclusions too fast and we don't even know the right reasons…"

Venus sighed and looked up at her princess' balcony "Athamas shows…great interest in her…but I do not see love…"

"But the way he looks at her…that should be love" Jupiter said, Venus turned to look at the brunette guardian "Maybe I am not as good as my mother…"

The four senshi laughed "I think you are good, but maybe you are trying to look for something that it is not there…maybe you don't see love between them because in your heart you wished there wasn't…" Mercury said.

Venus widened her eyes in realization "The eye meets what the heart wants…" she breathed and turned to look at her "Thank you…" she said to the blue haired woman, Mercury smiled "We all worry for our princess…but, maybe it is all the arrangements of her birthday ball and the engagement ball…maybe we are not thinking clearly…there is so much going on…"

Venus lowered her gaze and sighed "Maybe you are right…"

Ooooooooo

Endymion stopped moving and moved away from his princess startling her "Is something wrong?"

The prince shook his head and drew out his sword, handing it to her "Here" he simply said, Serenity widened her eyes and blinked a couple of times "What…" she trailed off.

"You wanted me to teach you, that is what I am doing" he said, looking at her. The lunar princess bit her lip "I thought you forgot about it or dismiss it completely…"

Endymion chuckled "I am not going to teach how to kill but how to defend yourself…" he walked towards her and handed her the lethal sleek weapon; Serenity grabbed it nervously with both hands like a baseball bat causing Endymion to chuckle a little "Lesson number one: Never hold a sword that way"

Serenity blushed and looked at him, Endymion walked to stand behind her and placed her hands on the sword's handle in the right way "If you want to hold the sword with both hands always keep it down for your own safety and put one hand below the other to really get a secure grip" Serenity nodded and followed his suggestions; Endymion placed his hands on her arms and looked forward "Now…you can start to make your first attack moving it in a criss cross motion, or better hold it with one hand…" he adjusted her right hand on the handle and extended her arm "Like this…" he said softly.

Serenity was entranced listening to everything he was saying, there was no doubt that he was an expert and what she loved the most was that it didn't matter how many times she made a mistake, he would always correct her nicely and was always willing to help her whenever she felt unsecure.

The sword in her hands intimidated her; she looked at it with wonder and at the same time respect, it was the very first time she held something that was so powerful and sacred for a warrior. When she was younger Ares once told her that a warrior's sword was an extension, a part of him, like an arm and that it was a privilege if someday a warrior could let her actually hold it, and now here she was, holding a sword from a very strong warrior.

Endymion stood in front of her and grabbed a long stick that was a few feet away from him "Now…imagine I am your opponent"

Serenity sweat dropped and chuckled "Your weapon is a stick"

Endymion chuckled "Never underestimate the power of a stick…" he said softly, the breeze played with his bangs covering his azure eyes every now and then, giving him a playful look "Take position" he said.

Serenity did as she was told and extended the sword with both hands and pointed at him, Endymion smiled and nodded "Very good, you are a fast learner" Serenity smiled back "Why, thank you"

"Now…an opponent is always going to try to prove to you how strong it is…so he or she will probably give you a full front attack, like this" he moved the stick forward, touching the sword slightly mimicking the attack "Now…how you should respond to that attack?"

Serenity frowned slightly and concentrated "I am going to block the attack by moving the sword to the side…" she answered, Endymion smiled and moved closer "Yes, but remember than even if you hold the best sword in the world it will not protect you from unexpected attacks, so as soon as you move the sword, you are going to move as well in order to make him lose his own position and re think what the fighter might do next…but you must always remember a fighter is always from one to two steps ahead of you so you need to be prepared…"

Serenity bit her lip "Alright"

Endymion moved again and pretended to attack her, Serenity moved to her side and blocked the stick with the sword, Endymion moved again and turned distracting her and pointed the stick on her back "See?"

Serenity pouted her lips "It is so difficult to think what the other person will do…"

Endymion chuckled "It's something you only learn with practice but you employ something very good…which is never stop moving…"

Serenity smiled and nodded "Can we try it again?"

The terran prince nodded and made his first move which Serenity managed to block perfectly, then he moved around her trying to hit her sword again but she moved aside and dodged her 'attacker's' weapon beautifully "Very good!" Endymion said happily "You are doing it wonderfully"

Serenity smiled widely at him "Really?"

Endymion moved again "To be your first time handling a weapon you are doing it very good" Serenity moved again and blocked his 'weapon' again "I believe I am not as bad as I thought I would be"

Endymion chuckled and stopped "No, you are actually a very good student"

Serenity smiled "Maybe because I have a very good teacher"

Endymion moved closer to her and placed his hand on her cheek "I love you…" he whispered in her ear, making her smile; lowering her gaze she blushed and kissed his cheek "I love you too…" she said softly "Thank you…"

Endymion smiled "You are very welcome" he kissed her fully on the lips for a brief moment; Serenity chuckled and looked down at her hand holding his sword "It's very pretty…"

"It has been part of my family for generations…" he said looking at it, Serenity raised it and saw the blade shine proudly "It looks like if it's made of crystal…its so sleek and shiny" her hand traced the symbol on its handle "A circle and a cross…is that the symbol of earth?"

"It represents the four stations of the year and the four cardinal points joined as one" Endymion answered "It's called the sun cross…"

"I wish I knew more from this planet…"

Endymion sighed and rubbed the back of his neck while looking away to the horizon "We are not that famous…"

Serenity looked at him and then back at the sword in her hand "I do not agree…"

The terran prince looked at her "Nos non divina nos nascuntur, crescent atque denique mori…"

Serenity turned to look at him and frowned "What is that suppose to mean?"

Endymion looked at her "We are not divine, we are born, we grow and we die in the end…"

Serenity sighed and looked down "But you love…you feel and you live"

Endymion sensed a hint of sadness in her voice; he moved her head up so she could look him in the eye "Can you feel this?" he bent down and kissed her on her lips, Serenity nodded and watched Endymion nod as well "Do you love me?" Serenity moved her head again, Endymion shrugged his shoulders "Then you do it too"

"What?"

"You love, feel and live…Bunny, maybe the beings that live above us have their own way to be, but so as you…you chose to be with me…as long as you are with me, you will feel, love and live…I promise…"

Serenity smiled and encircled her left arm around his waist, pressing her face against his chest "You are so wonderful…" she could hear his heart beating and his chest move with his thick chuckles "Because I taught you how to fight?"

Serenity shook her head "No…because you make me feel special and loved…" both royals stayed in silence for a while listening to the crashing waves. The sun was a few minutes away from hiding completely behind the horizon giving space to the moon to enlighten the night sky and gleam along with the dark blanket full of stars. Serenity looked up at the moon and sighed "I wish I could be here forever…" she whispered "I really do…"

Endymion ran his arm around her back "We will find our way to be together..."

Serenity closed her eyes, her hand tightening her grip on his shirt "We will find our way…" she whispered to the wind, hoping that that moment could come very, very soon.


	71. Chapter 71

**A/N: I'm sorry for the delay...but I have been sick and busy at the same time, I am moving to another city so packing is never easy and a quick thing to do...but I am here and I hope you like this chaper as much as I do. Maybe I will take long to post but I will NEVER leave this story unfinished, just please, cope with me and don't give up on the story :)**

****I do not own SM just this plot and some of the characters.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter seventy one**

* * *

Serenity walked towards her chambers, she just have arrived from earth and thinking that nobody had probably gone looking for her, she decided to appear in one of the gardens and pretend she lost track of time.

Her lips were curved in a slight grin remembering her joyful time with her handsome (very handsome) she prince she thought. As soon as she was about to open the door of her room a soft cough made her turn to her side "Venus" she said softly.

The blonde guardian took a few steps forward allowing the soft light of the hall lighten her delicate face "I was just going to see if you were alright Your Highness…" she said; Serenity smiled softly and felt terrible to have to lie to her dear friend and about something so important to her and that she might actually understand, after all love was her forte, her mother was the rightful goddess of love and beauty and now, so was she but the situation was to delicate and like Endymion said it could put her in great danger.

"I just…got bored and went to take a walk through the garden"

Venus sighed and nodded startling the princess "Venus…are you alright?"

Venus looked at Serenity and stayed silent for a few minutes "I am…a little concerned Princess if you must know…"

Serenity felt her heart shrink; it was not normal to see that serious demeanor on her. Venus was loyal and cheerful, a very happy and positive woman, but she was also a very dedicated senshi, strong, intelligent and strict when she needed to be, those were very good reasons to give her the leadership of the inner senshi; looking at her with worry the princess opened the door of her room "Come in…" she said.

Venus waited for the princess to walk in and closed the door behind them; sighing again she went to stand near a window and looked outside. Serenity sat on a chair in her living room and waited for her guardian to speak.

"Your birthday celebration is any time now…" Venus said.

Serenity bit her lip and lowered her gaze "Yes, it is…"

"Are you excited?" the blonde asked, Serenity shrugged her shoulders and thought about how much she wanted her prince to be with her on that special day "I suppose…Mother always plans a very big celebration…" her voice held tiredness, she did wanted to go to bed and sleep peacefully but also wanted to talk to her friend, since they came back from visiting their families they have been very busy training and adding her so called engagement they barely had any time left to talk.

Venus turned to look at her princess "Maybe it is a good opportunity to tell the universe about your engagement" the blonde waited for the silver haired princess' reaction, she wanted a sign, something that would reinforce her thoughts of her not being in love with the general but actually with somebody else, she looked carefully and waited patiently and when she was about to give up there it was. What she was waiting for.

Serenity pursed her lips and brought her hands together "Discomfort" the venusian beauty thought. Serenity sighed and looked away "I…" she trailed off.

Venus frowned slightly "Yes?"

"I am postponing the engagement ball…" Serenity said softly, not looking at her. Venus' frown deepened "But…you are still engaged…"

"Something like that…" Serenity turned to look at her this time "I…made that decision too quickly…I really need to know…to be prepared to be…a…bride…" the princess kicked herself mentally for saying none coherent words. Venus arched her brow "What?"

Serenity stood up and walked to her room, taking her necklace off she placed it over her vanity and started to lose her hair, letting it flow a silver cascade over her back she looked at her reflection on the mirror "Mother thinks he is the best suitor for me…for a moment I thought about it as well but then I realized that we don't know each other very well to really rush the engagement ball"

Venus followed her inside the bedroom and sat on the princess' bed "Are you interested in somebody else?" she asked directly. Serenity froze for a moment and widened her eyes slightly, she knew she could hide her words and actions but not her feelings but had to try her best in order to protect Endymion as well "What?" she pretended confusion.

"Are you interested in somebody else?" Venus asked again.

Serenity chuckled and put her brush down; looking at Venus through the mirror she smiled sadly "How am I going to be interested in somebody else if I haven't seen anybody else since Athamas appeared?"

The princess had a point, Venus thought, but still she noticed something different in her even she could dare to say a more secure personality than before. Standing up she walked over to stand behind her, taking the brush from Serenity's hand she started brushing her hair "I believe you are right…" she said softly.

Serenity lowered her gaze, pressing her lips together she thought about Endymion and how intense was the love she felt for him but she was aware that she might be doing wrong in not telling him about her engagement and to use the general the way she was using him in order to distract everybody in the palace giving her the perfect timing to go and see the terran prince, suddenly her mind drifted from her loving prince to the general and his cold and defiant character towards her and couldn't help mention it "How can I marry a man that is clearly feeling threatened by somebody that might not even exist"

Venus stopped brushing her hair and looked at the princess with a frown "Threatened?"

Serenity sighed and turned to look at her "He is fighting somebody we don't even know if it exist…" she said softly "Do you think it is fair for me to marry this quick a man that is obviously thinking in something else at the moment?"

Venus bit her lip "Princess…" she trailed off, she was right and her words actually impressed her because she was acting incredibly mature about it, in other time she would have started crying and asked her to help her get rid of him, instead she was facing the problem and trying to find a solution "Just…give him some time…Her Majesty is very excited about your wedding and well, he is after all the new Head Commander of the Lunarian army…"

Serenity nodded "His rank does not impress me…"

"What I am saying is that the Queen trusts him very much…otherwise he wouldn't be the soldier he is right now…"

Serenity sighed _"Mother trusts Athamas…" _she thought sadly _"It would be amazing if she could trust Endymion…that would definitely include Earth to the Silver Alliance and they would be protected…"_

Venus frowned "Princess?"

"Yes?" Serenity shook her head; Venus crouched and held her hand "Give him some time…Love is not always sweet, there are good and bad times…love should be what brings you together not break you apart"

Serenity nodded "Yes…" she said softly.

Venus smiled "The girls and I have missed you very much, since you are always busy with the Queen and we are in training…"

Serenity held her hands and smiled "I understand…I miss you too as well…"

Venus winked an eye at her "I'll let you get ready for bed…you must be very tired"

Serenity nodded "As a matter of fact I am…"

Venus nodded and stood up "Sleep well Princess"

"Sleep well Venus…" Serenity said softly and watched her guardian leave her room in silence. Sighing she stood up and went to change her clothes, walking out of her bathroom wearing her night gown she sat on her bed and thought of a way to talk to her mother and see if there was a chance to include the blue planet to the silver alliance; she began to remember why Endymion stopped praying to the gods and couldn't help her eyes fill with tears "They never listened…" she said sadly.

Lying on her bed she sighed and wiped the tears off her face with her hands "I wish I could sleep with you at least once…" she whispered while looking at the ceiling "…Goodnight my sweet prince"

The next morning, Serenity walked towards the study where her mother was probably working already with Luna and Artemis, she was about to turn to her left when she saw Nut walking towards the gardens; curiosity crossed her mind and went to see what was she doing alone.

Nut sat on a bench in the gardens and looked up to the skies, her eyes moistened as soon as they were fixed on the blue marble hanging up above her in the sky. Melancholy reached her heart as soon as she started to remember her daughter and wondered how her grandson might be right now, if he looked like her daughter, like her husband, or even like her. Serenity watched her and wondered why she looked so sad; walking towards her she smiled "Good day Goddess"

Nut sniffed a little and turned to look at Serenity, regaining her stoic posture she nodded and soon after gave her a warm smile "Good morning Serenity"

"I was not expecting you to see you here all alone…" Serenity said softly; Nut let out a soft sigh and patted the seat next to her "Care to join me?"

"Not at all" Serenity smiled and sat next to her, Nut smiled "Your Mother went to Olympus for a meeting…she should not take too long…I preferred to stay here and enjoy the view…" the black haired woman turned to see earth again, Serenity could sense an air of melancholy, like if the goddess next to her knew something she did not.

"What made you chose the General as your future husband?" her warm and slightly raspy voice interrupted her thoughts. Serenity turned to see her surprised and bit her lip "His…chivalry …" she managed to say.

Nut chuckled and turned to look at her "That is all?"

Serenity blushed "Well…he is attractive and…strong…"

Nut chuckled again and looked up to see Earth again "Attractive and strong…what a dangerous combination"

"Dangerous?" Serenity frowned.

Nut sighed "Men who are attractive and strong tend to be…well, unique"

Serenity looked at Nut and then lowered her gaze, Nut turned to look at her again "It seems the General has too much pride…"

"Well he has to be that way…he is the head of the Andromeda army and now this one…"

Nut sighed "You know dear, a very good soldier will never ever be afraid of teaching his skills to somebody else…a superb soldier will teach you what you need to know and will never presume of his capabilities…you just see how strong he is by looking at him"

Serenity's heart skipped a beat, Nut talked with such elegance and always so poised and polite. The lunar princess found captivating her talk because it was perfectly clear she knew very much about a warrior's life and discipline which she loved and even more now that she met her prince charming that happened to be one "You know so much about it…" she said amazed, Nut chuckled "Oh dear…I come from a family of warriors...and I ended up marrying one"

Serenity widened her eyes in shock "Really?"

Nut nodded "I am Helios' daughter…"

Serenity looked at the woman next to her with amazement, never in her life could imagine that she was one of the greatest High God's daughter, Nut laughed softly "You look impressed…"

"I am very impressed…I mean…God Helios is a very strong High God…" Serenity smiled "Who can know better about warriors than a warrior's daughter?"

Nut chuckled "Father was very strict; kind and generous…but strict. He sure protected me from any harm…"

Serenity smiled "You have very good memories"

Nut smiled "He said to me once, if you want to marry a warrior, please make sure you will chose the best…his pride should never overpass his heart and strength" Serenity took a deep breath, her eyes widened a little, Nut chuckled at her reaction "That is why I tell you dear, that finding a good warrior is quite easy, a great one is a little more difficult but a superb one is very rare…"

"Did you found yours?" Serenity asked curious. Nut smiled and looked up "I did…"

Serenity sighed dreamily "Do you have any family Nut?"

The question hurt, Nut lowered her gaze and stayed silent for a moment; Serenity noticed the goddess' body stiff "I am so sorry…I shouldn't have asked you that…how imprudent I am…"

Nut turned to look at her "I do…" she answered softly "A son and a daughter…" Nut lowered her head and let out a loud sigh "But they grew up and moved on with their lives…but they were trained as soldiers as well…"

Serenity never imagined that Nut could be who she was, she knew for a fact that Helios was one of the best gods in Olympus and to actually know that this woman was friends with her grandmother was beyond her mind "You knew my grandmother then…" she said softly, Nut nodded and smiled "I helped her plan your mother's wedding…"

"Can I ask you something?" Serenity moved closer, something in Nut made her feel at ease, she felt like she was talking to Endymion for some reason, maybe because she remembered him very much. Nut nodded "Of course…"

"I don't understand why did my grandmother leave…you know…and…" she trailed off, Nut chuckled "You are wondering why I am still here and not where your grandmother is, am I correct?" Serenity blushed and nodded; Nut sighed "Because your mother ascended the throne…Selene had now a descendant, it was her time to leave, in my case…since my children were warriors…they…well…my daughter was destined to become queen but she…" Nut trailed off "She decided to give up the crown and preferred to remain as a warrior…so she left to fulfill her dream…"

Serenity noticed the sadness on Nut's voice, she was sure there was more to know but respected that she wanted to keep it to herself, but she was sure about something; Nut was right when she asked her what made her chose Athamas as her husband "You don't think Athamas can be a good husband Nut?"

Nut pursed her lips and sighed "Dear, I am not the best person to give you a love advice because well…I was taught differently; maybe I am filling your head with all this things…"

"No, not at all Nut…you have been very kind to me since you came here and you actually took my side when I said I wanted to learn how to fight…it meant too much to me…" Serenity said softly, Nut half smiled "Well, General Athamas will have to teach you…he cannot say no to a lovely lady like you"

Serenity chuckled "He says that being a warrior is his job not mine…that I should leave that to him"

Nut laughed "Pride over heart…"

Serenity chuckled "Thank you…" she said softly, startling Nut "For what?"

"For listening to me…and for your advice…" the lunar princess said.

"There you are" a male voice joined the two of them. Turning to their side both women looked at Athamas standing a few feet away from Serenity, Nut let out a soft sighed and smiled at the princess "Well, I should leave you two alone…I will see you soon" Nut patted Serenity's arm and stood up, walking towards the exit she nodded her head at Athamas "Good day General"

Athamas bowed his head in respect "Good day Goddess Nut"

The blonde general walked to stand in front of Serenity blocking completely the vision ahead of her "How are you today?" he asked, kissing her hand; Serenity turned her head to the other side and sighed "I am doing fine…"

Athamas gritted his teeth "Don't tell me you are still mad at me for what I said to you yesterday?"

"I don't remember what you said…" Serenity said dryly. Athamas laughed and sat next to her "You look beautiful today"

Serenity half smiled at him "Thank you…" she looked down at his sword "It's a nice sword…can I look at it?"

Athamas sighed "I thought you left that matter behind…"

"I was just asking you a simple question…I did not know it could bother you that much" Serenity said dryly, Athamas sighed again "You were not taught to be a soldier dear but a queen…"

Serenity laughed "Pride over heart…" she said, Athamas frowned "What?"

"Nothing"

"Since tomorrow is your birthday celebration I think it is the perfect moment to announce everybody our engagement" Athamas said startling Serenity "What?"

"Your mother and I have been talking and…well it would be a lot easier…"

"But I said I didn't want to rush the wedding or the engagement…you were present!" Serenity interrupted him, Athamas was taken aback by her reaction "I thought you were joking…" he chuckled incredulously making Serenity's blood boil in anger "I am sick of you thinking I am always saying nonsense…"

Athamas frowned "That is not a proper way for a princess to speak"

"Just because you are a General doesn't give you the right to speak to me like that…I am the Crowned Princess of this Kingdom and you owe me respect!" Serenity raised her voice "And we are not announcing anything…"

Athamas looked at her shocked but at the same time he started to felt desperate, his plans were taking steps back instead of moving forward, Serenity was his key to accomplish his plans, his blood also started to boil in anger and frustration and as soon as he watched her starting to leave he grabbed her by her arm and pulled her back startling her "What are you doing?"

"Listen to me!" Athamas said in a hushed tone "Not because you are the Princess of this kingdom you will refer to me that way…we are engaged and that is definitive"

"Is that what you think?" Serenity defied him; Athamas smiled sarcastically "That is what I know"

"Remember I am the Queen's daughter, I will tell her about this behavior of yours…" she released her arm from his grasp in an abrupt movement and started to walk away. Athamas frowned "What will she think of your lovely escapades?"

Serenity widened her eyes in shock and froze "What?" she asked, turning to look at him. Athamas smiled widely "Ah…so you do escape…"

"What are you talking about?" Serenity asked nervously, Athamas started to walk towards her, stopping in front of her he chuckled devilishly "Beautiful Princess...I am a soldier not a stupid being…now, tell me, where have you been going?"

Serenity frowned and looked at him with hurt and disappointment "I never thought you could be this way…"

"As I said…I am a soldier, I am not stupid…I care for you Princess but you just don't give me any other choice but to tell your Mother about this…Oh, imagine how bad are your guardians will feel once they know you manage to free yourself from under their watch…"

"You would never do that…" Serenity breathed.

"Try me…" Athamas said "You tell the Queen about this and I will tell her about your escapades and then we will see who she believes the most…"

"I don't escape anywhere, so you can go and tell her…" Serenity's heart beat faster, her faith was in his hands even thought she tried to pretend he was wrong; Athamas chuckled "Now dear, are we going to announce our engagement tomorrow evening?"

Serenity looked at him and tried to follow his game "I think it will be better to arrange a proper engagement ball"

Athamas smiled "That's better" he bent down and kissed her on the cheek "You see? There is no need to talk bad to each other, we are engaged…and I love you…"

Serenity felt chills when Athamas pressed his lips against her cheek brusquely "I must leave; your Mother is expecting me in the study to talk about some security matters…" he said softly, like if nothing happened and started to walk away; as soon he was out of her sight she brushed off the kiss with her hand with disgust. She never thought he could be like that; after all he was just like the other men he met before, ambitious, void and incapable of love her for whom she is not just because of her crown.

"Good day Princess"

Serenity turned and found her senshi standing there with a puzzled look "Mercury" she greeted, pretending nothing happened between Athamas and her just a moment ago "What are you doing here all alone?" Jupiter asked softly.

"Yes…I thought I saw General Athamas with you…" Mars said more dryly.

Serenity bit her lip "Yes he was, but Mother was expecting him in the study…you know she was in Olympus a while ago and well…you know how this is…with Athamas as the new Head Commander of our army you can imagine…"

Mars frowned; she sensed something wrong with the princess but thought it would be better if she doesn't mention anything in front of everybody in order to not make her feel more anxious. Venus frowned as well and not thinking the same way as Mars she wanted to know what was wrong "Did you had a disagreement with the General Your Highness?"

Serenity widened her eyes in shock and shook her head "Nothing serious…"

"Nothing serious?" Mars asked.

Serenity smiled at her raven haired friend _"I love you girls, but I don't want you to know I go and see the Prince of Earth while you think I am actually sleeping…"_ she thought sadly.

"He wanted to announce our engagement tomorrow at the ball…I said everything was going to fast…"

"He must love you very much to insist constantly on doing that…" Jupiter said softly.

Serenity smiled sadly knowing that he might not even love her at all, after their little fight and his somewhat violent behavior she felt that joining her life with his was more of an obligation rather than a peaceful union. Her senshi would definitely defend her from him, they would even win against him but she had to protect herself and of course, she had to protect Endymion.

"And what did you say Princess, are you going to announce it tomorrow evening?" Mercury asked softly, her blue bangs covered her left eye graciously. Serenity sighed "No, we decided to continue with the original plan…we will plan a ball just for the announcement"

Mars and Venus turned to look at each other, then Venus cleared her throat "Princess, you know we are here to protect you…right?"

Serenity nodded and smiled "I know Venus, thank you…" she turned to look at her four friends "Thank you all…I love you so…"

Jupiter smiled "We love you too, even if we are training almost all day sometimes…"

Venus chuckled "Yes, but we need to be as strong as the outer senshi…"

Mars eavesdropped "I think we are actually very good the way we are…"

Serenity laughed "Girls, you are doing fine. I know Mother gave you the time to train and nobody gets to train with somebody like God Ares…"

Mars sweat dropped "Father is not training us…but one of his closest generals"

Serenity smiled "I know you will be as good as them, I believe in you and I love you for trying"

Jupiter smiled "But whenever you need us, please, call for us Princess"

"I will dear friends, I promise" Serenity smiled "Group hug?"

Venus laughed and was the first to hug the princess "Group hug!" the three other senshi followed and started laughing, making Serenity feel better. She had to find a way to break her engagement with Athamas before he could say anything about her escapades, she wished Endymion could come and fight him, she was sure he could beat him in a blink of an eye and send his arrogant butt very far away.

Oooooooooo

"He was busy…he could not attend me"

"Argh…you are getting more useless with time…"

"I cannot do anything else My Lady! I try my best!"

Charmindy frowned and looked at her with disgust "Get out of my sight Beryl…"

"My Lady…" Beryl tried to defend herself when Charmindy stood up "I said GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"

Beryl was taken aback by Charmindy's yell and left the room, crying desperately; leaning on a pillar she brought her hands to her cover her face and sobbed, never in her life felt so used and unloved, she never imagined she could be living something like this but her hunger was more powerful than her pride, so in order to continue living she had to keep dealing with Charmindy's difficult character. Her mind drifted and an image of the terran prince came to her, her heart started beating faster and stronger, she wanted to see him, she needed to see him and make herself more noticeable to him; she was present in every social event she could be in, every gathering and it was the same, he would just say hello, smile and wave good bye.

Beryl wanted him to feel passion for her, maybe lust, she wanted to ran her hands through his midnight hair and kiss his luscious lips and make him lose himself into her, she imagined how it would be to be in his arms and feel his breath on her naked neck, what he could whisper in her ear, how she could feel to sleep with him and just give herself to him.

She wanted to be his, and she wanted it now.

Closing her eyes, she walked to look on a mirror near the mansion's entrance and fixed her makeup. Licking her lips, she ran a hand through her neck and closed her eyes "I will capture your heart terran prince…someday you will be mine…" opening her eyes she smiled to herself, trying to banish all the bad words Charmindy just told her minutes ago and turned to leave.

Walking back to the town, she went to a dress shop and started looking for a new gown to wear the next time there was an important gathering where she knew the prince would be present. She noticed a group of women gossiping a few feet away from here, near the counter; to Beryl it was something normal that every woman wanted to capture the prince's heart by any possible way.

"I heard he is already interested in one woman…"

"No!"

"Yes, I heard she is beautiful…"

Beryl frowned and turned to look at the women "Excuse me; I couldn't help listen to your talk…who are you talking about?"

The older woman laughed and waved her hand "Prince Endymion of course!"

Beryl frowned "He is seeing somebody?"

A thin woman, younger than the one chubby one with the fan nodded, Beryl smiled "But how do you know?"

"Well…we do not know who she is, but apparently he disappears all the time…something a man only does when he is interested in somebody" the younger woman said, Beryl felt her blood freeze "But the Prince is always busy…I know that for a fact"

The older woman laughed and waved her fan "Of dear, how do you know?"

"Because Her Majesties Queen Narella and Queen Gaia constantly invite me to have lunch with them…" Beryl said surprising the women "What?" one of them managed to say; Beryl nodded "I just had dinner with them a few days ago…"

"Well there you go…" the younger woman said to the other one "Here is the mystery girl…"

The older woman nodded and frowned, Beryl looked at them puzzled "What?"

"You are the mystery girl Prince Endymion is very interested in"

Beryl blushed and felt her heart beat faster in her chest "I am…the girl Prince Endymion is interested in…" she whispered and smiled widely. Turning back to see the dresses her eyes widened as soon as her eyes laid on one in particular, a wide smile crossed her pretty features "This is the one…." she said happily.

Ooooooooo

"Good afternoon" Endymion entered the study this time he was not wearing his usual military attire but his warrior attire, his father was waiting along his shitennou, the three kings and Leonidas "Good afternoon" they all responded in unison. Endymion sat quickly on his chair and sighed "How many this time?"

"Seven" Kunzite said.

"This is driving me insane…" King Eros said, King Isra nodded and turned to look at the prince "Imagine how Endymion is feeling…"

"We already identified the bodies…" Zoicite said "We just sent a soldier to inform each family…"

Endymion closed his eyes and took a deep breath "Sophos is no longer causing problems, the security has been established but still…the people is starting to notice something is wrong…"

"You are wearing your armor…that means you…" King Eros trailed off, Endymion nodded "I went to each and one of the four strong points to make sure everything was back to normal again"

"There is no doubt that you are well prepared" King Bernard said proudly "Eros must be very happy to have a son like you…"

"I won't feel entirely happy until I find the bastard that keeps hurting innocent people; I am getting tired of this, that is why that just as any other soldier I am taking control…" Endymion's voice was deep, defiant and very serious; it proved to the rest of the men in the room that he was not playing any games and of course that he was thinking like a soldier more than a prince.

"We will be prepared for anything and of course will inform you anything that happens as quickly as possible" King Urmanus said to the king and prince, Endymion nodded and shook the king's extended hand "I know you will"

"What are we going to do about the strange activity near the southern kingdom?" King Isra asked with great concern; King Eros frowned "What strange activity?"

Isra stood up and sighed "I believe that is what that soldier tried to cover until he knew what is was all about"

Endymion frowned "Yes, the famous cave Sophos wanted to take credit for his 'investigation'"

"That one…something is wrong with it…I have been receiving reports that the villagers hear strange noises coming from it" King Isra said, King Eros turned to look at Leonidas and then at his son "Do you think it has something to do with our previous enemy?"

"I went there very early in the morning and watched the surroundings...it comes a strong sultry smell from it but there is no sign of anybody living in there…" Endymion said while looking at some papers in his hand. Isra widened his eyes in shock "You went there?"

"We have been up since very early in the morning…Zoicite went to eastern point, Jadeite to the western, Nephrite went north and Kunzite and I went south, I have all reports here" Endymion said in a serious tone.

King Bernard nodded his head in amazement "I am very impressed…"

Endymion smiled at the bearded man "We are only doing our job"

King Urmanus smiled "Now I understand why I noticed some changes in the guards' routines"

"His Highness gave everyone new orders and security routines, as soon as we finished supervising the southern point we moved to each and one of the rest where the generals were waiting for us" Kunzite said.

"It's done" Endymion gave each king his respective archive and report.

King Eros smiled proudly to himself and turned to look at Leonidas who responded him with the same expression, Endymion was sharper and was a superb man when it came to create new strategies and solve problems quickly. King Bernard nodded while he was reading his full report "I am really impressed…" he looked up at the prince "You five must be terribly exhausted"

All men in the room started laughing, Jadeite leaned on his chair "We sure are…but when His Highness puts his mind into something we need to get it done as soon as possible"

Eros nodded "Very well, now with all this new information we can sleep tranquil tonight…"

The guards opened the door unexpectedly allowing a soldier to come in "Your Highness…" he called out; Endymion frowned and stood up immediately "What is it?"

"We spotted the man you were looking for near the palace"

Endymion side smiled, a smile he only gave when he was sure he would be triumphant about something "Perfect"

Leonidas turned to look at Endymion "Prince?"

Endymion turned to look at the men in front of him "The man in Lord's place" the four shitennou stood up immediately "He is around, how do you know?"

The soldier turned to look at Kunzite "He is wearing the same wardrobe and insignia as the prisoner…"

"It's time to put an end to this" Endymion stood up and he walked out of the study leaving the rest of the man astonished by his sharpness and defiant demeanor. King Eros stood up and walked to the window to see if he could watch something from there "I must go as well" he turned to look at Leonidas.

Leonidas nodded and stood up, the three kings stood up as well "This matter concerns to us as well, we should all go" King Urmanus said; Eros nodded and walked out of the study followed by them, Eros turned to Leonidas "Call for the guards, tell them to stay alert"

Endymion walked out of the Palace, his horse was already waiting for him at the entrance; without saying a word he stepped onto his horse and gave the signal to the shitennou to follow the plan, the four generals stepped on their respective horses and went separate ways.

The people in the village watched the scene in awe wondering what could be happening; Beryl came forward and frowned and turned to her right "What is happening?" she asked to a middle aged man who widened his eyes in shock "The Prince went down that way in his horse…but it looks like something important happened because he was wearing his armor…"

Beryl widened her eyes in surprise and tried to come closer to the palace but soon the guards closed the large doors and more guards stood in front of the main entrance. Gaia was looking through her room the events and sighed "Endymion is about to send another soul to Hades…" she whispered, Aurea handed her her medicines and a glass of water "How do you know?"

"I just know…" Gaia said softly and took her pills making a face of disgust "I hate to take these…"

Aurea pursed her lips and took the glass from the queen's hand "It's for your own good" placing the glass on the silver tray on her night stand she smiled "Haven't you by any chance noticed a slight cheerful behavior in your son?"

Gaia frowned "What?" she turned to look at Aurea sitting on a chair near the balcony doors "Endymion?"

"Yes, Endymion…what other son do you have?" Aurea chuckled, Gaia rolled her eyes "No I haven't noticed…why? Have you?"

Aurea smiled "Well…he is…happier than normal, I wonder why it might be"

Gaia sighed and watched her husband walk outside the palace "Endymion in unreadable…something very important must have happened…"

Aurea frowned "Why?"

"Eros and the three kings are outside…there's your husband…see?" Gaia tabbed the window where Leonidas was standing next to her husband; Aurea shrugged her shoulders "I may ask him later tonight"

"Sometimes I wish Endymion didn't was what he is…" Gaia lamented, Aurea arched a brow "What are you saying? How can you say that?"

"He is just like my father sometimes…defiant, prideful…I won't deny it worries me sometimes…he has so much of my parents…"

Aurea chuckled and went to fluff the queen's pillows "You can deny his bloodline, of course he will be like your father…"

Gaia sighed and closed her eyes "I only wish he won't come back with a head in his hand…or a blooded sword…"

Aurea pressed her lips together "Gaia, Endymion was trained to kill, he is not who he is just because he is the Crowned Prince of this kingdom…you should know that by now, you are a warrior yourself"

"Was…" Gaia said and turned to look at Aurea "I once was a warrior…not anymore"

"Blah!" Aurea waved her hand startling Gaia, the terran queen widened her eyes in shock "What?"

Aurea turned to see the queen and shook her head "You are still a warrior, you may not have the sword with you or the crystal for that matter but you are still a superb warrior, oh yes, I still remember how you fought that golden boy that day…"

Gaia laughed "Ares Aurea…"

Aurea shrugged her shoulders "He was wearing a golden armor…he was a golden boy"

Gaia smiled and sat on a chair near the window again "Well…it doesn't matter, I am a mortal woman now…my goddess' days are part of the past"

oooooooooo

Serenity walked back to her chambers as it was turning usual, after making sure nobody would come and look for her; she closed her doors and went straight to earth this time appearing in the garden inside the palace and found a bench behind a tree, she thought since nobody was around she wouldn't be noticed and waited for the prince to appear or at least to know something about him "Maybe he is in the study again…" she said to herself, trying to find her way back to the hidden corridor that led her there the last time, she was about to search for it when she heard voices coming her way.

"I want you to be alert, close all the gates and don't let anyone come closer to the palace" Leonidas said to one of the guards, the guard nodded "Should we be prepared for something?"

Leonidas nodded "Prince Endymion went to kill Lord's accomplice…" the high ranked general could not lie to the guards, much less when it was something that referred to the prince's activities.

Serenity's eyes widened in shock, her hands started shaking "No…" she breathed, closing her eyes she remembered his sad face every time he mentioned how hard was for him to deprive someone's life "Oh Endy…" she sobbed softly.

"He will be here in no time…so stay alert"

The guard nodded "Yes General" they were about to walk away when another soldier caught up with them "He is here" he said. Leonidas frowned "Endymion's fastness will always amazes me"

Kunzite was the first to enter the hall and watched Leonidas standing in the hall; Serenity hid behind the nearest tree to the hall, silent tears fell down her eyes.

The white haired general made a signal with his hand and moved to the side, allowing Endymion to pass "Where is Pater?" he asked dryly, his cold voice sent chills down the sweet princess' spine, the mere fact of imaging him killing a man with the same sword she held the day before made her feel incredibly sad, for some strange reason.

"I am here" Eros said anxiously, Endymion bowed his head in respect and gave him the enemy's sword "Here" his voice was void and dry.

Eros sighed and extended his hand to take the blooded sword "Is he…?" he trailed off; Endymion lowered his gaze for a moment "I had no other choice" the shitennou joined the prince in silence. King Eros frowned "What happened?"

"He killed one of the hostages right in front of us…to prove he was not afraid" Nephrite said slowly, King Eros closed his eyes.

Endymion frowned "Me haedus…" (It was a child) he said slowly.

"Spuria…" (Bastard) Eros muttered and shook his head "I'll ask Obelix to pray for the innocent soul…"

"The rest of the accomplices are under custody and will be sent to different prisons so they won't communicate to each other" Zoicite said, the king nodded and sighed "Could you give us a moment?"

The five men nodded their heads in respect and left the king and prince alone in the corridor, Eros placed a hand on his shoulder "Are you alright?"

Endymion nodded his head and pressed his lips together; lowering his head he let out a loud sigh "I just can't believe he was capable of doing what he did...it was an innocent child…" his voice was full of hurt; Eros nodded and lowered his head "You did the best thing you could do…"

Endymion raised his head but kept his gaze down "I was trained to kill…after all…but I should have found a way to save the child…it was my obligation to think in something else…"

King Eros patted his arm "Don't punish yourself too hard…you did what you could do…think he will no longer hurt anybody else" Endymion nodded and sighed again "I'll go to take care of this…"

Eros stopped him and shook his head "I'll take care of this son" patting his arm again, he walked away leaving him alone in the hall; the prince closed his eyes and lowered his head "Animam suam attingit vallis innocens" (may his soul get to the valley of the innocent) he breathed.

Serenity couldn't hold it any longer and came out from behind the tree where she was hiding "Endy…" she whispered, startling him "Serenity…" he said softly, this time there was no smile on his face. The white princess wiped the tears off her face and went to hug him without saying another word; Endymion took a deep breath and let it out "You shouldn't hug me Bunny…"

Serenity looked up at him "Why do you say that?"

Endymion looked down at her "I just killed a man"

Serenity's eyes started to fill with tears again "You tried to save an innocent's life…" suddenly a loud sound startled them, Serenity blinked a few times "What is that?"

Endymion lowered his gaze "It's the people celebrating the fall of this man…" running a hand through his hair he looked at her "Would you mind coming somewhere else with me?"

"But…they will want to see you…" Serenity trailed off, Endymion shook his head "I don't want to see anybody…" Serenity was about to protest when Endymion smiled slightly "…But you"

The white princess smiled sadly "I won't judge you..." she remembered what Nut told her about warriors and tried to imagine how Endymion must be feeling at this particular moment "It was not the fact that you killed that…man, but…the child who died because of him"

Endymion nodded "That is another thing I will never forget…"

Serenity noticed the deep sadness in his voice and even though it was difficult to lighten the moment at least she thought she would try "Take me anywhere you want…I am yours" she smiled at him. The prince looked at her wide eyed "You are mine?"

Serenity smiled and nodded "All yours"

"Those are strong declarations my dear" Endymion said softly and caressed her cheek; the princess smiled at him "Teach me how to pray"

Endymion looked at her puzzled "What? To pray?"

Serenity nodded "Yes…teach me how to pray…"

Endymion smiled sadly "Bunny I don't pray since a long time ago…and besides…you don't need to pray…you are a Goddess" Serenity frowned "I want to pray for the innocent soul of that child…and I want to pray for you…"

Endymion frowned "Why?"

"Because you care for so many people…but you as much as them need protection" the princess said softly, taking his hand; Endymion looked down at her hand playing with his and sighed "Come with me…"

They both walked in silence, the sun was starting to set giving them the perfect opportunity to sneak around in between the shadows on the corridors. Serenity watched in awe all the elegance and exquisite look of the terran palace, she looked at the chandeliers on the tall ceilings and the paintings hanging on the walls, she noticed how there were flowers everywhere giving a very fresh and delicate aroma, it was nothing like she ever expected this place to be.

They soon crossed two very large smithy doors with circular designs and entered a very large garden with a round fountain on the center, at the distance Serenity noticed several steps that seemed to lead to the pillars she could see at the distance; without asking where they were actually going she just intertwined her fingers with his and started to walk up the steps, her eyes widened in amazement as soon as she watched the surroundings.

"It's beautiful…" she breathed and turned to see the white marble fountain in the distance "…And so peaceful"

Endymion nodded "This Earth's sacred temple…where our priest lives…" he turned to look at her "This is where I learned how to pray…"

Serenity widened her eyes and looked around again "It's so beautiful…"

Endymion started walking towards a large stained glass wall full of white candles "The last time I prayed here…was probably the night before I went to the army…" Serenity walked up to him, her heels made a soft sound on the impeccable marble floors, standing next to him she looked at all the unlit candles "Why are all these candles unlit?"

The prince smiled sadly and looked down at all the candles "Because I haven't been here to light them…"

Serenity looked at him "Maybe this is the right moment to do it…"

"Why do you want me to go back to believe in something I decided to resign many years ago?" he asked, his voice instead of sound angry sounded hurt, Serenity noticed it and held his hands "Because maybe they didn't listen…but I will"

Her soft words hit on a soft spot, Endymion did not know how to react and for the very first time in a long time his eyes started to fill with unshed tears "Serenity….what are you saying?" he tried to chuckle but his vulnerability was clearly evident, the sweet and innocent princess has broken the prince's though and always stoic character; Serenity looked at him "If you pray…I will listen…pray to me Endymion so I can help you…"

Endymion shook his head and closed his eyes "I can't Serenity…I made a promise to myself"

"And what about you? What about your own safety?...Are you really going to let all the pain from the past consummate your soul, just because you made a promise to yourself?" Serenity asked upset, almost hurt.

The prince looked at her with a frown "This is my destiny Serenity…I was raised to become what I am now, what happened today has happened to me before and I deal with it just fine…why…" he trailed off; his voice was starting to break "Dammit!" he closed his eyes and punched a pillar with his fist, startling the princess.

Opening his eyes again, a darker shade of blue haunted them "Why do you want to carry with my problems?" he said slowly, resting his forearm on the same pillar he hit seconds ago.

Serenity looked at him "Because I love you" Endymion widened his eyes and turned to look at her.

"Look at you…" she said softly, taking a step forward "All handsome in your armor, always so strong and defiant, a man that has the will and the courage to put his family and people first…it has been so long, since you really let yourself go…I may not be the strongest goddess but I am sure the one that loves you with all her heart…let me be there for you…let me be with you…"

Endymion looked at her, bringing a hand to his face he felt something he hadn't felt in years, a tear ran through his cheek, looking at his fingers in astonishment he tried to find the right words that could describe what he was feeling. Turning to see the altar he walked over there and stood in front of the candles; taking a thin stick he took fire from a lit candle near them and started to lit his.

Serenity watched in awe and smiled softly; what better proof that he loved her that to actually break a promise he made to himself. Endymion sighed and closed his eyes.

_Veni, Creator Spiritus, mentes tuorum visita, imple superna gratia quae tu creasti pectora._

_Qui diceris Paraclitus, altissimi donum Dei, fons vivus, ignis, caritas, et spiritalis unctio._

Tu, septiformis mun

_ere, digitus paternae dexterae, Tu rite promissum Patris, sermone ditans guttura._

_Accende lumen sen__sibus, infunde amorem cordibus, infirma nostri corporis virtute firmans perpeti._

_Hostem repellas lo__ngius, pacemque dones protinus, ductore sic te praevio vitemus omne noxium._

_Per te sciamus da__ Patrem, noscamus atque Filium; Te utrisque Spiritum credamus omni tempore._

_Deo Patri sit gloria, et Filio, qui a mortuis surrexit, ac Paraclito, in saeculorum saecula._

"Sacra dimitte terram quae oblitus sum ego filius tuus, quia oblita admirari et ego oblitos parce mihi. Spiritus sacri dimitte quia caret vita, iustitia accepi manu mea, quia amissa fide. Donec ut audivit sermones mei sit ... quod honorem animarum hic reliquerunt pervenire placidissima nobis promittis diem cum nascimur. Sacred dea noctis, illumina ... vias, ne quid pars ego sum ... et tuus perpetuo" (Forgive me sacred land because I have forgotten that I am a son of yours, that I have forgotten how to admire you and that I also have forgotten how to forgive myself.

Forgive me sacred spirits for I have deprived life, for I have taken justice with my own hands, for losing faith. Please may my words be heard...let the innocent souls that have left us here reach the peaceful land you promise to us since the day we are born. Sacred Goddess of the night, illuminate...my path, don't leave my side...for I am forever yours.)

Serenity felt warmth in her chest like she never have felt it before, bringing her hand to touch her chest she widened her eyes in amazement, his prayer reached her. Walking over to him she put her hand on his forearm, Endymion let out a soft sigh and turned to look at her "Et tuus perpetuo…" he whispered.

Serenity felt her eyes fill with tears; bringing her hand to his face she smiled at him "I love you…" Endymion took her in his arms and lifted her "I love you…" he whispered and closed the small gap between them and kissed her passionately, Serenity put her arms around his neck and kissed him back in the same way he was kissing her, every now and then they stopped to breathe and looked into each other's eyes "Love me forever…" she whispered to him.

"I will, and if we ever live another life…I will search for you and find you again…" he whispered.

Serenity smiled, pushing his hair back "You promise?"

Endymion kissed her softly on the lips "I swear…" he whispered.


	72. Chapter 72

**A/N: Hello, I know I should have posted last friday...I had the chapter ready but you know how unexpected life can be sometimes, anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter..it is quite long so I hope it would compensate my last's week absence :) Thank you sooooo much for your reviews, I love to read from all of you, it means a lot hearts**

***I do not own sm, just this plot and some of the characters.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter seventy two**

* * *

Obelix walked out of his chambers in the shrine and went to do his daily prayers, when he was about to lit his candles something caught his eye and turned to see what it was. His eyes widened in shock when he saw all the candles lit "Mirum…" (Incredible) he whispered surprised.

"Priest?" Helios walked over to him with a puzzled look "Is something wrong?"

Obelix smiled widely "No Helios…" he turned to look at him "Today…is a good day, our Protector has opened his heart again…Gratias custos terre sancte" (Thank you, holy guardian of earth)

Ooooooooooo

"Good morning" Endymion greeted his family in the dining room, he went to kiss his mother and grandmother on the cheek "You look lovely today" he said happily, startling her "Good morning dear" said both queens.

"Can I have a cup of coffee?" he turned to one of the maids and smiled "Black"

Gaia turned to look at Aurea who was sitting across her on the table, the brunette smiled knowingly and then turned to look at the prince in front of her "Did you sleep well?"

Endymion took a sip of his coffee and widened his eyes "Nana! I did not see you…" he stood up immediately and kissed her on the cheek as well and then went back to his seat "I did actually, thank you…"

"You were so down yesterday…I am glad you are feeling better now" King Eros said while he spread butter on his toast, Endymion took another sip of his coffee and sighed "I won't say I forgotten about yesterday's incident…an innocent life was deprived by a bastard..."

"But you put an end to that crazy man…that child's soul will find its way to a peaceful place…" Gaia said softly.

"I must tell you son, I am very proud of you…you have done so much and you have handled it well" Eros said, Queen Narella smiled "Your grandfather would be very proud"

Endymion smiled to his grandmother "Thank you grandma…"

Gaia bit a piece of her fruit "What is the schedule for today?"

Eros smiled and took a sip of his coffee "Actually I am thinking to have a day off today…it's beautiful outside. I took the liberty to give your shitennou the day off as well; they are going to see their families"

Endymion nodded "Really? A whole day off?"

Eros chuckled "Why are you so surprised? Do you need them to stay here? I thought it would be a good idea, they have been working very hard, they deserve to see their families…"

Endymion nodded "Yes, but I was not talking about that...I mean…it is surprising for you to have a day off…that hasn't happened since I was a boy"

Eros smiled at his son "Sometimes you too need a break from all protocol Endymion…" The prince smiled at his father "Thank you…"

Queen Narella frowned in confusion "Can somebody tell me what day is today?"

Eros chuckled "It's June 30th Mother…why?"

Endymion choked on his coffee and turned to look at his father "Did you say June 30th?"

"Yes…" Eros responded, Endymion widened his eyes in realization "Bunny…" he whispered; Gaia frowned "Is something wrong dear?"

The prince shook his head "No Mother…everything is alright…I just remembered something"

Aurea chuckled startling the royal family "What?" Gaia looked at her, the brunette maid shook her head "Your mind has been elsewhere this last few days…well, it's been quite a while now…"

Endymion swallowed his fruit slowly and eavesdropped "What are you talking about?"

Aurea rested her arms on the table "Who is she?" she smiled, there was nothing that could stop the brunette woman, even though she was prudent she could not deny her curiosity and she was almost sure that his sudden change of humor and sudden disappearances had to do with love; the prince widened his eyes in shock "What?" he asked astonished. Queen Narella opened her mouth in shock "Endymion…are you seeing somebody?" she asked surprised. Queen Gaia blinked a couple of times and turned to look at Aurea then at her son "What?"

Endymion bit his lip and lowered his gaze "I am not seeing anybody…" he bit another piece of fruit "You know how annoying this subject is to me…"

"We should invite Lady Beryl to join us for lunch today…" Queen Narella said happily, Endymion sighed and closed his eyes; Gaia frowned and turned to look at her mother in law "Why do you like her so much?"

"Why don't you? She is gorgeous…well educated…"

"Just because of her looks…" Gaia muttered, Endymion sighed "Alright, alright…stop it..." everybody stopped talking and continued eating their breakfast "I am just saying that…you soon will be turning twenty five and it is a perfect time for you to find yourself a lovely woman and get marry…"

Endymion sighed sadly "It's not that easy…"

Gaia frowned, she recognized that sad look and started to wonder why would her son feel that way, was it that he loved somebody he could not have? She thought sadly "Oh my dear son…" she thought again.

Endymion stood up "Excuse me…" he said softly and walked out of the room.

"He does not like to talk about it…" Queen Narella said softly "I do not understand why…"

Gaia turned to the door and pursed her lips, Eros noticed she wanted to go over him and try to talk with him; smiling he patted her hand making her turn "Go…"

Gaia widened her eyes "What?" Eros chuckled and nodded "I know you want to go after him…go…" he whispered. The terran queen smiled and kissed him on the lips, standing up she walked out of the room, Queen Narella frowned "What happened?"

"You and I Mother…need to talk"

Aurea nodded her head and stood up leaving the two royals alone "Excuse me Your Majesties…" she whispered.

Oooooooooo

Gaia walked through the corridor looking for her son; her mother instinct told her something was happening to him; Aurea was right he was sure acting different, not that she disliked it but found it refreshing, he normally was a very serious person and even though he was very noble and lovable with her he sometimes focused too much on his duties as a warrior prince.

She looked in the study and the places where he normally was, she was about to walk up the stairs when she realized something "The cherry tree…" she said softly and walked back to the rose garden.

Standing at the entrance she looked around, her lips curved into a small smile, there he was just as she imagined sitting on the bench under the cherry tree "I imagined you would be here…it is a very peaceful place…"

Endymion raised his head and turned to look at his mother "Mama…" he said softly "Are you alright?" he asked concerned "Do you need anything?"

Gaia shook her head "I was…hoping to talk to you…can I join you?"

Endymion nodded "Of course…"

Gaia sat straight and sighed, looking up at the pink shade of the tree "You…" she trailed off "You prayed again…" she said softly, breaking the silence. Endymion rested his elbows on his knees and pressed his lips together in thought "I believe Obelix has told you…"

"Yes, he did, early this morning…"

"Is it wrong?" the prince asked puzzled, Gaia shook her head "No…it is…surprising actually…It's been a long time since you…" she trailed off "You know…decided to take another path…which is…fine…"

Endymion chuckled "Mama get to the point…"

Gaia looked at him "You have changed…" Endymion arched his brow "Should I take that as a compliment or as a complaint?"

The queen shook her head "No dear, but…it was a long time since you…well, show a more…" she trailed off "You are very serious most of the time and it is wonderful to see you happy…but I couldn't help notice a hint of sadness in your words when you were saying to your grandmother that it was not so simple…"

Endymion sighed "Everything here is about fighting…and sometimes even I get tired of fighting…"

"What do you mean?" Gaia frowned; Endymion looked at her and let out a loud sigh "I cannot lie to you Mama…" Endymion stood up and ran a hand through his hair "Yes, I met someone…and she has my heart in her hands…" he trailed off "…When I look at her, everything else disappears…when she smiles at me all my worries melt away…she has looked beyond of who I am and became my best friend…my companion…"

Gaia widened her eyes in shock; her heart started beating incredibly fast "Who is she? Why haven't you said anything dear?"

Endymion turned to look at his mother and smiled sadly "Because…" he thought for a moment if he should tell his mother the truth about her or just keep it to himself, if he tells her she might not believe him or ask him to stop seeing her and his heart was too stubborn to let her go "It's not that easy…"

Gaia lowered her head "Is she from the court?"

"No" Endymion answered "She is much more than that…she…" he looked away "She makes me want to be a better man…she brings the best in me that not even I knew I had…"

Gaia watched her son while he was talking and there was no doubt about it, this woman whoever it was captured his heart; at first she felt intimidated by this mystery woman, then she felt jealousy but after listening to him and actually witness how his eyes changed to a more azure color and how he smiled every time he talked about her she realized that this woman was the right one for him; she understood him when he said it was complicated, a long time ago her relationship with his father was complicated for different reasons of course, but after fighting for their dream they stayed together in the end.

Endymion sat again next to her and put his hands on his face; it didn't matter how much Gaia wanted to know about her, she wanted to respect his reasons of not telling her all the story, she felt actually happy to know what he just told her; smiling she rubbed his back with her hand in a circular motion "When the time is right…I would like to know her…"

Endymion raised his head and looked at her surprised "Are you…fine with it? I thought you may react just the same way you react when Beryl is mentioned…"

Gaia smiled at him and caressed his cheek with her hand "Dear…I don't want anything more than to meet the woman that has captured your heart and brought your soul back from where it was hiding…"

Endymion smiled and kissed her on her cheek "Thank you Mama…" he looked down and bit his lip "…Can we keep this a secret?"

Gaia ran a hand through his hair and looked him in the eye "Of course…" the prince smiled and hugged her tightly "I love you Mama…"

"I love you too my setting sun…"

Oooooooooooo

"Happy birthday Princess!" the four senshi entered the princess' room, one by one went to hug the already dressed and perfumed princess standing near her balcony "Thank you" she chuckled.

"You look so beautiful" Jupiter said happily "Is that the dress you are wearing for the ball?"

Serenity smiled and looked down at her dress "No…Mother asked the seamstress to make one for tonight, she will probably bring it during the afternoon"

Venus smiled and walked up to her "Princess, I would like to give you this…" she gave her a small white box "It's from all of us…we hope you like it"

Serenity opened the small box and gasped "It's beautiful! …You shouldn't bother…Oh my!" she took out an exquisite broach of a crescent moon with incrustations of crystals and pearls "It's beautiful…I will wear it tonight"

"Oh it was no bother at all! We found it while we were away training and we thought it would look perfect in any gown…we fell in love with it as soon as we saw it" Venus said happily. Serenity smiled widely to her blonde friend "It's perfect, thank you"

A soft knock interrupted their talk, Mars immediately stood up and walked to the door, opening it she let a maid come in "Your Highness, Senshi…" she bowed her head in respect "General Athamas is here"

"…Right" Serenity said dryly and turned to look at her window _"I wish you could be here my dearest Endymion…" _she thought sadly, Mars cleared her throat "Her Highness will be there with him shortly, thank you" the maid bowed again in respect and walked out of the room "Don't you want to see him Princess?"

Serenity traced the blue planet through the window with her index finger "…I" she trailed off, Venus frowned and turned to look at Mars; Serenity sighed "…Sure…" she turned to look at her guardians and faked a smile "I mean…he has to be here, it is my birthday after all!" she chuckled.

Jupiter walked closer to her "Has he done something to you Princess? Is he treating you well?"

The question startled Serenity, 'No' would be her perfect answer, 'I am in love with somebody else…' would be better, but she could not tell them anything or otherwise Athamas would tell them of her mysterious escapades, she did not know him that well to know if he would do such thing but she sure didn't want to find out of what he was capable of doing.

She could not tell them about her affair with the terran prince because of the major consequences that would bring for her and of course, her mother, her kingdom and him.

"Why would he be treating me bad?" she asked softly, Jupiter frowned "Tell us the truth Princes…"

Serenity chuckled "Athamas can be difficult sometimes but…he is a good man…Mother likes him very much and well…he is well positioned…isn't that what everybody wants for me after all?"

Venus looked at the princess closely "Princess…" she said softly, Serenity looked at her four guardians "I have to go…he is waiting…" she turned to leave her room "I will see you later tonight…" she said softly and closed the door.

"She is hiding something…" Venus said seriously, Mercury frowned "What do you mean Venus?"

Venus frowned "There is no doubt about it…Princess Serenity is not in love with General Athamas, but somebody else…"

The three senshi looked at each other and then at her leader "Are you sure?" Mars asked "Are you positive of what you are saying?"

"Who might that be?" Jupiter asked softly. Venus sighed "I do not know…but the truth will come to light once of these days…"

Serenity walked towards the tea room but stopped several feet away from the entrance because she heard Athamas talking to somebody else, Serenity hid behind a pillar and leaned on it as much as possible so she would be unnoticed, turning to see who was the man with the general she recognized him from previous encounters, he was the same soldier that mentioned him about that mysterious woman when he was supposed to be pursuing her.

"Everything is going well" the soldier said.

Athamas gritted his teeth "Yes, yes…but still it is not enough…I want to break him, I need to destroy him and get control of that planet at once"

Serenity frowned "What is he talking about?" she thought.

"But he has been cleverer than before…the man we had as accomplice died last night…he was killed by his own hand…" the soldier said, looking to both sides "He cut his head off in just a matter of seconds…"

Athamas growled "It can't be!" he raised his voice "I thought he was well prepared to kill him!"

"He is very strong General…he knows very well how to attack us back…"

"I will have to take care of him myself…I am tired of too many failures…" Athamas said dryly, the soldier widened his eyes "Are you going down there?"

"My plans are not going the way I was expecting…and I don't have too much time…I will have to go there myself and kill that monster once and for all"

Serenity frowned "Monster?"

The soldier rubbed his hands nervous "But he is too dangerous…"

"Get more energy…kill as many people as you can…I don't care less if they are children or old people…I need to gather more energy so I can break him, is that clear?" Athamas said coldly. Serenity gasped and widened her eyes in shock, covering her mouth with both hands she could feel her eyes started to fill with hot tears, how could Athamas be so cold hearted to order those things.

Tears started to fall desperately from her eyes "I need to stop him…" she whispered, wiping her tears off she started to walk towards the general "Athamas…" she said out loud. The soldier that was with Athamas was dismissed as soon as he heard her voice calling him.

The blonde general turned to look at her and widened his eyes in amazement, besides his plans to destroy earth and the terran prince he came to realize that he cared for the lunar princess more than he imagined, the woman was extremely beautiful and desire started to curl up in his chest. He wanted her, no matter what.

"Happy birthday my darling" he tried to kiss her on the lips, but she moved her face away "What were you doing?" she asked dryly.

Athamas sighed "Working, a warrior never stops having obligations…there are some things to be done in order to be at peace…"

"I see…" Serenity said coldly "Like depriving the life of innocent ones?"

Athamas frowned "What?..."

"Who are you trying to hurt Athamas?" Serenity asked; the blonde general arched a brow "You don't know how things are…" Serenity shook her head "I thought you were different…" she turned but just before she left the room he grabbed her again from her arm, Serenity flinched in pain "You are hurting me Athamas…" she said.

"I have obligations…I don't spend my days drinking tea" Athamas said, Serenity tried to break free from his grasp "And you think that treating me that way will make me want to marry you?"

Athamas widened his eyes in realization and let her go "I'm sorry…"

Serenity shook her head and walked out of the room, Athamas followed "Serenity…please…" he said; the lunar princess looked at him "I suppose I will see you tonight…" she continued walking leaving him alone. Athamas gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath.

Serenity walked back to her chambers, hoping to find it alone; not that she did not wanted to see her friends but she felt like she wanted to be alone, walking as quickly as possible she saw her door getting closer with every step she took, she was about to open it when her mother appeared "Serenity" she said happily.

The princess had to held her tears for a little longer and pretend she was alright "Mother" she said softly.

The queen hugged her "Happy birthday dear" she said happily; Serenity fought the tears in her eyes and let out a soft sigh "I was planning on taking a nap before the ball…"

Queen Serenity smiled "There is a surprise in your room…"

Serenity arched a brow "What is it?"

The queen smiled widely and opened the doors of her room "See it yourself…" the princess walked in and gasped, hanging on a mannequin there it was her ball gown.

Serenity smiled softly and walked over it; caressing the soft sheer fabric and the crystal detailing "It's very beautiful…" she breathed, she looked closely the detailing in the thick straps with golden embroidery that crossed on its back and encircled its waist, soft draping clung on the hip area and flowed to the floor delicately, it was very grecian style and very beautiful and of course in an off white color.

"The seamstress brought it just moments ago…Athamas won't take his eyes off of you…you are going to look absolutely beautiful" Queen Serenity said happily. Princess Serenity felt a tug in her chest, more than excitement it was more of a guilty feeling; because she was not feeling entirely happy.

What would make her completely happy would be to be able to tell her mother the truth, she just found out that the man who asked for her hand in marriage does not care for innocent lives, she couldn't know more of his plans but what she overheard left her cold; thinking that he was the one that would be dancing with her all evening terrified her and even made her feel disgust.

"He is very excited to 'presume' you to everybody" the royal queen smiled "He is a very good man…"

Serenity sighed and sat on her bed "Mother I do not want to talk about it right now…please?"

"You just turned twenty dear, the perfect age to marry…" Queen Serenity walked over her and sat beside her "Stop filling your heart with so many doubts and confusion, Athamas is the right man for you…he is well prepared, a very good soldier and he is very…"

"He is not a Polemarchos…" she interrupted her mother, frustration started to fill her mind; the queen widened her eyes in shock "Serenity…what are you saying?"

Serenity closed her eyes "You once told me that Father wanted me to be with the best of the best…" she opened her eyes and looked at her mother with hope, Queen Serenity sighed "Dear…what you are looking for is very hard to find…"

"You want a miracle of soldier… but you need to be realistic Serenity and know that those soldiers no longer exist…"

Serenity frowned "You want me to settle with the first man that can work an army then…"

The queen stood up "Serenity, stop putting so many excuses to this matter…you were in love with this man…what happened?"

Serenity couldn't hold it anymore, her eyes started to fill with tears that were threatening to fall, she could not keep her secret any longer she had to tell her mother about Endymion, she had to confess her true feelings; she opened her mouth "Mother…I…"

"There you are!" Queen Nut entered the room and looked at the lunar queen and then at the princess "Ah, you have seen your dress? Did you like it?"

Serenity bit her lip and tried to calm her anxiety "Yes…yes, it's beautiful…"

Nut smiled and hugged the princess "Happy birthday dear" she said softly, Serenity blinked a couple of times and returned the hug, for a moment she thought that Nut tried to prevent her and make her think twice what she was about to say, almost like she knew the truth, _her_ truth.

"You need to start getting ready" the goddess said softly and turned to look at the queen "I will take care of it"

Queen Serenity smiled at the older woman, nodding she walked over her daughter was standing "Give Athamas some time dear…don't be so harsh on him" kissing her temple she walked out of the room "There are things I need to get done, still so many things to do and so little time…then I have to get ready myself for the ball…I will see you tonight dear…"

Serenity sighed and sat on the chair in front of her vanity, Nut pulled another one and sat in front of her "I could not help listening what you were saying…" Serenity licked her lower lip and let out a soft sigh "Mother has great faith in him…"

Nut smiled and stood up; taking the brush from the vanity she let the princess' hair go lose and started brushing it "He is competitive…"

"Yes…"

"What it strikes me the most is how you know about polemarchos…" Nut said while brushing a strand of silver hair, startling the princess "You were talking with so much passion and security like if you knew one…"

Serenity's heart started to pound fast "Mother told me about them…she said those were the best warriors in the galaxy if not the universe…"

Nut chuckled "Your mother is right, but also she is right when she says they are very hard to find…everyone wants to be one but they just can't…it requires too much discipline, too much heart…too much courage…"

"Do you know one?" Serenity looked at Nut through her mirror, Nut smiled and nodded "Ah…I know a few…" lowering her gaze she remembered her son, her poor son that was now paying for his faults in a dark place near the underworld.

"Is your husband one?"

Nut chuckled "Although he is a very good warrior he is not…actually…but my father is…Ares is a polemarchos…so as Zeus…"

Serenity lowered her gaze in thought "Mother said there was one that could match their power…one warrior known as superb…but that it was unreachable and nobody actually could see him…"

Nut continued brushing her hair "Yes…" she coughed softly "The living legend as they like to call him…" her last words were full of sadness and regret. Serenity turned to look at her "Do you know him?"

Nut lowered her gaze "…No" she put the brush on the vanity again "I don't…I just…heard about him…" Serenity pursed her lips and looked at her hands; Nut crossed her arms "You don't love the General"

"Is it a question?" Serenity asked looking at her, Nut side smiled "No dear, is an affirmation"

"No, I don't love him…"

"Because you are in love with someone else"

Serenity widened her eyes in shock "What?"

Nut smiled and sat on the chair she put in front of her again "Your feelings belong to someone else…"

"I don't know what you are talking about…" Serenity chuckled nervously; Nut smiled widely "You are as clear and beautiful as the water on Earth…you are translucent and pure…your emotions govern your spirit. I am not the Goddess of Love but I am old dear, very old…and I know when somebody is in love with somebody who cannot be"

Serenity lowered her gaze "You must think I am the worst woman…"

Nut sighed and looked away "I am not a fan of Athamas, I do not approve many of his rules and jurisdictions…I won't deny he is well prepared, handsome, smart…but the man you love must be even greater…"

"Why do you say that?" the princess asked, Nut smiled and looked back at her "Because he won your heart"

Serenity looked at Nut amazed; she thought she would judge her for what she just found "Great is something you hardly find in this place nowadays…" letting a soft sigh she looked at her with a serious expression "Does he know about all this?"

Serenity pressed her lips together and shook her head; Nut arched a brow "You need to tell him the truth…"

The princess lowered her gaze again "He will hate me…"

"If he does…then his love was not sincere…"

"I can't tell him" Serenity stood up "Athamas…Athamas suspects something…he will tell Mother and the senshi and everybody…"

Nut frowned "Dear, what have you done?"

Serenity shook her head and looked down "I accepted Athamas in a desperate moment…I was not thinking straight, Mother looked so happy every time he came by and asked to see me, she says he is a good man…but with time I started to see his strange and competitive character, how his hands didn't match mine, how his eyes never looked at me with respect…with care…with love…"

"Are you afraid of the General?" Nut frowned "Are you afraid he might do something?"

Serenity closed her eyes for a brief moment and then looked up at Nut "He already does…"

Oooooooo

"I am becoming frustrated!" Athamas threw a glass of wine against the wall, startling his right handed soldier  
General?"

The blonde general gritted his teeth "She heard us Kilmakos…she knows about my plan…or at least a part of it…"

"But she did not know everything…Master you still have a chance" the short soldier said, looking at a frantic general pacing back and forth in the room "No…not if I don't act quick…she is slipping away, my plans are slipping away! I cannot let her I want her! She is…" he stopped and looked at her balcony through the window of the study "She is deliciously beautiful…she is intoxicating…"

"I thought you were only going to pursue her in order to get the crown…" the blonde soldier said, Athamas shook his head "At first…but now…she has become an obsession…the more she steps away from me the more I want her…"

"What are you going to do Master?"

Athamas frowned "What am I going to do? I am not going to do anything…my reputation is in stake here…" biting his lower lip he nodded his head "She escapes…she goes somewhere almost every day and I want to know where…"

"What?" the soldier asked.

Athamas turned to look at him "I want you to follow Serenity…I want you to become her shadow if its precise…I want to know everything she does and does not do…"

"What am I going to say in case she sees me?"

Athamas frowned "Are you stupid? You will be unnoticeable to her…every time she leaves; she comes back with a different expression, like if she was seeing something that brings her pleasure…or someone…"

"What about the senshi…"

"The senshi are most of their time training…sure, they spend time with her princess they have to…but that is not a problem…I want Princess Serenity… and I don't care how many people I should kill or what I need to do to get her, but she will be mine…" Athamas dark voice startled the soldier.

"Did I make myself clear Kilmakos?…"

"Yes, Master…"

[Athamas chuckled in triumph]

Ooooooooo

"Do you know where is he causing this?" Nut frowned, Serenity waved her hands in frustration "No…"

"Have you told your mother about this, your senshi?"

Serenity turned to look at her sadly "I can't tell them…Athamas is very clever, he knows I am drifting apart and that I no longer have the same interest in him…if I say something…it could cause a revolution and that would not help the alliance…it would prejudice my mother and everyone that lives here and I don't want that…."

Nut sighed "Are you positive of what you are saying?"

Serenity nodded "He is killing people…I do not know his reasons…but I need to find out, I don't have any proofs to accuse him yet…"

Nut bit her lip and walked to the mannequin and looked at the dress "What you are doing is very dangerous…"

Serenity sat back again, tears started to fall "I know…but I…" she trailed off and started crying; Nut looked at the princess with sad eyes "Gaia…" she whispered sadly, sitting again she held the princess' hands "I once made a terrible mistake that I am not willing to commit again…"

The silver haired princess widened her eyes in shock "What…"

"You are not alone in this dear, I may not stay any time longer…but the best I can do is to give you my support" Nut said softly "And if you love this man…you need to tell him…it's going to be very painful for him to see you dancing with another man…"

Serenity lowered her head and nodded "Yes…" she whispered "But he is not coming…"

Nut frowned "What?"

"He is not coming"

"Why?"

Serenity looked at her "He can't make it…"

Nut sighed sadly and stood up "Love is never easy…" she chuckled "Tell me about it…I have lived with a very stubborn man but I do not know what would I do without him…" she walked to her bathroom and started to prepare a bath "Stubborn as he only can be!" she said from the bathroom.

The princess smiled warmly "Did you know he was the one when you met him?"

Nut walked to the room again and laughed "No! We actually met…because Father introduced me to him and said that he was the right man for me…with time eventually we started to like each other, we have always thought differently but we love each other deeply"

"It must be nice to be with the person you love all the time…" Serenity said dreamily; Nut chuckled "Um…sometimes…marriage is not easy…" the goddess smiled "You will find your way to be together…"

Serenity widened her eyes "That's the same thing he said…"

Nut smiled widely "Oh? I believe we think similar then…" she extended her hand to her "Come, your bath is ready"

Serenity stood up and walked to her bathroom, turning to see the sky queen she smiled "Thank you Nut, for everything"

Nut smiled back "Anytime dear, anytime" Serenity closed the door, leaving the queen alone in her bedroom; letting a loud sigh she turned to look at earth "My dear Gaia…if I should have listened to you…maybe things would be different at how they are now…I am so sorry…"

Oooooooooo

"Do you remember when you used to spend hours playing in this garden?" Gaia asked softly "I remember how you always fell in that pond…"

Endymion chuckled "Yes…I don't quite remember how I always ended up in there…"

Gaia smiled "It's been a long time since we spend some time together…now that you are older, you are busy most of the time, just like your father when he was your age…while you were away training, I used to come here and sit under this same cherry tree trying to remember everything we talked about…"

Endymion chuckled "So many incoherent things I must have said…"

Gaia smiled "No…it was wonderful to hear you say what you thought about politics…and everything that you learned with Obelix each day…"

The prince smiled and scratched the back of his head "Me talking about politics at a short age…how annoying…" he laughed "When I thought everything could be solved with candies and playtime…"

Gaia laughed softly "Oh dear that would have been wonderful…"

"Do you remember when I hid for an entire day and you were all frantic looking all over for me?" Endymion laughed, Gaia frowned "Agh…how can I forget?"

"I started playing hide and seek but got tired that you didn't find me so I fell asleep under the dining table"

Gaia looked at him "I remember Leonidas and Aurea running around the whole palace looking for you, I was becoming insane I thought someone robbed you…your father sent several soldiers outside the palace grounds looking for you…"

Endymion laughed "And…do you remember when I always sneak out of my room at night and went to the kitchen to supposedly invent new 'things'?"

Gaia scratched the back of her head "Yes dear, you were a handful…"

"I was…"

"And you still are"

Endymion widened his eyes and looked at his mother "Me?"

"Who else?" Gaia shrugged her shoulders "Under all those layers you are still that same boy that hid under the tables, scratched his knees while playing with his toys, disappeared in the middle of the night, broke lamps and vases, escaped from Aurea every time she mentioned it was bed or bath time…" the queen sighed with contempt "You may have learned so many things while you were growing up…things I wished you never got to see or experience, you accomplished what you said you wanted to be…but you are still that mischievous little boy"

"I hope this girl knows in what she is putting herself in…"

The prince blushed "I am not that bad…right, Mama?"

Gaia laughed and kissed her son on the cheek "Of course you are not! You are wonderful…and she is very lucky"

"No…I am the lucky one Mama…" the prince said softly, Gaia smiled and rubbed Endymion's back "A very wise person once told me that I could never hurry up time…but I could surely enjoy its meantime"

Endymion laughed "Who is that wise person? It is not the first time you mention crazy things like that!"

Gaia laughed "Oh my dear boy, if you only knew…"

"I highly doubt it is Obelix"

Gaia laughed "Why?"

"You know how he is…" Endymion said slowly, Gaia chuckled "In his early years he did crazy things as well"

"As well?"

Gaia laughed "Not in a bad way…I met him when he was an apprentice, we became very close friends since then…"

"This family is full of secrets…" Endymion said, Gaia lowered her gaze "Everybody has secrets dear, even you"

"I believe you are right" the prince nodded, Gaia put her arm around his shoulders "For starter, this girl you are seeing"

Endymion blushed "Mama…" he warned, Gaia smiled "I want to meet her someday"

The prince turned to look at her mother and smiled "Thank you Mama…for being so understanding"

"Ahh you see? I am not that boring after all; we can still talk and have fun! I am glad your father decided to give us a free day"

Endymion chuckled "No, you are not that bad…"

Gaia playfully hit him on his arm and watched Endymion was looking the surroundings with great interest "What?" she asked. Endymion smiled widely and turned to look at her "Does this place still lights at night?"

"Um…yes?" Gaia arched her brow "Why?"

"No reason…" he said softly, still smiling.

Ooooooooooo

"Look at you! So beautiful!" Queen Nut walked in to the room wearing a casual navy blue gown, startling the princess "Nut…you are still not ready…"

Nut smiled sadly and pushed a strand of hair behind her Serenity's ear "I am not attending dear"

Serenity frowned "No…no, why not?" she asked holding her hands "You need to be there..."

Nut sighed and lowered her gaze "You will do just fine dear, everybody has come to see you and congratulate you…it is your night…"

"You don't want to be there?" Serenity asked softly, Nut smiled "I want…but it is better for me to stay at bay…"

The four guardians walked into the room wearing their formal gowns "Princess, you look beautiful!" Venus said happily. Serenity smiled at them "Thank you…so do you"

Nut smiled at the five girls brought her hands together "Well, are you ready?"

Serenity turned to look at herself in the mirror one last time, her makeup was light, shimmery pearl eye shadow, soft charcoal liner on her top lashes, her brows were neatly defined and her dark lashes made her pale blue eyes stand out more; her lips had a hot pink shade emphasizing them.

Her hair was in its usual style, with a few strands framing her face, smiling softly she nodded "Yes…" she turned to face her guardians and pointed her broach pinned to one of the straps of her gown "Look!" she said happily.

"Ah! You are wearing your present!" Jupiter said excitedly.

"Of course!" Serenity laughed.

"Well, it's getting late…you should get going!" Nut said softly, the four guardians nodded "Let's go Princess"

Serenity nodded and started walking; stopping in the middle of her room she turned to hug the older goddess "Thank you Nut…for everything you have done for me…"

Nut smiled and held her tears "You don't need to thank me anything…"

Serenity smiled and turned to leave the room. Queen Serenity was waiting for her at the top of the stairs that led them to the ballroom "Serenity, you look beautiful!"

The lunar princess smiled "Thank you Mother, so are you"

The queen chuckled and waved her hand giving the sign to announce them to their guests; a fanfare played and one of the guards nodded his head "Her Majesty Queen Serenity and Her Highness Princess Serenity"

All guests turned to look at the staircase and soon a light focused on the two beautiful women walking down the stairs; Athamas smiled proudly, he looked handsome wearing his full formal attire. Standing next to the staircase he waited for Serenity to come down "Dear" he called out holding her hand, surprising her "Athamas…" she said dryly.

Athamas looked at her differently, she noticed. His green eyes showed an emotion she haven't seen before but still it was never compared to the passionate stare Endymion gave her every time he looked at her "You look beautiful…" he kissed the top of her hand "Thank you…" she said dryly.

The general felt a swirl of desire in his chest, the moon princess was extremely beautiful and his plans were starting to include her in his life, he wanted her, he desired her and he was going to do whatever he needs to keep her with him "You are a living dream…" he whispered in her ear "And you are a living nightmare…" she muttered.

"What?" Athamas frowned; Serenity smiled "What?"

"You said something?"

"…No" she said, looking at him "You look handsome…" her words didn't matched her feelings, he was indeed looking handsome, as usual but he was not the man she wanted to see, of course she needed to learn more of his plans and fighting was not going to be the perfect way to get more information. The general smiled "Thank you…"

Serenity faked a smile "I will go salute the guests…if you don't mind"

"I'll go with you…" he said, startling her "What?" she asked surprised. The general smiled "I will go with you…that way will help me know them personally and they will get the idea that we are together"

Serenity bit her lip "Um…you see….um…"

"Princess" Venus nodded her head "Her Majesty suggests for you to inaugurate the party with one dance…" she whispered in her ear. Athamas smiled "What a terrific idea"

Serenity turned to look at him, then at Venus and sighed "I don't know…" she whispered, Venus frowned, she felt the tension that was going on between the general and her "Is everything alright?" she asked.

"Of course, Her Highness and I will have the first dance…" he held her hand and kissed it softly, Serenity just nodded "That is even a better way to let everyone know we are a couple"

Serenity closed her eyes and sighed "Tell my mother alright" she said, Venus looked at her and then at the man next to her "Alright…" she walked over the queen and nodded; Queen Serenity raised her glass of wine and smiled "I am thrilled to have you all here to celebrate my daughter's twentieth birthday" everyone clapped "Dear, where are you?"

Serenity blushed and raised her hand, the queen smiled "Since the moment I knew you were coming to this world I loved you with all my heart, all this people gathered here tonight are witness of my great love for you…your father would be very proud of you…I am sure…" the queen held the urge to start crying and instead she raised her glass higher "Happy birthday Serenity"

"Happy birthday" everyone raised their glass and took a sip. Serenity smiled and nodded her head in gratitude; the orchestra started to play a soft tune, indicating it was their time to dance "Come" Athamas said, holding her hand "Our first dance together…"

Serenity walked with Athamas to the dance floor, the general placed his hand on her lower back and the other one held her hand up high and started leading the dance, Serenity looked at him and did not felt the excitement she was suppose to feel, she preferred to dance with Endymion on the beach once again, smiling she closed her eyes and imagined it was him dancing with her.

Somehow their dance didn't flow the same way, opening her eyes she sighed sadly. The melody soon ended; Serenity turned to look at him "There" she said softly and walked away, Athamas frowned and walked after her "Why are you avoiding me?" he asked.

"Not now Athamas…" she said "It is not an appropriate time…"

"Dear, what you heard early today…it is not what you think…"

Serenity frowned "No?"

Athamas sighed and lowered his head "My job is to keep you all safe…I must destroy the enemy…I am fighting a very strong enemy…"

"Killing innocent people won't give you the victory…" she walked away, leaving him alone. Athamas frowned and tried to control his temper "It sure will dear…it sure will" he said dryly.

Serenity walked with her guardians to salute each and every guest, they stopped in front of Ares, the silver haired woman nodded her head in respect "Good evening God Ares"

Ares smiled and turned to look at Queen Serenity and then at the princess "You are a vision" he said softly, Serenity blushed "Thank you"

"Is that your fiancé?" he asked pointing with his glass at Athamas, Serenity pursed her lips "He…" she said softly, Queen Serenity smiled "He is a very good warrior…"

Ares laughed "Of course…"

Serenity frowned "Is something wrong?"

Ares took a sip of his wine "There are different kinds of warriors in this place…make sure you know who you are choosing as your husband"

Queen Serenity frowned "Ares"

Serenity smiled and nodded her head "I will keep that in mind…"

"Well, now there is not just one only little flower but two"

Queen Serenity smiled "Ah! You came! I'm so glad!" she went to hug Chronos, Lord of time. Serenity looked astonished at all the high gods present in the celebration "Good evening" she greeted.

Chronos looked at her and smiled "Good evening Princess…"

Ares looked at Chronos and then at Queen Serenity "The little flower here, has given her daughter's hand to that man over there…"

Chronos turned to look at Serenity with kind eyes "He will protect you with his own life…" he said softly, Serenity frowned and looked at Athamas taking another glass of wine "Not him…but the one you keep close to your heart" Serenity widened her eyes in shock "What?"

Chronos smiled at her and took the opportunity to talk to her when he noticed Ares and her mother were having a conversation on their own "Destiny is not something that just happens…a flower like you needs to be protected by the best of the best…but you will have to overcome many obstacles until you two can be together, love is what will keep you together"

Serenity stared at the man in front of her with wide eyes, he was not talking about Athamas for sure but Endymion, but what she did not understood was why he was referring him the way he was.

"What are you two talking about?" Queen Serenity smiled, Chronos smiled back "Nothing…I am just saying your daughter how beautiful she is…"

Serenity blinked a couple of times, Chronos smiled "Love is what will keep you together" said again to the princess "Hold on to it, he will always look after you"

The princess nodded and smiled, bowing in respect she walked to the other side of the room. Queen Serenity frowned and looked at Chronos "What were you talking about?"

The lord of time smiled sadly "Little flower…your story is repeating are you sure is that what you want?"

Queen Serenity frowned confused "What do you mean?"

Ares stood next to Chronos; Queen Serenity arched her brow "You two have been talking about me for sure…" she looked at her daughter and then back at the two men in front of her "She made a decision, I cannot change her mind" she excused herself and walked towards Aphrodite and Athena.

Ares sighed and took a drink of his wine "He is a very good fighter, but still…not that amazing…Serenity's daughter is too much woman for him"

Chronos smiled "Destiny is not something that just happens Ares…we just need to wait some time…"

"Time for what?" the blonde god asked. Chronos sighed "You still love her…don't you?" he asked, startling the god of war. Ares widened his grey eyes in surprise "Chronos…"

"I know you miss her…"

Ares sighed "I will always miss her, this is where she belongs…right now she would be here cheering and talking with Serenity just like before…"

Chronos smiled sadly "Gaia's decision…was probably one of the best decisions any immortal being has ever made…it was wrong, yes and it was against the laws of our nature but her destiny was to bring a true warrior to this universe"

"Are you saying it because of her son?" Ares arched a brow.

"Oh come on Ares, you better than anyone in this realm knows the kind of strength he has…"

"I know Chronos, but he cannot come across to this world…" Ares said.

Chronos smiled "Destiny is not something that just happens…" he took another sip of his wine and looked at the lunar princess.

Serenity walked outside to the balcony and watched the blue planet in the distance, longing to be there with him "Love is what will keep us together…" she breathed. Biting her lower lip she turned her face to look at the party inside and then back at the blue planet, sighing she closed her eyes "I don't want to be here…" she said and walked back inside.

The party went for a long time; she watched all the guests and watched her mother very happy, joining the company of her friends. She started to feel that the party was more of her mother than hers and for one side it was a good thing she thought, it was a long time ago since she saw her that happy. Several hours went by quickly, each senshi was with their respective family so there was not much for her to do there _"Right?" _she thought.

The princess talked from now and then with her senshi and some of the guests until she started to feel tired, it was obvious that the party was going to take longer than usual; walking towards her mother she smiled and bowed her head in respect at Aphrodite and Athena.

"My, look at you…you are so beautiful" Aphrodite said, "Just like Venus told me"

Serenity blushed; Athena smiled "You look just like your mother when she was your age"

Queen Serenity chuckled "Mother would probably have said the same thing…"

"And Gaia as well…" Aphrodite said widening her eyes right after she realized what she said. Queen Serenity lowered her gaze and bit her lip, Athena elbowed the blonde goddess.

"Gaia?" Serenity asked curious "Who is she?"

Queen Serenity smiled "A very dear friend of mine…"

"Why is she not here?" the princess asked, startling the two goddesses with them, the lunar queen smiled sadly "Because she could not come…"

"Are you enjoying the party dear?" the queen diverted the subject, Serenity smiled "Yes…very much, but I am afraid I am starting to feel tired…and I want to see how Nut is doing…"

Aphrodite and Athena widened their eyes in surprise "Nut?" Aphrodite asked, startled. Queen Serenity nodded "Yes"

"She is here?" Athena asked.

"She helped me get dressed" the princess smiled "I would have love for her to join us but she said she couldn't"

Queen Serenity turned to her daughter "It's alright dear, go and have some rest…"

The princess smiled "Thank you Mother, it was nice talking to you" she bowed her head in respect, "Nice to see you dear and again, congratulations" Aphrodite said and turned to look at Queen Serenity "How did you…?"

"I went to look for them…" Queen Serenity said, Athena blinked a couple of times "I cannot believe it, how is she?"

"Broken…it is very obvious she misses her very much…"

Aphrodite gave the queen a sad smile "I wish I could see her…"

"She preferred not to come…you know…because of the rest of the guests…she did not wanted to cause a commotion…" the queen said sadly. The two goddesses nodded "It seems that your daughter gets along with her, it must be nice for Nut to have a young woman around, it reminds her of her own daughter…" Athena said softly.

Queen Serenity nodded.

Serenity stopped at the entrance of the ball room; Athamas appeared from behind "Why are you so lonely?"

Serenity rolled her eyes "I am tired that is all"

The blonde general smiled "Do you want me to walk you to your chambers?"

Serenity frowned "No, actually…I feel bad for Nut…she is not here and I wonder if she is alright…I better go see her" she started walking leaving him alone, Athamas turned to the other corner of the large room and gave a signal to his soldier "Follow her" he said once he reached the general, the soldier nodded and started walking towards the same direction Serenity went.

The princess stopped at the middle of the hall and leaned again on the rail of the balcony, sighing she closed her eyes for a moment. The soldier stopped a few feet away from her and hid behind a pillar, Serenity heard a sound and turned to her left "Is somebody there?" she asked out loud.

The blonde man remained silent and waited for the princess to continue walking; Serenity could feel somebody walking behind her, speeding up her pace she soon was near Nut's chambers and knocked softly; Nut turned to look at her side and frowned "Who is it?"

Serenity opened the door and looked inside "It's me Nut, Serenity"

Nut stepped out of bed quickly and walked to the door "Dear, are you alright?" she asked concerned; Serenity nodded "I feel like somebody is following me"

The goddess nodded and closed her door "Athamas?"

"Probably…" she said and noticed the older woman was wearing her night gown "I'm sorry…did I wake you up?"

Nut smiled "No, it's alright…how was the ball?"

Serenity shrugged her shoulders "Pretty…I saw God Chronos and Ares…Goddess Aphrodite and Athena…"

Nut smiled sadly "I see…but something tells me that you were not entirely happy…am I correct?" Serenity pursed her lips and lowered her head "Yes…"

"Go and see him"

Serenity widened her eyes "What?"

"Go and see him! How far and busy he can be? It is not too late…and if it is…I am sure he will understand…" Nut said softly, with a smile on her face. Serenity looked at her surprised "Nut…but…"

Nut got close to the princess "I know how you feel...go…it's your birthday…I'll cover for you for tonight"

Serenity smiled widely and hugged the sky goddess "Thank you so much!" Nut smiled and watched the lunar princess close her eyes and in a matter of seconds how she disappeared.

The palace was dark inside, it was probably too late for her to be there; Endymion must be asleep by now Serenity thought. Walking through the long corridor she recognized the surroundings, she was in the same garden she appeared before; looking to both sides she waited for some kind of hint that will lead her to where he was.

Endymion was reading a book in his chambers in silence when he suddenly felt a tug in his chest, his lips curved into a soft smile and closed his book; standing up he went to change his night garments to a pair of black pants and a white shirt, putting on his boots he walked out of in silence; it didn't took him much to get to the same gardens where she was "Bunny…" he called out softly.

Serenity widened her eyes and turned with a big smile on her face "Endy…" she breathed. Endymion smiled at her "Amor…" he walked closer to her, Serenity noted his disheveled hair and how he was not using his normal attire but a simple white shirt and pair of dark pants "I woke you up…" she said shyly.

The prince chuckled "I wasn't asleep…I was just…reading a book in my room when I had the feeling you were here" Serenity blushed "I suppose it's late…I'm so sorry…I…the ball…"

Endymion kissed her fully on the lips interrupting her and encircled his arms around her "It's alright…the important thing here is that you came…I actually was not expecting you since you told me you were going to be very busy…"

Serenity smiled and pressed her face against his chest "I wanted to see you…"

Endymion smiled and moved Serenity a few inches apart from him "You look so beautiful…" he said amazed "Incredibly beautiful"

The lunar princess blushed "Thank you…" the prince winked an eye at her "Why don't we go somewhere else?" Serenity smiled and nodded "Yes…"

Both royals walked without any worries through the long corridor, it was past midnight and all the guards and security were mostly outside, or near the king and queen's chambers. The terran prince intertwined his fingers with hers and walked in silence, smiling he opened a smithy door and allowed the princess to come in "Thank you" she said happily, walking inside she gasped in surprise at the scenario around her "Oh my…this place is beautiful…"

Endymion closed the door and walked with her "This is what we like to call the rose garden"

"Rose garden?" she asked softly "Roses…they grow in this place, one of my guardians told me they were beautiful"

The prince frowned "You have never seen one?" Serenity shook her head in denial "I only heard about them…but never actually seen them…they don't grow on the moon…" Endymion smiled and took her hand, leading her to several bushes; the white princess widened her eyes in amazement once she saw the beauty of the natural flowers.

"Each color means something important to us…depending to whom we are giving roses we think which color we should choose…for example…yellow roses like this one…means friendship, joy and harmony" Endymion pointed the yellow flower, Serenity smiled widely "It's so pretty…" looking to another bush her hand caressed a pink rose "And this one?"

Endymion smiled "Pink roses means sympathy…respect, admiration and beauty" walking to another bush he picked up a white rose and then walked to another one and took the most beautiful red rose he could find… tying them with a ribbon he carried in his pocket he gave her the small bundle of flowers "Happy birthday" he said softly, startling her.

Her eyes widened in surprise and admiration, she heard of red roses but never had the chance to actually see one, except for Jupiter's earrings "They're gorgeous" she breathed, Endymion smiled "Like you…"

Serenity blushed and took the two roses and touched the petals "They smell so pretty…"

"White roses means eternity and purity while red roses means true love and passion" he whispered in her ear, Serenity blushed and looked at him "So this means eternal love…" she said softly; the prince smiled and nodded "I love you…" he kissed her deeply and passionately, Serenity ran her hands through his hair and savored the kiss forgetting about everything else, Endymion parted and looked at her "I know it is not much but…" Serenity put her index finger on her lips "It's perfect…" she smiled, and felt goosebumps.

The prince arched her brow and chuckled "Are you cold?"

"Yes, a little…" she chuckled "It's alright…"

"Let's go inside, I don't want you to catch a cold" he said, Serenity frowned "A cold?"

Endymion turned to look at her "Yes…I don't want you to get sick"

The princess bit her lip "I have never been sick" soon after she said that she sneezed, making Endymion laugh "Bless you, see? You are catching a cold…come on"

Serenity nodded and took his hand "Where are we going?" the prince turned to see her "I'm taking you to my room, is that alright?" the princess blushed a deep shade of red "I've never been in a men's room before…"

Endymion chuckled "Don't worry Bunny…I won't do anything to you. I promise"

Serenity smiled and nodded "All I want is to be with you…"

The prince smiled, both started to walk up the long staircase in silence so they won't wake up anybody, as soon as they got to the second floor; Serenity admired the large windows and the tall curtains that hung from them, the paintings and how there were small candles in a few tables, Endymion opened the last door on the long hall and moved aside, allowing her to come in first, he closed the door behind him right after.

Serenity looked around and was impressed by how many book shelves were on the spacious living room and how the tall windows let the soft dim light of the moon filled it with grace, several candles were lit around it, turning to see her prince she smiled "You have a very nice room" she sneezed again softly.

Endymion chuckled "Thank you and bless you…"

Serenity blushed "Thank you…this will be the first time I catch a cold" Endymion walked into his room in silence, Serenity frowned and followed him "Can I come in?" she asked softly and noticed how his bedroom was as spacious as the adjoined living room, two night stands were on each side of his king sized bed, on her left side there was a hearth that warmed the entire chambers, she noticed on the right side of the room a desk, not as big as the one in the study but it had books and papers over it, a large sized window with a magnificent view was the cherry on top.

She turned and saw Endymion serving a cup of tea "This will warm you up and make you feel better" he said softly, handing her the hot cup of tea, Serenity took it and smiled "Thank you Endy…" walking to his bed she sat and took a sip of the hot liquid "This is very good…what is it?"

"Rose tea" Endymion checked the fire on the hearth and turned to look at her "My mother's favorite…"

Serenity's eyes widened in interest "It is very good, I put my flowers over your desk…I hope you don't mind"

"Of course not" he smiled and sat next to her on the bed "Felling better?"

Serenity nodded and blushed "I always feel better when I am around you" the prince smiled and kissed her softly on the lips "Me too" he whispered and lied on his bed, Serenity looked at him "What time is it here? Is it too late?"

Endymion looked at her "Mmm…probably past midnight, why?"

"You must be exhausted" she said, placing the cup on his night stand; Endymion extended his hand out to her "Not really" Serenity took his hand and lied down on her side next to him, her hand randomly started to play with his hair. Endymion looked at her and smiled "My father gave us the day off for some reason I still don't understand…"

Serenity giggled "Well he did it because it is my birthday!"

Endymion looked at her and smiled "Yes…" his hand played with one ponytail "You always wear your hair like this…" he said softly, Serenity touched the buns in her head "Yes…my mother does her hair the same way…it's tradition"

"Is it too difficult to do it?"

The princess chuckled "What, do you want to learn how to do it to yourself?"

Endymion's thick chuckles made Serenity's heart skip a beat, his voice was deeper than usual a slightly hoarse, maybe because he was sleepy or tired "Why not? I would look good with those buns on my head...the name Bunny suits you, you truly are a moon bunny"

Serenity smiled "You would look very funny with your hair styled into two buns…but, why do you ask if it's difficult to style it this way?"

Endymion twirled his hand in her hair "Because I would like to see your hair down…" Serenity blushed "Why?"

"Because you have beautiful hair…" he said softly, Serenity smiled and started to take the pins securing her hair, letting it to fall like a cascade down her back and framing her delicate face Endymion's lips parted in amazement when he saw her looking like an angel next to him, sometimes he found it hard to believe she was there with him, her pale silver hair shone with the soft light of the fire "You are so beautiful Serenity…"

The lunar princess smiled shyly and traced his face with her fingertips, cuddling him in the process; she watched him close his eyes slowly right after and smiled with contempt "You are tired…" she whispered "Mmm…" he moaned in response, making her giggle "Do you want me to leave?"

He shook his head no, his hand still played randomly with her hair; she watched at him closely, her fingers still caressed his handsome face, his brows, the shape of his lips, his nose and his jaw line, he didn't need to say anything or even look at her to actually make her blush, pushing his bangs aside she noticed how his breathing started to slower down indicating he was deeply falling asleep. She was aware it was very late but she didn't want to leave him just yet, this was a moment she wanted to cherish forever "You look like a little boy when you are asleep…" she whispered in his ear, bending over she kissed him softly on the lips "I love you…thank you for my birthday present" she snuggled next to him for a little while.

Endymion moved to his side placing his arm around her protectively, Serenity snuggled her face against his chest and sighed happily "This is where I want to be…" she felt so secure and loved, something she never felt before. It was the feeling of being complete; she listened to his heartbeat and remembered Chronos' words _"You have to overcome many obstacles…love is what will keep you together…Hold on to it, he will protect you with his life…"_

They stayed like that for several hours; moving herself a little, she noticed how the sky started to look clearer "The sun will come out very soon…" she turned to look at the prince next to her deeply asleep "I will see you later today, my love…" she whispered and kissed him on his temple.

Standing up she put her shoes back on and took her flowers from the desk and few seconds later she closed her eyes and disappeared in the dim light of dawn.


	73. Chapter 73

**A/N:** _When I started writing this story I never thought I was going to meet so many amazing people, I was actually very nervous and you are actually the ones that keeps me going on writing. To read that some of you think this story as a masterpiece it blows my mind, thank you so much for all your support, it really means the world to me, you guys are the best!_

_I decided to post a new chapter today instead of tomorrow as a way to celebrate serenity's birthday :) I am continously writing so don't worry, there are many chapters to come still...I hope you don't mind ;)_

_****I do not own sm**, just this plot and some of the characters. Thank you._

_Enjoy!_

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter seventy three**

* * *

Serenity took her shoes off and walked through the hall all the way to her chambers in silence, turning to both sides she made sure nobody was following her. The sun was starting to come out and in no time somebody would be there to wake her up.

Opening the door she walked in quickly and closed it behind her, from behind a pillar Kilmakos watched her silently and went to inform Athamas. Serenity closed her eyes and smiled widely; twirling happily she ran to her dresser and changed her dress to something more comfortable, standing in front of her mirror she looked at herself and remembered his words _"You are so beautiful…"_

Looking at the roses in her hand she smiled, her fingers caressed the soft petals "Our love is eternal…" she whispered, her eyes started to feel heavy and when she was about to go to have some rest the door opened "Your Highness, good, you are already awake!"

Serenity widened her eyes and brought the roses closer to her chest "Luna!" she said, moving quickly to her night stand and hid her flowers inside the little drawer and turned to look at the black haired woman "Yes…"

"I thought you were going to be asleep since yesterday the ball ended quite late"

The princess faked a smile and scratched her head "Yes…I believe I am still feeling excited…" Luna smiled and walked over the princess "Do you want me to prepare your bath?"

Serenity looked at Luna, she have always been so pendant of her almost like a second mother, she was always looking after her and since she was a little girl she was the one to help her get dressed and bathed "You are so kind Luna…" she said softly and hugged her "I love you"

Luna widened her eyes in surprise and returned the hug "I love you too Princess" she smiled and caressed her hair "Very much" Serenity parted and looked at the mauian young woman "Will you always be with me? Luna smiled warmly and pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear "Of course I will"

Serenity bit her lip "Whatever happens, will you be with me?"

Luna frowned "Whatever happens, why?" Serenity smiled and kissed her on her cheek "For no reason…" she said softly "I just wanted to let you know how important you are to me"

The black haired woman smiled "You are very important to me as well Princess" Serenity smiled at her "I think I will take that bath you mentioned…"

Luna smiled and walked to the bathroom, Serenity rubbed her eyes and sighed "I hope that wakes me up…" she muttered; Luna walked out a few minutes later and opened her dresser and picked up a dress "Would you like to wear this one today Princess?"

Serenity blew her bangs and walked to her dresser as well; picking a simpler and lighter dress "I want to be comfortable for today" she looked at the dress and nodded "This one is perfect"

Ooooooooo

The sound of the chirping birds started to bring Endymion back to reality; opening one eye he noticed it was already morning and woke up immediately, sitting on his bed he let out a loud sigh "Serenity…" he whispered. Rubbing his face with both hands he waited a few more seconds to fully wake up and started to remember last night's or better say this morning's events. A smile caressed his handsome features and went to take a bath.

Queen Narella was having tea in one of the living rooms of the palace with Queen Gaia; the older queen took a sip of her tea and put the porcelain cup down again "I do not see why you hate Beryl so much…" she said dryly.

Gaia arched a brow and looked at the queen "I do not _hate_ her, I just don't like her…I don't think she is the right woman for my son"

Narella pursed her lips "You don't like her just because she lives with Charmindy"

Gaia frowned "I do not feel…"

"Lady Beryl is here, Your Majesty" a guard said interrupting the terran queen "What?" she asked Narella, the older queen looked at Gaia "I think you need to spend some time with her to really know her and see what I see"

Beryl walked into the room and bowed in respect "Your Majesties"

Narella smiled "I'm so glad to see you Beryl"

Beryl smiled and looked at Gaia "Your Majesty, May I say how magnanimous you look this morning…" Gaia sweat dropped and looked at Narella "I don't want to have problems with him…please Narella"

"Join us for some tea dear" Narella said softly, Beryl smiled widely and sat on a chair between the two queens "You won't have any…" the older queen said softly.

Endymion walked down the stairs and went to the dining room to have breakfast but saw nobody there "It can't be this late…" he muttered, a maid passed by and bowed her head in respect "Her Majesties are in the living room near the lily garden"

Endymion smiled and nodded, soon after he walked into the room "Good…" he trailed off and looked at Beryl; then at his grandmother "Morning…" he finished dryly. Gaia lowered her gaze, she knew Endymion was probably not happy at all to see Beryl sitting there with them; Queen Narella smiled at her grandson "Dear why don't you join us? Beryl just got here"

Endymion ran a hand through his hair "No" he sighed, Narella widened her eyes "No?"

"No"

"But…dear…" Queen Narella tried to reason with him "She…"

"…Is our guest, I know that but…" the prince sighed and walked over to Beryl, taking her hand he crouched in front of her startling both queens and Beryl as well "Prince Endymion…" she said softly and blushed, Endymion looked at the red head and patted her hand "Beryl, although you are very nice and well…obviously attractive…I must tell you now before everything gets out of control…I am not looking to find myself a wife, not now…not in a few more years…is that alright?"

Beryl's blushed diminished considerably and held the urge to start crying "Alright…" she said softly. Endymion nodded and smiled faintly "You will find the right man for you…but I don't want to keep your hopes up…I hope you understand"

Queen Gaia widened her eyes "You surely have changed…" she said softly; the prince turned to look at her grandmother "I cannot join you for tea; I have some work to do…" he turned to look at Beryl and gave her a sad smile "I'm sorry" standing up he walked out of the room leaving the three women wide eyed.

"I-I…I'm sorry Beryl…I do not what happened to him this morning…" Queen Narella looked at her daughter in law and took a sip of her tea. Beryl faked a smile and nodded her head; Narella put her cup down "He has been incredibly busy and well…his mind is elsewhere"

Gaia felt bad for the girl, although she didn't like her much her son didn't hesitate in telling her how he is not interested in her; he really must be in love with this mystery women to actually say openly he did not want Beryl "Queen Narella is right…" she said softly, startling the redhead with her kindness, she knew well that the terran queen was very protective over her son and mostly that she didn't like her "He has been…busy" she said.

Beryl nodded and looked down at her tea "I should probably get going…"

"Oh no dear, stay" Queen Narella said, Queen Gaia arched her brow at the older queen "Huh?"

"Stay for dinner dear, Endymion will probably come to his senses by that time and he will be as he usually is…" Narella waved her hand "I would love to have you as our guest"

Beryl smiled at the former queen and nodded "Thank you, Your Majesty"

Gaia placed a hand on her temple and sweat dropped "Ow, Narella…"

Oooooooooo

Serenity walked randomly through the palace and decided that if she was going to sleep for a little while it better be in a place where she could dissimulate her tiredness. Sitting on the grass she pass her hand through the small delicate grass blades and smiled to herself "I wish I could spend every night the same way…oh my…I love you so much…" she whispered and looked up to the sky.

"I am glad to see you here alone…"

Serenity widened her eyes and turned to see Athamas standing next to her "Why?" she simply asked, the blonde general crouched in front of her and looked at her in the eye "I want to apologize for what happened yesterday…and the days before…"

Serenity frowned "Apologize?"

"I know I acted the wrong way…I shouldn't have let my problems interfere with my personal life…" he placed his hand over hers "Serenity…you know I care for you, I want you to be with me…"

Serenity looked at him strangely "Athamas…why are you telling me this?"

"Because I want to be with you…"

The lunar princess looked at him wide eyed, this was the first time in a very long time he actually spoke like when she met him, like the man she felt attracted to at the beginning "Athamas…I…"

Athamas frowned, soon his sweet and comprehensive character melted down "Who are you seeing?"

"What?" Serenity frowned; Athamas held her wrist "Who are you seeing?"

Serenity looked at her wrist then at him with fright "What are you doing?"

"Tell me Serenity!" the general raised her voice; Serenity widened her eyes in fright and tried to break free from his grasp "You are hurting me Athamas! Let me go!" she managed to twist her wrist and free herself from his strong grasp, standing up quickly she looked at him not only hurt but with disgust "You are insane…" she said.

Athamas chuckled "No dear, you are. Don't you think I know what it's going on with you? Your little escapades…your constant absence…I am a General dear, give me some credit"

Serenity frowned "What? Are you sending one of your soldiers to follow me?"

"Where did you go last night?" he asked, Serenity widened her eyes "Let me go Athamas, or I will tell everybody about your plans"

The general laughed "Please dear, the Queen is aware of my plans…but I bet she is not aware of your disappearances" his face changed to one of hurt "Can't you see I am doing all this because I adore you?"

"You…adore me?" the princess asked skeptic. Athamas held her hands "I could not stand knowing you have been in another man's arms…I could not take it" he lowered his voice; Serenity pursed her lips "I want to be alone Athamas…"

"I will find the truth"

Serenity turned to look at him "I said I wanted to be alone, Athamas"

Athamas held her from her shoulders "You are so beautiful…" he whispered in her ear, his cold breath sent chills to her spine "I cannot wait to have you in my arms and make you feel how you don't belong anywhere else but here with me…"

The princess' eyes widened "What?"

Athamas smiled "Your mother approves our relationship and soon, we will announce our engagement. Soon my dear I will make you mine…" a devilish chuckle came from him, he parted from her and turned to walk away leaving her alone in the gardens, startled and scared.

The rest of the day went slowly; she did not want to do anything all even though her guardians and friends spent most of the day with her she could not think in anything else but Athamas' words and Endymion. She could confess her true feelings to everybody but she knew the rules, she knew that her relationship with the mortal prince was forbidden; then her thoughts went back to God Chronos and how he mentioned the 'other' man.

"_Hold on to it, he will always look after you…not him…but the one you hold close to your heart"_

Mercury noticed her princess absence "Princess Serenity?"

Serenity came back to reality and shook her head "Yes Mercury?"

"Are you alright? Is there anything you need?" the blue haired girl asked concerned, Serenity smiled and let out a soft sigh "I am just tired…very tired…" she lied down on the grass, the rest of the girls looked at each other and then back at the princess "Because of the ball?"

Serenity turned to look at Jupiter "Because of everything…"

"What do you mean by everything Your Highness?" Mars arched a brow, Serenity looked at the raven haired girl "Well…I don't know…the engagement, the wedding talk…my birthday…how I should give time to everything…I should wait for everything to settle down…"

Venus frowned "I feel like I am missing something…"

Serenity chuckled and looked at her blonde friend "I am fine, I am just…really tired…I couldn't sleep well last night"

"Do you want to go to sleep?" Venus asked, Serenity smiled softly and came up with a better idea "I would love to…"

"You sure look tired" Jupiter said, the princess sighed "Yes…"

"Did General Athamas come to see you today?" Venus asked, Serenity nodded "Like every day, but he is becoming more and more insistent about the engagement…"

"Princess what is it that you are not telling us?" the blonde guardian asked, giving her one more chance. Serenity shook her head "It's nothing…"

"Are you sure?" Venus asked again, more insistent making Serenity sighed one last time before standing up "I'm tired of all your questioning…everybody questions me about everything!"

"It is because you are different Princess, everybody has noticed! Why can't you just tell us?" Venus stood up, confronting her; Serenity frowned "What are you even saying Venus?"

"Since when you want to learn how to fight?" Mars asked, worried "You are more involved in political matters…" Mercury said softly "And you are always day dreaming…like if you were longing for something…or someone…" Jupiter said.

"Your aura speaks for itself, something or…someone is making you feel that way and it is not the General" Venus said, Serenity started to feel frustrated "What, are you going to start analyzing everything I do? I am not allowed to want different things? To try to live a life? Just because I am a jewel to this kingdom does not mean I should stay here or in my chambers like some….stupid little girl and settle for the first thing that crosses my life! I have a life and I want to live it!"

Serenity started to breathe harshly "I love you, you know I do…and you know how much, you are my best friends…but you need to let me be sometimes…" lowering her head she took a deep breath "I think I need to sleep…" she walked away leaving four surprised girls behind.

Mars was wide eyed "And I thought I was raw and direct…"

Venus frowned "This is not right! I hate when I do not know what is happening…"

Jupiter sighed "I do not see anything wrong in this…she is right up to some point you know? We do tend to over protect her…and she is just speaking her mind…so she got upset but she will sleep over it and tomorrow she will be as good as new!"

Mercury bit her lip "It is a common fact that when someone doesn't get enough sleep they do get cranky…"

Venus looked at Mercury and sweat dropped "This is not about her and her lack of sleep; this is about something more important...I need to know what it is, for her own safety…"

Mars sighed "And what are you going to do now? Stalk her? That will upset her even more! You are not thinking straight Venus which surprises me, you are very…" Venus arched her brow "What? Very what?"

"…Let's say curious…" Mars looked at her.

The blonde guardian rolled her eyes "I'm not being curious I am being obvious"

"So what if she has a crush with somebody else? She is engaged, if she breaks her engagement it could cause problems between Andromeda and the Silver Millennium…our Princess is well aware of that now that she is obviously more involved in politics…" Jupiter waved her hand.

"What if we do give her some time…let's let her sleep and we will see tomorrow how she reacts…I truly believe all this is because of her lack of sleep" Mercury said nicely, Venus frowned "Mercury…you are too sweet to be true"

Mercury frowned "Now now Venus, just because I do not go all frantic does not mean I do not care for my Princess…we just…need to give some time to time…Lord Chronos says it all the time"

"We do not have time!" Venus raised her hands in frustration; Mars frowned "In Olympus name Venus, calm down, you are starting to frustrate me and making me nervous and that is supposed to be my job! Stop being me, alright? It does not suit you!"

"Actually…" Mercury cleared her throat "We do have time…too much time, to be precise…"

Jupiter sighed and shook her head "Although Venus might be right, I will go with Mercury's suggestion, let's give her some time…she needs to clear her head, whatever she is having she needs to assimilate it…maybe she is acting that way because she is feeling the pressure of being the Crowned Princess of this Kingdom and successor of the Holy stone…it is not a simple task…Queen Serenity might be thinking you know…leaving…"

Mars frowned "Do you think the Higher Gods…?" she trailed off.

Jupiter shrugged her shoulders "I do not know…my Father is not the most communicative being in this realm…but maybe that is why she is hurrying up Princess Serenity to get married…and maybe that is the main reason she is having second thoughts"

"Jupiter, you are good!" Mars said, patting her hand; the chestnut haired girl smiled widely "Why thank you Mars…a compliment from you is always valuable"

Mars laughed, Venus sighed tiredly "I am going to bed…"

Mars rolled her eyes "Venus…please, don't exhaust yourself too much…let things cool down before talking to her again…after all, she is right, you know? We do need to give her some space"

Venus pressed her lips together "Good night" she said and turned to leave. Mercury sighed "Do I jump to conclusions to quickly?"

Jupiter chuckled "Venus is right in one thing for sure Mercury"

The blue haired girl arched a brow "What is that?"

"You are too good to be true"

Mercury blushed "I am just saying…that…"

Mars raised her hand "But it is a good thing, imagine if we all were the same…"

Jupiter arched her brow and looked at Mars "Imagine…if we all were like _you_…" Mars chuckled "What is that supposed to mean?"

Jupiter laughed "Nothing, nothing…" Mercury chuckled "That would be quite a challenge for us all"

"More than a challenge, a chaotic mess…we would probably burn the place down in a matter of seconds" Jupiter said; Mercury laughed "We sure would be known as the crazy inner senshi"

Mars sweat dropped "Until now Mercury, I thought you were too sweet to be true…now I just think your plain mean"

Mercury eavesdropped "What? You started!"

"Oh please…" Mars chuckled, soon after she looked up at Serenity's balcony "I just hope she feels better tomorrow"

"Yes...me too" Mercury said, "Me too" Jupiter said too.

Serenity lied down on her bed trying to sleep, but her mind was divided in too many pieces, on one side it was Athamas, on the other it was her senshi and on the other her desire to be with Endymion "I cannot take it any longer…every time is getting more and more difficult for me to be apart from you…I need you…I love you…"

She widened her eyes "I love you…Love is what will keep you together…" she said softly "The girls are not going to come and look for me after what happened…Mother is already asleep, Luna and Artemis as well…Nut is always in her chambers at this time…and Athamas…well…he won't come here, period" sighing she tried to close her eyes and fall asleep but all her attempts failed "I am so tired…and yet I cannot fall asleep" she moaned.

Turning to her side, she sighed "Would it be too late…if…" she turned to her other side away from the balcony doors "I was there…very early in the morning and he was still awake…I do not think it is as late as yesterday…or today…or whatever day it was…" letting out a deep breath she stepped out of her bed and walked to her dresser and took her robe, minutes later she was gone.

Oooooooo

"Dinner was exquisite…" Beryl said softly, looking at Queen Narella and then at the prince. Endymion asked for more wine and took a sip "Yes it was…"

"Tell me Beryl, how is Charmindy doing?" Narella asked, Beryl licked her lips and smiled "She is doing very well, thank you for asking"

"We haven't seen her since…that day" Queen Narella looked away; Endymion sighed tiredly, all he wanted to do was to go and sleep, this was just too much for his long day. Eros noticed his weariness "Today was a very long day son?"

Endymion rubbed his temples and nodded "It was…but I managed to finish everything that needed to be done"

"Good" Eros said; Beryl looked at the prince "Taking care of all of us is not an easy task…"

Endymion smiled tiredly "You are right on that one" he raised his glass and took a sip, Beryl smiled back "Maybe I should get going…dinner was delicious, thank you so much Your Majesties for the invitation…" they all stood up at the same time, the redhead turned to Eros and bowed "I hope Her Majesty feels better tomorrow, she was missed during the evening"

Eros nodded "Thank you Lady Beryl"

"Your Majesty" Beryl bowed in respect "As always, a pleasure to talk with you"

Queen Narella smiled "The same goes to you dear" before Beryl could say goodbye to the prince she waved her hand with delicacy "Dear, would you mind escorting Beryl to the entrance?"

Endymion sighed softly but nodded seconds after, he felt more relaxed now that he told her that he was not interested in her, that would probably seize the constant meetings between them and the occasional invitations for dinner. Smiling faintly he showed the door "After you…" he said cavalierly.

Beryl blushed and started walking towards the entrance of the palace where a carriage was already waiting for her "I love the paintings…there are all so enchanting" she said softly, trying to make a little conversation. Endymion smiled and nodded "Yes…they're lovely"

They both stood at the entrance "Well, goodnight Beryl" he kissed the back of her hand gently, Beryl blushed and smiled "Goodnight Your Highness" she started walking towards the carriage when the prince stopped her "Beryl…"

She turned to look at him surprised "Yes, Your Highness?"

Endymion thought his words for a moment and then looked at her "I'm sorry if I was rude this morning…" he said, Beryl smiled softly "No, not at all Your Highness"

"But I just wanted to leave that matter clear…I don't want to keep you hoping something might happen when I actually have my mind settled on other things…it is not fair for you, not fair for anybody"

Beryl looked at him and fought the urge to cry, the man she desired with all her heart was pushing her away; the feeling in her chest was indescribable but she had to pretend, nodding she smiled softly "I understand Your Highness…"

Endymion half smiled and nodded "Goodnight Beryl"

"Goodnight, Your Highness" Beryl said softly and turned to leave.

Endymion sighed and gave a sign to the guards at the entrance to open the large smithy gates guarding the palace grounds. Beryl turned to look at him and smiled softly again, but her smile faded as soon as she noticed he was no longer standing at the door "Prince Endymion…" she breathed and lowered her face, the guard closed the door or her carriage. Beryl moved the thin curtain aside and took another glance at the majestic palace; a tear rolled down her cheek and bit her lower lip. Playing with her satin tissue, her hands twisted it many times until she let out a soft sob "It doesn't matter…you will love me eventually…I know it"

The prince scratched the back of his head and pursed his lips as soon as he saw Kunzite standing in the lobby "Everything alright?" his husky voice echoed, Endymion sighed and chuckled tiredly "I hope so…"

Kunzite arched his brow and crossed his arms in curiosity "Why?"

"I told her this morning I was not interested in her…I was so brutally honest that I actually felt bad…"

Kunzite chuckled "You are always brutally honest I don't know why this time had to be different"

"Because…I don't know, Beryl is by far my grandmother's favorite girl…" Endymion ran a hand through his dark hair "You should have seen their faces" he laughed softly. Kunzite widened his grey eyes "Their?"

"My mother was there as well"

Kunzite laughed "Her Majesty does not...like her, we all know that" losing himself from his always stoic persona, he chuckled more lightly. He and Endymion soon realized they had many things in common and that their personalities were very similar, with time they understood that maybe that was the main reason of why they hated each other so much during their training days.

"What did she say?" the white haired man asked with a more serious tone. Endymion shrugged his shoulders "That she understood…but still…I am not so sure about it, my grandmother is incredibly insistent"

Kunzite frowned "Do you think she will do something to bring you two together?"

The prince rolled his eyes "You know how she is…she is already planning a birthday celebration…"

"That's right! Your birthday is coming!" Kunzite widened his eyes, the prince shrugged his shoulders again "Yes…not that I am excited about it…" he yawned and gritted his teeth "I'm tired…"

Kunzite sighed "You should go to sleep, although it is not too late…"

Endymion started walking towards the long staircase that led to the second floor of the palace "Not exactly tired of being sleepy but tired of all this…being in the army was more…simple. You had a mission and you had to complete it and that was it…here, you have to deal with many other matters that are not really important…"

"Like having dinner with a gorgeous redhead?"

The prince turned to look at Kunzite "You are free to woo her if you like her so much…"

Kunzite frowned and crossed his arms "Tell me the truth Endymion" he called the prince by his name, now that they were alone, his voice and body were now more relaxed, he was being more his friend rather than his advisor this time "Are you interested in somebody else?"

Endymion remained silent for a few minutes, sighing he crossed his arms as well and looked at his friend "Is it too obvious?"

Kunzite widened his eyes in shock "Are you?" he asked surprised, Endymion arched a brow "You look…surprised…"

"I was not expecting that answer"

Endymion lowered his head for a minute, then looked at him again "I am Kunzite"

Kunzite didn't know how to react, blinking a couple of times he smiled widely "Are you really?"

"I am" Endymion said again, this time with more reassurance "But it is complicated…"

"I see…" Kunzite said slowly "I won't say anything if that is what you want me to do"

"I would appreciate that"

"You have my word" Kunzite nodded. Endymion yawned again and turned to the stairs "I am going to sleep…but if anything happens…"

"…I will let you know, don't worry" Kunzite smiled and patted his shoulder "Good night Endymion"

The prince smiled and nodded his head "Good night Kunzite" he started to walk up the stairs and soon was getting closert to his door; opening it he walked in, sighed and closed the large door behind him. Walking over to his bedroom he started to take his belt holding his sword off him, turning to his bed his eyes widened in surprise "Bunny…" he whispered.

Serenity was sitting in his bed, her eyes lit up as soon as he saw him walk in to the room, a soft smile caressed her lips "Hi" she whispered; Endymion smiled softly and walked towards her after he placed his sword over his desk; crouching in front of her, he kissed her softly on the lips "I was not expecting to see you here…I did not feel you come"

Serenity smiled and ran her hand through his dark hair "So you are not a mind reader after all" she joked, making him chuckle "I guess not"

"Is it too late for me to come?"

Endymion smiled and shook his head no "Amor, it is never too late for you to come and visit me…" he sat next to her on the bed and held her hand intertwining his fingers with hers, Serenity smiled softly and looked down at their hands together "I'm sorry I did not wake you up this morning…it was already morning and I had to leave…you know…in case somebody would notice my absence"

Endymion nodded and lowered his gaze as well "I know Bunny…it's alright" he looked up at her and smiled "I'm happy you came again…although I am afraid it will only be for a little while, you soon will have to leave again…"

Serenity bit her lip and blushed, she thanked the hearth's fire dim light because it helped her hide her intense blush, there was something in her mind but did not know how to ask him, afraid of what he would answer "Not exactly…" she said softly. Endymion arched his brow, with the back of his hand he moved her face to look at him; Serenity lowered her gaze "There is something I want to ask you…and you are free to say no if you don't want to…"

"What is it?" he asked softly, Serenity looked at him and bit her lip "Can I sleep here, with you?" she asked shyly.

Endymion widened his eyes in surprise, Serenity turned her face to the other side and bit her lip again "I made sure nobody would go to my room and look for me…but I understand if you don't want me to…"

Endymion turned her face again and looked her in the eye "You don't need to ask me anything Bunny, you can stay here all the time you want…even if I am not here, you are more than welcome to come and wait for me here just like you did tonight…" Serenity smiled widely and caressed his face but noticed a slight frown in her prince's face "What?"

"What happened to your wrist?" he touched the slight reddish mark on her slender wrist, Serenity widened her eyes in shock and wondered how could he noticed it, she tried to hide her hand as much as possible. Of course she could not tell it was something caused by the commander of the lunar army, she had to think of something fast because she already knew how sharp and clever the terran prince is "It's nothing…" she said softly, Endymion frowned and lifted her wrist to the light "This does not look like 'nothing'" he said in a more dry voice "Who struggled you?"

Serenity's eyes widened "Nobody"

Endymion looked at her more seriously "Don't lie to me Bunny…"

Serenity lowered her gaze "I tripped and one of the guards tried to save me from falling…so he grabbed me by the wrist but I did not know it would leave a mark…"

Endymion looked at her expressionless for a couple of minutes while Serenity hoped he would believe her little white lie, the prince sighed and looked down at her wrist again "You should be more careful Bunny…" he breathed "It looks like it hurts…"

Serenity smiled, he was always so kind to her, so noble that it surprised her the kind of warrior he actually was, caressing his face with her other hand she looked at him "Only a little…but I will be fine, I promise you it will never happen again"

Endymion brought her wrist to his lips and kissed it, then put his hand around it and closed his eyes. The lunar princess widened her eyes in shock as soon as she started feeling a warm sensation in her wrist, then a golden light emanated from his hand healing her completely. Endymion opened his eyes again and moved his hand away leaving her skin like if nothing had happened.

Serenity's mouth formed a small 'o' shape in shock, touching her skin she noticed how it didn't hurt anymore; looking at him surprised she tried to say something but words didn't come out.

"I don't know why…but I have this…thing, since I was a child" he said softly, Serenity looked at her wrist again and then at him "You can heal...you have some sort of power…like if you …" she trailed off in amazement.

Endymion tilted his head "Like if I what?"

"…You were divine…" she said softly, still startled. Her words made him chuckle and shook his head "No…I am very certain I am a normal human being…this must be something I learned when Obelix taught me how to pray…"

"You are no ordinary human being…" Serenity said softly, pushing his bangs away from his face, she looked him in the eye, placing both hands on each side of his face she looked at him with wonder "Your eyes…" she whispered, startling him "What about them?" he asked softly; Serenity looked at them with great interest and wonder "They change colors…just like the ocean…I've noticed it…when you are happy your eyes are more sapphire, when you are troubled or sad…they turn ultramarine…but when you are serious or angry…they turn cobalt, an incredibly deep shade of blue…there is something about you…that makes you so…unique, so addicting…" she said softly and then, she frowned slightly.

Endymion looked at her and frowned as well "Is something wrong?"

Serenity looked at him "They have changed again…to a stormy shade of color…a mysterious deep azure color I do not recognize…" she whispered, Endymion moved his face closer to hers and kissed her on the cheek with incredibly softness, Serenity felt chills down her spine in a very different way, he traced her arm with his finger with delicacy, making her skin react immediately "What are your eyes telling me now Prince of Earth?" she asked softly; Endymion moved his face closer to her ear and kissed her neck softly, sending her chills once again, something she was sure she could become addicted to. It was something she had never experienced before in her life.

Endymion kissed her cheek and then her neck once again, moving closer to her ear he chuckled deeply "It is better if you don't know…" he whispered.

Serenity bit her lip and tried to look at him "Why?" his side of his face was against hers, impeding her to look him straight in the eye "Because I don't know if it's something I should tell" he whispered again, his voice becoming deeper.

Serenity tilted her head against him and closed her eyes "Tell me…what are your eyes telling me now Prince of Earth?" she whispered, Endymion moved closer to her ear and kissed her ear lobe with tender "Love…and desire" his warm breath caressed her ear, her skin started to feel goosebumps and felt her heart started beating incredibly fast; opening her eyes she moved her face and this time she looked at him straight in the eye "Desire?" she asked softly.

Endymion smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear "I have desired you since I met you… you bedazzle me…your innocence, your kindness, your braveness…" he traced her face with his finger "Your exquisite and delicate beauty…I don't want anything else but to protect you…to always make you happy…"

Serenity felt her eyes fill with tears, why did their love had to be secret, she asked to herself; letting her tears fall she lowered her gaze "Why can't we just be together if we love each other so much?"

Endymion held her face with his hands and looked at her "Amor…because we are going against nature…a Goddess like you should never be with a mortal like me…"

Serenity sniffed and looked at him again "But I love you…I love you Endymion, I can't stay away from you…I want to be with you…I want to be yours, forever"

Endymion kissed her tears and smiled "You will always be mine…as much as I am always going to be yours…we will find our way to be together…you will see" he wiped her tears off her face with his thumbs and undid her hair "I will always protect you Serenitatis…"

Serenity smiled and kissed him fully on the lips "And I will always protect you…"

Endymion nodded and pressed his forehead against hers "Deal" he said, more playfully "Let me get changed…"

Serenity nodded and kissed him again before he stood up and started to take his shoulder pads off "What did you do today?" he asked, trying to cool off his body and mind and of course trying to make her feel better by distracting her from their complicated situation.

Serenity smiled and crossed her legs on the bed in buddha style "Not much…I was sleepy all day and even though I tried to sleep I never could…it was very frustrating"

Endymion chuckled and turned to look at her "I know that feeling very well" Serenity watched in awe how he took his cape off "I like your cape…" she said softly, the prince turned to look at her and smiled "I like your robe"

Serenity blushed "I…um…"

"You came prepared to sleep with me" Endymion smiled widely making her blush even more "I love that"

Serenity smiled widely and watched him take off his medals and jacket, and then his undershirt giving her the chance to look at his well toned back for the very first time, lowering her gaze she felt how her cheeks flushed in an intense shade of red; it was the first time she was with a man this close and so intimate but now it was something she would never get out of her mind, the man was gorgeous and she felt an excitement and happiness to know he loved her the same way she loved him.

Endymion walked to his bathroom to brush his teeth quickly and to finish changing his clothes then walked back to his room, Serenity smiled at him "You are no longer a Prince…"

Endymion sighed in relief "Finally…" he sat next to her on the bed; the princess kissed him on the cheek "It feels nice, when you can finally be 'normal'" Endymion nodded "It's a sense of freedom in a way…"

"Yes!" she smiled widely and both yawned at the same time, the lunar princess laughed softly; Endymion ran his hand through her silky hair and smiled "You sleepy?"

Serenity nodded softly "A little"

Endymion stood up and started to unmake his bed "Hop in little bunny" he said softly, Serenity smiled and when she was about to get in the bed, he stopped her "Do you want to sleep with your robe on?"

Serenity blushed and giggled "Not exactly…"

Endymion chuckled "Let me help you" he helped her take her silky white robe off, revealing her satin white night gown, blushing he put it aside and helped her get in the bed, taking his side on the bed he lied down and let out a soft sigh, Serenity turned on her side and looked at him "What are you thinking?" she asked softly, making the prince turn on his side as and look at her "Nothing…just in the things I have to do tomorrow…"

Serenity smiled "Are there too many things to do?"

Endymion placed his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him "Um…not really, the usual…meeting, supervising, meeting, eating, supervising, meeting, signing papers…meeting, dinner…bed"

The princess chuckled "Sounds tiring…"

Endymion chuckled "It is…and sometimes boring…because there is not much to say but still you need to present every report to the king…in this case my father and he is quite special…"

Serenity breathed in his masculine scent and ran her arm around his waist as well, cuddling in his chest "I could be here forever" she said against his chest, making him chuckle "Me too"

Her finger traced a lose pattern on his lower back, Endymion kissed the top of her head and caressed her arm sending her shivers all over her body again; something in his touch made her feel good, to be the strong fighter he was he had an incredible tender touch and very soft skin, closing her eyes she let herself feel all the emotions his touch could bring her, opening her eyes in realization she looked up at him and noticed he had his eyes closed, his pitch black bangs covered one eye in a very sensual way.

She looked at him closely and blushed; it was amazing what he could do to her without actually doing anything; sitting back up the prince opened his eyes again "Is something wrong?" he asked worried. Serenity tilted her head a little and frowned "What did you mean with desire?"

Endymion widened his eyes slightly but stayed in his same position on the bed "You trigger all my feelings…sometimes I wish I could just hold you in my arms and make you feel all the love I feel for you…that is what it means"

Serenity remembered Athamas' previous words "Make me yours…" she said softly; Endymion arched a brow "You are not an object or a property, you should always be free…never belonging to anybody" he said seriously. The silver haired princess looked at him amazed in how different this man's ideals were from the one up in the immortal realm.

Endymion caressed her cheek with the back of his hand "I am a man after all Serenity, yes, and I feel great desire for you, but I will never force you to do something you don't want to do…" Serenity looked at him surprised "You…" she trailed off blushing.

Endymion smiled softly "I love you Serenity but I would never do you any kind of harm"

Serenity ran her hand through his dark hair "Why do you have to be so wonderful Prince of Earth?"

Endymion looked at her in silence for a few seconds "You make me want to be a better man everyday…"

The lunar princess bit her lip and smiled shyly; then looked up at him again "You have changed my life as well…You make me feel so many things…you mesmerize me, I want to be yours…" she breathed "Forever"

Endymion tucked a strand of silver white hair behind her ear "Don't rush things amor, you have my heart in your hands…you don't have to feel pressured, when you make love to somebody it has to be special, you have to feel ready for it because it is not just the act but the union of two hearts and two souls"

Serenity blushed and lied down again, snuggling herself in his chest "You speak with so much elegance…your voice is so romantic…"

Endymion blushed softly "Romantic?" Serenity nodded and moved herself up to be at the same height as him on the bed and looked him in the eyes "It's so deep and warm…your words are always the right ones…" she traced the shape of his nose with her finger "You remind me of somebody that is staying with us at the moon palace…"

Endymion arched his brow "Who is it?"

Serenity giggled softly "You even make the same expressions…sometimes, when I am talking to her…I feel like I am talking to you in some way…"

"Her?"

Serenity smiled "Her name is Nut; she is the Goddess of the skies…"

"And I look like her…" Endymion's said confused, making Serenity chuckle "Well…now that you mention it…she has dark hair like you…and she raises her brow the same way you always do when you are in a discussion…"

Endymion chuckled "You know me too well Moon Princess"

Serenity giggled "I do…" she pushed his dark bangs away from his face "Who do you resemble the most in your family?" she asked softly while she intertwined her leg with his; Endymion bit his lip together in thought and then looked at her "I am not sure…too many people say I look like my father, because he is tall…but close friends to my mother say that I am just like her…"

Serenity smiled "How is your mother?"

Endymion sighed and caressed her bare shoulder with his fingers "She…" he trailed off "She is known as the jewel of this kingdom, people like to call her 'the golden queen' and as my grandmother says 'the ethereal queen' the prince smiled sadly "She was always involved in every matter, her strong character always distinguished her from the rest…but then, her health started to become ill, her heart became weak and she had to give up many things in order to be safe…as much as she would like to be present in every event, she can't, the people from every kingdom loves her so much that they even consider a privilege to actually see her in person…"

Serenity widened her eyes in amazement "She is very much loved"

Endymion nodded "Her character is still the same; Father always tells us how much we are alike in the way we think…"

"Is there any way to make her feel better?" Serenity asked worried; the prince scratched his nose and let out a soft sigh "She has to take medicines…my nana is her closest friend and she is always behind her because she is quite rebellious"

Serenity chuckled "Like you"

Endymion arched his brow "Do you think I am rebellious?"

Serenity giggled and pouted her lips "You doubt it?" she pulled his cheek playfully "You are a little rebellious…nobody can tell you what to do or what to say…you can make your own decisions…"

Endymion pulled her closer "I think I am not the only one in this room…" he closed his eyes and chuckled, encircling his arm around her waist protectively; Serenity frowned and looked at him "What is that supposed to mean?"

The handsome prince opened one eye and smiled "You are sleeping with me right now…"

Serenity blushed and bit her lip "Well maybe a little…"

Endymion turned to his night stand and blew off the tall candle and then regained his previous position on the bed "I'm happy to have you here with me" he said in a boyish tone, Serenity kissed him on the lips "I am happy to be here too" she said dreamily.

The prince kissed the top of her head and sighed with contempt "Bona nocte Bunny"

Serenity snuggled her head on his chest and smiled "Bona nocte Endy…"


	74. Chapter 74

_**A/N:** When you don't pay your phone bills in time your line goes dead...yup, that happened to me alright, but...everything is under control now. I must tell you, reading your reviews make me feel so happy...like, you have no idea._

_This has to be one of my favorite chapters of the story...I enjoyed writing it so much, and i am enjoying writing the one I am working with now...there are so many things to happen still...I can't wait to show you :) thank you so much for being so understanding and great! see you soon!_

_*I do not own SM just this plot and some of the characters, thank you._

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter seventy four**

* * *

Serenity opened her eyes and watched the prince still deeply asleep; she knew that with the slightest noise he would wake up so she tried to be as much careful as possible. Moving her arm she sat on the bed and caressed his face with her hand, bending over she kissed him softly on the lips and was surprised he responded the same way.

Widening her eyes in surprise she looked at him opening his, revealing a beautiful ultramarine color "I thought I was being subtle…"

The prince frowned, trying to adjust his eyes to the light and stretched a little; shaking his head he let out a soft breath "I have a light sleep…" he said in a deep and raspy voice, Serenity smiled sadly "I'm sorry…"

"Is it time?" he asked, the lunar princess nodded "Before somebody notices my absence…" she lied down next to him again and encircled his neck with her arm "Just when I thought you couldn't get any more handsome…you open your eyes and greet me with that beautiful shade of blue…"

Endymion smiled and traced the length of her neck with his finger "Just when I thought you couldn't be more beautiful…you come to visit me, wearing that and with your hair down…"

Serenity giggled and blushed "Did you sleep well?"

Endymion nodded "I haven't slept this well since…" he trailed off "Maybe since I was a little boy…did you?"

The princess sighed happily "Yes. I want to sleep here forever"

The prince yawned softly and looked at her "I want you to be here forever…"

Serenity smiled and kissed his cheek "Your face tickles" Endymion chuckled "It's part of the charm…"

"Go back to sleep, it is still early" she whispered in his ear, her warm breath caressed his ear softly; no longer fighting the urge to hold her tight, he ran his hand down her lower back and kissed her on the neck. Serenity closed her eyes and let the same wave of extraordinaire emotions take over again; his hands caressed her waist and up her back while his lips kissed her neck and soon after they started to play with her earlobe, the lunar princess couldn't help let out a soft moan in pleasure, making the prince smile and open his eyes "You are too delicious"

Serenity opened her pale blue eyes and looked at him, this time with no shyness but with the same spark he looked at her the night before, yes; it was pure desire "I love you" she whispered. Endymion held her tight and kissed her on the lips "I love you too" he said deeply, releasing her seconds later.

Serenity stood up and put on her robe, turning to look at him she smiled sadly "I already miss you…"

Endymion stood up and walked over to where she was standing next to the window, lifting her up in his arms he kissed her deeply; the lunar princess ran her hand through his hair with passion and felt her body melt with his passionate kiss, she loved this man so much that going away for just a few hours actually hurt her, she didn't want to stay away from him any longer. Encircling her legs around his waist she deepened the kiss and placed both hands on each side of his face "I love you" she moaned in between breaths.

Endymion moved her robe a little and kissed her bare shoulder "I love you too…" turning to see her again, he gave her a sensual smile and kissed her again on the lips "So you can take me with you all day"

Serenity smiled "Can I have another one for the road?"

The terran prince smiled and kissed her deeply again, Serenity encircled her arms around his neck; she opened her eyes as soon as Endymion parted, lowering her down again "Be careful" he said.

Serenity nodded "See you tonight" she stand on her tip toes and gave him a peck on the lips; closing her eyes she soon vanished and was gone. Endymion sighed and lowered his head "See you tonight Beautiful…" he said while moving his hand through the morning rays that entered through the window.

Serenity soon appeared in her room, walking over to her dresser she took a nice clean halter dress and stepped into the bathroom, after preparing her bath with petals of white flowers she stepped in to the warm water and let her mind drift to the earlier events, her lips curved into a wide smile "I just left and I already want to see you again…" she said softly, rising her lean leg she watched how the delicate soap ran down her fair skin and sighed in contempt.

Athamas walked through the long corridor and soon was greeted by Venus "Good morning General" she said; Athamas bowed his head "Good morning Sailor Venus"

"You are early today" she said softly, Athamas sighed softly "Her Majesty asked me to check on some pendants…and of course, I came to see my beautiful future bride who by the way might still be sleeping"

"I was just going to see if she was already up" Venus said. Athamas chuckled "She is a little too lazy to wake up this early"

Venus frowned at his comment, there was something in his voice she didn't like "General?" she asked, as trying to make him rephrase his comment.

"Don't underestimate me Athamas" a soft voice interrupted the senshi and the general's short talk; Venus turned wide eyes to look at Princess Serenity standing there with a big smile on her face "Princess!" she exclaimed and bowed her head in respect. Athamas opened his mouth in shock and took in the beauty the lunar princess portrayed; but there was something else in her beautiful aura that caught his attention this morning; her happy smile.

"Good morning dear" Athamas said and walked over the princess, holding her hand he kissed its back and waited for a response that never came, instead she turned to look at Venus standing a few feet away from her "I thought it was a lovely morning…to stay in bed until late"

Venus looked at Serenity with astonishment; sure she would wake up early several days but what stroke her most was her now unusual happy demeanor. The night before she was upset, tired and frustrated, now she was smiling and acting like if nothing have happened; holding the venusian's hands, Serenity smiled sympathetically "I'm sorry" she said softly.

Venus widened her eyes in shock "Princess"

"I was tired…extremely tired…"

"Did you sleep well, Your Highness?" she asked softly. Serenity nodded and smiled widely "Yes, wonderfully"

Athamas cleared his throat, interrupting their talk "Shall we have breakfast together love?"

The word love felt foreign to her, at least coming from him. She started to wonder if he ever understood the true meaning of love; but she was incredibly happy to let him spoil her chirpy mood "Of course Athamas, I'll call for Mother"

"Her Majesty is in Olympus, Princess…she'll be back later this evening" Venus said, Serenity pursed her lips "Well then, you should join us for breakfast! Call all the girls"

Venus smiled "I'm sorry Your Highness, but we already had breakfast…we had to get up very early to train"

Serenity grinded her teeth "Oh well…I will see you in a bit then"

Venus nodded and bowed her head, leaving the couple alone. Athamas caught up with her and held her hand "Your wrist is no longer swollen" he said softly; Serenity smiled remembering Endymion healing her, kissing her and telling her how much he loved her "Love can cure everything" she simply said and started walking, leaving a startled general behind "What do you mean?" he asked curious; Serenity waved happily at each maid that walked through the hall, startling the general even more "Are you alright?"

The couple entered the tea room, where their breakfast was already served. Sitting in her usual chair she took a sip of her garden tea "Mmm…so good"

"I am going to ask you one more time…Are you alright?"

"Of course I am…why?" Serenity arched a brow; Athamas shrugged his shoulders "Because you are normally not this happy"

Serenity watched him closely resting her chin on her hand; Athamas was very handsome and it seemed clearly to be in a very good shape, his sandy blonde hair was tied up in a low ponytail leaving his face free of hair. His eyes were green, but held no magic like the ones Endymion had; his features were masculine but still there was still something that was missing, maybe it was his voice, although it was deep it didn't made her heart skip a beat. Athamas was perfect except for one thing: he was too ambitious.

"Where did you go last night?"

And the bubble burst, again. The princess sighed and took another sip of her tea "What?"

"Where did you go last night? I mean…there has to be a reason why you are _'this'_ happy"

Serenity sighed "What, are you following me now?"

"Maybe I am dear, maybe I am…"

"What is that suppose to mean?"

Athamas crossed his hands on the table, smiling knowingly he looked at her "As your fiancé I have to look over you all the time, I have to keep you safe"

"You mean from _you_?" Serenity said dryly, making Athamas starting to lose his temper "Are you going to challenge me again?"

Serenity chuckled "Fine, follow me around if you want to…I don't have nothing to hide, if you like I can tell you the color of my underwear so you can feel completely in control and say you are looking after me quite well" her sarcastic tone was something new from him; startled he soon chuckled now startling her "What is so funny?"

"Oh dear, that is not necessary…once we get married, I will see everything from you…"

Serenity frowned "What are you saying?"

Athamas took a sip of his tea "I can't wait to make you mine…soon you will be mine"

Serenity's heart started to beat faster and watched him stand up and walked over to her, taking her hand he pulled her to a standing position and placed his hand on her lower back "You are a vision Serenity and I want you..." He came closer to her and pressed his lips against her ear and whispered "I want you _now…_"

The princess' pale eyes widened in shock and tried to free herself from is grasp "What are you doing Athamas?" she fidgeted and felt his hands roamed all over her body in an uncontrollable way "Let me go…" she said while trying to move away. Athamas pressed her against the wall and moved closer to her "I came to realize that…we haven't had our first kiss yet"

Serenity pursed her lips and moved her face away "Are you going to force me now?"

Athamas tightened his grip on her wrists "Beautiful Princess…tell me where do you go so often?"

"Leave me Athamas"

"Tell me! It's no use for you to hide it from me!" the general raised his voice in frustration "Where were you last night?"

Serenity closed her eyes and started to feel the tears form in her eyes "Leave me or I'll call the senshi!"

"Call them so I can tell them how you sneak around at night right under their noses…tell them, so we can all tell Her Majesty about your unknown adventures…" he whispered in her ear, sending her chills down her spine "You are too smart to actually ignore what could happen if you and I break our commitment"

Serenity lowered her gaze and fought the urge to cry; after all, the general was right she could cause quite a commotion not only in her kingdom but in all Olympus because of what she was doing; she had to remember that Athamas was a soldier, a warrior and it was not a good idea to have him as an enemy. Athamas moved allowing her to find her way to free from his strong grasp "Every day I get to know more of your obsessive behavior…go and tell everybody I go out every day like you say…but if you talk so I will"

Athamas laughed "What are you going to say?"

"The things you are doing with the power of this army…You think I haven't forgotten? I know you are up to something that it is only going to benefit yourself!"

The blonde general frowned and chuckled "Nobody will ever believe you darling, you have no proof but only what you heard…and of course that could be some kind of invention of yours or even an excuse to your 'strange' new behavior. I am a warrior dear; I know everything that happens in the Silver Millennium, your mother will never take your side because I have it all to win…it's my word against yours"

Serenity felt her blood boil in her veins; frustration was starting to curl up in her chest. Never in her life she thought this man could be this evil, this ambitious but it was time to confront him "The engagement is off" she started to walk away, Athamas widened his eyes in shock and held her wrist again "You can't do that, are you really going to destroy all that your Mother built in through the years?"

"I never thought you could be this way…I was waiting for the right moment to call this wedding off, now…I am sure of what I want to do, you may be the Commander of this army but never in your dreams you will become a true warrior…" Serenity said dryly and walked away; Athamas tightened his jaw "You will be sorry…I swear you will regret what you just have done…You can't do this!"

Serenity ran through the long corridor, once she was far away from the tea room she leaned on a pillar and started to cry desperately, bringing her hands up to her face she let all the hurt in her heart go out but at least there was something she didn't have to deal with and that was the engagement; she didn't want in the first place, now she had to prepare herself to confront her mother and whatever Athamas will say to save his skin from being suspended from the lunarian army.

Athamas walked through the corridor looking for Serenity; again, he let his ambition and lust made him take a wrong step towards his main goal. He had to think fast in a solution, he could let her get away from his grasp, victory was almost his, but then he watched her in the distance walking towards the gardens; he was about to follow her when Artemis stopped him "General"

Athamas turned to look at the man dressed in white standing next to him "Artemis"

"Her Majesty wants to see you in the study" The blonde general turned to look at the princess walking in the distance and then turned to leave with Artemis towards the study where the queen was already waiting.

Serenity looked for her friends but found out they were training again, giving her have time on her own, time she knew with who she would like to spend it with, although she wanted to go and see Endymion, she needed to be certain that there was nobody following her, it was now more likely to being followed in broad daylight, all her visits to the terran palace had to be at night, that until she could find another way to be with her prince.

Athamas walked inside the study, Queen Serenity was already waiting for him "General, I managed to finish what I needed to do earlier than I expected, are there any news?"

The blonde general sighed and lowered his gaze, he had to think of something fast and he had to play his cards very well now that Serenity is calling off the engagement, something that would definitely bring down all his plans "Everything is under control Your Majesty…"

Queen Serenity frowned "But?"

"Eh?" Athamas looked at her wide eyed; the queen sat on her chair "I sense there is something else…"

"As a matter of fact…there is"

Luna and Artemis turned to look at each other and then back at the man in front of them; the lunar queen frowned with worry "What is it?"

"It seems Princess Serenity has misinterpreted something and now she wants to break the engagement, I am nobody but a mere soldier who has to respect her decision" Athamas said, startling Queen Serenity "What happened Athamas?"

"I believe she overheard something I was suggesting to one of my men and misinterpreted it"

The queen turned to look at Luna with worry, Luna frowned, somehow she couldn't fully believe what the general was saying, it didn't sound like Serenity at all "Luna" the queen said, making her turn "Yes Your Majesty?"

"Call my daughter…I need to talk to her" Luna pursed her lips and nodded, walking out of the study in search for the princess. Serenity was sitting on a bench in the gardens, waiting for the sun to set; tears started to fall silently from her eyes. It hurt her greatly to be deeply in love with a gorgeous man inside and out and not being able to join her life with him, instead she had to deal with a man that at first projected a secure, charming and kind man that turned out to be a monster.

"Monster…" she mumbled "You should be the monster you were mentioning to your pawn the other day…not whoever you are trying to 'break'"

Closing her eyes, she thought about Endymion and his kind words, his always tender caresses, his passionate kisses and the emotion in his eyes. Embracing herself, she imagined to be there with him, laughing, playing and talking about life and about love.

"I can't take this anymore…" she sobbed softly, tears falling again from her eyes "I can't be far away from you…I need to see you…I need to hold you…"

"Princess Serenity"

Serenity raised her face and looked at Luna "Yes?"

"Are you crying Princess?"

Serenity wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand "What is it Luna?"

Luna frowned and sat next to her on the bench "Did something happen with General Athamas Princess?"

"Why?"

"He is talking to your Mother as we speak; he says you broke your engagement with him, Her Majesty wants to see you, right away"

Serenity closed her eyes and took a deep breath "Just as I thought" standing up she walked to the study. Mars was walking towards the garden with Jupiter when they watched the princess walk with Luna trough the corridor "Princess" Mars called out, making her turn.

"Mars, Jupiter…"

"Is something wrong?"

"Mother wants to talk with me…"

The princess continued walking in silence leaving her two friends behind. The guards at the door opened them for Luna and Serenity, allowing them to come in "You wanted to see me Mother?" she turned to look at Athamas standing there with a serious expression and then she looked back at her mother. Queen Serenity stood up and walked over her daughter "What are you doing?" she asked.

Serenity turned to look at Athamas "I want to break my engagement Mother, regardless the consequences"

"What happened between you two?" the queen asked confused "You were doing fine just days ago"

"This is something I won't discuss with him present" Serenity said dryly. The lunar queen turned to look at the general "Could you give us a moment?"

Athamas nodded and walked out of the study, closing the door behind him; Queen Serenity looked at her daughter with worry "You have been acting different, although I admire your mature character I do not understand this strange behavior of yours…first, you postpone the engagement ball, then, you did not want to announce it on your birthday celebration, then you asked for more time to be certain, now you are breaking off the engagement?"

"He is not being fair Mother…" she looked at her straight in the eyes "He is planning on doing something to hurt the inhabitants of this kingdom and Olympus…"

The queen sighed "He already informed me about that, he says you misinterpreted his words…and I believe him"

"What?" Serenity looked at her mother with shock and hurt "You believe him? What about me? I am your daughter!"

Luna and Artemis looked at each other with concern, then at the princess "Princess, it is true that General Athamas is in the middle of a fight, but we are certain it is an enemy…we have all the reports"

Serenity frowned and shook her head "The reports are mistaken…and even if that war really exists, he is doing something else! I heard him talking!"

"Dear this is enough!" the always calm queen raised her voice, startling her "What you are doing is far from being mature and lady like; you are mixing your feelings with misconceptions… You are not going to break anything…"

"Yes I am…"

"You are going to continue with this engagement and when the time comes you will marry the General"

"I will not!"

"It's an order Serenity! It's for your people! It's for the future of this kingdom!, stop being a child and be the woman I know you are, assume your position as Princess of this Kingdom! My decision is final" the queen said, startling Serenity "You are making me marry a man I don't love…" she said softly.

"What?" the queen asked surprised.

Serenity raised her head; her eyes were full of hurt and unshed tears "You are making me marry a man I do not love…"

Queen Serenity went to her desk and sat "Love is something that grows with time…"

"Love is something that makes you feel alive Mother, love is freedom, love is excitement and trust…love is happiness and joy…not something that comes attached to a political agreement…" Serenity said dryly and walked out of the study; walking towards her chambers she watched Athamas standing near a window inside the hall "Dear…"

Serenity stopped and looked at him with puffy eyes "Don't call me that"

"I know you are upset, but as I told you…it's your word against mine" Athamas said softly "But we can leave all this behind if you just…give me another chance…"

The princess frowned and took a step back "I rather be completely alone for the rest of my eternal life than to be attached to somebody like you…I do not know what you told Mother but one day she will find out the truth about you…" she walked away leaving him behind, Athamas frowned and cursed under his breath "You will be mine one way or another…but you will be mine…"

Serenity walked towards Nut's chambers quickly; opening the door she found the room vacant. Sitting on the bed she started sobbing; minutes later a maid walked out of the bathroom and widened her eyes in shock "Princess!" she bowed in respect; Serenity looked at the young maid and faked a smile "I did not mean to scare you…"

"Can I help you with something Your Highness?"

Serenity looked around "Do you know where is Goddess Nut?"

The maid pursed her lips "I believe Goddess Nut left early this morning…Your Highness" Serenity's eyes widened with the unexpected news "She left? Do you know where?"

"I believe she went back home Princess…"

A sense of void filled Serenity's chest, with all the commotion and now the recent discussion she had with her mother, she didn't even got the chance to say goodbye to her new friend, looking around one more time she felt how her eyes started to cloud with fresh tears, the maid in front of her did not know what to do and looked at her sadly "Princess…is there anything I can do for you?" she asked worried.

Serenity shook her head in denial "I'm alright…or at least I think I will be"

Venus was training with the holy sword when Mars and Jupiter walked in to the gardens "Venus, we need your help" Mars said with worry, startling the blonde soldier "What happened?"

"It's Princess Serenity" Jupiter said.

Mercury couldn't help hearing and walked over them "What is the matter?"

Mars looked at Venus "Something is wrong…I can feel it"

Venus frowned "What happened? asked again, not breaking eye contact with Mars "I do not know…I just saw her walking with Luna towards the study, but her aura was troubled…something happened Venus I am sure of it…but you are the only one who can read her aura and help her out…"

Venus nodded "Do you know where she is?"

"Last time we saw her she was walking towards the study…" Jupiter said, Mercury frowned "Maybe Her Majesty wanted to talk to her…"

"Her Majesty is in Olympus as we speak" Venus said.

"Her Majesty is here" Jupiter said, our Princess was going there to talk to her Mother, if Luna was with her it was because Her Majesty arrived sooner than the expected. Venus nodded "Let's go and look for her in the study…she has to be there still…"

"Alright" the three girls said in unison and went to look for their princess when Athamas appeared in the hallway "Serenity is no longer talking to her mother…she left, I do not know where…"

Mars frowned, she was starting to feel a density in his aura "What do you mean?"

"Did you do something to her?" Venus asked dryly, Athamas gave the girls a sarcastic smile "You better rephrase that question, Sailor Venus...because she is actually the one that did something to me…"

"What do you mean?" Jupiter asked, cracking her knuckles, the soldier noticed "Thunder senshi don't look at me like that, she was the one who broke the engagement, not me…she is putting this kingdom into great risk with her unreasonable decisions…"

Mercury widened her eyes "She…"

"…Broke the engagement?" Mars finished the mercurian's sentence. Athamas started to walk away "I believe you are giving your Princess too much liberty…she has become…let's say, more independent…"

"That is not a bad thing…" Jupiter said dryly.

"Oh, but it is Sailor Jupiter…it is, because her strange decisions can cause great trouble…"

Venus turned to look at the rest of the senshi "You go on without me, I will catch up with you later…" the three girls nodded in silence and started walking away, leaving Venus alone with Athamas "You may be the Commander of this and the Andromedian army…but if you have done something to her…I swear…"

"Shh…shh…shh…" Athamas raised his hand to stop her talking "I have done nothing to her, on the contrary I want the best for her, I am respecting her decision although I know she will reconsider and come back to me, this was just a simple and silly discussion"

Venus frowned and took a step forward "It's been quite a while…since I have noticed a lack of excitement in my Princess' aura…I am positive…that she does not feel love for you…"

Athamas pursed his lips and frowned, the love senshi hit a soft spot in Athamas' pride but he was too damn smart to leave the opportunity of making her feel bad go "Am I am positive, that you are not doing your job quite well…"

"What do you mean?"

Athamas smiled sarcastically "Your beloved Princess escapes every day to who knows where under your noses…of course, you are always too busy training that you haven't really noticed…but since it is MY job to look out for her safety, I have everything covered…"

Venus frowned "You are lying"

"Fine, don't believe me…it is you who believe in the beauty of a heart, the purity of a soul and the existence of true love…not me" the blonde general started to walk away, leaving Venus alone.

Venus dismissed the general's words and thought it was nothing else but hurt feelings towards Serenity. What mattered now was to find her and see what she can do to help her and to see if she is alright, safe and sound. It was past noon and the princess was still nowhere to be found, Venus have looked in her chambers, her bathroom, even her dresser, while the rest of the girls searched for her in the gardens, the temple, the kitchen and the conference room.

"Did you find her?" Jupiter asked Mercury, the blue haired girl shook her head no "There is no sign of her anywhere…"

"Do you think she escaped somewhere?" Mars asked Venus who was still discarding Athamas' accusations "She must be somewhere…the palace is too big and there are too many places where she can hide…let's keep looking for her"

Mars was about to go to the garden's direction again when she stopped in her tracks "Nut…" she said, startling the other girls "What?" Jupiter asked, Mars turned to look at the amazon senshi "She is probably with Nut"

"Let's go to her chambers!" Venus said immediately and started to run towards the guest room; as soon as she stood in front of the large doors she knocked softly, but heard no response "Do you think they went for a walk?" Mercury asked softly, Mars sighed "We just searched for her in every garden in this palace…where could they be?"

Venus opened the door and walked in "Goddess Nut?" she asked out loud, passing over the small reception lobby in the room she walked inside the room and sighed in relief "Princess…"

Serenity turned to look at her blonde friend "Venus…" she said softly, then noticed the rest of the girls standing in the doorway "Girls…"

"We have searched for you all afternoon…" Mars said.

"I'm sorry…I just…I needed to be alone…" Serenity said sadly; Venus walked over to where she was sitting on the large bed and crouched in front of her, holding her hand she looked up at the princess "What is happening?"

Serenity sighed and closed her eyes "I had an argument with my mother…"

"Why? What happened?" Mars asked concerned and went to sit next to the princess along with Mercury and Jupiter. Serenity sighed again and kept her eyes closed "I broke my engagement with Athamas…"

"What!" the girls except Venus exclaimed surprised; the blonde senshi pursed her lips "Why did you break your engagement with him?"

"I don't love him…" Serenity opened her eyes and turned to look at Venus "I don't love him…." She repeated. Venus licked her lips in thought and patted her princess' hand "What made you change your mind?"

"Excuse me?" Serenity asked.

"What made you change your mind? You were very interested in him before…something must have happen in the meantime…" Venus said softly; Serenity almost confessed the true reasons but thought about Endymion and shook her head softly "He…is more focused on other things…"

Mars ran her arm around Serenity's shoulder and sighed "Why did you come here?"

"I was looking for Nut but she went back home…I didn't have the chance to say goodbye…" Serenity sniffed a little "Girls…I will be fine, this was something inevitable, I know the risks of my decision…Athamas just joined the army…" she trailed off.

"It is almost dinner time…" Mercury said softly looking through the window; Jupiter bit her lip "Do you want us to help you change your clothes Princess?"

"Maybe you can take a bath to relax and clear your mind Princess…" Mercury suggested again, Serenity gave the girls a faint smile "No, I'm alright…I just need to be alone, I'm not hungry…"

"Well at least let us take you to your chambers…" Venus said, Mars stood up and nodded "We will make sure nobody enters…"

Serenity looked at Mars and nodded, sighing she stood up and started to walk towards her chambers; her four friends followed behind in silence, opening her door she turned to look at her friends "I love you…" she whispered. Venus took a step forward and placed her hand on Serenity's shoulder "Are you going to be fine?"

Serenity nodded and hugged her friend tightly "Yes…I just need some time alone"

Ooooooooo

"Wait, where are you going?"

"I want to see what is in there…" a young man with brown hair said to a couple of friends. The three boys were standing outside the mysterious cave in the southern area "Asmerol, hold on!"

"Yes, you cannot go in there!" a blonde boy said, the boy under the name of Asmerol smiled widely "I am as brave as the Prince…"

"He was here you know?" a boy with red hair said, Asmerol turned to look at him surprised "You see? If he came in I can come in as well"

"Um…I do not think it is a good idea…"

"Yes…it looks…damp…"

"And a strange smell comes from it…"

"Don't be a chicken! Come on!" Asmerol started to walk into the cave "You know…we were warned about this…we should not be here…" the redhead said with a scared tone, Asmerol smiled once she walked a few steps inside "Look at this…we might get a chance to tell the Prince about our big adventure…"

The blonde boy sweat dropped "Asmerol…it is practically impossible to meet Prince Endymion…"

"If he came here it must be because something important happened in here…"

The three boys started to hear whispering in the deep of the dark cave "Did you hear that?"

"What is that smell?" the blonde boy asked, the redhead covered his nose with his hand "It smells like if something is rotting…"

Asmerol walked deeper into the cave, the whispering started to fill his thoughts and soon his eyes became cloudy, walking further into the cave he disappeared seconds after, leaving the two other boys behind "Asmerol!" the redhead called out.

Jasper, the blonde boy heard a loud noise "He went that way…"

"Asmerol" called out Fletcher, the redhead. Minutes after Asmerol walked back holding his head "Mors tua vita mea" he whispered and started to hit his head against the rocks in the cave "Mors tua vita mea!" he cried out loud and tried to take all those whispers inside his head with desperation, scaring the other two boys.

"Asmerol! Asmerol what is happening?" Jasper asked with great worry "We need to get him out of here!" Fletcher said. The two boys held him from his arms and pulled him outside, but as soon as the light hit the brown haired boy's eyes he screamed in pain "AHHHHHHH!"

A pair of yellow eyes inside the cave opened and a deep laugh echoed in the boy's mind "Mors tua vita mea…Mors tua vita mea…"

Oooooooo

Endymion was walking towards the study when he suddenly felt a strong pain in his head, he closed his eyes and put a hand on his head; kneeling he placed his hand on the floor and soon an asphyxiating sensation started to fill his chest.

Kunzite was the first one to see the prince kneeling on the floor "Master!" he went to help him "What's wrong?"

Endymion shook his head and could hear in the back of his mind four words but made no sense, flinching in pain again he opened his eyes and widened them in shock "Send a squat to the southern point…"

Kunzite frowned "Master?"

Endymion turned to look at him and started to cough "Now!"

Kunzite nodded and ran towards the main entrance, startling Nephrite and the other men "Kunzite, what's wrong?"

"Go and assist Endymion! something is not right!" he said worried and ran away; Nephrite, Zoicite and Jadeite ran until they found the prince still kneeling, panting like if he had ran for hours; Nephrite kneeled in front of him "Master!"

Zoicite widened his eyes in shock "What is wrong?" Jadeite turned to see if there was anybody near to call for help "We need to take him to his chambers!"

"No…" Endymion coughed "It's passing…"

Nephrite held Endymion from his arm and turned to see Zoicite "Help me stand him up…" Zoicite nodded and did as he was told, allowing Jadeite to help both men. The prince closed his eyes and leaned on a pillar, trying to regain his strength again; Nephrite frowned "You had a vision…"

Endymion nodded in silence, Jadeite frowned "What did you see?"

"More like…what I heard…" the prince said slowly. Zoicite frowned "What was it?"

Endymion turned to look at the three men "I need to go to the southern point" he started walking but soon stopped, putting a hand to cover his mouth he ran towards the garden and kneeled on the ground and started to vomit. Nephrite turned to see Zoicite "He cannot go out in this condition…"

Zoicite turned to look at Jadeite "Go and call Obelix…"

Jadeite nodded and ran as fast as he could to get the priest; Endymion closed his eyes in disgust "Don't watch how I am trying to vomit!" he said out loud. Both shitennou turned their heads to the other way and waited for Jadeite to come with the Holy Priest; Endymion repeated the words in his head one time after another and tried to find a reason to them.

Minutes after, Jadeite joined them with Obelix behind "Prince!" the white priest said and kneeled next to him "Concentrate…focus your energy to the place you are feeling the pain…"

Endymion closed his eyes "I'm alright…" he muttered, turning to look at him "It was long since this happened…"

Obelix frowned and looked at the shitennou "What happened?"

Kunzite ran back "Master!"

Endymion looked at the ground beneath him and watched nothing "It was only the sensation…I thought I…" he trailed off "It was energy not vomit" Obelix said "What were you doing earlier?"

Endymion looked at Kunzite "Did you…?" he swallowed and started to regain his breath, Kunzite nodded "We should be having news very soon"

"I have to go"

"But you are not feeling well!" Jadeite said.

Endymion frowned "I have to know why I felt like this…"

Obelix stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder "You are not fully recovered…don't risk yourself…wait for the report, listen to your advisors"

The prince gritted his teeth and turned to look at the priest "Don't tell Mother any of this"

"Endymion…" Obelix said wide eyed, Endymion frowned "Please…"

The priest sighed and lowered his head "Very well"

"I will go and see if there is any news…" Kunzite hurried back to the entrance; the prince turned to look at the three other heavenly guardians "Go with him" the three men nodded and followed the white haired man leaving the high priest and the prince alone "You weren't prepared" Obelix warned the prince.

"I was caught off guard…" Endymion said slowly "I never felt this way before…"

Obelix frowned "What did you see?" he was well aware of his capability as protector and knew very well it was Earth talking to him; but because there were so many secrets around the royal family just because the queen wanted to protect the prince from the gods he couldn't tell much. He swore his loyalty to his queen and he could not break that pact.

Endymion rubbed the bridge of his nose "Somebody wants somebody death…but I do not know who is it…or why…"

Obelix arched his brow "Did you see anything?"

Endymion frowned and rubbed his temples "Mors tua vita mea…" he said slowly, Obelix widened his eyes in fright "What?"

"It kept repeating itself in my mind…" Endymion gave the priest a worried look "Your death is my life…" he closed his eyes "I felt so much anger…so much hurt and hatred…and I don't know why I felt dragged to the southern point…I felt like it came from there but why did those words chased me?"

Obelix found this of great matter and danger "Helios Dei, protegat nos a tenebris…" (God Helios, protect us from darkness…) he whispered.

Endymion looked at the priest "Please…lit up another light…pray for us all…pray for my Mother's safety…" his voice sounded so worried and distressed that it reached Obelix' heart, nodding he was about to turn and leave to the sacred temple when Kunzite joined them again "Master…you have to see this…"

The prince turned to look at Obelix and then back at Kunzite "Where?"

The prince and the four shitennou walked outside to one of the watch towers "What is that?" Endymion frowned; Nephrite pursed his lips "It looks like smoke…"

"We need to wait for the reports…" Kunzite said "It might tell us what is happening…"

Jadeite turned to look at Endymion "Prince, you should go and see the doctor…"

"I'm fine Jadeite" Endymion said softly; Nephrite looked up at the sky "The sun is starting to set; the stars are finally showing themselves again…"

Endymion sighed and rubbed his temples "I need to go and rest for a while…"

Kunzite looked at the prince with a worried expression "Do you want me to excuse you from dinner?"

Endymion nodded and patted Kunzite's shoulder "Please…" the four shitennou nodded their heads "We will think of something, don't worry" Jadeite said softly "Thank you Jadeite" Endymion smiled faintly "Please...let me know if anything happens…don't mind the hour"

"We will Master" Zoicite said.

The prince walked back towards the palace; closing his chamber's door he closed his eyes and flinched in pain when he placed his hand on his temples again; he walked inside his room and fell straight on his bed closing his eyes "Damn day…" he muttered.

Several minutes later Serenity appeared in front of his bed and watched him lying there; walking closer she sat next to him and ran her hand through his hair, bending over she kissed him softly on his cheek and was surprised to see him open one eye "I thought you were asleep…" she whispered.

Endymion frowned trying to focus his vision but closed his eyes again, worrying her "Endy?" she asked softly. The prince frowned and shook his head "Bunny…" he whispered and tried to sit but he was starting to feel nauseous again "I cannot sit straight Beautiful…I'm sorry"

Serenity frowned and caressed his cheek "Love, what's wrong?"

The prince rubbed his head again and shut his eyes "I am not feeling very well…just give me…a moment…" he stood up again and went to his bathroom; Serenity looked at him with great concern and followed him to the bathroom "What happened?"

"I started to feel like this just a while ago…" he washed his face and pat it dry with a small towel; he leaned on the sink and waited for the strange feeling to pass. Serenity looked at him with teary eyes and ran her arm around his waist, then she started to rub his back in a circular motion "Come, you need to lie down again…" she said softly; the prince didn't argue with her and walked back to his room, lying down on his bed; Serenity couldn't hold her tears anymore and started sniffling.

"Why are you crying Beautiful?" Endymion asked softly, Serenity wiped her tears but with no use because new ones kept falling "I don't want you to feel bad…I wish I could do something…"

Endymion smiled softly and held her hand "Don't worry Beautiful, it must have been something I ate" he winked his eye at her "I tend to sneak to the kitchen and eat when nobody is around…" he lied in order to make her feel less worried "I don't like to see you cry…"

Serenity lied down next to him and sniffed again "I just…I just want to make you feel better, just like you did when I was catching a cold…"

Endymion chuckled "Seeing you makes me feel better…" Serenity started crying again "It's not enough!" and continued crying, this time worrying the terran prince; making a strong effort to sit he held her hands and looked at her "What happened?"

Serenity widened her eyes in shock and blinked a couple of times confused and surprised; it amazed her how could he know her so well "What?" was all she could ask. Endymion caressed her cheek "You are not crying just because I am sick…but because of something else…tell me, what happened?"

"I am worried about you and you are asking me what happened?" she asked, upset. Endymion frowned and closed his eyes "Serenity…even if I were dying I would always worry for you first…" he opened his eyes again "You don't look like you normally do, you look tired and sad…"

Serenity lowered her gaze and closed her eyes "I…" she trailed off "My Mother…seems to trust our new army commander…but he…" she opened her eyes "He is not doing good things…but otherwise…I tried to talk to Mother about it but she didn't listen…"

Endymion sighed and lowered his gaze "I see…" pursing his lips he kept his gaze down "And he is also pursuing you…"

Serenity widened her eyes in shock and looked at him "What makes you think that?"

Endymion smiled sadly and looked at her "Bunny…it's obvious that your frustration comes from the fact that you are trying to prove a point about something but because your Mother trusts this…what is _he_ a God?" he frowned.

Serenity shook her head "He's a soldier…"

"Well…because she trusts this…_soldier_… Bunny you shouldn't even argue with him in the first place…and you definitely should not argue with your Mother either" the prince finished his sentence; Serenity looked at him "You never argue with your Mother?"

"I always argue with my Mother"

Serenity sweat dropped "Then why are you telling me not to argue with mine if you always argue with yours…you are giving me an advice you don't even follow!"

Endymion put his hand on her cheek "Yes dear I know, but I am stubborn…I am a man and sadly like all men I have a pride…I am…rebellious like you say and my mother knows it, because she is exactly the same…but, even though we argue and sometimes we don't talk for days we know we can't stay upset with one another for too long…it is not healthy for either of us…and that is my point Beautiful, it is not healthy for you either…You are too beautiful and kind hearted to hold any kind of grudge…"

Serenity looked at him, somehow his words started to make sense and wondered how could he make such an impact on her, how could he always calm her the way he did. An hour ago she was feeling betrayed, devastated and alone and now she felt like if a weight was taken off her shoulders; the man was feeling terribly sick, he barely could sit still and still, there he was making her feel better, every day, he proved to her his great love for her, something she never experienced before.

Smiling, she put her hand on his cheek "Here you are…feeling sick and still you are helping me feel better and deal with my silly problems…"

"It's not silly dear, it's part of life…I learned it the hard way…that is why I am telling you, you should talk to your mother...let things cool down for a little bit and as soon as you get a chance go and talk to her, I'm sure she will understand. You see, when you argue and raise your voice or yell the other person reacts the same way and that is why arguments are so…tiring and frustrating" Endymion sighed "And about this…_soldier_…."

Serenity blinked a couple of times startled, Endymion arched his brow and lowered his head a little "Don't try and argue with him…for what you just told me, he is managing his way to get free of his own mess…don't…get too much involved, if he is doing wrong things, eventually your mother will know…"

The princess arched her brow and smiled "Endymion…"

"Mmm?" he didn't look at her, Serenity bit her lip "Are you jealous?"

"What?" Endymion looked at the princess and let out a sarcastic laugh "Of course not! Why would I? It's not like I know him or anything…I am actually glad I don't know him, so I don't have to see his _pretty_ face or hear his…"

Serenity smiled widely "You are jealous! I can't believe it"

"I am not…" Endymion muttered, Serenity laughed "I really can't believe it…the all Mighty Prince of Earth is jealous…"

Endymion huffed and lied down on the bed again "Fine, I am…a little bit if you must know…" Serenity giggled "I thought you were indifferent to those kinds of things…"

The prince turned to look at her "And I am…but we are talking about a man that can get to see you every day, unlike me…he can visit you, walk along beside you without the necessity of being hiding like criminals…he is a man you can marry…with whom you can actually have a family and share a perfect and eternal life together…he will never grow old and his _pretty_ face will remain the same all the _damn_ time…" his voice became drier with every word he said, he was well aware of the reality of things; their relationship was something that it was extremely complicated and that he was just some mortal compared to the beings that lived up in the skies and who could clearly offer her a better life.

Serenity noticed the hint of hurt in his words and understood the way he felt towards the whole situation but she had to admit that looking at him being this vulnerable was adorable. Smiling softly, she caressed his cheek "Why are you smiling?" he asked annoyed.

"Because you look so adorable when you are jealous…" Serenity pushed his hair back. Endymion rolled his eyes "I am being realistic, that is totally different thing…"

Serenity placed both hands on each side of his face and looked at him "Endymion, look at me" he was right, he had some pride "Look at me"

Endymion looked at her, but remained silent; Serenity bent over until she was only inches away from his face "It doesn't matter how 'pretty' he is, or if he can visit me or if he can be seen talking to me, he is not the man I love…and he is not the man I want to share my life with…I don't want to be with him, I want to be with _you_" she closed her eyes and kissed him softly on the lips "I love _you_ Endymion…and that is all that matters to me…"

The prince looked at her "Is he?"

Serenity frowned "What?"

"…Pretty"

The lunar princess laughed "When I met him…I thought he was attractive, yes…and I thought there couldn't be somebody else better than him…"

"Um…this is not helping…" Endymion said trying to stand up, Serenity chuckled and pushed him back down "But then…I met you…and everything changed"

The prince looked at her "Serenity…there is nothing extraordinaire in me but my title…and I don't consider that a charm"

Serenity kept her hands on his chest and felt his heart beat strong "You are…" she said softly and blushed "…Beyond extraordinaire...I have ever met a being like you…"

"You say that because you love me…" Endymion said softly, caressing her cheek "I appreciate it…"

"I am saying it because it is true…" Serenity kissed him again "Are you feeling better?"

Endymion sighed "A little…my head still hurts but the nausea is finally dissipating…"

"You need to vomit" Serenity said and sat straight, Endymion arched his brow "This talk is turning disgusting…why did it change from love to vomit?"

Serenity laughed "Vomiting is a normal thing to do…when you are nauseous you go and vomit"

"For you information…I tried but nothing came out" Endymion turned his head to the side and closed his eyes, Serenity laughed "Endymion, you are disgusting!"

The prince laughed "You started this conversation! We were talking about…agh…nevermind" closing his eyes a little he held his head "Ow…it hurts…"

Serenity rubbed his temples and kissed him on the forehead "Stop making a tantrum over someone that's not even worth mentioning, is there anything I can get you? Water maybe?"

"There are some pills on my night stand and there is a pitcher with water…" he said pointing his nightstand; Serenity stood up and served him a glass of water "How many pills do you want?"

"Two…" he said softly, Serenity sat next to him and gave him the glass of water and the pills "What made you feel this bad?" Endymion frowned and swallowed the pills with the water "It suddenly came…it had never happened to me before, not in this magnitude…"

Serenity ran her hand through his hair "I'll take care of you…is there anything else I can do for you?"

Endymion finished drinking his water and placed the glass on the nightstand, looking at her he smiled "Actually yes…"

"What is it?"

"Stay"

Serenity ran her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek softly "Forever…" she whispered and lied down next to him, holding his hand she kissed it and closed her eyes as well "I want you to feel better…" she said sadly, Endymion smiled "I'm feeling better already…you are here and that is all that matters"

Serenity sat back up and rubbed the prince's arm "What do you want for your birthday?"

Endymion looked at her and frowned "Huh?"

"What do you want for your birthday?"

Endymion chuckled and covered his eyes with his left hand "Nothing really…"

Serenity frowned and huffed; looking away she pursed her lips "You sure are no fun…" Endymion chuckled "Bunny…there is still a plenty of time for my birthday…and it is something I am not really looking forward…"

Serenity pouted her lips and turned to look down at him "Why not? Birthdays are fun!"

Endymion moved his hand away from his face and arched a brow "It's a reminder of me getting older…what's so fun about that?" Serenity smiled widely startling Endymion "Um…why are you smiling like that?"

"Aren't you a little picky today?"

Endymion frowned "…No"

Serenity chuckled "You never told me what you want for your birthday"

Endymion chuckled "I really don't want anything" Serenity arched her brow "There has to be something!" the prince bit his lip in thought "Let me see…um…no, nothing…sorry"

"You once told me you always looked forward to your birthday because you knew exactly what you wanted"

Endymion laughed "I was a boy Bunny; all I wanted was to play with my toys and eat cake…I really don't want anything because there is nothing that could match what I have right now…"

Serenity looked at him confused "And what is that?"

Endymion sat straight and looked at her deeply in the eyes; placing his hands on each side of her face he smiled warmly "Your love…" Serenity felt her cheeks flush "Really?"

The prince kissed her lips softly and looked at her again "I always wondered if real love existed…and sometimes I taunted about it but then everything changed…it's…something I really can't explain. You make me feel alive…there is nothing else I need but to be with you and love you for the rest of my life"

Serenity smiled at him, her fingers played with his hair; moving closer to him she snuggled her head on the curve of his neck and kissed him softly "You make me feel the same way…" Endymion ran his arms around her waist and brought her closer to him "I was having a horrible day…until I saw you" he kissed her shoulder, Serenity sighed "…Me too"

Oooooo

Nephrite closed the door of his room and took off his uniform jacket; losing the buttons of his white shirt sleeves, he pulled them up to his elbow and walked outside to his small balcony. Sitting in Buddha style on the floor he looked up to the night sky "Omnes virtutes stellarum, mihi loquaris…" (All mighty stars, speak to me…) "Vos tenetis intra veritatis lux…" (You hold the truth within your bright light…) "Vester humilis auditor i…" (I am your humble listener…) "Dic mihi quid me oportet scire…" (Tell me what I need to know)

The stars started shining more brightly than usual in response, Nephrite started reading each and of the ones that shone with more intensity; a sequel warned him about the incident that happened today and then another star shone brighter than the rest. Nephrite widened his eyes in shock, the bright star started to change its bright and golden color to a dark red tone; Nephrite's stare turned into one of fright this time "The star of Leo…is in danger…"

His eyes widened in realization "Master…"


	75. Chapter 75

_**A/N: **Hiya there! well, here goes another chapter for you, I hope you like it :) as a side note, I want to thank you for all your kind reviews I love to read from you and know what you think :) thank you, really it means a lot to me._

_****I do not own sm, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.**_

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter seventy five**

* * *

At dawn the crew of soldiers Kunzite sent to the southern point returned to the palace; one of the guards at the entrance caught up with the sergeant "I need to talk to General Kunzite" he said slowly.

The guard nodded and turned to look at another and made a signal which he understood right away and went inside the palace. The guard turned to look at two boys walking next to one soldier carrying another one "Who are they?"

"They are coming with us" the general said, right before Kunzite joined them "What happened, did you find anything?"

"There is something His Highness needs to see…"

Kunzite frowned as soon as he was there and watched the boys and the soldiers "What happened, what did you found?"

The general turned to see the crew and asked them to go to the soldier's nursing cottage "We might have found the reason for the mysterious deaths…" Kunzite widened his eyes in shock "Wait for us there, we won't take long, I need to call His Highness…"

The white haired general went back to the palace in search for the prince; opening the door of his chambers and saw him sleeping fully dressed on the bed "Endymion…" he called out, the prince opened his eyes and sat immediately, turning to his side he found Serenity was already gone and then turned to look at Kunzite standing in the doorway "They have returned…Stimathos says there is something you need to see"

Endymion frowned and stood up, walking inside his bathroom he wet his face to wake up and used a small towel to dry it again, pushing his hair back a couple of times to settle it he walked out of his room with Kunzite following behind "How are you feeling?"

"Better now Kunzite…" he said, his voice was still hoarse from sleeping "Did he say anything else?"

"No…" Kunzite said and knocked on Zoicite's, Nephrite's and Jadeite's door in a knowingly way; in a couple of seconds they walked out of the room "Any news?"

"We are going to the nursing cottage…there are news" Kunzite said.

The boys were standing next to the one lying on the small cot, several soldiers walked in and out whispering comments; Fletcher, the redhead boy looked at the soldiers scared then turned to look at Jasper "Do you think they'll do something to us?"

Jasper pressed his lips "I don't know…" Minutes later they heard somebody enter the cottage and heard footsteps coming their way "Somebody's coming…" Jasper, the blonde boy said, their eyes widened in shock when they saw the prince walk in right after the sergeant who brought them there opened the door; Endymion looked at the two boys standing there but remained silent, waiting for the general to say something.

"We found these boys outside the cave you and General Kunzite inspected and marked as dangerous…" the sergeant stood beside the boy lying in the cot, Endymion walked close to him and watched his pale skin; frowning he looked at the man "The boy does not respond…we are thinking he might be dead…" he said, as in responding for the prince's mental question.

Endymion held his arm and watched him closely waiting for some kind of reaction "He is so pale…" Zoicite said softly "What happened to him?" Jadeite asked; the boy with dark hair opened his eyes suddenly and looked at the prince with a horrid expression "Mors tua vita mea…" he whispered; Endymion widened his eyes in shock and felt a strong energy come from him; a pair of yellow eyes came to his mind "Mors tua vita mea…" the boy soon closed his eyes again and let out a soft breath.

The prince moved his hand away from the boy wide eyed "Those words…" he whispered, Nephrite frowned and stood next to the prince "Master, what did you see?" he whispered, Endymion frowned and shook his head "He keeps repeating that…in a moment of frustration he started to hit his head against the rocks inside the cave…" Jasper said.

"What were you doing there?" Endymion asked the boy with slight annoyance; Jasper widened his eyes "Asmerol wanted to look inside…"

"He wanted to find something interesting…he admires you greatly and wanted to meet you…we tried to stop him, but he didn't listen…then, he suddenly disappeared and after a while he was holding his head and was starting to say those words…" Fletcher said worried.

Endymion turned to look at the boy on the cot "He will be alright now…"

"Do you want us to send them back to their families, Polemarchos?" the sergeant asked.

"Yes" the prince said and turned to look at the boys "It's the last time you go to that place" he said with a warning tone; the boys nodded and lowered their heads "We just wanted to be brave, because we want to be a warrior like you…" Endymion walked over to them and crouched "Are you alright?" the two boys nodded their heads, the prince sighed "Risking your life the way you did will not make you great warriors…you have to be more careful…"

"Yes, Your Highness…" the redhead said softly, Endymion could relate to this boys, when he was their age he did many risky things that always drove his parents crazy "I have a favor to ask you…see it as a mission"

The two boys widened their eyes and nodded, the prince smiled slightly "I want you to look after him, and inform me about his progress…" the two boys smiled widely and nodded in agreement "We sure will Your Highness"

"Alright then, you will give your reports to one of the guards at the southern palace and you will tell him that I have asked you personally to send your letters to me as soon as possible" Endymion said "Do we have a deal?"

"Yes" both boys said in unison, Endymion nodded and stood up, turning to see the man behind him he sighed "Before you take them back, make sure a doctor sees them" the brown haired man nodded "Yes, Your Highness"

Nephrite caught up with the prince as soon as they got out of the cottage "I need to talk to you…" he said, making the prince stop in his tracks and turned to look at him "What is it?"

The chestnut haired man pressed his lips and let out a soft sigh "I know you saw something…I know of your gift Endymion…" the prince frowned "It's nothing Nephrite…" he started walking again.

"You are in great danger Endymion!"

Endymion stopped but didn't turn to look at Nephrite; the general looked at the prince and sighed "Something…or better said, somebody is putting your life in danger…" Nephrite caught up with the prince "What happened to you yesterday it wasn't just a _'feeling'_ it was a warning…"

The prince frowned and looked at him "You are worrying too much"

"No, Endymion…no, the stars are warning me…they never lie…" Nephrite said with great worry in his voice; the prince arched his brow "My life has been in danger since I was born for whatever reason…the stars cannot be referring to this particular event…Nephrite, my life has been in danger too many times before, just remember the first time we were at war…You were there with me, your life was also in danger so as Kunzite's, Zoicite's and Jadeite's and everyone else's…"

Nephrite sighed and lowered his head "Yes, but this time was different, whatever is happening is affecting you directly…"

Endymion patted the general's shoulder "Nephrite, I am human…it's normal to get sick once in a while…I'll be fine, I'll take care of this…"

"Master, what should we do with this cave matter, it seems to be getting out of control…again" Zoicite asked, Jadeite shrugged his shoulders "It was under control, but those kids wanted to play the brave and this matter got out of control all over again…"

Endymion sighed "I need to talk to Isra…again"

"Should I ask one of the guards inform him?" Kunzite asked, the prince shook his head "No, I will go there…"

Nephrite stayed silent and bit his lip in thought; Jadeite noticed the brown haired man's seriousness "Nephrite, what's the matter with you today?"

Nephrite shook his head, Endymion sighed "Nephrite…I want you to come with me, Zoicite, I need you to be present in today's meeting in my place, tell my father what happened, Jadeite…"

"Yes Master?" Jadeite looked at Endymion "You have done a perfect work in supervising Sophos, you go with Zoicite today…"

Jadeite smiled "The bastard had to follow my league whether he like it or not…"

Endymion turned to look at Kunzite "I want you to come with me as well" Kunzite nodded "Yes, Master" the prince nodded and sighed "I'll go take a shower" he started walking back to the palace, leaving the four men alone, Jadeite looked at Nephrite and frowned "Are you sure you are alright?"

Nephrite looked at Kunzite "The Prince is in danger…we need to keep a close eye on him…"

"In danger? What kind of danger?" Zoicite asked, Nephrite frowned "What happened to him yesterday was not normal…you know what he has…it's something that is affecting him directly"

"Did you tell him?" Kunzite asked, Nephrite nodded "But you know how he is…"

"He is like that because he doesn't know the truth about himself…he will always find a reason for everything" Jadeite said seriously, Zoicite sighed and lowered his head "We swore to Our Queen we wouldn't say a word"

Kunzite frowned "Was it a warning Nephrite?"

"The star of Leo is tainted red…Leo is Endymion's star, the one related to the sun, when a star changes color is because it's in danger…" Nephrite said,

Jadeite gritted his teeth "So, the Queen told us that the prince was the Holy Protector of this planet, right?"

"Yes" the three men said in unison, Jadeite placed a hand on his chin "Well, since he is connected to the planet, he reacts to the problems occurring to it…maybe what the star is trying to tell you Neph is that something is wrong with this land that is affecting the Prince…what matter has been causing so much trouble for the past few months?"

"The cave…" Zoicite said softly "And the mysterious deaths…" Kunzite said right after "Your reasoning is not bad Jadeite…" he said again, Jadeite rolled his eyes "I may be more involved with other things... but I am too a shitennou"

Zoicite frowned "So…the deaths must be caused by whatever happens in that cave…is that what you are saying?"

"It can be…" Jadeite said "Should we tell Endymion?"

"Endymion already knows…I bet he already thought about this since yesterday…" Kunzite said "The only thing he does not know is who he really is…"

Oooooooo

Serenity paced back and forth in her room; she was already bathe and dressed and for what it seemed ready to go and talk to her mother and apologize for what happened the day before. She thought in what would be the best thing for her to say; pursing her lips again she shook her head "No…that's not appropriate…"

Her talk with Endymion made her understand how important was her mother to her and her position as queen of this kingdom, of course, her failed relationship with the Andromedian was not going to do any good to the treaty they signed and maybe he would resign to his position in order to stay away from her "That would be a relief…" she said softly and then frowned "That's cruel Serenity…but…he deserved it"

Sighing she rubbed her hands nervously and directed towards her door, when the unexpected happened "Mother…" she said softly. Queen Serenity was standing at the door, looking at her daughter "May I come in?"

Serenity nodded and stepped aside; the queen entered and closed the door behind her "Dear we need to talk…"

"Of course…" Serenity said softly and waited for her mother to sit in one of the chairs of her chamber's wide living room "Serenity…" she trailed off.

"I'm sorry Mother…" the princess interrupted the queen "It all happened too quickly and…nobody handled it on the right way…"

Queen Serenity looked at her daughter "Dear, what happened? You loved Athamas…you looked so happy every time he came to visit…"

Serenity sighed and sat across her mother "Maybe I was only looking the outside…maybe…I just settled, maybe…I do not know…maybe I hoped him to be the man I wanted him to be…" the queen looked at her daughter, her words were hurtful and so full of confusion, Serenity lowered her gaze "I know what this is going to cause, it will definitely not going to enhance the relations between Andromeda and the Silver Millennium but, there must be another way…"

Queen Serenity sighed "What worries the most right now is you dear, not the political relations between Andromeda and this kingdom…you looked so hurt yesterday that…it broke my heart, like if you didn't understand my position…"

"I do Mother, but you forgot to understand mine…" Serenity looked at her mother sadly "I love you, more than you can possibly imagine…we have been together all the time, as a team, without Father around you have managed to take care of me and this kingdom and I am very thankful for that…but, I needed to make this decision, it was something I needed to do…"

Queen Serenity tilted her head in amazement "You have never talked with so much…" she trailed off; Serenity frowned "What?"

"Passion…and don't get me wrong dear, you are a very eloquent and poised person but…there is something different in you, something I cannot explain…but I admire" the queen said softly, startling the princess _"It's love Mother…"_ she thought _"It's because I am in love with the most wonderful man alive…" _

Queen Serenity sighed "Athamas will remain as Commander of this army…nothing will really change…I have managed myself to talk to Andromendas' governors and they seemed to agree to keep their best soldier with us, that will be our relation…but I want to ask you something…"

"What is it?"

"Don't close the possibility to reconsider your decision…" the queen said softly, Serenity sighed softly "Mother…"

"He is a well prepared man…I am sure whatever happened between you two can be solved quickly…please dear, do it for me…"

Serenity looked away and bit her lip "I am sure of the decision I made…"

"Serenity…" the queen interrupted "Way before you were born…your father and I had our differences, but with time and patience…we found our way to be happy together…Athamas adores you, please…don't close your heart out to him…"

Serenity lowered her gaze; the queen went to sit next to her and held her hands "Do it for me…" Serenity widened her eyes and looked at her mother "What?"

"Do it for me…think about it…"

The princess wanted her mother to be happy but also she wanted to be happy, she wanted to break free of all treaties and arrangements and just be happy with the man she really loves, a man she was sure her own mother would adore having as her son in law and that could easily lead the lunarian army to a very high level; but her mother's wishes were too differently from hers and just because she didn't want to see her sad or worried she had to agree to her petition "Alright…" she said softly "But, I won't promise you anything…until then, I don't want him to be called my fiancé, right now he is just the head of our army and I am his princess…that is all"

Queen Serenity pressed her lips and nodded in agreement "Speaking of which, he must be expecting me by now…there are some things that he needs to take care of but first I must sign in approval…"

"I understand…" Serenity said and stood up right after her mother "Mother, why you didn't tell me Nut went back home?"

Queen Serenity lowered her gaze for a moment "She missed her husband, she asked me to tell you how much she enjoyed her staying here and also felt grateful to you, she said you treated her with so much love…but will all that happened yesterday I completely forgot…I'm sorry…"

"Do you know if she will come back anytime soon?" Serenity asked softly. The queen smiled and caressed her daughter's cheek "I don't know dear, but I do hope so…" she kissed her cheek "I have to go…"

Serenity nodded and watched her mother walk towards the door, turning to look at her she smiled again "I love you dear…" the princess smiled "I love you too Momma" and with that, she closed the door, leaving her alone.

Hours turned to days and days turned to weeks and weeks eventually turned into months. Even though the princess broke her engagement with the general, she still have to look at him walking through the corridors every now and then, although he tried to pursue her again by sending her flowers and sweets her position in not wanting to have him called her fiancé stood strong.

She managed to spend time with her friends and guardians and her mother, but every night, as soon as the sun went to sleep she went down to earth to see her beloved prince, if she was lucky she could free herself from her daily duties and go to see him earlier. Their relationship went strong; even though Prince Endymion was busier than usual these last few weeks they managed to enjoy their time together, whether they would go out for a walk near the ocean or stay in his room they always enjoyed each other's company.

Their time together was sacred and they had to take advantage of every minute of it, because of Endymion's hectic schedule Serenity decided to go every night to his room and sleep with him and even though it never happened anything between them they did kissed the night away with too much love and passion.

The situation on earth was better but still there were reported strange activities that would come and go occasionally, the matter of the cave seemed to be under control after the prince went to personally talk to the southern king and ask him to keep the placed secured.

Beryl still made her occasional visits to the palace, but the prince was absent most of the time, starting to raise more suspicion that something must be happening with him. Charmindy still demanded Beryl to be cleverer and more edgy towards the prince, like she would always say "Men want sex, he might be a prince, but after all he is a man…and you are the woman that can satisfy him"

Days went by quickly and Queen Narella finally finished organizing a big ball for Endymion's birthday; all the courts from the four kingdoms were invited. The inhabitants of Elysion were excited with the occasion and decided to also throw a party in his honor as a way of thanking him for all the great work he has been doing to keep everyone's safe.

Endymion entered the dining room that morning and widened his eyes in surprise; a small cake was placed on the dining table with a candle lit, smiling he walked over to see the cake; Aurea came out and hugged him from behind startling him "Happy birthday!" she said happily, Endymion chuckled and turned to look at her "Thank you Nana…"

Queen Gaia walked in and so the rest of the royal family "My dear son…" she said softly, placing her hands on each side of his face "I'm so proud of you…" she kissed him on the cheek. The prince smiled "Thank you Mama…"

Eros went to hug his son and patted him on the back "Congratulations son…how does it feel like to be one year older?" Endymion laughed and shrugged his shoulders "It's alright…I think…"

Queen Narella chuckled "I hope you are prepared for tonight's celebration, everybody is coming!" she went to hug her grandson "Your grandfather would be so proud of you…you have done so much for all of us!" the prince smiled sadly "Thank you grandma…"

Leonidas was the last one to walk into the room and went directly to hug the prince "Another year!" he patted his back strongly, just like his father did moments ago "Congratulations" Endymion chuckled "Thank you Leonidas"

"I just can't believe years went by so quickly…yesterday you were just a baby boy learning how to speak!"

Gaia sweat dropped "Yes, Eros and I always to each other that he would our name first…" Eros laughed when he remembered those times "Yes…and neither of us won…"

"Who did?" Endymion asked curious.

"I did"

Endymion turned to look at the priest standing in the doorway "Obelix!" he smiled, the white haired priest walked over to him and hugged him tight "Happy birthday young Prince…" Endymion smiled and patted the priest's back "Thank you Obelix" looking at him curious he chuckled "Did I really said Obelix as my first word?"

Gaia bit her lip and turned to look at the priest "He stole my thunder…" she said playfully, making everybody laugh.

"Well…you need to blow the candle! Otherwise you won't be able to make a wish…" Aurea said excitedly, Endymion blushed and walked over the cake "This feels so strange…" closing his eyes he smiled, seconds later he blew off the candle "Who made the cake?" he asked curious and dipped the tip of his finger on the chocolate frosting "It's my favorite…" he said softly.

"I did of course…I know very well how much you love chocolate" Aurea said happily, Endymion smiled at her "Just like you did every birthday"

"Of course…and I will continue doing it…" the brown haired woman said proudly, Gaia walked over and grabbed the knife and started to slice the cake in several pieces "This looks delicious Aurea…it better taste the same as always!" she joked, Aurea sweat dropped "You wish you could bake a cake like this…"

Gaia frowned "For your information I can…" Everybody in the room turned to look at her and sweat dropped, Gaia arched her brow "What?"

"You have never stepped into the kitchen before dear…" Eros said softly, Endymion scratched the back of his head "Now that you mention it…" he turned to look at his father and then back at his mother "It is actually surprising to see you holding a knife that big…"

Gaia sweat dropped "Are you talking serious? Of course I held a knife before!" she turned to slice the cake but tripped a little losing her grip on the knife; Endymion moved quickly and caught it by the handle upside down and turned to look at his mother "You were saying?" the terran queen blushed "Just for one time I trip and lose control…remember I also taught you how to fight…so it's proof enough that I can handle a knife"

Eros laughed and walked over she was standing, kissing her on the cheek he ran his arm around her shoulders, the queen sighed, causing the king laugh harder "Remember you quit your desire of cooking since you saw that peacock on our engagement ball…" Gaia eavesdropped "It was dead! And you were going to eat it!" she looked at him, Eros chuckled "Dear, that was the point…"

"Don't make me go there…" she warned him.

Endymion arched his brow "What are you talking about?"

Eros chuckled "When we got engaged, there was a long table with many dishes served…your mother was taken by surprise when she saw the main dish was a peacock"

Queen Narella turned to look at her daughter in law "I thought you liked it!" Queen Gaia blushed and turned to look at her husband "I thought she would never find out about that…"

Endymion chuckled "Now I see why we don't get to eat that for dinner…" Gaia frowned "We are never ever going to eat that…" she turned to look at Narella "I'm sorry Narella…"

Narella pursed her lips "Hm…well it was normal…you were just…familiarizing with us"

"And I still am…you never cease to surprise me…" Gaia took a bit of her piece of cake, Eros laughed and looked down at her "What is that supposed to mean?" Gaia shrugged her shoulders and chuckled "It means…that I am very happy to be your wife"

Eros eavesdropped "Hmm…"

Endymion watched his parents joking and laughing at each other and smiled; he could see in their eyes the amount of love they held for each other and he wondered when he could have the exact same thing with Serenity one day.

Oooooooo

Serenity woke up in her bed, the night before she couldn't stay over with Endymion because he had to be at a meeting that took hours.

Stretching her arms she smiled widely "Happy birthday…" she whispered happily and stood up immediately; walking towards her dresser she picked out a delicate satin, very thin strapped dress in a pearl color with matching heels, since it was a special occasion for her she would dress up with more effort.

Smiling, she walked to her one of her drawers and opened took a small white box with a pink ribbon tied in a delicate bow; her hand caressed the soft material of the box and put it back under her clean night gowns. She already knew his family had planned a massive birthday celebration for him and although she wished to be with him she imagined it would be quite impossible since everybody would be all over him "Including all the women…" she muttered. Closing her drawer she walked towards her bathroom and closed the door behind her.

Athamas was sitting in his usual chair in front of the desk; he had his own office outside the palace. The blonde general watched some papers in his hands and after reading them a couple of times he left them aside and sighed. Kilmakos looked at him and frowned "Is something the matter General?"

"Everything is the matter…" he muttered with disgust "I was supposed to be married with the lunarian princess by now…and it turns out to be that I am just another pawn of hers…something I cannot take"

The soldier pursed his lips "Don't take me wrong Commander but, you do not serve her directly…"

Athamas looked at the man in front of him "For that matter is the same damn thing…" he sighed and closed his eyes "How is our plan going?"

"The terran prince has done quite a work…but he cannot be at all places at the same time…right?"

Athamas laughed "I'm glad that is working out…"

"What is going to happen with Princess Serenity?"

Athamas smiled "Leave Serenity to me…sooner or later, she will be mine…" he turned to look at the soldier "Have you kept following her as I ordered?"

"Yes"

"Have you found anything?"

The soldier scratched the back of his head "She does escape…but I still don't know where she is going…"

Athamas frowned "I want you to keep spying on her...until you find out where is she going…" he stood up and walked over to a window and looked outside "What strikes me the most is how the senshi haven't noticed her escapades…"

"Do you think they don't know?" Kilmakos asked curious; Athamas shrugged his shoulders "I don't know…Venus is their leader and if anything happens to Serenity she might be accused for not looking out for her…" sighing he turned to look at the soldier standing a few feet away from him "I want our plans to continue…we have achieved many great things, now, we just need to achieve those last two and everything will be the way it should be"

"…The way it should be…" he repeated more slowly and started to laugh.

Ooooooo

"Oy! Look who's finally decided to come and join us!" Jadeite said jokingly; the three shitennou laughed as soon as they watched their prince come into the study "It's the birthday boy" Kunzite chuckled; Endymion laughed and waved his hand in dismissal "You sure waste no time…" he chuckled.

Jadeite was the first to hug the prince, patting his back he chuckled "Happy birthday Endymion" the prince smiled and patted one time his friend's back "Thank you Jadeite"

Nephrite was next, and so was Zoicite. Kunzite was the last one to hug him "How does it feels like to be one year older?"

Endymion frowned "You are older than me, you tell me…" he laughed, Kunzite patted his back and parted "But what counts is what you have on the inside…" he placed a hand on his chest dramatically making everyone laugh "Oh come on Kunzite…you say that just to make yourself feel young…" Zoicite said laughing.

"I'm only one year older than this troublemaker…" Kunzite sat on his chair; Endymion arched his brow, sitting in his usual chair behind the desk he chuckled "Troublemaker…that's a new one"

"Well, sometimes you are" Kunzite said, smiling, Nephrite chuckled "More like a rebel…"

"Thank you, for your best wishes…" the prince laughed and started to take out the papers that needed to be revised and signed; Jadeite sat on his usual seat next to Nephrite and smiled "Are you excited for tonight's celebration?"

Endymion sighed and kept reading the papers in his hands "Not really…" he looked at them "You know how these kinds of things overwhelm me…I just hope it passes soon…"

"I don't even know what are you doing here today, it's your birthday, and you should be…celebrating or something" Jadeite said; Endymion arched his brow "I don't need to celebrate…"

"Sure you do, it's a special day…" Nephrite said softly, the prince signed a few papers and chuckled "My birthday is just like every other day…there is nothing special about it"

"Well I don't know you but I will sure am going to have a few drinks tonight…" Jadeite leaned on his chair and crossed his arms; Zoicite arched his brow and turned to look at him "Drinks or ladies?" Nephrite laughed "Uhh…that was direct"

Endymion smiled, while signing the parchments in his hands and listened to his friend's talk; Kunzite turned to look at the silent prince and placed his hands over the desk, startling Endymion "What are you doing?"

Kunzite took the parchments away from his grasp and started to roll them "Enough"

"What?"

"You have done enough for today…go…and distract yourself…go and do something" Kunzite said, waving his hand, Endymion arched his brow "I have to finish reading those papers…"

"You finished already!"

"No I didn't…"

Kunzite looked at the prince with serious eyes "Stop it, go and take a shower, eat…run naked…jump…I don't know…whatever but being here"

Jadeite arched his brow "Run naked?"

Kunzite shrugged his shoulders "I was referring him he should do something different than being here working…" Nephrite "Kunzite's right Endymion…when was the last time you actually did something for you only?"

Endymion looked at his friends in silence for a moment and then he broke into laughter, the four shitennou frowned in confusion "What?" Zoicite asked startled; the prince stood up and kept laughing "Is that a serious question?"

"Of course it is!" Jadeite exclaimed, the prince stood up and leaned on a pillar and chuckled "Probably the last time I did something for me only was when I was five years old…after that, everything changed…"

The four men understood exactly what he was talking about, his training started since he was a boy in order to be able to control all the amount of power he holds within him; a power he didn't even know he had and that it was most likely to never know about it. Kunzite walked towards him "Well maybe it is time for you to do something that will only benefit you this time"

"We will take care of everything that needs to be taken care of…" Zoicite said; Nephrite and Jadeite smiled and nodded; Kunzite patted the prince's shoulder "There is nothing much to be done…go, and have some rest…"

Endymion smiled and lowered his head "Alright…alright…I'll go and take a nap…"

"That's a start" Kunzite said, and watched the prince walk out of the study; Jadeite scratched the back of his head and turned to look at Kunzite "Is there too much left to do?"

Zoicite laughed "You never want to do anything"

The blonde general chuckled "I do…but, not today…" Kunzite shook his head "There is nothing really…Endymion just wants to distract his mind away from the ball, the court and everything…"

Nephrite pursed his lips "Being a Prince is not an easy thing…everybody is always expectant of what you will do next…and then you have to marry the first woman that says that will give to this kingdom an heir"

"I believe that is why Endymion tries his best to deny the fact that he is a royal…he prefers to be called Polemarchos rather than His Highness…" Kunzite said, Zoicite shrugged his shoulders "Times where easier when we were on the training field that's for sure"

"Now_, those_ were times!" Jadeite said smiling, Nephrite chuckled "We should go and take a nap as well…"

Jadeite stood up and rubbed this hands excitedly "That sounds like a very good idea to me" Zoicite chuckled "You are hopeless…"

Aurea walked into the prince's chambers with his clean clothes, entering his bedroom she was shocked to see him sitting on the window frame reading a book; gasping she frowned "What are you doing here?"

Endymion diverted his gaze from the book to the shocked woman standing at the doorway "I was _sent_ here…"

Aurea's frown deepened "_You_ were _sent_ here?" the prince sighed and leaned his head back "What do you have there?" he asked tiredly, Aurea looked down at her hands and smiled "Your clothes…they're nice and clean…" she walked over to the side of his room where he had all his drawers and closets and hung the impeccable black uniform outside the large oak closet "You are going to look so handsome with your formal uniform…"

Endymion shook his head and continued reading, Aurea walked out of his very large walk in closet and stood there astonished "Aren't you excited?"

"Sancta Mater…" he said softly, closing his book "You know how much I dislike these kinds of things Nana…" Aurea walked and sat on his bed "I know…but, your grandmother organized it…everybody is very proud of you and they want to celebrate your birthday…"

"It's just another normal day! There is nothing spectacular with me being born…" the prince chuckled sarcastically, Aurea frowned "Endymion" she said dryly, making him turn to look at her, her face was pale and held melancholy.

Aurea remembered all the struggles Gaia had to suffer, her family's rejection, the loss of her closest friends and the worry of protecting him while she was pregnant, the happiness she reflected when she found out she was pregnant, everything came to her mind "I have been serving your mother for more than twenty five years…I met her when she was about to get engaged with your father and since then we became very close friends…I know your mother very well, and I can say proudly that I haven't seen her happier than the time when she found out she was expecting you…"

Aurea smiled and sat next to him "I remember that day clearly…everybody was very worried, your father didn't sleep for nights, your mother fainted constantly and nobody knew what was going on..until one day, the doctor came in and informed them they were going to be parents; your mother waited anxiously for you to be born…so, don't you ever say this day is not important for any of us…"

Endymion pressed his lips and shrugged his shoulders "I didn't mean it like that…it's just that…I prefer having a more private time with all of you like we did in the morning rather than a whole celebration like the one my grandmother planned…"

Aurea chuckled "You grandmother is well known for her huge parties…but, this party has a reason to be huge…it's your first birthday here since you came back from the army…let her feel proud!"

Endymion sighed "Fine…I guess I should start getting ready then…and so are you, missing the 'party' is out of the question for you" Aurea arched her brow "Fine!" she stood up "You sache is ready and neatly placed on its box, so as your cape, I hung it on…"

Endymion chuckled "Thank you Nana…" he interrupted sweetly "I know you want me to start getting ready…"

Aurea chuckled "I am just saying dear…"

"Alright…I'll start getting ready in a while…"

"But you will be there, right? Because your grandmother will kill me if you don't show up"

Endymion laughed "I will be there Nana, don't worry"

The maid smiled and nodded, turning to leave she looked over her shoulder "I will see you tonight" she said and walked out of the room.

The sun was starting to set; guests from all the courts started to arrive. Thousands of people were gathered at the palace's gates to see who was arriving; Beryl looked amazed at the guards wearing a different uniform and at the massive amount of people walking through the main doors, Charmindy smiled devilish "This is exquisite…every high ranked person is here…but you" she turned to look at Beryl "You have to win the heart of the best of this whole planet"

The carriage finally stopped in front of the main entrance and the two women waited at one of the guards to open the door and help them step down; Charmindy smiled "Be ready" she said and held the guard's hand and stepped down of the carriage; Beryl was the last one to come out and opened her mouth in amazement.

Incredibly long candles lit the entire road to the entrance, looking around at all the people she followed Charmindy inside the palace; the exquisite golden chandeliers illuminated the long hallway, allowing the guests to know their way to the ballroom.

The ballroom was fully decorated with long red curtains hanging from every floor to ceiling window; long and beautifully adorned buffet tables were on one side of the room next to a wine fountain where the guests already started filling their elegant crystal glasses; a band on the other side of the enormous room was already playing, harmonizing the evening.

Beryl watched wide eyed at her surroundings thinking how magnificent everything looked; for the very first time she felt like she belonged to that place, maybe because she felt like royalty wearing her new gown. Nobody could resist the urge to turn and look at her and wonder who she might be.

Beryl looked absolutely stunning in her siren shaped deep purple gown, her soft pinkish skin contrasted beautifully with the deep cool color, and the fabric it seemed to be a second skin revealing her enchanting and very opulent curves; her deep rich red hair was lose in lavishing curls that fell down her back, letting a few frame her softly oval shaped face. Her makeup was hypnotizing, deep golden shadows and a dark liner enhanced her green eyes, while a soft peachy color kissed her lips.

Many people thought the prince would not leave this girl leave his side once he laid eyes on her tonight and made Beryl feel confident and also happy, not to mention Charmindy's eternal feeling of achievement. Soon, the band stopped playing their song and started playing a fanfare, indicating the royals were about to make their entrance.

Queen Narella was the first to walk in with the king on her side, wearing a deep plum gown with a golden necklace and a matching stone hanging from her neck delicately; her silver hair was tied up in a french bun adorned by a few pins with little jewels matching the color of her dress; the king of course was wearing a deep blue uniform with all his high ranked medals shining proudly.

Queen Gaia was the next one to walk in holding Endymion's arm; the queen looked stunning in her antique golden gown, the high collar accentuated the length of her delicate neck where it hung proudly a teardrop shaped green stone. Her hair was styled in a twisted low bun, secured with crystal pins; her makeup as always was exquisite and flawless, her red lips only emphasized the beauty of her face.

Endymion tried to dissimulate his surprise, he wasn't really expecting all the people that was present that night, looking absolutely handsome in his black formal attire, with his long black cape with red lining. His medals were on his right side attached to his red silk sache, while the one with the symbol of earth marking his high rank was on its left side; his hair was slightly styled back giving him a more elegant and irresistible appearance.

The shitennou were already waiting for them, along Leonidas and Aurea next to the throne chairs. Every guest bowed in respect and of course every girl wanted to go and see the prince personally and see if they have a chance to talk to him. Beryl blushed as soon as she watched the prince walk inside the room; Charmindy smiled devilish "He is absolutely gorgeous…and I have to admit, Gaia looks stunning…"

Beryl turned to look at Charmindy, the blonde woman arched her brow "All this can be yours…he, can be yours…don't screw this up"

The redhead turned to look at the royal family again and sighed; everybody was marveled to see the queen looking beautiful as always; the king took a glass of wine as so did the rest of the family "Bona noctem, ladies, gentlemen…"

"Bona noctem" everybody responded in unison, happily.

"We are gathered here tonight to proudly celebrate my son's birthday. We couldn't be happier to finally have him here with all of us…we couldn't be happier and more proud of you son"

Endymion bowed his head slightly and smiled, the king smiled widely "Happy birthday Endymion" he said softly and turned to the crowd "Cheers for the High Prince"

"Long live our High Prince!" everyone said, while raising their glass up. The prince raised his cup and nodded "Thank you" King Eros raised his cup again "Well, let's the celebration begins!" as if that was their cue, the band started playing, inviting the guests to start dancing.

Queen Gaia smiled at her son and whispered in his ear "Enjoy yourself tonight, alright?" the prince bent down a little to hear his mother and nodded "Do you need anything?" he asked her, Gaia smiled and shook her head "No…have fun…Aurea will help me with anything I'll be needing…"

The shitennou looked at the massive amount of people with astonishment "So, this is big…" Jadeite said surprised, Nephrite chuckled "Of course it's big…every person from all courts are here to see the Prince…"

Zoicite chuckled and took a sip of his wine "Look at all the women trying to get his attention…" Kunzite nodded "They all want the fairy tale dream…"

"Well yes…but what about us?" Jadeite huffed.

Zoicite arched his brow "What do you mean with _us_?

"Isn't there a woman that wants to live a fairy tale dream with one of us?"

Nephrite sweat dropped "Oy Jadeite, I though you didn't want to get romantically involved with anyone"

Zoicite laughed "And you believed him? That is something he already forgot"

"Ah, so your heart is back to its old shape?"

Jadeite sighed "No, but that doesn't mean I don't…hey! I was just saying I wanted to have fun! That's all…"

Zoicite chuckled "Alright, alright…we're sorry…you just wait then, it could be any girl from here…"

"Right…" Jadeite sighed and went to serve himself a glass of wine.

Oooooooooo

Serenity looked at herself in the mirror one last time; brushing any wrinkles on her dress she turned to see her back and made sure everything was perfectly in place. The moon princess didn't need much to look absolutely beautiful, the thin straps had tiny crystals that caught the light softly, the fabric of the dress was made with the most exquisite silk in a pearl color, the skirt of the dress fell in several layers, giving it a soft and delicate flair. Checking her makeup one last time, she smiled and went to open her drawer to grab the small box she hid days before; smiling she turned to look at the blue planet from her balcony "You must be having a wonderful time…" she whispered softly.

Kilmakos looked at the princess from the garden; he noticed she had something in her hands "A present?" he muttered and frowned "To who are you giving that little present Princess?" he whispered to himself.

Serenity placed the small box beside her or the rail of her balcony and kept looking at the starry sky, a soft smile caressed her lips and let out a dreamy sigh "You must look so handsome…" resting her elbows on the rail, she sighed again turning her delicate smile into a frown "…Every girl present must be wanting to dance with him…beautiful girls…"

Sighing again, she waited for another while until she went back inside her bedroom and closed the balcony doors behind her; sitting on a chair she looked at her empty room for a moment "Will he notice me if I go right now?" she whispered and looked down at the small box in her hands, pressing her lips she sighed and frowned "Why am I so nervous?" closing her eyes she mentally kicked herself and stood up "…Because you cannot go there…it will be practically impossible to have a moment alone with him…" she started to walk around the room, fidgeting the small box in her hands "But…" she raised her index finger "It's his birthday…and I have his present…maybe I should just go and leave it on his room…he will look at it when he gets back…"

Smiling she closed her eyes "Nobody will notice I am there…" opening them again "But what if I go and peek a little…there is no harm in that, right?" she giggled; closing her eyes she disappeared in a flash of silver sparkles.

The familiar fresh scent of the terran planet made her smile, it was sign that she was in the right place; she noticed she appeared in one of the gardens in the palace and looked around to make sure she was alone; widening her eyes she could hear music at the distance and walked slowly to make sure nobody could see her "They are probably guarding the entrance of where the ball is being taken…" she said softly.

"Is everything in order?" she heard a guard asking to other "Yes, everything is under control" they continued walking not noticing Serenity was hiding behind a tree. Letting out a soft breath, she continued walking through the huge garden, until she noticed her path was leading her towards the party where she could see a great amount of people gathered inside. Smiling, she walked towards an open window and hid behind the frame, making sure her presence wouldn't be noticed.

Her eyes widened at the immensity of the ballroom and its elegance, she looked at all the people dancing in the middle and other eating and drinking and having what it seemed a wonderful time. Standing on her tiptoes, she tried to see if her prince was somewhere to be found, her eyes searched for him and her lips curved into a big smile as soon as he found him.

And there he was, next to four men who she imagined they were the same men that were talking to him in the study the other day, blushing slightly she didn't take her eyes off him for a moment "…Endy…" she whispered.

Endymion took another sip of his wine and turned to look at Kunzite "This is going to be a long night…" he turned again to see another girl and smiled softly "Happy birthday Your Highness" she said softly.

"Thank you" he nodded his head, the girl in a pink gown smiled widely "I was wondering if you would like to have this dance with me, Your Highness?"

Endymion pressed his lips together "I feel honored by your invitation but I'll have to decline this time…maybe later, is that alright?" the girl blushed and nodded "Of course, Your Highness…"

Serenity noticed how all the girls tried to come close to Endymion in a very desperate way, or at least that is what she thought. A strange feeling in her chest started to overwhelm her not really knowing how to react to the fact that every woman of this planet wanted to catch his attention, this was the first time she would see him in his role as Prince of Earth and not only as Endymion, the loving man she knows he is; Serenity was aware every girl would want to be the 'chose one' and have a dreamy life next to him, something she knew perfectly well she could have in case it happened but she couldn't help to feel jealousy towards every girl inside that room; but especially with one in particular that seemed to be the center of attention.

Beryl walked towards the prince and bowed her head in respect "Good evening Your Highness…" she said softly and almost sensuous, all four shitennou looked at her wide eyed and turned to look at the prince who also widened his eyes slightly "Beryl…I did not recognize you before…" he said softly, regaining his stoic posture "Good evening"

The redhead smiled "I hope that is a good thing" she chuckled and turned to look at the four men still looking at her "Good evening, Generals"

"Good evening, Lady Beryl" they said in unison. The woman smiled and turned to look at the prince again, her green eyes longing for his attention, her lips longing for his; Endymion looked at her "It's not a bad thing…but the other way around, you look stunning"

A group of young women approached the shitennou distracting them from the conversation the prince and the redhead were having.

Beryl smiled widely "Perhaps we can have this dance?" she extended her hand out to him, startling the prince "I am not used to be asked out to dance Beryl…"

"Well, rules are made to be broken, don't you think Your Highness?" she asked sensually; Endymion chuckled sarcastically "Are you asking me to break the rules Beryl?"

Beryl gave the prince a sensuous smile "I am asking you to do whatever you want My Prince…" Endymion sighed and chuckled, startling the woman in front of him "Prince?" she asked confused.

Endymion looked at her "Beryl…" he trailed off "Just this dance My Prince…where is the harm in that?" she asked softly "See it as my birthday present to you…although I know I can give you more than just that" the prince sighed and looked away for a minute and then back at her "I am not much of a dancer…"

"I've heard you are" Beryl chuckled.

Endymion placed his hands on her shoulders, something that caught the attention of several people because it was something he didn't do with any girl, which only made them think there was something more intimate between them when the reality was something else "Beryl…" he said softly, looking at her in the eyes; Beryl blushed and felt her heart beat at an incredible speed "You are a very sweet and obviously and a very attractive woman…"

Charmindy watched the scene from afar and smiled in triumph "The victory is mine…" she muttered and took a drink of her wine. Beryl looked at the prince startled "Prince Endymion…"

"I thought I made myself clear with you that day…" he whispered trying not to cause too much of a commotion, people were starting to noticed their proximity "I told you I was not going to marry anytime soon…I know you are looking for something I cannot give you…your are very kind and I like you, but I cannot give you what you want…I'm sorry Beryl…I really do…"

Beryl pressed her lips together and then bit her lower lip "Your Highness…if you just…"

Endymion looked at her and shook his head "You said you understood…"

"But that happened some time ago…I thought that…"

The prince sighed and noticed the guests were starting to notice their talk "I'm sorry Beryl…I really do" kissing the top of her hand he nodded his head and walked away, leaving her alone, fighting the urge to cry. The four shitennou looked at him and followed him towards another wine fountain at the other side of the ballroom "What happened?" Kunzite asked slowly.

Endymion sighed and drank a glass of wine in one quick gulp "I thought she understood…" he said slowly.

Nephrite frowned "I believe everyone noticed there is something between you two…is there?"

The prince frowned and served himself another glass of wine and drank it in one gulp, making a face when the strong liquid passed his throat again "Of course not"

"There was a huge sexual tension back there…" Jadeite blew his bangs "Since you met her that has been your dynamic…"

Zoicite arched his brow "Dynamic?"

Jadeite nodded "Every time those two met there is an intense sexual attraction…"

"I don't feel attracted to her anymore…I don't feel anything when I am around her…I have tried to tell her in every way possible but she is still trying…" Endymion sighed. Kunzite looked at him sympathetically since he was the only one that knew he was interested in somebody else "She will have to accept it sooner or later…" he said; the prince sighed with annoyance "I'm tired of this…I just want to get the hell out of here…"

"Endymion!"

The prince turned to look at the three kings with their respective wives except for King Isra and faked a smile "Your Majesties…I'm glad to see you"

"We will be right back, Master" Kunzite said, the four men walked over to the guards to make sure everything was going fine, the prince nodded absently. Queen Romina looked at the prince and patted his arm "Look at you! My, Gaia must be incredibly proud of you…you are absolutely gorgeous!"

Endymion blushed and turned to look at King Bernard who shrugged his shoulders "The wine…"

"How are you doing so far, loving the party?" King Urmanus asked, patting the princess back. Endymion chuckled "I believe so…"

"Who was that girl you were talking to a while ago?" asked King Isra "She is lovely…"

Endymion turned grabbed another glass of wine from one of the servants carrying silver trays offering a drink to the guests that were far from the buffet tables. Taking a sip he turned to look at the king "Just another girl from the court…"

Queen Eloisa took a sip of her wine with elegancy "She is very pretty but, I would like to know who is the beautiful girl in white standing outside the ballroom…"

Endymion choke on his wine and widened his eyes "What?" he asked, Queen Romina looked at her friend "What girl?"

"I saw a gorgeous young woman standing outside…I don't know…maybe I was imaging things…or maybe it was her reflection…"

"Where was she exactly?" Endymion asked and turned to look at several windows but the crowd couldn't let him see clearly, Queen Eloisa pointed the ones that led to the gardens "I think I saw her over there…"

"A girl wearing white? How unusual…" Queen Romina said, Queen Eloisa placed a hand over her mouth with delicacy "I thought she looked heavenly…not anybody can wear a white gown and look like an angel…"

Endymion turned to one of the doors pretending one of the guards was calling him; turning to see the kings and their wives he smiled "Could you excuse me for a moment?"

"Of course, of course!" King Bernard said happily.

Endymion smiled and bowed his head in respect and turned to leave, walking towards the hallway inside the palace he asked the guards to close the doors quickly making his absence unnoticed "Is something the matter Your Highness?"

"If anyone asks, you don't know where I am…" the prince ordered.

The guards nodded their heads "Yes Polemarchos"

Endymion started to walk quickly towards the back of the garden in silence. Feeling somehow relieved that he was no longer inside the crowded room he still felt the anxiety to find out if the girl Eloisa mentioned was his Bunny. Standing outside in the garden, he looked back at the people inside the ballroom from the large windows and sighed.

"…Endy" her soft voice made him turn to his side, finding her standing behind a tree "Bunny…" he said softly and walked towards her and smiled "…You came"

Serenity smiled and caressed his cheek "Of course…I wouldn't miss it for anything…even though I cannot be in there with you…"

Endymion "It doesn't matter…I prefer a million times to be here alone with you rather than being surrounded by thousands of faces I don't recognize" he smiled "This is the perfect birthday present"

The princess widened her eyes and blushed "Oh! I completely forgot…" she moved her hand she was hiding behind her back revealing the small white box "Speaking about presents…"

Endymion widened his eyes in surprise "Bunny…" he trailed off and looked at the small box and then at her "What is that?" Serenity tilted her head and giggled "It's a birthday present for you silly!" she placed the small box in his hand and smiled softly "I hope you like it"

Endymion looked down and started to undo the small bow and opened the box, moving the soft tissue inside his blue eyes widened and then look at the princess "Serenity…"

Serenity took the small locket in the shape of a star in her hands "This was a gift Lord Chronos gave to me when I was born…"

Endymion traced the engraving on the golden watched and opened it admiring the delicate detailing it had behind the roman numbers "It's beautiful…" he muttered and looked at Serenity "But…this must be very special to you…why are you giving it to me?"

Serenity smiled softly "Because our love is more special than anything in this universe…I want you to have it…I know it is not much, but that way you will never forget about me and of course will never be late for anything…"

Endymion smiled "Amor, I love it…its beautiful…I will guard it with my life. Thank you" he bent and kissed her lips softly. Serenity ran her arms around his waist and pressed her face against his chest "Happy birthday" she whispered, Endymion returned the hug and stayed like that for a while; moving back again he looked at her "Where do you think I should pin it?", Serenity looked at him surprised "Are you really going to wear it?"

"Of course" the prince said softly giving the small locket to her "You do it, pin it wherever you think it should go"

Serenity chuckled and started to pin the thing golden chain of the locket to the other ones that hung towards his shoulder, above his honor medals "There…" she sighed dreamily "Just when I thought you couldn't look more handsome…"

The prince smiled and caressed her cheek "You may call me handsome but you my dear…are beyond beautiful…" Serenity blushed and looked up at him "Everything looks so beautiful…so many people came to congratulate you! You are popular!" she said playfully making Endymion laugh "I believe I am…"

"How did you know I was here?"

Endymion held her hand and started to walk through the garden "Actually, one of the guests saw yow standing here outside…"

Serenity widened her eyes and looked at him "Oh my…I thought I was being unnoticed…"

The prince chuckled "I'm glad she saw you…" turning to see her he caressed her bare shoulder with the back of his hand "I wanted to see you…I missed you" Serenity smiled "I missed you too…"

The prince held her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers, the music from the ballroom could be heard clearly even outside the gardens. Endymion turned to look at Serenity and smiled "I have waited all night for this moment…" Serenity blinked "What moment?"

"This…" he pulled her close and started moving to the rhythm of the music, Serenity smiled and let him take the lead. The moment seemed magical, dancing under the night sky with anybody around, just the two of them enjoying their company; the prince twirled her making her chuckle and then gave another turn. Sometimes, they didn't need much to say how much they loved each other, this were moments more precious than any other and that made them happy, because they had what they needed.

Serenity moved like the wind, every twirl and every turn made her feel how much she belonged to the man dancing with her; it felt so different from any other time she danced with anyone else, either were too abrupt or went too fast or too slow but never like this, she looked at her prince and smiled, even though she watched him talk to many girls she had no doubt of how much he loved her; he always made her feel like she was the only woman in the universe, something nobody ever made her feel before.

After three melodies ended, they stopped dancing and continued walking through the gardens "This is how I wanted to really spend my birthday…" he said softly, his lips curved into a warm and lovable smile; turning to look at her he lifted her in his arms and twirled, making her laugh "I love you so much!" he said happily.

Serenity placed her arms around his neck and kissed him on his nose "I love you more…"

Endymion chuckled "You love me more? Nah…I love _you_ more"

The white princess nodded and kissed his right cheek "…I love you more…" and then his left cheek "…And more and forever more" the prince looked at her; their noses were only millimeters away from each other "You are the best in my life…" Serenity's eyes started to fill with tears "I am?"

The prince nodded "I don't know what I would do without you…you…_complete_ me…" his deep voice turned into a whisper, caressing her lips; closing the tiny gap between them Endymion kissed her softly, his own lips biting her in a sensuous and delicate way making her respond the same way.

Serenity felt how her heart could leave her chest at any moment, her skin started to bristle sending soft shivers down her spine, every time the prince held her like this she could feel her body lose all its strength, losing herself in the mix his cologne made with his own scent made her lose her mind completely, she was entranced by him and her body was starting to react to those emotions.

As much as he was addicting to her, she was addicting to him; the feeling of her lips against his, her sweet and delicate scent, the softness of her skin, everything about her drove him crazy. Everything about her, made him feel like he belonged to her and nobody else.

Back inside the ballroom, Kunzite returned and searched for the prince. Apparently nobody have noticed his absence or maybe the guests did but not his family, he went outside again to the hall "Did you see Prince Endymion leave the ballroom?"

The guard shook his head remembering the order the prince gave him earlier. Kunzite greeted his teeth and watched the rest of the shitennou walked towards him "What's wrong?"

"Endymion is not in there…"

The three generals widened their eyes in surprise "Are you sure?" Zoicite asked, Kunzite nodded "I just searched for him…I don't know how long he has been missing…but nobody seems to have noticed"

"Do you think he went back to his room?" Jadeite asked; Nephrite pursed his lips "He could be anywhere…maybe he is in the study…"

"Jadeite, you go check the guardhouses, Zoicite, you go and check his chambers…" he turned to see Nephrite "You go and check the study and the surroundings…"

"I'll go look for him in the gardens…We need to find him before Our Mother Queen notices…" Kunzite started walking quickly "Right" the other three man responded.

Endymion opened his blue eyes and looked at Serenity lovingly "I wish you could stay with me tonight…" the white princess caressed his face and smiled "Ask me to stay…" she whispered, the prince widened his eyes "What?"

"Ask me to stay…and I'll stay" Serenity said, looking into his eyes. Endymion looked at her for a moment, his nose rubbing against hers "Stay with me tonight" The princess smiled and kissed him passionately once more not realizing there was somebody else watching them.

"Master!" Kunzite watched them wide eyed; interrupting their kiss. Endymion lowered her and looked at Kunzite with a shocked expression "Kunzite…" he said softly; Serenity bit her lip and lowered her gaze.

Kunzite frowned and walked over the couple "What…what is happening here?" the general diverted his grey gaze from his prince towards the woman standing next to him and widened his eyes in amazement; her beauty was undeniable, realizing who this woman might be he turned to look at Endymion again.

"Master…" he said in a more comprehensive tone; Endymion held Serenity's hand "Serenity…I want you to meet Kunzite, one of my advisors and closest friend…"

Serenity looked at Kunzite and smiled, nodding her head "It's very nice to meet you…"

Kunzite could not believe the beauty and sweetness this woman projected, her voice was like silk and her eyes enchanting but something caught his eye that left him even more astonished, he looked at her forehead "A moon symbol…" he muttered "That is why you said it was complicated…" he looked at the prince and then at the woman in white "That is why you keep it a secret…" Kunzite said in shock.

"Kunzite! Did you find him?" Zoicite's voice startled the three; the three shitennou arrived and as soon as they saw Serenity standing next to their prince they made the same expression Kunzite had moments ago.

Endymion sighed "I believe I cannot keep this from you any longer…"

"What is going on?" Jadeite arched his brow. The prince took a step forward, still holding the princess' hand "Zoicite, Nephrite, Jadeite…meet Serenity…the woman I am in love with" The three men widened his eyes in shock "What?" Jadeite asked astonished "You are in love?"

Serenity chuckled gracefully catching Nephrite's attention "Goddess…Serenity?" he breathed in amazement "You are the silver star of my readings…"

"What?" Kunzite turned to look at his comrade, Nephrite tried to assimilate the situation "The silver star that appears next to the star of Leo…it's you…"

"Master…" Zoicite tried to find the right words to say, he was too shock to even think straight; Jadeite scratched the back of his head and frowned "Let me get this straight…you are in love? Since when!"

Serenity pressed her lips and turned to look at Endymion who was sweat dropping "Since…quite a while now…"

Jadeite widened his eyes "…You bastard!" he said shocked, everybody widened their eyes and turned to look at Jadeite with shock; Jadeite waved his hands "How did you do it? I mean…how I never noticed it before!"

Zoicite sighed and scratched his head "Jadeite...remember that was part of our training? Learn not to show any emotions?"

Endymion shook his head and raised his hands up to his chest "Whoa, whoa…stop it right there!" sighing he ran a hand through his hair "This was something we didn't plan…it just happened…and we are in love…"

The four men stayed silent for a moment, looking at the couple, Nephrite looked at her with still amazement in his green eyes "You found love in a Goddess…but that is…"

"Forbidden, yes…" Serenity said softly "We are aware of that…"

"Does anyone else know about your secret relationship?" Zoicite asked, Endymion shook his head "No…and that is what we want"

"But it is dangerous, for both of you to be together…" Nephrite said softly, Serenity nodded and held Endymion's hand tighter "I love your Prince…and love is what will keep us together…"

"I ask you to please understand…" Endymion said; Kunzite turned to look at Serenity "You are a superior being, you look above us…why did you come here in the first place?"

Nephrite turned to look at Kunzite with fright "She's a Goddess Kunzite! You shouldn't…"

"That's alright…" Serenity interrupted the brown haired general "It's valid for you to ask me what am I doing here and why did I fall for your Prince…I come from a different world, a world with a different way of living…a world where sometimes you forget who you are and what you want in life, because you already know you are going to live forever…every time I felt I was going to lose my mind I turned to look at this planet and always found peace…I always wanted to come but because we are not allowed, I couldn't until one day I decided to break free from my crystal cage…and I found love…and since then I have never been happier"

The four men stayed silent, shocked to find out that their prince was deeply in love with nothing more and nothing less than a Goddess. Every man started to assimilate the situation and the woman standing in front of her; she showed kindness and elegance, sweetness and care something that they knew Endymion looked in a woman and they had to admit that, it was something very hard to find within the woman of the court.

Kunzite was the first one to assimilate the situation, because he already knew Endymion felt something deep for her, not just only an infatuation; the general knew his prince very well; what his eyes showed while he looked at her was nothing less but pure love; taking a step forward he bowed his head in respect "Goddess…"

"This relationship is too dangerous…" Nephrite said softly "Neither of you can risk what you have this way…"

"I know it is dangerous Nephrite, we both know that…but…I don't care…" Endymion said "I know you don't understand it but…I really don't care…."

Kunzite looked at the prince; his voice was determined and when Endymion was determined about something there was no turning back. Taking a step forward he bowed his head in respect at both royals "We will keep the secret Master"

Nephrite widened his eyes in shock, this was something he never expected from their leader "Kunzite…" he said softly; Kunzite turned to look at his comrades and then back at the couple in front of him "This must be, probably the most unexpected thing our Master has ever done in his life…but I know he is not joking…I swore my loyalty to you and I am tending to keep it"

The three other shitennou nodded, Nephrite sighed and bowed his head "Kunzite is right…we swore our loyalty and trust to our prince"

Zoicite cleared his throat "They are probably starting to wonder where are you Master…after all, the party is in your honor"

Endymion sighed and turned to look at Serenity, the princess smiled "It's alright…you should go…"

"Unless…"

All five people turned to look at Nephrite "We think of something that could excuse you from the night…" Jadeite looked at the always serious and polite man with surprise "I did not know you could be mischievous…"

Nephrite sweat dropped "Oy oy Jadeite…just because I am not like _you_ all the time doesn't mean I can't get lose once in a while…" Jadeite frowned "You are making it sound like if I were a devil…" turning to look at the couple he smiled "But he's right, we can think of something…"

Serenity blushed at the general's kind hearts; just like her prince they all had a hidden mischievousness that was incredibly unexpected since they were soldiers, she was very used to know soldiers didn't have a sense of humor for example: Athamas. Smiling she touched Endymion's arm "It's alright…they will notice if you go away"

Endymion flashed her a smile and then turned to look at his shitennou "Are they still celebrating outside?" The four men nodded their heads in response "Very well…" he turned to look at Serenity "Please don't leave, I want you to come with me…"

Serenity widened her eyes excitedly "To where?"

"To a real birthday celebration…"


	76. Chapter 76

**A/N: (humming a fanfare) Well, I know I took a little while to post monday's update but life is unexpected. I'm having this strange feeling that I might let you down a little bit...with what is about to happen below...but, I did it this way because I have other things planned...and because I haven't thought of that particular idea hehe, um, well, I *really* hope you like this chapter and I will see you guys soon :)**

***I do not own sailor moon, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter seventy six**

* * *

Endymion smiled and bent to kiss her on the forehead "Nephrite will walk you to the study…I will be there in a moment" the prince said softly and gave her a peck on the lips; the princess nodded and watched the prince walk away with the rest of the shitennou leaving her with Nephrite.

"Right this way Goddess…" he said softly and started walking towards the palace again; Serenity nodded and walked slowly behind him "You don't trust me…do you?" she asked softly, making the general turn and look at her but words didn't come out, Serenity smiled sadly and lowered her gaze "It's alright…I understand, as his guardian you must always look for his safety…"

"I am shocked actually…I never thought I could be meeting a superior being…" he sighed and looked up to the skies "I never imagined that silver star shone so brightly because it was the star of a Goddess…"

"Do you read the stars?"

The brown haired general nodded "They talk to me since I was very young…"

Serenity smiled "You must be very loyal and honorable…"

Nephrite widened his eyes in shock "What?"

"The stars only reveal their secrets to loyal and honorable hearts…Diana must have you under her protection then"

Nephrite looked at her and admired her beauty "Do you love Prince Endymion?" he asked; Serenity sighed softly and brought her hands to her chest "With all my heart and soul"

As if her answer was the light to a dark room, he smiled warmly "Prince Endymion won't take long; I better take you to the study before he gets there and starts to panic…" Serenity chuckled "Panic?" they started to walk towards the other wing of the palace in the direction of the offices and the royal study, Nephrite smiled and turned to look at her "It is very obvious he does not want anything happen to you…"

Nephrite nodded to some guards, making them know that whatever they saw it should never be commented; opening the door of the study he moved aside and let the princess walk in first and smiled widely remembering the place "What are all those book about?" she asked in wonder, while she looked all the book shelves around the very large room. Nephrite closed the door behind him and stayed a few feet away from her as a matter of respecting her space, smiling he looked up "About almost everything: Music, Art, Literature, History, Politics, Science, Physics, Medicine…"

"Have you read them all?" she asked softly, trying to make a conversation and making him feel more at ease with her presence, Nephrite shook his head "Just a few…but Prince Endymion has…"

Serenity widened her eyes in amazement and turned to look at him "He has?"

Nephrite chuckled "Almost everyone, he likes to read…"

The princess walked towards one shelf and traced the golden letters engraved on one book's spine "What does he like to read the most?" he asked with wonder.

"Mostly medicine…"

"Medicine…what is it about?"

Nephrite smiled "Healing…"

Serenity's eyes widened and turned to look at the general "Healing?" Nephrite nodded. It made sense to Serenity, now she knew why he was good with words and why he spoke with so much eloquence; the prince was a well studied man and still he didn't bragged about it like other men would do in his place "Is there something that man _can't_ do?" she asked jokingly, making the general laugh "Um…probably one thing…"

Serenity was not expecting that answer "Really?"

Nephrite chuckled "He draws terribly…"

Serenity looked at him surprised "He draws?"

Nephrite nodded and walked to the large oak desk and rummaged through some papers, taking a sheet from a small stack he showed it to her "He doodles when he's bored or thinking in something or _somebody_ else…"

Serenity grabbed the piece of paper and looked at it; Nephrite was right, he did not know how to draw. His traces were either too strong or too weak and the proportion of everything was slightly wrong but the draw itself made her blush, it was the drawing of a white rabbit standing on a crescent moon "Luna Bunny…" she whispered.

"Now it makes sense…" Nephrite smiled; Serenity smiled widely and blushed "Do you think I can keep this?"

Nephrite chuckled "Of course, I won't tell him you know his secret"

"This will be between just you and me" she tilted her head and giggled; Nephrite felt at easy with her, she was incredibly sweet and adorable and now understood why she captured his prince's heart.

Endymion sighed and waited for the guards to open the ballroom's back door and walked in, followed by his three shitennou. As bees to honey he caught the girls attention again and walked over his throne and sat next to his mother; Gaia turned and looked at him surprised "Dear, where were you?"

The prince smiled at his mother "I needed some air…I started to feel crowded…"

Queen Gaia arched her brow and smiled knowingly "I see…" the prince turned to look at his grandmother talking to the three kings and their wives "She looks happy"

Gaia turned her face and looked at the queen laughing "Yes, you know how much she loves this…the party is more for her than for you…" she turned to look at him "I know you never liked to be in these kind of social gatherings…"

"I feel like a piece of meat on display…" the prince muttered, Gaia sighed and turned to look at the crowd "It's late anyways…" the queen smiled at her son "Go and look for her…"

"What?" the prince arched a brow, making the queen laugh softly "Oh dear, I know you are dying to go and look for _her;_ and I am not talking about Beryl…"

"Mama…" breathed, Gaia placed her hand over his and patted it "You remind me so much of someone…"

Endymion looked at her mother surprised "To whom?"

Gaia smiled warmly and lowered her head; her golden crown caught the soft light make it gleam like if it was made of stars "Somebody who believed in love over everything else…" she turned to look at him and nodded her head "Go…" Endymion blinked a couple of times and smiled "I love you" he whispered and kissed her hand softly; Gaia smiled back and tilted her head "I love you too"

Endymion nodded and stood up; bowing his head in respect he walked out of the room. The three generals turned to look at the queen who shrugged her shoulders in response and smiled at them knowingly.

"They are so much alike…" Zoicite whispered; Kunzite chuckled "She is his mother after all…"

Jadeite walked over them "He's already gone…should we follow him?"

Kunzite nodded and scratched his head "I just hope the Gods won't hang us for this…"

Zoicite pursed his lips "Oy Kunzite…that's not a good way to put it…" Kunzite turned to Zoicite "Is there any other way?"

Jadeite blew his bangs "Well…if they find out, they sure will have a battle fair and square" Kunzite sighed "Let's just hope that never gets to happen…"

Serenity rummaged through the pages of a book in the study, even though no matter how much she tried she couldn't understand a single word written "And he loves to read _this_?..." she muttered.

Minutes later, the door opened and the prince walked in; Nephrite stood up and went over to him "Safe and sound" he said softly. Endymion smiled and patted his shoulder "Thank you Nephrite…" he knew he was worried about him, after all they were friends before soldiers "Thank you very much" he said again; the brown haired general nodded and smiled "She is waiting for you" Endymion nodded and walked over to her, standing behind her he looked at the book in her hands and held the urge to chuckle "Ah…so you found one of my favorite books" he said, startling her.

Serenity turned to look at him wide eyed "Is this one of your favorites?"

The prince smiled and nodded "I did not know you liked philosophy…" Serenity sweat dropped "What?" she looked at the book in her hands "I do not understand a single word…"

Endymion smiled "Because it's in latin…and…it's upside down dear"

Serenity blushed deep red and turned the book the right way; moving closer so he could only hear she bit her lips for a moment "Latin is that strange language you speak?"

Endymion chuckled and nodded "The one you say it's romantic for some reason…" the princess blushed and smiled "Well…it is…but you barely talk like that…"

"If I do how could you understand what I'm saying?"

Serenity smiled "I would just kiss you in response because I would think you are only saying beautiful words to me…" Endymion blinked a couple of times and laughed softly.

The rest of the shitennou entered the room and watched the couple in amazement "Did you ever think you would see the Prince acting like that?" Jadeite said surprised, the three men shook their heads "A Goddess indeed…" Kunzite said softly, startling the rest of the soldiers.

"She melted his overprotected heart"

Zoicite smiled and nodded "But Nephrite is the only one who has second thoughts about this whole situation…"

Nephrite shook his head "Is not the Princess the one is worrying me…but the Prince…"

Kunzite frowned "What do you mean?"

"Has the stars continued telling you things?" Jadeite asked worried, Nephrite sighed and lowered his gaze "There is no doubt they love each other…but still, there is a shadow that is haunting our Prince's star"

Ooooooooo

"Soon…the moment I have been waiting for my revenge…." A sultry voice echoed in the deepest side of a cave; a pair of yellow eyes gleamed in the darkness "And soon…I will regain my place where I belong…" [chuckles] "Oh my dear love…I know you are the one helping me free myself…I know you can feel me…Soon I will be there with you…soon…"

Ooooooooo

"Where are we going?" Serenity asked curious, Endymion smiled widely "There" he pointed to the village once they were outside the palace; Serenity widened her eyes in shock "But…it's full of people!"

Endymion nodded "It seems that they are celebrating my birthday as well… and I want to go and see what they are doing"

Serenity froze "But…they will see me…"

Endymion turned to look at her "And me as well but I am supposed to be 'handling something important' so I can't be seen either" the princess looked at him wide eyed "You never cease to amaze me Prince of Earth…"

Endymion laughed and turned to look at her "Is it a bad thing?" Serenity giggled and shook her head "More like surprising…" the prince held her hand and walked towards the stables to get his horse, as soon as he finished getting it ready he helped Serenity mount him doing the same right afterwards "Ready?" he whispered in her ear, sending her chills down her spine, the princess blushed and nodded giving him the cue to move the reins of his horse and ride away from the palace towards the village.

As soon as they were getting nearer, Serenity was entranced looking the countless lights around the picturesque village "It's so pretty…" she said dreamily; the prince smiled when he watched the celebration "My parents used to bring me here when I was little…every birthday…I was so happy because I felt like I was just another boy, I felt free in a way because nobody mentioned my title…"

Serenity encircled his waist sadly, she noticed a great amount of melancholy in his words realizing that even he felt he was on a cage sometimes "Why did you stop coming?" she asked softly; Endymion sighed "My mother's health became more and more delicate, I started to grow older and my responsibilities as prince became more and more demanding and time consuming, until one day I left…and did not return for almost ten years…"

The princess' eyes widened in shock "You were far away for that long?"

Endymion nodded "That's right…"

"Why? Was it part of your training?"

The prince moved the reins again, giving his horse the signal to start walking again around village's perimeter so they could see the party from a reserved distance, still being able to listen clearly to the music and people's laughter "Some of it...I could have decided to return earlier but a part in me said I had to wait…maybe I wasn't really prepared to take full responsibility for my title…and to have the life I have now…if you say I am rebellious now…I was even more back in the days..."

Serenity frowned "You don't like to be a Prince?"

Endymion sighed "I don't like to be seen in a way I am not…I have never liked it and I think I never will…" they continued moving, the princess watched in awe the surroundings and tightened her arms on his waist; Endymion smiled sadly "Now my birthdays are a social gathering instead of a true meaningful celebration…"

"That is why you don't like balls…" Serenity said softly; Endymion nodded "And in part because I am a rebel at heart, I was taught to be equal to everybody…but with time, everything started to distort into something else…and that's when I started to feel lonely…until I met you…" Serenity felt him taking her hand and kissed it softly "Maybe your birthdays will never get to change…but one thing is for sure…" she said softly.

Endymion looked at Serenity over his shoulder "What is that?"

Serenity smiled "You will not spend them alone…you have me now and I am always going to be with you" Endymion felt a lump forming in his throat and cleared it softly "And you have me…" Serenity smiled and leaned her head on his back and sighed, both royals stayed silent for a moment, watching the celebration the people in the village threw for their prince.

Oooooooo

Venus walked in silence down the long hall when she watched Athamas walking her way "Sailor Venus…" he said slowly "Good evening…"

The blonde guardian looked at him "Good evening General…" she answered the same way. Athamas arched his brow and looked at her "I have to say that these past few weeks you have been acting cold towards me…is there a reason for that?"

Venus stopped and turned to look at him "What?" she asked. Athamas smiled "Come on Sailor Venus…don't tell me you are still mad because I told you how I look after Princess Serenity in…let's say a closer way than you do…"

Venus frowned "Princess Serenity's safety is my duty as senshi…yours as a soldier is to keep this army alert for any attack…" her words were harsh and direct, hurting the general's pride. Lowering his head he chuckled "Is that so senshi?"

Venus arched a brow "Your soul tells me nothing…almost like if you were empty inside…"

Athamas laughed "Sailor Venus…stop rummaging into those romantic things…we both have a duty…but it's clearly that I am doing mine and yours at the same time"

"Romantic?" Venus asked dryly "Have you forgotten who I am?"

Athamas smiled "Of course not…but because you are the daughter of the Goddess of Love and Beauty you have diverted your attention to mundane things such as love…"

Venus frowned "How dare you to say something like that? Now I see why you haven't become more than a mere soldier…now I understand why my Princess decided to think things before marrying you…" her words felt like a knife digging into his stomach "Your Princess decided to 'think' because she has found something more entertaining to do while you all sleep!"

"How dare you…you don't know what you are saying…" Venus said slowly. Athamas laughed "Go and look for her and see it for yourself and find once and for all how she is laughing at you all!…blind senshi"

Venus felt her blood boil in anger, taking the chain from her waist she let her energy illuminate it in a soft golden color, Athamas watched her with triumph "I am not afraid of you senshi of love…remember I too have my own strength…remember my place here, stop being blind and go and see I am telling you the truth" he chuckled and started to walk away, leaving a very upset Venus alone.

His words dig into her mind and started to wonder if he was really telling the truth or he was just being malicious because she hurt his pride. Turning to the other side of the hall she started walking towards the princess' chambers hoping what she just heard from the general was a complete lie.

Knocking on her door, she waited for some kind of answer but since it was late she opened and closed it behind her, all the lights in the living room where off "Princess?" she walked inside the room but found it empty "Princess?" she called with more insistence, walking to the bathroom but found it empty as well. A mix of worry, panic and frustration started to curl up in her chest; turning to her balcony she found the large windows opened "He was right..." she said feeling her eyes fill with tears "Where are you Princess…where have you gone?"

Ooooooooooooo

Endymion opened the door of his chambers and moved aside to let Serenity walk in first, after they were out looking at the people in the village, they passed through the forest where they first met and then towards the lake for almost the rest of the evening; entering from a secret entrance the couple noticed they were still several carriages waiting at the entrance indicating the ball was still going. They entered the palace and took the same secret passage he once told her that would led her to his room.

Serenity walked in and waited for him to close the door, before walking back at him and kiss him softly on the lips "Happy birthday…again"

The prince smiled and encircled his arms around her waist "Thank you" still having his arms around her he started to walk playfully making her laugh in the process "What are you doing?" she said between laughs. Endymion poked his tongue out and continued walking until they were on his bedroom "I'm walking, without letting you go"

Serenity giggled "You are never going to let me go?"

"No" Endymion looked at her.

"Never ever?"

"No"

"Not even for a little bit?"

Endymion chuckled "No, you are stuck with me forever" Serenity looked at him and smiled softly, her hands starting to rummage his dark hair "I like that idea…" she whispered, the prince bent and caressed her lips with his making her smile; Endymion opened his eyes revealing a shade of deep blue "Stay with me Serenity…"

The lunar beauty caressed his cheek with her hand and looked into his eyes "Yes" she whispered in his ear, her eyes started to fill with tears and sobbed softly, making the prince look at her with worry "Bunny…why are you crying?" he wiped the tears off her face with his thumbs, Serenity shook and lowered her head "I just…I just want to know what do I have to do in order to be with you forever…"

Endymion lowered his gaze and sighed "I can't give you a straight answer for that except that someday…we will find our way to be together, we will manage to destroy that barrier that is keeping us apart…" he moved his face closer to hers "And once we do…there will be nothing or anybody that can break us apart…" Serenity smiled and sniffed a couple of times while nodding "Be careful for what you wish for…" she said playfully.

Endymion widened his eyes "Is there something I should be aware of?"

The princess giggled "Well…" she placed a finger on her chin in thought "Um…." Endymion widened his eyes in shock "So I have to be aware of something?"

Serenity giggled "No, more like…_I_ should be aware of"

"What?"

"Do you hold any secrets from me?"

Endymion widened his eyes "What? No!"

Serenity arched one brow "No?"

"No"

"So…you have nothing to hide…"

"No…"

"You are perfect, then?"

Endymion laughed "Why are you asking me all these questions?"

Serenity laughed "Ah! Are you going to tell me you don't hide anything, _anything_?"

Endymion laughed and started to take his cape off "Well…I don't…"

Serenity narrowed her eyes and sat on his bed "Are you telling me, there is _nothing_ wrong with you?"

The prince chuckled and hung his cape on a rack next to his drawers "Not that I am aware of…" he said giving her his back. Serenity arched a brow and took the piece of paper "Not even the fact that you are a terrible artist? And that you doodle adorable things while your mind flies away?"

Endymion frowned "What?"

"You are not that perfect mister!" Serenity showed him the piece of paper with the bunny drawing; Endymion paled "Where did you get that?" he walked over his bed and tried to take the piece from paper off Serenity's hands "From the study…" she said playfully "I assume you were bored…"

Endymion laughed "Being a lousy drawer makes a difference in how you feel about me?"

Serenity looked at the drawing "You should be ashamed Prince Endymion!" she said between giggles, Endymion chuckled and tried to take the paper again from her hand "Why?"

"You were supposed to be doing something important and instead of that you decided to draw…or…doodle, whatever this is" she looked at the drawing again and then at him "A bunny hopping over a crescent moon…which by the way has incredibly long ears…"

Endymion laughed "Stop laughing at my lousy drawing…give it back, please?"

Serenity arched a brow "Oh? The all mighty Prince of Earth is asking me please to give this back?" she giggled "What happened to your pride My Prince?" she fell on the bed laughing; Endymion laughed at her words "You seemed to have taken it…" stretching on his bed he tried to take the piece of paper again "Give me that…it's starting to become embarrassing"

Serenity giggled "You want it, you come and get it" she jumped off the bed and stood in front of him "Well, aren't you going to get it?"

Endymion smiled and stayed quiet, looking at her. Serenity waved the piece of paper in front of him and started doing a silly dance "I believe I have won!"

Endymion laughed "Really, what did you win?"

"A kiss"

The prince arched his brow "Oh really? From who?"

"You of course" Serenity smiled widely, the prince looked at her and fought the urge to crack laughing "Are you finally going to give me that thing?" he extended his hand out to her; Serenity shook her head "No! You want it, you come and get it!"

Endymion smiled mischievously "Fine" he stood up and started to chase her around the room, Serenity giggled and just when she thought she had won the prince took her from behind and fell back on the bed, Serenity landing on top of him "I believe I beat you…" she said softly; Endymion chuckled and cupped her cheek "You did"

Serenity looked at him; her nose was only inches away from his "Can I keep it?"

Endymion arched his brow "So you can remember how bad I doodle?"

The lunar princess smiled and rubbed her nose against his softly "No…so I can remember how much you love me…" The prince smiled "It's yours…"

Serenity blushed "Endy?..."

"Yes?" he looked at her curious; Serenity pushed back his hair softly and looked into his eyes "Talk to me in Latin…"

Endymion chuckled "Why?"

Serenity bit her lip shyly "Please?" she said in a sing like voice, melting the prince's heart even more, placing a strand of lose hair behind her ear he smiled "Nescio quid facere sine I…Non illis labra respice me sine istis oculis…non ut pellem osculum ad amplexus…"

Caressing her bare shoulder, he kissed it and moved her head close to him, his lips caressing the delicate skin of her ear "Quamvis non temporis memoria simper apud nos…inveniemus viam nostrum ad invicem…"

Serenity looked at him with a curious expression, Endymion caressed her cheek with the back of his hand and looked at her "I don't know what I would do without you…I don't know what it would be to not have those eyes to look at…those lips to kiss at…and this skin to caress…it doesn't matter how much time it will take us, always remember we will find our way to be together…"

The princess' eyes filled with tears once again, her arms encircling his neck she pressed her lips against his in a tender kiss, Endymion ran his hands down her back and up again, feeling the spark that would ignite his passion for her; turning over on the bed so he could be on top this time he looked at her "Princeps pulchrum…I te tam…" he whispered in her ear, his warm breath sent her shivers all over her body and felt her heart pound strong.

Serenity blushed slightly and caressed his lips with her fingers, her respiration was starting to sound slightly agitated but she wanted more, she needed more; looking into his eyes she pulled his head towards hers and kissed him again, this time with more passion, she was on the edge of desire.

Endymion bit her lips softly and moved to kiss her neck, giving butterfly kisses before start nipping the soft skin with his own lips, making her moan softly in the process. Serenity opened her eyes and bit her lower lip, she was entranced by the exciting feeling Endymion was making her feel, although they were only kissing she could feel like something inside her was about to explode, like if there was more to know, more to feel.

The prince breathed in her scent and tried to regain his common sense, because he knew that if he let himself go he would lose his sanity. Sighing he closed his eyes and rested his head on her chest, listening carefully to her heartbeat.

Serenity placed her hands on his face softly; looking at the ceiling she smiled "Endy?"

"Mmm?" he responded.

"How do you say…'Love is what is going to keep us together' in Latin?"

Endymion smiled "Amor est quod ad nos pariter…"

Serenity sighed softly "Endy?"

"Mmm?"

"Amor est quod ad nos pariter…right?"

Endymion smiled and moved his head to look at her "Recte…" he winked an eye at her and rested his head back on her chest "Your heartbeats are cooing me…it's a soothing feeling…so warm" he whispered softly; Serenity started to play with his hair absently, turning her head to where the window was, she noticed how the soft silver light of the moon filtered through the glass and made the darkness of the room feel less intimidating.

Looking down at his head, she pushed his hair back and smiled "You have very soft hair…" but a response from him never came, widening her eyes she noticed his breathing had become slower and deeper, he had fallen deeply asleep, smiling she moved very slowly so he wouldn't feel she was moving away "You must have been very tired…you didn't even noticed me moving…" she whispered surprised, taking her heels off she looked at him and tried to imagine how uncomfortable it might be to sleep in a uniform like his "I'll try to _un_-prince you…" she giggled at her invented word.

Moving closer to him she sat on the bed and started to take his formal red sache off with all his medals, looking at them she traced her fingers through the metal attachments "They're so beautiful…" she whispered; putting the sache aside on the bed she proceeded to take off the belt where he carried his magnificent sword and put it aside as well. Looking at him deeply asleep she smiled and traced the line of his jacket from the collar down to where it ended the deep grey pattern; taking the jacket off slowly she placed it along his other things and lied down next to him, running her arm around his waist and closed her eyes while taking a deep breath and let herself drift to sleep as well.

Ooooooo

Charmindy threw her gloves on the couch as soon as she entered the living room; clapping her hands twice Filemina walked in and bowed "Yes My Lady?" the blonde woman turned to look at her and frowned "A glass of wine, NOW!" she yelled.

Filemina nodded and served the woman a glass of red wine; Beryl walked in afterwards and looked at Charmindy drinking "You shouldn't be drinking more…you had enough at the ball"

Charmindy turned to look at the redhead woman and chuckled sarcastically "Who are _you_ to tell me what I should or should not do? _You_…" she walked towards her and grabbed her by her wrists; Beryl looked at her with wide eyes "What are you doing?"

Charmindy tightened her grip on Beryl's wrists "You are hurting me…" she said softly, looking at the blonde woman in front of her "You could have done something tonight! This was your opportunity and you let it pass!" she threw her against the floor; Filemina looked at the scene with wide eyes.

Beryl lowered her gaze "I tried Charmindy…I tried everything but…it doesn't work that way…"

Charmindy frowned "Oh? So you know how it works? _Please_, enlighten me"

Beryl felt her eyes hot with tears and pressed her lips together "The Mother Queen is on my side…but still, Prince Endymion does not look at me" she looked up at Charmindy "I tried to win his heart by all means possible…but nothing works…and Queen Gaia…she…" she trailed off, Charmindy arched her brow "Gaia is sick, Gaia is no longer what she once was…she will die anytime soon…you shouldn't even worry about her"

Looking down at the redhead she crouched and held her chin tightly "I have been wasting too much time teaching you how to be a lady…your time is running up and I am getting tired…"

Beryl looked at Charmindy with hurt "Aren't you worried?"

Charmindy frowned "What?"

"If I turn queen…who is assuring you that you are moving with me to the palace?"

The blonde woman smiled and started chuckling "Oh Beryl…you are so naïve…" she let go of her chin and stood up "If you dare to do anything to me…if you dare to bring me down I will drag you with me…" she turned and grabbed the glass of wine from Filemina's hand and took a sip "You managed to win the Mother Queen's interest that is why I won't do you anything this time…but still…I want you to get the crown"

Walking over the window she smiled devishly "The Queen invited you again to have lunch…am I correct?"

Beryl nodded still looking down; Charmindy took another sip of her wine "Did she tell you when?"

"No"

Charmindy turned to look and started to walk at her again, looking down she chuckled "You better do something right and fast…" the woman spilled the red wine over Beryl, startling her; widening her eyes at her ball dress tainted with the wine she looked at Charmindy "Why do you hate me so much?"

Charmindy looked at her "I do not hate you…I just feel nothing for you…how can anyone have feelings towards somebody who is plain useless?"

Beryl looked at her wide eyed; her eyes started to fill with fresh tears but fought with all her might the urge to start crying in front of her. Charmindy gave her a dry look and then turned to Filemina "Clean this mess up…including this one who claims to be alive…" turning on her heel she walked out of the room, leaving Beryl still on the floor.

Filemina walked over Beryl and grabbed her arm "Come…" she tried to help her stand up; Beryl looked at her  
"Thank you Filemina…"

The older woman sighed and looked at the young woman with sad eyes "Why are you still here, look how she treats you…you are destroying your dignity…"

Beryl smiled sadly lowering her gaze "I don't know anymore Filemina…I don't know if I have any left…maybe it is because I feel like I am someone when I wear clothes like these…this is better than the life I had before…and when I get to see the Prince…" she trailed off.

Filemina looked at the young woman with sad eyes "Do you really care for the Prince?" Beryl nodded "I do…I don't want anything else but to win his heart and be with him…" the older maid stood up "Let me help you get that dress cleaned up…wine is not an easy stain to remove…"

Beryl looked at Filemina and widened her eyes "…Thank you"

Ooooooooooo

Nephrite sighed and opened a window from his chambers, looking at the distance he turned to look up to the sky "The stars are trying to tell me something…" he whispered; walking outside to his small balcony he raised his hands "What are you trying to tell me?" after a moment of reading them his dark green eyes widened in fright "No…" he whispered and walked out of his room immediately.

Walking over to Kunzite's room he knocked on the door with insistence; the white haired general opened and looked at him surprised "Nephrite is something wrong?" the first in command of the four shitennou asked concerned, Nephrite nodded "I need to talk to you…"

Kunzite frowned and moved aside to let the general come in "What's wrong?" he said before closing the door; Nephrite went to sit on a chair next to a window and looked outside "The stars just spoke to me…"

Kunzite crossed his arms "Did they mention anything about the enemy we are looking for?"

Nephrite turned to look at his leader "We need to break the relationship between our Master and the Princess of the Moon…" he said softly, but his tone of worry never left his words. Kunzite widened his eyes in shock "What are you saying Nephrite?"

"A shadow is beginning to cover the star of Leo...We must be prepared for what it might happen…"

"But, how do you know she is the one causing all this?" Kunzite asked; Nephrite stood up "She is not causing anything…but their romance is putting both in great danger, they are risking their lives…"

"They are breaking a taboo…they can't be together…the stars are warning me and we need to protect our Master, we swore our loyalty Kunzite…"

Kunzite lowered his gaze "This can cause problems…"

Nephrite nodded "But we must protect the Prince…it's our duty…you are the closest to him, you need to talk to him and persuade him to break his relationship with the Princess…" Kunzite sighed "Have the stars already given their last word?"

The chestnut haired man lowered his head "Prince Endymion needs to concentrate…he needs to be prepared, because something is coming…something I don't know…but…" he raised his head again "Darkness is covering the stars…and it's reaching for the sun…"

"The sun…" Kunzite said slowly "You mean…?"

"If the sun gets clouded, we will be covered in darkness…which means, our Protector will not be able to save us all…we must protect him…"

"We need to call Zoicite and Jadeite…" Kunzite said slowly, walking towards his door he knocked on both doors and walked back to his room and waited for them to show up; minutes after both blonde men entered the room and closed the door "Is something wrong?" Zoicite asked worried.

Jadeite looked at Nephrite's worried face "Something tells me there is something we should worry about…"

Kunzite sighed "Nephrite read the stars again…we must be prepared for whatever it may come…" Zoicite's eyes widened "What are you talking about, what is happening?"

Nephrite stood up "The star of Leo is in great danger…"

"The star of Leo…" Jadeite arched his brow "What do you mean by that?"

"It's Endymion's star…"

Both blonde men's eyes widened in shock "What are you saying Nephrite?" Kunzite crossed his arms "We must keep the Moon Princess away from Our Master…"

"Eh?" Zoicite blinked a couple of times "But…she is a Goddess"

"Exactly, that is against the rules…Prince Endymion's life is at stake…" Nephrite said with great worry "Darkness is approaching…and its covering both Moon and our planet…"

Zoicite widened his eyes "Remember when Endymion felt sick all of the sudden?" Nephrite nodded "We must be prepared and we must protect our Prince…"

"Endymion will never accept it…you've all seen how he looks at her! How he looks after her!" Jadeite said. Nephrite sighed and lowered his gaze "We must break them apart, for their own safety…his life is at stake as much as hers…We must persuade him, he needs to break his relationship with her…"

"Do you think we should tell him what you saw?" Jadeite asked, turning to look at Kunzite "He will never accept it"

"We must try…we swore our loyalty…we swore to Queen Gaia that we would look after him…" Kunzite said; Jadeite sighed and stood up "He will get very upset…we just helped him tonight and tomorrow we will tell him that he cannot see her anymore? Do you have the slightest idea of how he might react?"

"We cannot tell him much; because if we do we are going to have to explain to him the importance of keeping him safe…and alive" Nephrite said "We are not allowed to confess that secret…We are under oath"

"But…if something happens to him…" Zoicite trailed off; widening his eyes he turned to look at Nephrite "He is the Protector of this planet…if something happens to him…"

Nephrite nodded "If something happens to Prince Endymion…"

"…Our planet will cease to exist" Kunzite said slowly.

The sky started to became a lighter with the sun's rising; Serenity sighed and woke up to the sound of the birds chirping at the prince's balcony doors. Opening her eyes widely she realized that it might be later than usual; turning to look at the still sleeping prince she smiled and thought how beautiful might be to wake up and see his handsome face every morning, to hear his voice to warm up her day every day, running her hand through his jet black hair she sighed "I will see you tonight again my handsome Prince…" moving closer to his ear she whispered "I love you…" Standing up, she walked to get her heels and soon she disappeared in a flash of silver sparks.

Like she normally do or at least most of the times she went down to earth, she landed on a secret place in one of the gardens of the palace, that giving her the perfect alibi for any question that might be asked. The sun already shone on the moon, although it was as bright and warm as on earth it was something to admire and to be grateful; since the moon didn't self sustained like some other planets they had their own beauties to admire, like the purity of their lands, the peaceful sound of the magnificent fountains, the elegance of the moon palace and its surroundings and of course the tranquility of what they all called The sea of Serenity in honor of their queen.

Walking towards her chambers in silence, Kilmakos appeared from behind a pillar "General Athamas will be very please to know that I have seen Princess Serenity coming home early in the morning again…" he chuckled and started to walk to the opposite direction of the hall.

The princess opened one of the two large doors of her room and closed it right after, humming a soft tune she stopped surprised as soon as she watched Venus sitting on her bed; her eyes looked tired as if she didn't have any sleep last night "Princess!" she said as soon as she looked at her there and stood up.

"Venus…what are you doing here this early?" she asked surprised. The blonde woman walked towards the princess and looked at her with a worried stare "Where were you?" Athamas' words still echoed in the back of her mind and as much she didn't want to believe him, he might have been telling the truth. Serenity widened her eyes and looked away "As funny and silly it will sound…I fell asleep on a bench in one of the gardens…"

Venus stayed expressionless for a moment "Are you telling me the truth?" she asked dryly. Serenity's heart started to beat faster "Venus?"

"Are you telling me the truth Princess?"

"…Why should I lie?"

Venus sighed "I searched all over the palace and did not found you…"

"The palace is too big to actually look all over, you might know that by now…" Serenity answered and walked towards her dresser "I like to take a walk at night through the gardens…are you going to forbid me that as well?"

Venus sighed again and walked over to where the princess was standing, looking for a clean dress to wear for the day, placing one hand on her shoulder she startled Serenity, making her turn "If something were happening…you would tell me, right?"

Serenity widened her eyes "Venus?"

"Right Princess?" the blonde senshi asked again, trying to convince herself that everything Athamas said to her the night before was a complete lie; Serenity placed her hand over Venus' "Yes Venus, I would…"

The venusian princess nodded and lowered her gaze, Serenity frowned "Why…why are you so worried? Did something happen?"

"I saw General Athamas last night…" Venus trailed off, Serenity widened her eyes again in shock "Athamas…" she said softly "Did something happened with him?"

Venus looked at Serenity "He is…upset...he…" she trailed off "His soul tells me nothing…" the lunar princess sighed and sat on a chair; looking at her hands she shook her head "Please don't ask me to reconsider my situation with him…" Venus frowned and crouched in front of her "That is not the point of why I am mentioning this…"

Serenity looked at her guardian "Then, what is it?"

Venus placed her hands over Serenity's "He told me you escaped from here every night…" at first I didn't want to believe him, but then I came straight to you room to prove his words wrong but you weren't here so I panicked. I went to every place I could think of inside and outside of the palace and I didn't find you…I thought about telling the girls but I just wanted to make sure before…Princess, if the General is right, I want to hear it from you…and I want to know in case it's true where do you go?"

Serenity didn't know what to say, she felt bad every time she had to lie to her or anyone of the girls. They were her friends, her guardians and her companions in this place of peaceful and madness; lowering her gaze she let out a soft sigh "I just…I do go out every night, I go to a place where I feel completely free and happy…and I stay there until I fall asleep…" she looked at Venus and smiled "Be sure I am safe…"

"Where is that place?" Venus asked.

"A land of dreams" Serenity said softly "A place where magic turns reality…where I can feel like I am just a normal girl having normal dreams and wishes…"

Venus noticed a soft glow in Serenity's aura, something she missed to see and was starting to worry her; the lunar princess was well known to be a happy and very kind woman, every man in this realm wanted to pursue and marry her, every man desired her; she was indeed the jewel of the galaxy if not the universe. Known as the most beautiful princess alive, her purity and dynasty made her be the most wanted woman in the immortal world; of course Athamas was upset to not have her with him Venus thought, but she found strange that all of the sudden, her demeanor started to change; not that it was something bad but it was clearly something different and somewhat refreshing.

Her ideals were exactly the same, but the way to express them was different; her beliefs strengthen and started to act more mature without killing the spark of her always bubbly character. Again, her something that she haven't seen until a few months ago; her aura shone like if she was in love "Love" she thought, that was her specialty, her forte; it was something that made her feel happy because she missed her bubbly princess but also triggered in her mind and wanted to know the reason of her change.

The answer to her question has been there all this time, Princess Serenity was in love but she needed to know what or who caused that feeling. As her guardian, she had to know the truth of her secret and now that her heart was so vulnerable it was easier to her to find out the truth and protect her from any harm.


	77. Chapter 77

A/N: It's friday again...how quick this week has gone...well, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I know it's a long story...but I am doing my best. Have a nice weekend, and thank you very much for your reviews.

**I do not own sm, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter seventy seven**

* * *

"Eh? Are you sure about this?" a very surprised Jupiter asked, while she took another sip of her golden leaf tea. Venus nodded and placed her own cup down "Yes, I am the Goddess of Love I have to be sure"

Mars sweat dropped "Actually…it's your mother, but it's alright"

Venus bit her lip "As her daughter, I should know…I was trained to know…since I am her successor" Mercury chuckled "You are in a very good mood today Venus, that is something good"

Venus sighed "I don't know if I am or not…"

"What is the matter?" Jupiter arched her brow, Venus shrugged her shoulders "It's so clear to me now…Princess Serenity is in love and still she holds the secret very well…"

Mars took a bit of her breakfast "Do you really think she is in love? I mean, there could be other things that could make her that happy…" Venus frowned "For example?"

"Well, for example she is not with Athamas anymore…that's a good thing for her, she wanted to break that engagement since the moment she said yes…or at least that is what we all felt"

Venus sighed "Our Princess had strong feelings for the General…but they changed, I still don't know when or how…I believe that is the main question of all this issue"

Jupiter sighed and leaned on her chair "What should we do?"

"Protect her"

All three girls looked at the raven haired girl with wide eyes "Mars?" Jupiter asked. Mars looked at them "I didn't want to tell you any of this until I was perfectly sure of it…"

"What is it?" Venus asked; Mars pushed her cup of tea aside "I have been having the same vision over and over again…"

"Oh no…" Venus said softly, Jupiter frowned "Wait, am I missing something here?"

"Should we be worried about it Mars, is it serious?" Mercury asked softly, Mars nodded and looked at the blue haired woman "Darkness is approaching…although Father has not mentioned anything yet, I know it is something we should be preparing ourselves to fight…"

"Do you know who is causing this?" Jupiter asked worried, the raven beauty shook her head "I only see a shadow…and I see our princess crying desperately…the image is so vivid I can almost feel the pain in her sobs…I try to find out about more…but, the vision is blurry, I do not know who might be causing this or why is Princess Serenity involved…if it's real or not, but we must be prepared"

"With this known, we need to be more alert and keep a closer eye on our Princess…now that I know she tends to go out at night…" Venus said softly, looking at her cup of tea; Mercury bit her lip "Do you know where she goes?"

Venus shook her head "It's not safe for her to be alone at night in who knows where…she didn't tell me but I will find out"

Ooooooooo

Endymion walked inside the study and watched his counselors where already there, apparently waiting for him "You are here earlier than I expected…" the prince said softly.

Jadeite turned to look at Kunzite, who was giving the prince a worried look "What?" Endymion asked "Your silence is…starting to worry me"

"Master, we need to talk"

Endymion raised his brows in surprise; he wasn't expecting to hear Kunzite talk with such formality and seriousness when they were alone. It was clearly that it was something important and that it was a matter that needed to be treated without familiarities.

The prince leaned on his desk and crossed his arms "What is it?"

Kunzite sighed; he actually didn't know how to start the conversation, he knew the prince very well and was aware of his strong and determinant character. The matter was of great importance but it was also that he knew it could affect him, but he had a duty and he had to look for his safety first because he was not just a simple prince but the protector of this planet and if anything happened to him, earth will resent the consequences.

"Master…you cannot see Princess Serenity anymore"

Endymion looked at Kunzite and frowned, letting a sarcastic chuckle "You are joking, right?"

"It's not a joke Master…" Kunzite said. The prince arched his brow "And can I know why?"

"Master, have you considered the seriousness of this case?"

Endymion sighed "I have Kunzite. But it is my decision and you shouldn't interfere"

Kunzite frowned "I am taking the liberty to interfere…"

"Well step back. I don't anyone interfere with my decisions. That is my personal life we are talking about" Endymion said in a warning tone "You have the right to assist me and to give your advice when it comes to matters of this kingdom but I won't let you cross the line between my duties as prince and my personal life…and that goes to any of you" he looked at the other three man with a challenging stare.

"What you are doing is not just a simple affair! Master you are having a romance with a superior being!" the white haired general exclaimed "That is against the laws of…everything!"

"Why are we even discussing this matter?" the prince asked with annoyance, Nephrite stepped in "Because it something that has to do with you, Master"

"Exactly, and because it is something that has to do with me only you need to step back" Endymion's voice deepened, letting them know he was getting upset. Jadeite pursed his lips, this was the part he was referring to; he knew Endymion will get frustrated and mostly upset about the whole situation.

"Being in this impossible relationship is putting you in great danger, aren't you thinking straight?" Kunzite raised his voice in frustration; Endymion looked at the white haired soldier with annoyance and turned to look at Nephrite "This is something I have heard before…" he said slowly.

Nephrite pressed his lips together "Stars never lie Master"

"You have to be joking…" the prince sighed in frustration "Last night you didn't say anything…why are you doing it _now_?"

"Because we have to be realistic…Prince, what you are doing is not only putting you at risk but also her" Kunzite said "You are breaking a taboo!"

"I am going to say this once" Endymion raised his hand "And I hope it has to be the only time I will have to say it…" he looked at them with a dead serious glare "I am the Crowned Prince of Earth and I have followed every damn thing I need to follow in order to keep this place safe. You have all the right to give me your advice but only in political matters, but I _forbid_ you to cross that line"

"We are not only here to give you advice Master but also to protect you" Zoicite interfered "I don't need anyone to protect me!" Endymion raised his voice "What I need is you to respect my life"

Kunzite walked over the prince "Endymion, you are welcome to hate us but we are your guardians and we have a duty to follow. Whether you like it or not, we are going to look after you"

"For your own safety Master, stay away from her" Nephrite said "If you love her…you need to stay away from her, this feeling you have for each other might bring destruction…what you are doing is against nature laws…"

"Think about Her Majesty…" Zoicite said.

"And this Kingdom…" Nephrite said as well, Endymion lowered his head and shook his head "You think I haven't thought of that? You think I am just being stupid or maybe you think this is a fling"

"Master, we need to listen to what Nephrite is telling us" Jadeite said.

Endymion ran a hand through his hair "I can't believe this…I really can't" he turned and went to sit behind his desk and began reading some papers before signing them. The four men looked at each other and then at the prince "Aren't you going to tell us anything?" Jadeite asked.

The prince put the papers down and looked at them "We are not discussing this matter anymore. My personal life is that, personal, and you are not allowed to interfere. You know how much I care for you, we have been friends for a long time…but that doesn't mean I will let you rummage through my life"

"Try to understand!" Kunzite raised his voice "It seems you are not listening to anything we are saying!" the prince slammed the desk with his hand "Enough! I will not discuss this matter with you anymore!"

"That romance of yours will ruin your life!" Kunzite said frustrated, that was something only he could dare to do, none of the other three men could go as far as raising his voice to the prince; although they were all close friends Kunzite was the closest and the only one that was not afraid to challenge the prince even knowing that if they fought the prince could win him easily.

Endymion stood up and walked over to Kunzite "This is the last time you say something like this, _ever_. Next time, be sure they will be consequences" turning to the desk, he grabbed the papers he just signed and pressed them against Kunzite's chest "Take these to their respective senders and make sure they receive it and send a notification back as soon as possible" the prince passed him and walked out of the study, slamming the door on his way out.

Kunzite looked at the papers and then turned to look at his fellow shitennou; Jadeite sighed "This was something we already knew it was going to happen"

Zoicite pursed his lips "What are we going to do now?"

"It is clearly that he won't let us interfere" Nephrite said "He was incredibly upset"

"Because he cares for her…" Kunzite said "But we swore to the Queen we were going to protect him, this is why we are shitennou because we are the Holy Protector's guardians; and that is what we are going to do, whether he likes it or not"

"But that will end our friendship…" Jadeite said sadly, Zoicite sighed and lowered his head "He is the Crowned Prince after all, we serve to him…it doesn't matter how close we became on the army…he is still our superior and we need to fulfill our duties as soldiers before the ones as friends"

"But he never liked to use his title for these kinds of purposes…" Jadeite said "He had never remarked who he is…to us, he has always been our friend first"

"Endymion is angry…and most likely hurt, we just need to give him some time to think things thru…" Kunzite said "He is torn because he is aware of the seriousness of his romance with her"

"But still he does not want to let her go…" Jadeite said, Zoicite sighed "Would you let go a woman like her?"

"Do you think he is only with her just because she is a Goddess?" Jadeite asked wide eyed, Zoicite frowned "No, what I meant is that if you had a woman who cares for you and risks her own life just to come and see you, would you let her go?"

Jadeite lowered his gaze "This must be very hard for him…"

"Let's face it, his title obstacles his chance in finding true love" Nephrite said sadly, Kunzite sighed and looked down at the papers in his hands "There is no doubt he is in love with her…because just as she is risking her life, this relationship is more dangerous for him…for who he is"

"Isn't he a God as well or something?" Jadeite asked confused, Nephrite pursed his lips "Well…we don't know that exactly but if he is the son of a divine being…he may have some divinity running through his veins…"

"There must be a divine reason of why he is the Protector of this planet" Zoicite said softly; Kunzite sighed "Remember what the Queen told us…"

"Is even possible to imagine what kind or how much power he holds within him?" Jadeite asked curious, all three men stayed silent for a moment; Nephrite placed a hand on his chin "I don't think it's possible, because we are never going to witness it"

Zoicite sighed and sat on his chair "What's wrong Zoicite?" Kunzite asked, the blonde man shook his head softly "When I was a little boy I remember a story my parents told me about a Goddess fighting against a monster…they mentioned something referring a golden light"

Jadeite sat across the blonde man and rested his elbows on his thighs "Well, it must have been Queen Gaia…"

"Do you think we should tell her?" Zoicite asked again, Kunzite widened his eyes "Tell her what?"

"That her son is having a romance with a being from the immortal world?"

Nephrite pursed his lips "She will get worried, we cannot worry her…her heart couldn't take it" Zoicite looked at the chestnut haired man "But she is one or…was, she might know what to do"

"Nephrite is right Zoicite…Queen Gaia must not be disturbed with this matter, she lend us this mission because she trusts us to protect the Prince, if we go and ask her to help us she will worry even more, knowing that the soldiers she commissioned for the task are not capable of fulfilling their duty…" Kunzite said "Prince Endymion will have to understand…I will continue trying to make him understand…even if that will jeopardize our friendship"

"Kunzite is right, we must do this alone…we can't also tell the King about this…he trusts entirely in his son…" Nephrite said thoughtful, Jadeite sighed and looked up to the ceiling "I do not think this romance will divert the Prince from his Polemarchos' duties…I mean, he has been seeing her for we don't know how long and look all what he accomplished!"

"Well yes, you are right but if he gets hurt or…killed there will be no hope for us…for any of us, the Queen can't take charge of it all over again…Endymion is her descendant in the matter of protecting this planet" Nephrite said.

"Agh…this is so difficult…" Jadeite let out a soft sigh "If only he wasn't that stubborn…"

"We should be looking for him right now…" Zoicite sweat dropped "Instead of complaining about his stubborn behavior…" Kunzite shook his head "We will continue our every day routine as if nothing has happened…but we will be more alert and if we see them together again we will have to interfere…"

"That will cause a commotion. He will fight us back" Zoicite said, Kunzite sighed "I do feel bad for him, even though I do not know exactly how he feels I understand why he is angry…but we need to protect him no matter at what cost"

"She is an innocent soul…it's a shame things had to happen this way…" Nephrite lowered his head "The time we spent here last night, she showed great love and admiration for him…"

"But she can represent a threat for him…" Jadeite said softly, Nephrite sighed "Just imagine what could happen to our Master if the beings above us find out about all this?"

The four men nodded their heads; Kunzite stood up and looked at the papers in his hands "I didn't even notice when he signed this…" he looked at the prince's strong trace on the papers "…I should send these…otherwise if he finds out I didn't do it he will get even more upset than he is now…"

"What are those? Need any help?" Jadeite asked; the white haired man shook his head "Some order papers for the generals of each division…I just need to find the messenger"

"Um, aren't we supposed to be receiving those papers? We are the first Commanders of each division after all…" Zoicite arched his brow "Or is it that he was too angry to give us that task…"

Kunzite chuckled "We take care of our respective divisions from here…what it's written here only goes to the sergeants…they need to be sending the reports to us…at least…that is what it says right here…" he read through the lines of the papers "Well, let's get to work…we need to inform him later of whatever happened with the matter of the exportations…"

"Oh right…I forgot about that, but wasn't General Leonidas and the King in charge of that matter?" Jadeite arched his brow in question; Kunzite shook his head "They are, but we are advisors to this kingdom as well…just like Leonidas, Prince Endymion has to interfere into this matter too…and as his counselors we need to be informed as well"

"Well, that sounds like it's going to take us all afternoon…" Nephrite said standing up "But I prefer this than fighting…"

Kunzite chuckled and stacked the papers in his hands "You sure were never a man that enjoyed fighting with a sword…" Nephrite sweat dropped "I am not as violent as you and Endymion…"

"Sword fighting is not violence, is self defense" Kunzite raised his index finger like a teacher to his students; Jadeite arched his brow "You still remember all that crap?"

Kunzite sweat dropped bursting his lecture bubble and looked at Jadeite "You don't?"

Jadeite frowned and raised his hands in the air "Oh, heeeeell no! Now that I am outside the training grounds I can say that Rumalos lied to us all…"

Zoicite pursed his lips "Well, actually…He was not that wrong…I mean, we fought to defend our kingdom"

"Well yes, but that was not self defense, that was pure war…and we fought because we had to get a task done, we had to protect our kingdom" Jadeite said; Zoicite arched his brow "That is self defense to me…"

"The point is…I don't remember the 'theoretical' part of our training just the other part…" Jadeite shrugged his shoulders "Anyways…as I was…saying, let's get these things done before our last meeting of the day" Kunzite raised the papers in his hands and walked out of the study with the other three men following.

Ooooooooo

"The day is going so slowly…"

Mars arched a brow at Venus "Is that a bad thing? It's already past noon…the sun will start to set soon enough"

The blonde guardian pouted her lips "Well no but…I do am a little bored" Mercury looked from her book to her leader "Maybe you should try to read something…it will keep you focused"

The three girls sweat dropped; Jupiter blew her bangs "Mercury…you say that because that is what you do to keep you focused…"

"Of course…like you when you cook…" Mercury said softly and widened her eyes "…Or clean…or…punch at other people…" Jupiter frowned "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you punch people" Mercury said sweetly.

Mars sighed; catching the girl's attention "What's wrong?" the Amazonian guardian asked, Venus frowned "Is it about the vision?"

The raven haired girl shook her head "Why is love something so difficult to find in this place?"

"Eh?" the three girls asked wide eyed, Jupiter and Mercury turned to look at Venus, startling her "What?" she asked; Jupiter placed her hand on her shoulder "Go on…you should answer this…"

Venus sighed "Maybe because…everybody is predestined to one another?"

Mars widened her eyes and looked at Venus "What?"

Venus raised her hands "I actually don't know how to answer this…" leaning her face on her hand, she looked at her with curiosity "Why are you asking that all of the sudden?"

Mars sighed and lowered her face "I saw my father the other day…and, I realized he is not happy…and well all these things concerning Princess Serenity's engagement and discussions and all…reminded me, the fights between my parents…"

The three girls looked at her sadly "They don't get along too well?" Mercury asked softly, Mars shook her head "They fight since I can remember…but I know it is because my father has been in love with somebody else all this time…"

"What?" Venus asked wide eyed

Mars sighed "I was very young…and, I was walking towards my chambers…"

_Flashback_

_Seven year old Mars was walking down the hall with a glass of water in her hand; it was somewhat late at night and the only light in the Martian palace was the one the small candles provided. She was about to turn around the corner when she heard a loud noise; widening her eyes she mumbled "Papa…" and walked toward their chambers. She saw the door slightly open allowing her to see and hear clearly the couple having another argument._

_Ares ran a hand through his long blonde hair and sighed "Why do you have to be so dramatic Eris? Why complicate things even more?"_

_Eris had another crystal vase in her hand "I'm tired of this Ares…I just can't get more of this situation…"_

"_What situation Eris?"_

"_You, being absent all the time…"_

_Ares looked at her "I am not absent because I want to be…I have a duty!" Eris chuckled with sarcasm "Right…"_

"_Go and ask everyone in Olympus! Ask them! And you will see how mistaken you are…" Ares raised his hands in frustration. Eris violet eyes started to fill with hot tears "That is not what I am talking about…"_

"_Then what is it?"_

"_I know you still long for her…she is still at the back of your mind…" Eris started to cry; Ares sighed and sat on the bed "Don't go there again…please"_

"_I knew her ghost will haunt us…even after all this time, you are still infatuated with her! And where does that leaves us? Her ghost is so strong…you even push your daughter away just to spend more time in Olympus so you can know more about her…"_

_Ares looked at her; his grey eyes darkening with anger "Leave Mars out of this!"_

"_Mars is the one that is suffering the most, how do you think she will feel when she find out her father is a bastard that lied to her own mother…"_

"_What?" Ares looked at her "I lied?…now all of the sudden I lied to you?...you knew exactly how things were and still you stayed!"_

"_Because you asked me to…because I was the woman that slept with you every night after you spent your days and nights only thinking about her and how you could bring her back…I stayed because I loved you…because I still love you…" Eris started crying again; Ares held her "Love is something we don't find so easily in this place you said it so when we agreed to be together…we said we would try to live a peaceful life and still, you don't want to let that matter go…"_

"_Because I always wanted to be the woman of your life…I wanted to fill her place…"_

"_You have a special place in my heart Eris…you gave birth to my daughter who I love with all my heart…there's nothing more valuable than that…Mars is my life"_

"_But I am not" Eris said dryly, falling to the floor; Ares crouched "Give me the vase Eris…" she let go of the crystal vase and Ares put it aside "You know how much Gaia meant to me…I trained her, we were practically inseparable…you know that, but that doesn't mean I don't care for you…when I asked you to marry me, I did it because I wanted to start a new life, and I wanted it with you…and now we have our daughter…who we have to protect with our lives…"_

_Eris smiled sadly and lowered her gaze "You love a woman who I am sure doesn't even remember you…"_

_Ares lowered his head "I tried Eris…but you don't want to listen…" her words hit a very soft spot in his heart, standing up he walked towards the large bathroom and closed the door, leaving Eris crying on the floor._

_Mars placed a hand on her cheek and felt her warm tears falling; she never imagined to see her parents in that vulnerable way, especially her father who she always looked at the most strong man in the universe. Hurt by the scene she witnessed she turned on her heel and walked toward her room in silence._

End of flashback

"Ever since that night…I have been questioning myself the same thing my mother said to my father that night 'love is a very difficult thing to find in this place…' but…why?" Mars said softly; the three senshi looked at her sadly and went to sit next to her "I'm so sorry to hear this Mars…" Venus said, placing her hand on top of hers.

"My mother got over it, they never had an argument like that in the time I lived there…or at least I didn't hear them again…and with time I understood why my mother was always so cold and sometimes so mean, while my father always had a smile on his face when he looked at me…My mother has always been jealous that she has never been the woman fulfilling his heart completely…"

"That is why you always asked Princess Serenity if she really cared for the General…" Mercury said softly, Mars nodded "At first I knew like all of us, that she have finally had found the man she was looking for and I considered her a lucky woman…but then, just like Venus I started feeling some sadness in her that it was almost so painful to watch…and when I knew she broke her engagement I felt happy for her…but still, there was an arrangement behind all it…" Mars said softly.

Jupiter let out a loud sigh "Well…if it makes you feel better…my father is a bastard who woo my mother and abandoned her as soon as he found out I was coming to this realm"

Venus, Mercury and Mars looked at the brown haired beauty with wide eyes "But he recognized you…"

"Yes, yes but because he had no other choice…it's alright really…I don't really need him to be around…" Jupiter cracked her fingers "I suppose that is why I am so…like this, at this point no man is going to look at me…everyone is afraid that I might just roast them to death"

The girls giggled; Venus sighed and rested her chin on her hands "Well…even though I am the daughter of the Goddess of love and beauty…I highly doubt there will be someone out there for me…"

"I am not looking for a man, thank you very much" Mars took a sip of her tea; Mercury smiled "Good thinking Mars, you should concentrate your mind in other more valuable things…such as studying and learning new things every day"

Mars sweat dropped "I wasn't saying I would do that Mercury…"

"You don't want to fall in love Mercury?" Venus asked surprised "How come?"

"Good question…" Jupiter said softly.

Mercury chuckled "It is not that I don't want to fall in love but, Mars is right…love is something you don't get to see here very often and well…I prefer to focus my mind in something else more interesting. It is never too late to learn something new"

The four guardians sighed, Jupiter blinked a couple of times "What is taking Princess Serenity so long?"

Venus arched her brow "Hmm…you are right"

"We should go and look for her…" Mars said ready to stand up "I'm alright" a soft voice interrupted them; the four girls turned to look at Serenity standing at the door "You ate already?"

"Um…" Venus cleaned the table a little and served herself another cup of tea "No…" Mars frowned and turned to look at the blonde guardian and then back at her princess who already sat on her usual seat "Do you want some tea Your Highness?"

Serenity smiled and nodded "I am not that hungry but I will have a cup of tea…" Mars poured some tea on her white and soft pink porcelain cup; the princess took it and blew softly the soft steam coming out of the hot liquid and took a sip "So, what were you talking about?"

"Love..." Jupiter said softly.

Serenity widened her eyes "Love?" a wide smile caressed her lips and let out a soft sigh catching the girls attention, Mars arched her brow "Are you alright Princess?"

Serenity bit her lip and looked down again, taking another sip of her tea "Of course" Venus looked at the princess closely and took a sip of her own tea. Mercury smiled at her "Did you sleep well Your Highness?"

Serenity widened her eyes and blinked quickly a couple of times and turned to look at Venus then back at the blue haired girl "Yes Mercury, I did"

Jupiter sighed "Ah…looks like it's going to be a very peaceful day…"

Serenity smiled "That is a good thing, although all days here are peaceful, thanks to you of course"

The girls chuckled, Mercury cleared her throat "Well, we must thank General Athamas as well…he has done a good work with the army" the general's name sent shivers down Serenity's spine "I suppose…" she said more dryly.

"Have you seen him?" Jupiter asked, Serenity put her cup down "Only from afar…there is nothing much to say…he has been very busy lately"

Venus sighed "So it seems…"

"Do you have something prepared for the day Princess?" Jupiter asked; Serenity smiled thinking about how much she wanted the sun to set so she could go and see her handsome prince "Um, not exactly…I was just hoping to read something…"

Mercury smiled "That is a wonderful idea Princess; I can always recommend you something that might be of your interest" Serenity smiled at the blue haired girl "That sounds wonderful Mercury…I was wondering if…you knew how to speak Latin?"

Mercury widened her eyes in shock "L-Latin?" she asked surprised, Venus frowned "Why do you want to know Latin?"

"I think is very romantic…" Serenity smiled, Venus arched her brow "How do you know? Nobody here speaks that language…"

Serenity was caught by surprised and widened her eyes "I imagine it is…I mean, I have never heard it but…its mystery is what it makes it romantic…" Venus felt a strong vibe from the princess; her mission in discovering what was making her soul shine so bright had started to pick many clues that without noticing the princess was leaving behind.

Mercury smiled softly "We do not have any books concerning that particular language but I think I may know a few lines…"

Serenity widened her eyes in surprise "Really?" she said happily "Like what?"

Mercury placed a finger on her chin "Well…nothing too fancy, just the most simple things like good morning, good night…how are you doing…I love you…"

The lunar princess smiled widely "How do you say all those words?"

Mercury smiled "Well, let me see…Good morning I think it is Salve while good night it is Bona noctem" the last one made Serenity blushed; she remembered those words when Endymion whispered them in her ear the night she spent with him. The blue haired girl scratched her temple "How are you doing I think it is Quid facis…"

Serenity smiled "And…I love you?"

Mercury smiled "I love is I amo te"

"I amo te…" Serenity repeated dreamily "It sounds so beautiful…"

Venus turned to look at the girls and then back at her princess "That tongue is forbidden in this realm…" Serenity turned to look at Venus "Why something so beautiful can be forbidden?"

Venus arched her brow, Mars sighed "We do not question Our Higher God's decision Princess…" she said softly, Serenity lowered her gaze "That is cruel…"

"What is?" Jupiter asked curious, Serenity lowered her gaze "The Higher Gods…" she looked at Jupiter "They should not forbid anything…"

Mars looked at her princess "They have their own rules…you are very aware of that" Serenity looked at Mars "Do you really think all gods follow their own rules?"

"Eh?" Venus widened her eyes "Princess…"

"Gods are unpredictable Princess…" a male voice interrupted their talk; Serenity sighed and turned to look at Athamas standing next to her "General…" she said slowly; Venus stood up "Good day General" she said dryly.

Athamas smiled at the four guardians and then turned to look at the princess "Good day Sailor Venus…" Mars arched her brow and turned to look at her leader; the blonde general looked at Serenity "I would like to have a word with you Princess…is that possible?"

Serenity stayed silent for a moment; Venus took a step closer "Princess if you want…"

"That's alright Venus…I will talk to the General…" she said softly turning to look at him, Venus nodded and turned to look at the other girls, Mars nodded and stood up, followed by Mercury and Jupiter and left the general alone with the princess. Serenity sighed and turned her face to the other side "What can I do for you General?"

Athamas frowned "Can I at least sit down?"

Serenity turned to look at him and nodded; Athamas took the seat next to her "We haven't talked much since…" he trailed off, Serenity lowered her gaze "It was something that could not continue and you know it…"

Athamas looked at her "Could not continue? Princess…I have feelings for you…I want nothing more than to win your heart again…" Serenity sighed "General…"

Athamas looked at her and frowned "You don't even call me by my name…why my dear Princess?" Serenity's grey blue eyes widened slightly "I have broken our engagement…isn't that an enough reason to call you formally?"

Crouching in front of her, still his hand holding hers "Both of us had our time to think things through, you had your time to experiment whatever you wanted to experiment…"

"Experiment?" Serenity arched her brow.

Athamas looked at her "…You had your time to evaluate things…" the blonde general kicked himself mentally. Serenity lowered her gaze and sighed softly "Why do you continue insisting in this matter General?"

"…Because I want to be with you"

Serenity looked up sadly, the more this man insisted the more she wanted Endymion to be able to cross to this world; her world. Every time she looked at Athamas in his soldier role she imagined the terran prince in his place and wondered how he would handle the situations Athamas was handling; if he would have thought differently or would have done the same things. The man in front of her was incredibly handsome; but his heart was unreadable she sometimes wondered if he ever felt something so pure and strong like she does with her prince.

"Why?" Serenity asked softly, turning to look at him.

Athamas felt some kind of victory in his chest, his lips curved into a soft smile "…Because I adore you. I can't stop thinking about you"

"Adore…" the princess whispered "You adore…me"

"Yes"

"Athamas have you ever felt love?"

Athamas widened his eyes "What?" chuckling he sat back on his chair next to her "Love, does not exist"

Serenity widened her eyes in shock "How can you say that?"

The general turned to look at her and arched his brow "There are other feelings stronger than love…there is desire, adoration…attraction, love is just an invention…"

Mars frowned outside on the hall; Jupiter bit her thumb, something she always did when she was in deep thought "What do you think he might be saying to her?"

Venus crossed her arms over her chest and let out a loud sigh "He is probably trying to win her back…"

"He did act differently" Mercury said softly.

"I don't feel a threatening aura…but still, I can't stop being alert" Mars said; her lavender eyes narrowed in thought. Jupiter sighed softly "Princess Serenity is acting differently as well…"

"She has been acting differently for quite a while now Jupiter…" Mars said.

"Yes but…she decides to read and learn a forbidden ancient tongue out of nothing?" Jupiter asked. Venus analyzed their words; she was trying to put all the little pieces of the puzzle together, the Amazonian beauty was right, she was acting different and now, with more reasons she wanted to know why.

"Should be wait for him to leave the room?" Jupiter asked again, Mars sighed "I suppose not, it's like we were spying on them…"

"Um…like we have never done it before…" Mercury said sweetly; Mars and Jupiter looked at her with wide eyes "Mercury…that was something much unexpected from you…" Mars said; the blue haired guardian sighed "Aren't we doing it? Venus is doing it…"

"Because that is my duty…"

Mars sweat dropped "To spy on her?"

Venus turned to look at Mars "To look for her safety"

"Well, it does not how upset General Athamas can get; he would never hurt our Princess…" Jupiter said, Venus frowned and turned to look at the tea room's white door again; she hadn't told the senshi about her confrontation with him the night before, as their leader she had to be sure of everything before taking the first step.

"We might be over looking…" Mars said softly, making Venus turn to look at her "Mars…"

"We are focusing on somebody that is supposed to be on our side, the black shadow over the sun comes from another place…not from him…"

"A shadow on the sun?" Venus asked; the black haired woman nodded "In my vision…the sun gets clouded by a dark shadow…bringing death and sorrow with it…"

"Maybe that is the enemy General Athamas is fighting against…" Mercury said softly.

Mars lowered her gaze "I don't know…Father hasn't confirmed me anything yet…"

"A dark shadow…" Venus muttered and turned to the afternoon sun outside and after a brief moment she started walking away, startling the other senshi "Venus, where are you going?"

"Venus!" Mars called out again, Jupiter frowned "I don't like this…I don't like this at all…"

"Should we go after her?" Mercury asked Mars who shook her head in response "She is looking for answers…just like us; she wants to know what is happening…"

Venus knocked on the large doors of the study which was soon opened but Artemis and widened his eyes in surprise "Sailor Venus…" he muttered. Venus looked at him seriously "Artemis, are you busy?"

The white haired man shook his head "I was just finishing organizing some papers for the Queen to read early tomorrow…why?"

"I need to talk to you…" Venus said, the man in a white uniform moved aside, letting the senshi of love walk in to the study "Is the Queen away?"

"No, she went to get ready for dinner..." Artemis gave her a strange look "Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked softly.

"What can I do for you Sailor Venus?"

Venus bit her lip, she knew Artemis was a direct advisor and that he didn't have the same soft character as Luna; "Of course" she thought "He is a man…" she said out loud.

"What?" Artemis asked.

Venus widened her eyes and blushed "Um…what?"

"You said something…" Artemis arched his brow; Venus bit her lip and looked away "Can I sit down or something?" the man in white extended his hand motioning her to sit on a cushion chair in the small living room section in the study "Please do"

Venus sat and placed her hands properly over her knees; Artemis sat across her on another chair and looked at her "What can I do for you?"

Venus looked at him "I happen to know that you are who gives advice to the General directly about strategies and solutions for every 'combat' matter"

"I am an advisor to the Queen, not the General Sailor Venus…but yes, I am more focused on the other side of politics…which includes battling"

Artemis was a very complex mauian; he was actually the first advisor before Luna and he is the one that supervises all the paperwork the queen must revise before every sign she puts on them and the one that treated every matter with the General before he could go and talk to Queen Serenity, his always reserved character was perfect for his job and maybe that was why he was always precise on his decisions. Venus knew he was not an easy person to talk to, not because he was not an easy man to talk to but because of his always stoic persona. She didn't talk to him much, actually nothing at all being this her first time consulting him anything.

"Why?" he interrupted Venus' thoughts, the blonde senshi lowered her gaze "Well…as you know" she started, trying to take the same precision he had for words "I am the leader of the inner senshi, my duty is to protect Princess Serenity…"

Artemis arched his brow "I am aware of that Sailor Venus…my question here is, and please don't misunderstand it…why are you coming to talk with _me_?"

Venus sweat dropped "Such complicated man…" she thought, "Because I want to make sure that everything is under control…" Artemis arched his brow "I don't understand"

"Artemis, do you believe in premonitions?" Venus asked softly, Artemis widened his eyes in surprise "Well, Sailor Venus…we live in a very particular realm…"

"Do you?" she asked with more insistency, startling the white man "Are you having one?"

"No, I am worried…"

Artemis sweat dropped "Then why are you asking me if I believe in premonitions?"

"Because like you said, you are more focused on the other side of politics…including battling. Fighters don't believe in premonitions…or…at least the General does not"

"What is troubling you, Sailor Venus?" Artemis looked at her; the bright light of the study chandelier gave her a closer look at his handsome features, because she had never talked to him before she didn't have the opportunity to really look at him, but now that she did she thought of how lucky a woman could be with a man like him.

Leaving those thoughts aside, she stood up and walked over one of the large windows and watched how the sun was starting to go down "Have you heard anything about a shadow on the sun?"

Artemis' eyes widened "What?"

"A shadow on the sun…"

Artemis frowned "Well, no…"

Venus turned to look at him "Is that the enemy General Athamas is fighting?"

Artemis shook his head "No…" and watched the venusian girl let out a sigh of frustration and at the same time relief. The mauian man stood up and walked over to her "Sailor Venus, you are troubling your mind with unsecure thoughts…" his warm voice changed to a more friendly tone, startling her.

"You have said it so…" Artemis turned to look over the window "You are the leader of the inner senshi…you protect our Princess but don't try to take charge for everything…"

Venus lowered her head in defeat; she let a soft sigh "I do believe in premonitions…" Artemis' voice startled her and turned to look at him "Eh?"

Artemis looked at her "I will make sure personally to alert the General about this matter"

Venus smiled "Thank you, Artemis"

The white haired man smiled slightly and turned to look out the window again "I have a question for you Sailor Venus…" Venus widened her eyes and nodded; Artemis put his hands behind his back and sighed softly "Why did you chose me to talk about this?"

Venus smiled "Because I needed a straight and sincere answer…"

Artemis turned to look at her and smiled "You will get the answers you are seeking once you open your heart and let the power within you come out…you are a very good senshi, you will find out soon"

Venus blushed softly and lowered her gaze "Thank you…" she said softly. Artemis smiled and started to walk back to the side of the office "Is there anything else I can do for you Sailor Venus?" he said from over the desk where he continued arranging some papers for the queen; Venus turned to look at him and shook her head, she was about to leave the study the stopped in her tracks "Artemis?"

Artemis stopped looking at the papers and looked at her "Yes Sailor Venus?"

Venus turned to look at him "Is that alright if I come and ask for your advice more often?"

The man in white widened his eyes surprise "My advice?"

"I know you are the Queen's advisor and that you have many other things to do…"

"…Of course Sailor Venus" Artemis interrupted; Venus looked at him startled "Eh?" the man in white smiled at her "You can come and talk to me whenever you feel like it…I do not mind"

Sailor Venus smiled widely "Really?"

Artemis smiled softly "Really"

The blonde guardian blushed and nodded "Thank you Artemis"

Artemis nodded and continued working "Have a good night Sailor Venus…" Venus smiled warmly "You too Artemis…" she walked towards the door and left the room. Artemis stopped arranging the papers on the desk and chuckled to himself "You are a good senshi, Sailor Venus…"


	78. Chapter 78

A/N: Ahhh...so this is starting to like me even more; you'll see why. Enjoy!

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter seventy eight**

* * *

Kunzite watched one of the soldiers walking back to the palace with a strange face; Kunzite arched his brow "Ethos..."

The blonde soldier stopped and sighed "General Kunzite…" he nodded his head in respect; Kunzite frowned "Is something wrong?"

"No, everything's alright…it's just that…Prince Endymion apparently has been in a very…_very_ bad mood all day" the comment startled Kunzite "Why?"

Ethos looked at the general incuriously "Right, he told me he didn't sleep well last night and asked me to tell him a bed time story so he could wake up in a better mood tomorrow…"

"Is that so Ethos?"

The blonde general paled as soon as he heard the prince's deep voice; full with annoyance "P-Prince Endymion…" he turned to look at him wide eyed "I…" he trailed off. Endymion crossed his arms on his chest "Why don't you better go and do what I just asked you to do? Instead of gossiping nonsense…"

The soldier bowed deeply in respect and walked away. Kunzite arched his brow and looked at him "Are you still mad? I can't believe it"

Endymion sighed and started walking back to the palace "Not now Kunzite…"

"Then when Master? Are you just going to be like this all the time from now on?" the white haired man extended his arms in question "Just because we are trying to do something good here?"

Endymion stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Kunzite "_Something good_? Do you want to know what would be _something good_?"

"Yes" Kunzite answered.

"_You_, leaving _me_ alone" Endymion said dryly, Kunzite arched his brow "Well that's not going to happen anytime soon" the prince sighed in frustration, Kunzite pursed his lips "We only want you to understand, we cannot let your life be in danger…"

Endymion ran a hand through his hair "Did you do what I asked you?"

Kunzite nodded and extended the envelope in his hand "Everything you asked is in here, the notifications will arrive as soon as they receive the papers you sent…" Endymion took the envelope and opened, looking through all the papers "I want you to inform me about Isra's decision as soon as you get the notification"

The white haired general nodded "Yes Master" sighing he showed the prince an attached paper in the documents "I need you to sign this…apparently, the general of the first section's squat does not want to expose his crew until you approve it"

Endymion sighed "I just talked to him about that"

"Me too, that is why I am showing you this"

The prince took the paper "Why does everyone like to complicate things around here?" taking the paper he gave it a quick read "I just talked to him about this!"

"He says he wants your signature" Kunzite said.

"Well he won't get one" Endymion said dryly, Kunzite sighed "I'll talk to him…" and grabbed the piece of paper from Endymion's hand "I will talk to him" he reassured in a more serious manner. Endymion nodded and ran his hand through his hair again "There are days like these…when I want to sleep forever"

Kunzite placed a hand on the prince's shoulder "You know how this is…" patting his shoulder he smiled "I know what you need…"

"You, leaving me alone?" Endymion arched his brow; Kunzite chuckled "You need to fight"

"What?" Endymion frowned, the white haired man said "Come on…let's go"

"It's almost dinner time"

"Pff…like you haven't skipped dinner before"

Endymion frowned "What's with you?"

"I can't stand looking at you being like this! If you want to let your rage run free well then, fight me. I am challenging you" Kunzite said "You were not going to eat anyways"

"How do you know?" Endymion muttered.

"Are you hungry?" Kunzite crossed his arms, the prince stayed silent for a few minutes "Well…no, but"

"Ahhh see? Come on, I challenge you to fight me" Kunzite interrupted him; Endymion sighed "You get off my nerves sometimes…did you know that?"

"Yes…but that is my job, well…_our_ job" the general said "If you are so upset…so angry…fight me" Kunzite looked at him with daring eyes.

Ooooooooooo

"The sun already set…" Athamas said slowly, startling the princess "It has…we have been here almost all afternoon…"

"I'm surprised you decided to listen to me"

"What?" Serenity said softly; Athamas frowned "You know…about our situation…"

"What situation?" Serenity asked again.

"Retaking our relationship"

Serenity shook her head "No" she stood up "I believe you didn't understand me…" Athamas frowned "Of course I did…" he held her hand while standing up "I just told you I adore you…and that I want to be with you…"

Serenity looked at her hand "Yes you did, but that doesn't mean I am going to reconsider our engagement"

The general clenched his teeth and tightened his grip on her wrist "I want to know why" he asked in a low voice startling the princess "Athamas…" she warned "Let me go…"

"I want to know why!" the general raised his voice slightly.

"Let me go!" Serenity closed her eyes in pain "You are hurting me…"

"Is it because you are seeing someone else?" the general asked; his grip loosened but still he wasn't letting her go, Serenity looked at his hand holding her wrist _"Endy…"_ she thought.

"Let me go Athamas…"

"Princess…you have learned with past experiences that going against me is not the smartest decision…" the general snarled. Serenity felt her heart beat faster "What are you going to do?"

Athamas chuckled "You are not thinking straight dear Princess…it is not me who will bring everything down…but you"

Serenity widened her eyes "What are you saying?"

"Whatever it is you are doing…wherever it is you are going…you won't be happy unless you are with me" Athamas said and let go of her wrist. Serenity felt her eyes fill with hot tears, lowering her head she tried to fight the urge to cry in front of him; Athamas chuckled and walked out of the room, leaving her alone.

Serenity let her tears fall for a moment; before regaining her calm "Yes I will. Love is what is going to keep us together Endy…" she whispered "Love will keep us together" she walked out the tea room towards her chambers.

"Princess…are you alright?" Jupiter asked, Serenity smiled and nodded "I just…I want to be alone…"

"Did he do anything to you?" Mars asked with worry.

Serenity shook her head "I just need to be alone, please? If Mother asks where I am, tell her I'll be taking a walk through the gardens" Mars gave her a worried look "Princess…"

"I'll be alright" Serenity turned on her heel and started to walk toward her room in silence, her heart started to beat strong in her chest; she started to feel the excitement to see her prince. Closing the doors behind her, she walked over her night stand and opened the small drawer; sitting on her bed she took out the two roses Endymion gave her for her birthday and even though they were already dry, they kept their form and their subtle scent.

Closing her eyes she remembered the special night and giggled "You are so beautiful…" she whispered, kissing the delicate flowers and put them back on her drawer and closed it absently. Walking towards her balcony doors she opened them and smiled as soon she saw the blue planet in front of her, closing her eyes she started to summon her power; she lips curved into a soft smile "Please…take me where you are…let our love guide me to where you are right now…I want to see you my beautiful Prince…" she whispered and in a flash of silver sparkles she was gone.

Serenity opened her eyes and widened them when she didn't recognize the place where she appeared. Looking around she noticed she was in what it seemed a private garden, different from the others she has been before because it had no trees or flowers, just grass surrounded by stone walls and bushes, sweat dropping she scratched the back of her head "It seems I can't master that trick yet…" sighing she tried to find her way to the prince's room when a loud noise startled her; trying to hide she started to panic when she noticed there was not a single place where she could hide, biting her lip she hoped for the best and that she could get out of there unharmed.

"Well?" Jadeite asked.

"Well what?" Zoicite asked the blonde man; Jadeite looked at the prince and his leader "Are you two going to fight or what?"

"Are you going to leave me alone after this?" Endymion asked with annoyance; Jadeite chuckled "You sure are upset…"

"I don't think it is a good idea to provoke him more…he is clearly upset" Nephrite whispered to Kunzite, Kunzite shook his head "He is not upset Nephrite…he is angry…and hurt…and this is the only way for him to release all the stress…"

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" Endymion said dryly.

"I don't want to…until you are back to normal" Kunzite said, Endymion arched his brow "What is that supposed to mean?"

"When I am finally sure you regain your sanity and stop risking your life the way you are doing it with this relationship of yours" the white haired man said.

Serenity widened her eyes in shock "What…" she whispered. Jadeite turned to his side and widened his eyes in shock "How…?" he trailed off, startling the rest of the men, Kunzite frowned "Jadeite?"

Jadeite moved his head, motioning the men to turn their heads, Endymion was first and widened his eyes in surprise "Bunny…" he said softly; Nephrite sighed "This is going to be harder than I thought…"

"Bunny…how did you find me here?" Endymion asked surprised and walked over to her, Kunzite sighed and started to follow the prince, Endymion held Serenity's hand "Beautiful...you must leave now…go to my room…" he whispered, Serenity frowned and looked at him with worry "Is something wrong?"

Kunzite stood next to the prince "Yes Princess…it's you"

Serenity widened her eyes at the man next to the prince; Endymion frowned and turned his head at Kunzite "Don't you dare Kunzite"

"I don't understand…" Serenity whispered.

Zoicite lowered his head "This is going to be painful…" Nephrite patted his shoulder "We need to go over there…" Jadeite nodded "Let's go"

Kunzite looked at the princess "Princess…as Prince Endymion's guardian I cannot let you come here looking for him…"

Serenity widened her eyes "What?"

"You need to leave" Kunzite said dryly taking out his sword "Or otherwise…we will have to make you leave"

"Kunzite!" Endymion turned to look at him, giving him a dead glare "I don't understand…I…" Serenity trailed off; Nephrite stood next to Kunzite "Princess, you are risking our Prince's life with your presence…"

"No…I would never hurt him!" Serenity exclaimed "You know I would never…" her eyes started to fill with tears "I would never hurt him…" she lowered her gaze; Endymion put his hand under her chin "I know Amor…I know…"

Kunzite tried to part the princess from the prince without realizing that would trigger Endymion's protective character "Don't touch her…" he warned him with a deep voice, sending shivers down the princess' spine; Kunzite sighed and lowered his gaze "Princess Serenity…you must understand our position…" he looked at her again "Your relationship is forbidden…you are going against all rules…and our duty is to protect our Master from any danger…and sadly you represent a great danger for him"

Serenity's eyes filled with hot tears and let them fall "I…"

"Stop this!" Endymion raised his voice "I asked you this morning to stay away from my personal life!"

"This is not about your personal life Endymion is about your whole life! You are in danger every time you are with her!" Kunzite raised his voice as well and turned to look at her "You should know that!"

"That's enough!" Endymion exclaimed "You have gone too far Kunzite…"

Kunzite turned to look at the princess "I know this is difficult, but we have a duty…we swore to protect our Prince even if it's from a celestial being like you" he took out his sword "Next time we will have no mercy Goddess…whatever that means…"

Serenity widened her eyes, Endymion turned to look at the general with an angry glare and kicked his sword away; Kunzite turned to look at the prince wide eyed "Master!"

"You wanted to fight….right? You will fight me not her" Endymion said dryly, startling Serenity; Kunzite turned to grab his sword and took position "Very well…"

Zoicite frowned "He is provoking him…"

Nephrite turned to look at the blonde man "What?"

"Kunzite wants to Endymion release his frustration..." Zoicite said softly, Jadeite arched his brow "I see…"

Nephrite turned to look at Serenity "Princess…Kunzite is being aggressive to you because he wants our Prince to fight him…although, we do think you should stop seeing each other…"

"Nephrite I would never hurt him…"

"I know Princess, we all know…but, your life is putting you both in danger…we have our reasons to protect him, please, try to understand us…"

Zoicite turned to look at her as well "We have never seen our Prince this protective over someone…"

"…Or happy" Jadeite joined in "But like Nephrite said, we have our reasons to protect him…"

Serenity looked at them sadly "I can't leave him…"

"Why not?" Jadeite asked, Serenity looked at him "Because he saw in me what others didn't, he looked at me for who I really was not because I am a Goddess…"

"We won't do anything tonight…but we hope this is the last time you come and see him" Zoicite said. Serenity lowered her gaze and looked at the two men confronting each other "Why does General Kunzite wants Endymion to fight him?"

Jadeite sighed "Because our Master has been incredibly upset all day…and this is the only way we can release our frustrations…that is why he was acting rude…although he means what he said but normally he would have said it in a nicer way"

Serenity looked at the two men taking position "Do they get hurt?"

The three men looked at her wide eyed "What?"

Serenity looked at the men "Do they get hurt?"

Zoicite smiled "Well…Kunzite is the only one who dares to confront him…"

"Have you ever watched him fight?" Jadeite asked; Serenity shook her head making the three men chuckle "Isn't there another way?" she asked worried.

Jadeite smiled sadly "Of course there is…but this is tradition"

Serenity frowned "What do you mean?" Nephrite stood next to her "This ritual of fighting every time someone's upset…when we were younger and at the training field, we found ourselves feeling frustrated all the time…"

"There were actually those two who started that tradition…they hated each other" Jadeite said. Serenity looked at them and smiled softly; she admired their kind heart and their loyalty to their prince. It was proof enough that they didn't want to hurt her because she was standing next to them and they were talking to her like if they were talking to a friend.

Nephrite looked up to the sky and waited for the stars to align "The sky is tranquil tonight…but you need to be very careful Princess"

Serenity widened her eyes "What?"

Nephrite looked at her "Just like Zoicite said, we are not doing anything tonight, but we cannot let you come near His Highness again…for your own safety"

Serenity stayed silent and turned to look at the both men, she watched Kunzite had his sword in his hand while Endymion was still unarmed. Her heart started to pound fast and strong, worried about that he might get hurt in the process.

Kunzite moved his sword a couple of times, catching the light of the torches outside; Endymion put his hand on the handle of his sword and unshed it out making a soft crisp sound, Kunzite was the first one to make a move and clashed his sword against the prince's.

Endymion turned and received another clash of Kunzite's sword; the prince moved to his right and started to defend himself, never losing his eyes on the man in front of him. There was no noise, no yelling, no talking it was only the sound of the metal every time they crashed together.

Serenity watched Endymion moved like if what he was doing was not difficult at all, he moved faster and quicker than the general. He moved his sword back and forth and like he once said to her always thinking in what the opponent might do next; Kunzite tried to move Endymion's sword away from him so he could claim victory but the prince moved faster and twirled his own sword to finally take control over his, Kunzite held up his hands accepting his loss while Endymion dig in the grass the shitennou's sword "I'm still upset Kunzite" Endymion said.

Kunzite sighed and looked at the prince "I know Master…but my duty as shitennou comes first…"

Endymion drew back his sword on his belt and walked toward Serenity "Bunny…"

Serenity nodded and placed her finger on his lips "I know…I must go"

"No"

Serenity widened her eyes "Endymion…" she whispered; the prince turned to look at his guardians "I won't let anybody interfere with us…" turning to look at Serenity "Love, is what will keep us together, you said it so…" he whispered to her; Serenity smiled and nodded "We will find out way to be together…"

"Aren't you afraid?" Kunzite asked frustrated "Both of you are at risk with this romance…of all the places where she could be, why here?"

"Because I wanted to be free" Serenity said, defiant and brave "You may think General that only because I live in the immortal world I get everything I want…if you crossed that line, you would find out that this world and mine are not exactly too different but just the fact that the ones that rule up there don't know the true meaning of love…"

Zoicite widened his eyes in amazement, this beautiful ethereal girl was talking with her heart, this woman was fighting for her prince the same way he was fighting for her "So beautiful…" he whispered.

"The ones who rule up there decide our destiny! They treat us like we were nothing…they don't listen to us! Who we only have is our Holy Protector!" Kunzite said exclaimed.

Endymion held her hand and looked at her, and then at his guardians "I'm starting to feel sick with all this…"

"Master…"

"No, Kunzite" Endymion raised his hand, motioning him to stop "And this goes to all of you…This is my life, this are my decisions. Stop looking after me like if I was a little boy I don't need it" he was upset and sounded tired.

Kunzite sighed in defeat and lowered his gaze "I said it to you this morning and I will say it again, whether you like it or not…we will look after you, and we really hope not to see you here again Princess…for your own safety" turning on his heel he started to walk out of the garden, followed by Zoicite, Nephrite and Jadeite.

Serenity sighed and felt the tears on her eyes again, lowering her gaze she took a deep breath; Endymion brought her hand to his lips "Serenity…look at me"

"Why this does has to be this way?" she asked hurt "Why can't just let us be…why is this has to be so difficult?" she started crying desperately; Endymion held her tight, encircling his arms around her back he held her and let her cry with all her heart "Why?" she kept asking to the silence; Endymion closed his eyes and pressed his lips together, trying to keep his emotions in line, he felt Serenity's strong grip on his jacket, it broke his heart to see her like this.

Serenity felt his arms around her and her sobbing started to diminish; looking up at him she met his beautiful deep blue eyes and sighed "I don't want anything happen to you…" her icy blue eyes started to shine with tears again and sat on the ground; Endymion crouched in front of her "Serenity…look at me…look at me"

Serenity raised her gaze to meet his; the prince wiped her tears away with the back of his hand softly "Do you want to leave?" he asked softly "Beautiful…" he trailed off and sighed "We knew this could happen…"

"I don't want to leave. I want to stay with you…" Serenity whispered, Endymion held her hand "Then stay with me…I am not going to leave you…" he placed his hands on her face "I am not going anywhere…"

"Endymion…" she breathed and kissed him deeply on the lips, parting he looked at him "We will find our way…we will find our way…"

Endymion nodded "We will find our way Beautiful…"

"I amo te" Serenity ran her arms around his neck, the prince smiled and caressed her hair "I amo te Serenitatis" Serenity smiled at the sound of her name in Latin "I wanted to give you that surprise…"

Endymion chuckled "It's a beautiful surprise, who taught you?"

Serenity moved and looked at her prince "One of my guardians…" she lowered her gaze "There are no books in Latin where I live…" the prince sighed softly "It's alright…you will learn with time…" Serenity held his hand "Are you still mad?"

Endymion pursed his lips "I'm not mad Beautiful…I am…tired, that is all"

"They are only trying to protect you…I understand them…don't be mad at them…" Serenity caressed his face; Endymion leaned his face on her hand "We will have to be more careful…although they like you, they are persistent and won't leave me alone…"

Serenity sighed and looked into his eyes "You are so beautiful…" she whispered "Even in my dreams…you are incredibly beautiful…"

Endymion blushed and lowered his gaze chuckling; Serenity smiled "Every time I learn more things about you…" the prince looked at her and arched his brow "Like what?"

Serenity smiled "Like…you all had a tradition…"

Endymion chuckled "We lived under too much stress when we were on training…and when we were mad at each other we used to fight with one another and then one day we realized that fighting actually made us feel better…it was a way of never lose practice and release all stress…since then, when any of us is feeling like exploding…we challenge ourselves for a fight…"

Serenity held his hand "Yes…General Nephrite told me…and that you and General Kunzite hated each other…"

The prince smiled "_He_ hated me… but we ended being very close friends…that is why he speaks to me with so much confidence, because he knows he can up to some limit and he is the only one that challenges me for a fight when I am feeling frustrated…"

"They all care for you…they are very loyal and good friends" Serenity said softly; the prince sighed and looked away "Yes, they are"

"Is something wrong?" Serenity asked.

Endymion turned to look at her "Nothing…I am just tired…"

"Do you want me to go?"

"Of course not" the prince caressed her cheek "I want you to come with me to my room"

Serenity smiled; blushing she nodded "But…they can see us" Endymion smiled softly "We'll take the secret passage…" the princess chuckled "You rebel…"

Endymion laughed softly and stood up, giving her his hand to support on "Come on" Serenity took it, brushing the grass from her dress they started walking in silence towards the palace.

Oooooooooo

Venus walked down the hall and entered one of the gardens where she knew the rest of the girls would be waiting; Jupiter watched her come their way "Where were you?"

Venus sat and extended her legs "I needed to do some things…"

Mars arched her brow "_Some_ things?...like what?" the blonde sighed and turned to look at the raven haired woman next to her "I went to talk to Artemis…"

"Artemis, the Queen's advisor?" Mercury asked wide eyed, Venus nodded "What?"

"Why?" Jupiter asked startled, Venus frowned "Why are you so in shock?"

Mercury cleared her throat "Because…is well known that Artemis has a special character…he is not as sweet as Luna" Mars arched her brow "Have you ever talk to him before?"

"No"

All three girls arched their brow "Then why did you go to talk to him instead of Luna?" Jupiter asked confused; Venus sighed and hugged her legs "Well…I don't know, I feel like we tend to forget that Artemis is also an advisor…" Venus smiled "He is not as cold as you all think he is…"

"Really?" Mercury asked "I heard he is very smart…very polite"

"And very direct as well…" Venus chuckled "But he is as nice and noble as Luna…"

"That's shocking…" Jupiter said softly "What did you asked him?"

Venus sighed and lowered her gaze "I wanted to know if he knew anything about the shadow on the sun…I wanted to know if that was the enemy General Athamas said he was fighting…"

Mars widened her eyes "What did he say?"

"That he never heard of it…" Venus looked at her "But that he was going to investigate…"

Mars widened her eyes "He said that?" the blonde nodded "He has more contact with the General than any of us…"

"…And Princess Serenity…" Mercury said softly, startling Venus who looked around "Where is the Princess?"

"In her chambers" Jupiter said softly "I don't know what did the General told her…but her face was pale, she was not herself when she came out of the tea room…"

"You noticed it too Jupiter?" Mars asked.

"Yes…but I didn't want to ask her any more questions, I didn't want to stress her…"

Venus frowned "Pale?"

Mercury nodded "They talked for quite a while…I wonder what he said to her…"

Mars sighed and looked at the night sky "Probably he asked her to give him another opportunity…" Jupiter nodded "Probably"

"She even skipped dinner…" Mercury's words brought Venus back from her thoughts "She is not having dinner with Her Majesty?"

"No…when she walked out of the tea room, we tried to ask her if something bad happened but she said she only needed to be alone…" Jupiter said; Mars bit her lip "She even asked her to tell Her Majesty that she was not going over for dinner…"

Venus frowned and looked up at Princess Serenity's balcony "The doors are open…" she whispered.

"She always has those doors open…" Mars said softly "She is probably asleep…"

Venus bit her lip, she did not believe it. There was something more to Serenity's words, maybe this was her opportunity to know what was going on and where was she exactly; turning to look at the other senshi she stood up "Is something wrong?" Mercury asked.

Venus turned to look at the woman with blue hair "I will tell you later…" she turned on her heel and started walking back to the palace. The rest of the girls looked at each other with confusion in their faces "Should we go with her?" Mercury asked softly.

Mars shook her head "She is just being our leader…if there is something we should be worrying about, she will tell us"

Venus walked down the long hall towards the princess' room, stepping the long white staircase she turned to her right and walked all the long corridor until she reached for the door "Princess?" she knocked softly but there was no response giving her the cue to open the door and closed it softly behind her.

This time all lights were on, except for the ones on her bedroom. Walking towards the spacious bedroom she walked over her bed and noticed she was not there. Again. Venus pursed her lips and walked to the bathroom but didn't find her. Again. Walking over the dresser room she found out she was not there. Again.

Venus sighed and ran a hand through her bangs; the princess had disappeared. _Again_. Sitting on the silver chair of her luxurious marble vanity she rested her head on her hands and let her worry and frustration take over her "Where are you Princess?" she asked, tilting her head to the side something caught her attention; narrowing her eyes she tried to focus her sight to it "What is that?"

Raising her head she looked at her night stand and noticed there was something peeking from the small drawer. Standing up she walked over and sat on her bed, lightening a small candle inside a crystal glass she opened the small drawer and her eyes widened in shock "Are those…"

Ooooooooo

Serenity encircled Endymion's neck and stood on her tip toes "You owe me a kiss…" she said playfully. Endymion arched his brow "How come?"

"Remember you said you were going to kiss me because I kept your drawing?"

Endymion frowned "Um, no…I said I was going to kiss you if you gave me the drawing back…"

Serenity widened her eyes "Still…you owe me a kiss" the prince laughed "I do not consider myself a person with debts…" he tightened his grip on her back and raised her slightly from the floor; Serenity giggled "Then pay yours and kiss me…"

The prince smiled and kissed her forehead; Serenity frowned "What was that?"

Endymion chuckled "Your kiss" the princess arched her brow "What? No, that was not a kiss!"

"Then what was it?"

"I don't know…a smudge" Serenity pouted her lips, making the prince laugh "A smudge? A smudge is when you rub your face like this…" he rubbed his lips against her cheek making her laugh "What are you doing?"

"Now, _that_ is a smudge" he put her back down and walked over to sit on his bed. Serenity leaned on the frame of the door and looked at him "I never saw you wear your armor before…"

Endymion smiled sadly "This is the uniform I should wear everyday…"

Serenity frowned "Why?"

"Because…I prefer being a soldier than a prince…"

The princess walked over to sit next to him on the bed and held his hand "You are a warrior prince…"

Endymion sighed and started to take off the belt holding his sword "I remember when I wanted to be called like that…" Serenity looked down at his sword "You have accomplished so many things…"

The prince smiled sadly "I followed my father's steps…and I still have to…"

"Because you are the heir…"

"…My father has been a great king, there have been problems but he always found the way to solve them…someday it will have to be my turn…"

Serenity smiled and held his hand "You will be a great king one day…you'll see"

Endymion smiled and started to take the hard part of his armor from his waist and put it aside on the bed "I hope so…I really hope I can fill my father's shoes"

Serenity traced the line of his chest up to his collar and touched his cape "I like this…" the prince turned to look at her and arched his brow "My cape?" the princess nodded "I have always thought they were so mysterious…"

Endymion chuckled "Could you help me take it off?"

Serenity nodded and kneeled on the bed behind him and started to lose the silver broaches from the thin strings holding it, while he started taking off his shoulder pads "This is even more complicated than your usual attire!" she said marveled; Endymion laughed "There is more than meets the eye"

"This is even more complicated than dressing _me_!"

Endymion chuckled "By the way…thank you for undressing me the other night…"

Serenity blushed and bit her lip "You fell deeply asleep and well…since you don't get too much sleep because you are always alert in case something happens…I didn't want to wake you up and I thought you would be more comfortable if I took your jacket off…"

The prince smiled and held her hands, moving her forward "Thank you" he whispered and kissed her softly on the lips "You are always taking good care of me…"

Serenity blushed "You are always looking after me too…" looking at the cape in her hands she smiled softly "How you put this on?" Endymion chuckled "You want to wear it? I must say it's a little heavy…" Serenity sat straight and watched him put his cape over her "Done" he said softly. Serenity smiled and stood up and chuckled when she noticed it was longer than she thought "Um…"

Endymion chuckled "It's a little long…"

Serenity giggled "You are incredibly tall…" and walked around the room with the cape "I love it! Although…it is a little heavy…does wearing a cape means anything?" Endymion smiled and leaned back on his elbows on the bed "Not really…just the rank…because I do not wear my medals with this…"

"Oh that's right…" Serenity widened her eyes and turned to look at him "Is the locket still pinned with your medals?" she asked curious; Endymion smiled and took out the star locket from the belt where he holds his sword "No, I take it with me wherever I go"

Serenity smiled widely "Really?"

"Yup" the prince showed her the golden star "It's a reminder of you…"

The lunar princess blushed and went to kiss him softly; the prince placed his hands on her waist "You look good"

Serenity giggled "You think? I just need a sword and I will be ready!" she said excitedly; Endymion turned to take the belt with his sword and tied it around her waist "You cross it like this and secure it" he said softly "There's your sword"

The princess walked to the mirror and smiled "The sword is quite long as well…" she turned and looked at him "How do I look as a warrior?"

Endymion chuckled "Beautiful, it suits you"

"Really?" Serenity asked happily "You don't think I look silly?"

The prince frowned "What would I think that?"

"Well…because I am a woman who wants to learn how to be a warrior…"

Endymion extended his hand out to her "Beautiful, there is nothing silly about that…if you were a warrior, I know you were the best of all" Serenity held his hand and blushed "You really think so?"

The prince looked into her eyes "I don't think so, I know so"

The princess smiled and looked down at his sword "God Ares once told me that I should consider myself lucky if I ever get to hold a warrior's sword" Endymion looked at her with admiration in his eyes, looking at her wearing part of his uniform melted his heart "Every sword is unique…"

"Yours is so pretty…" Serenity said softly "Well…now it is also yours…although I hope you never have to use it…" Endymion said softly; Serenity frowned "Why?" The prince shook his head "I don't want you to taint your hands like I have…"

Serenity ran a hand through his hair "I will if somebody hurts you…"

Endymion smiled sadly "Thank you beautiful…but, I prefer not" pulling her closer to him he kissed her hand "Let me take you this off…it's heavy" he started loosening the belt from her waist and gave her the sword "Where do I put it?" she asked.

"Over the desk is fine…" Endymion chuckled when he watched her walk with the long cape "It really is too long…"

Serenity turned to look at him and smiled "But I like it" she walked back to him and sat next to him, running her arms around his neck "I amo te" she whispered, the prince pushed her lose bangs aside "I amo te" he said back and looked at her "Don't worry my beautiful Bunny…everything is going to be alright" Serenity smiled sadly and kissed him deeply on the lips.

Oooooooooo

Venus took out the two flowers attached with a red ribbon around the steams "These are…" she trailed off and looked at them with amazement "Roses…" her eyes widened in shock "Where did she get these flowers? These don't grow in this place…"

Her eyes widened in realization and looked at the flowers again, putting the pieces of her puzzle together.

"_Where do roses grow?"_

"_Why can't we go there? How can a beautiful place like that can be forbidden?"_

"_I don't think there is a monster living there…" _

Flashback

"_Do you have something prepared for the day Princess?" Jupiter asked; Serenity smiled thinking about how much she wanted the sun to set so she could go and see her handsome prince "Um, not exactly…I was just hoping to read something…"_

"_Um, not exactly…I was just hoping to read something…"_

_Mercury smiled "That is a wonderful idea Princess; I can always recommend you something that might be of your interest" Serenity smiled at the blue haired girl "That sounds wonderful Mercury…I was wondering if…you knew how to speak Latin?"_

_Mercury widened her eyes in shock "L-Latin?" she asked surprised, Venus frowned "Why do you want to know Latin?"_

"_I think is very romantic…" Serenity smiled, Venus arched her brow "How do you know? Nobody here speaks that language…"_

_Serenity was caught by surprised and widened her eyes "I imagine it is…I mean, I have never heard it but…its mystery is what it makes it romantic…" Venus felt a strong vibe from the princess, her mission in discovering what was making her soul shine so bright had started to pick many clues that without noticing the princess was leaving behind._

_Mercury smiled softly "We do not have any books concerning that tongue but I think I may know a few lines…"_

_Serenity widened her eyes in surprise "Really?" she said happily "Like what?"_

_The blue haired girl scratched her temple "How are you doing I think it is Quid facis…"_

_Serenity smiled "And…I love you?"_

_Mercury smiled "I love is I amo te"_

"_I amo te…" Serenity repeated dreamily "It sounds so beautiful…"_

_Venus turned to look at the girls and then back at her princess "That tongue is forbidden in this realm…" Serenity turned to look at Venus "Why something so beautiful can be forbidden?"_

_Venus arched her brow, Mars sighed "We do not question Our Higher God's decision Princess…" she said softly, Serenity lowered her gaze "That is cruel…"_

"_What is?" Jupiter asked curious, Serenity lowered her gaze "The Higher Gods…" she looked at Jupiter "They should not forbid anything…"_

_Mars looked at her princess "They have their own rules…you are very aware of that" Serenity looked at Mars "Do you really think all gods follow their own rules?"_

End of flashback

Venus gasped and stood up, her heart started to pound in her chest incredibly fast, the sound of her heart beating echoed in her ears; turning to see the blue planet in the sky she put a hand on her chest and felt her eyes fill with tears "Earth…you escaped to Earth…Oh Princess, why are you doing such thing?"


	79. Chapter 79

**A/N:** Happy bday to me! happy bday to me! happy bday deaaar meeee happy bday to me! today is my birthday and I will give you a chunky chapter for you to read :D I really hope you like it. Enjoy and I will see you guys on monday!

I came to realize that I have a years writing this story...God! Thank you so much! as a side note I want to tell you that, since I am moving to another city...or better said, country I will have to adjust and to find my time to continue writing, I WONT GIVE UP ON THE STORY, NO, NOT EVER...so please, pretty please...don;t you give up on me.

xoxo

*I do not own sm, just this plot and some of the characters. Thank you.

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter seventy nine**

* * *

Venus looked at the flowers in her hand and held her breath for a moment, trying to hold her tears. It was well known by everybody that having contact with the inhabitants of the blue planet with this realm was forbidden; it was a law, considered a taboo and her princess was breaking it.

Walking around the room, she thought about if she should try to investigate more or if she should wait for her to appear so she could have all the answers she now _needs_ to know. Temptation was trapping her, curiosity too; turning to look at the night stand she bit her lip and sat on the bed again and opened the small drawer to see if there was something else that could confirm her thoughts "Maybe I can find out who gave her these flowers…" she said softly and rummaged through the small notes and books she kept inside; her eyes widened slightly when a particular piece of paper caught her eye "What's this?" she frowned taking a piece of paper with a drawing "Is this…" sighing she lowered her arm and looked at the balcony doors "You are seeing someone from the blue planet…" she said sadly.

Oooooooo

Serenity played with her prince's dark hair and smiled "You hair is so dark…" she said softly, making the prince smile "Yours is the opposite of mine" the princess smiled and nodded "We were meant to be together…"

Endymion opened one eye and looked at her "I think so too" Serenity let out a soft sigh "Endy?"

"Mmm?"

"If you have a son in the future…would you like him to be a warrior just like you?"

Endymion opened his eyes and widened them in shock "What?"

Serenity turned on her side and rested her head on her right hand "I just…kept thinking about what you said about following your father's steps and wondered that if you had a son in the future, you would like him to follow yours…"

The prince was caught off guard with her question, her question was serious and unexpected and put him thinking "I…" he trailed off "I actually never thought of that before…"

Serenity looked at him with curiosity "Why?"

Endymion blinked a couple of times, still startled with her question "I don't know…maybe because I haven't thought of having…family…" he said slowly, Serenity tilted her head "You don't want to have any children?"

The terran prince bit his lip and nodded "I would love that…but I would wait for the right moment" he sighed and ran a hand through his hair; Serenity giggled "You look pale…"

"Your question took me by surprise…"

The lunar princess started caressing his face "You are going to be a great father…" Endymion smiled "Thank you…but, what makes you think that?"

Serenity looked at him "Nothing really, I just know it…" sighing she ran a hand through his hair "I hope it gets your eyes…your hair…" smiling sadly she placed her hand on his chest "…And your heart"

Endymion looked at her and pushed her bangs aside "Serenity…" he whispered; the lunar princess bit her lip and shook her head, sniffling she stood up from the bed and walked over the window "…You have to find the best woman out there…otherwise…I will come and rip her eyes out, for mistreating you..."

The prince stood up and walked over and stood behind her, taking her hand he turned her to look at him "…Why are you talking like this?" he whispered; his other hand caressing her left cheek. Serenity tried to fake a smile and lowered her gaze "…I" she trailed off and let out a soft breath "…That moment will have to come eventually…you will have to marry and give this kingdom an heir…"

Endymion sighed softly "Serenity...I don't like where this conversation is going…" he let go of her and turned to look outside the window. Serenity raised her head and looked at him "We are tied to our titles and responsibilities…"

The prince shook his head and started to walk away, startling the princess "Why are walking away from me?"

"I do not want to keep talking about this…"

"Because it is true…" Serenity said more as an affirmation than a question, Endymion turned to look at her and shook his head "I do not want to keep talking about this…"

The white princess sighed and turned to look over the window then back at him "That girl…the redhead…she is pretty…she can give you beautiful children…" her voice was dry but soft; Endymion shut his eyes and fisted his hands and walked over to her again "Stop saying those things!"

Serenity started crying silently, startling him "What is the matter, why are you like this Serenity? he looked at her worried, the princess raised her gaze at him "…I…I don't know" she was about to cry again.

Endymion put his hands on her shoulders "Serenity, look at me" the princess did what she was told and bit her lip; Endymion wiped her tears with the back of his hand "When I say that we are going to find our way to be together…is because I really mean it. We _will_ find our way to be together…"

Serenity's blue eyes widened "What?" she breathed.

Endymion smiled warmly "I don't want anybody else but you…if I get married one day I want to do it with you…and if I decide to have a family I want to have it with you…" Serenity blushed; her hands started caressing his face "But how…"

"Shh…" the prince put a finger on her lips "I swear to you…that even if the whole universe is against us…I will fight to the very end for you, just please Beautiful…don't give up on me"

Serenity looked at him and encircled her arms around his neck; closing the gap between them she kissed him fully on the lips and parted "I won't…" Endymion smiled and kissed her passionately "I love you Serenity…" he said in between their kisses, the princess opened her eyes and looked at him "I love you so much"

Endymion smiled and pressed his forehead against hers "…And if one day we have a baby together…I want it to have your eyes…not mine" Serenity blushed "But what if I give you a baby girl?"

The prince caressed her cheek "I am going to be the luckiest man alive…because the two most gorgeous women in the universe are going to be with me…Besides…my mother already warned me…"

Serenity tilted her head "What?"

"She wants a granddaughter"

The lunar princess giggled "Really?"

Endymion nodded and smiled "Apparently…she is tired of being surrounded by men…she wants to spoil a baby girl"

Serenity chuckled "I wish I could meet her…" the prince hugged his princess and looked outside the window "Really?"

The princess nodded "I couldn't see her at the ball…"

"She gets all the attention…" Endymion smiled sadly "And now she gets even more attention, now that she is barely seen because of her illness…" Serenity turned to look at him "She must be very beautiful…" she said dreamily; Endymion smiled "You are Beautiful" he kissed the top of her head.

"I am sorry for my earlier behavior…"

"Mmm?" Endymion frowned, Serenity sighed "It is just that…now that your guardians doesn't want me to be near you…"

"Hey…" he turned her face to look at him and put his hands on her arms "As I said before…they don't have the right to intrude in my personal life…"

"But they are only trying to protect you…and I understand…but I would never do any harm to you…you have become my life…" Serenity whispered; the prince kissed her forehead "Beautiful, I know what they are doing…but again, they have to also understand that they cannot forbid me anything…"

"I don't want to cause you problems with them…"

"You won't Beautiful…"

"But…"

"Ne cures…" he whispered "Don't worry" bending over he kissed her softly "It's late now…" Serenity nodded "I know…" she looked at him and sighed "Can I stay until you fall asleep?" The prince smiled "Dear Princess, you can stay here forever…" his hands started to take his cape off from her and put it aside on a chair, taking her hand they walked over the bed and lay down in silence; Serenity looked at the ceiling for a moment before turning to look at her prince "You look tired…" she whispered.

Endymion kissed her hand "I am…a little…"

"Don't be so grumpy…"

The prince yawned softly "I am not grumpy…I was stressed out…and tomorrow will be the same…"

"Is…something wrong?" Serenity asked softly, caressing his hand; Endymion sighed "There have been happening…strange events…"

"What kind of events?"

Endymion looked at her and smiled softly "It's better if you don't know Beautiful…" Serenity sat straight and frowned at him "Prince Endymion" she said slowly; startling him "…What?" he looked at her wide eyed; Serenity crossed her arms "I am your official Bunny; I deserve to know what troubles you…"

"…My official Bunny" he repeated softly, trying to hold a chuckle, Serenity arched one delicate brow "If you call me Bunny is because I am your Bunny…right?"

"…Right"

"Well, I am your Bunny and you are my Prince…you are always listening to me, now it's my turn to listen to you…"

Endymion blinked a couple of times startled and sighed softly "Alright…" he sat back up and turned to look at her "There has been a serial of mysterious events that we still haven't managed to find the reason of why they are happening...first started with a streak of illness, then disappearances, now…people are found dead…"

Serenity widened her eyes "Dead…?"

Endymion let out another sigh "Then, we discovered a cave…near the southern division, we call it Point D; at first it was happening randomly but now, mostly deaths and successes are coming from Point D…a few weeks ago, three children were involved in it, one of them was very sick…"

"Oh no…" the princess brought a hand to her lips in shock and worry "Are they alright? Is the boy alright?"

"For what I have been informed he is stable, but he is still not fully recovered…that happened weeks before my birthday…the day I felt sick…remember?"

"Yes…" Serenity said softly; Endymion bit his lip "I've been trying everything to find the responsible for the random assaults and also trying to find the reason of why that place is so dangerous...I need to find a way to keep everybody safe…I have guards near the area to help me prevent people from crossing to that point but…still, they are getting hurt and my soldiers as well…so there I have three big problems and I'm starting to feel frustrated because neither my Father, his advisor, my advisors and myself cannot still find a solution to this…I cannot fight if I can't identify the enemy…"

Serenity looked at him sadly "And then, there's me…"

"What do you mean?"

The princess lowered her gaze and sighed "You have so many things to do…you have so much in your mind to also worry about me…"

"Hey…" Endymion put his hand on her cheek "Stop saying those things…those are things I have to resolve because we are talking about innocent people, but you…" he sighed and looked in to her eyes "…Serenity I won't lie to you…sometimes I do feel incredibly tired and there are sometimes that I just wish I didn't have to wake up…but then I think of you and I feel so much better…" lowering his gaze he blushed "…To know there is someone up there looking after me, makes me feel special" he looked at her again "…You keep me going…and I always remember you saying that love is what is going to keep us together…"

Serenity smiled and lowered her gaze "I'm sorry…I…"

"Beautiful…" Endymion sighed "I know this is difficult…for both of us…but I love you…beyond the imaginable"

Serenity's eyes shone with tears and hugged him "I love you too…so, so much…I won't give up on us…I promise" she felt his strong arms encircled her; his warmth making her secure; kissing her temple he nodded "I won't give up on us either Beautiful…I swear"

It was dawn Venus noticed; her hands were pressed against her chest hoping that her princess would be alright wherever she was. After discovering the flowers in her drawer her thoughts flew to many possible scenes of how she could have gotten them; even though she felt incredibly tired she could fall asleep and after walking around the large room for several times she decided to sit again on her bed and keep waiting for her.

"The sun will come out soon…" Venus whispered; resting her face of her hands she sighed "How I did not notice this…? If Queen Serenity finds out…" her blue eyes widened in fright "No…she cannot know about this…I have to make sure she never escapes from here again…"

Sighing again, she noticed how the sun started to come out and with the first rays of the morning the princess appeared in a flash of silver sparkles; Venus raised her head and both women widened their eyes in surprise "Venus!" Serenity gasped "W-what are you…"

Venus stood up and walked over her princess "I have been here all night Princess…" she interrupted, looking at her "Where were you?"

Serenity was taken aback by her guardian's tone of voice "Venus…I"

"Where were you?"

The princess looked at Venus' worried expression, her heart pounded strong in her chest and as she fought the tears that were starting to form in her eyes she sighed in defeat; her biggest secret was about to be revealed and she knew the reaction she might have "I cannot tell you…" Serenity said softly.

"What?" Venus arched her brow and chuckled with sarcasm "You cannot tell me? What is that supposed to mean?"

"I cannot tell you Venus…I'm sorry…" Serenity breathed sadly, Venus shook her head "No, that is something I will not accept, I need an answer and I need it now"

"I…"

"Don't tell me you cannot say where you were again Princess!" she raised her voice in frustration "I have been waiting for you for hours…"

Serenity bit her lip "I cannot tell you"

Venus frowned "You are not going to tell me then? Well…then I will tell you" she walked over her drawer and took the two flowers and showed them to her "These are roses" Serenity widened her eyes "You rummaged through my belongings? How could you?"

"No Princess…how could you go to Earth?" Venus asked; her grip on the flowers tightened "Don't tell me these are not from there…"

Serenity watched the flowers in Venus' hand with worry "Give them back…" she said softly, Venus frowned "Where you on Earth?"

The princess walked over her guardian and tried to take the flowers from her "Give them back!" she raised her voice, Venus moved her arm and watched Serenity starting to become anxious trying to take the flowers away from her hand "Are these from Earth?"

"Give them back Venus!" Serenity yelled "Are these from Earth Serenity?" Venus yelled louder.

"YES!" Serenity cried and covered her lips with her hand; Venus watched the princess wide eyed and stayed silent for a couple of minutes. Serenity couldn't control her sobs and extended her hand "Please Venus…give them back to me…"

Venus watched the two flowers in her hand and then at her "What were you doing on Earth?"

"Venus…please" the princess pleaded, her tears continued falling from her eyes "Give them back…"

"I will, once you tell me what you were doing there"

Serenity shook her head and lowered her gaze; closing her eyes her heart started to feel heavy "Don't destroy them…please…" she said softly. Venus widened her eyes "Why don't you tell me? Why do you keep things from me?"

The princess stayed silent, frustrating the guardian "I am your guardian!" her eyes widened in realization "General Athamas was right…"

Serenity widened her eyes and looked at her "What?"

Venus looked at her "How long have you been escaping there?" her dry voice startled Serenity, the princess shook her head; Venus walked over her and grabbed her wrist "How long have you been going there?"

Serenity looked at her shocked "What are you doing?"

"How long?"

"I don't keep a track of time!" she responded looking at her; Venus' eyes started to fill with tears "Why did you do it Princess? Why risk your life this way…?" she asked hurt, turning she walked over the bed and sat looking at the flowers in her hand. Serenity sat on the floor and looked down "I wanted to feel free Venus…"

"What?" Venus looked at her, sitting on the white fluffy carpet, the princess raised her sad gaze at her "Although I have everything here…I still felt like a prisoner…while everybody else could go to other places I had known nothing because I am always being taken care…and I just couldn't take it anymore…"

"I started to feel like a prisoner in a crystal cage…"

Venus looked at the princess "Why Earth?"

Serenity wiped the tears off her face and turned to look at the blue planet in the sky "Because I have always thought it was a land of dreams…a place full of wonders and magic…"

"But you knew perfectly well it is forbidden to go there…"

The princess looked at Venus again "And I still don't understand why…"

Venus sighed and stood up "We don't question our High God's decisions Princess…we just follow their orders" Serenity sniffed "How can they forbid know something so beautiful like that planet? I don't understand…Nobody listens to their prayers! It is like if they don't exist! And they do!" she raised her voice.

Venus frowned "What are you saying? Are you saying you have established contact with _them_?" Serenity started crying again "Please give them back…" the blonde soldier watched the princess starting to break again in tears and felt her heart cringe with sorrow for just looking at her like that; the pieces of her puzzle were starting to finally fall into place and many things started to made sense now. Her passionate aura had now a reason and that was her experience on earth.

Crouching in front of her she put her hand on her shoulder "Princess…please understand it is something forbidden, what you are doing is putting your life in great danger…think about Her Majesty…"

Serenity's eyes widened "No…you cannot tell her!"

Venus sighed sadly "You lied to me…and to the rest of the girls…" the blonde lowered her gaze "General Athamas was right…you were escaping every night…under our very own noses…" she said hurt. Serenity frowned "Athamas had no right to tell you anything…"

"But he did…I had a discussion with him because defending you…but it turned out that he was right…" Venus looked at her hand "Who gave you these flowers?"

Serenity lowered her gaze "I can tell you everything you want Venus, except for that"

"Why? Who are you protecting?" Venus arched her brow.

"You know how much I always wanted to go there but I never had the courage to do it because everybody told me it was forbidden, that a monster lived there…" Serenity sighed and looked at Venus "I had an argument with Athamas…I had found out that he was seeing somebody else back in Andromeda and that broke my heart…"

Venus' eyes widened "What?"

"You were with your families…and even though that made me feel happy for you, I felt lonely and trapped so I decided to take the risk…I wanted to know something different and I wanted to witness with my own eyes the truth about that planet I longed so much to see…" closing her eyes, the moment she first met Endymion came to her mind; a small smile crossed her features and opened them again "I realized it was nothing like everyone told me it was…but the contrary" turning to see the flowers on her guardian's hands she smiled softly "Since then, I have been going there…because the feeling of freedom I get every time I am there has no comparison with all the luxury I have here…"

Venus looked at her sadly "You found more than freedom…" she trailed off and looked at the flowers "...Everything makes sense now…" raising her gaze to look at her princess, her eyes started to shine with tears "…Who are you protecting Princess?"

A tear ran down the princess' cheek, biting her lip to prevent herself from crying she looked away "I cannot tell you that Venus…I have told you of why I went there…I told you what you wanted to know…you confirmed what Athamas said…" her last words were full of hurt, she was aware of Athamas' ambition and that he was spying on her but never thought he could go that low by telling Venus about her escapades to Earth, what made her feel worse was the way he did it and the way how he must have said it.

Standing up, she walked towards the balcony doors leaving Venus behind "I am so sorry you had to find about this…I'm so sorry for what Athamas must have said to you…"

Venus stood up and looked at Serenity's back "I do not feel like this because of what the General told me, I'm feeling incredibly sad because you lied to me…because you have been risking your life all this time…you haven't thought of how dangerous it is to go there…" she lowered her gaze "I feel I have failed as a senshi and as a friend…because I left you alone when you found out that about Athamas…"

Venus looked away and let her tears start running "I have sensed it…so many times, your heart was weak and sad…your aura screamed for help and I watched it and I never did anything…" lowering her head she sighed "I thought you were like this because it was another tantrum of yours…but now I feel terrible to know I have failed my Queen as a senshi and I failed you as a friend…"

Serenity turned to look at Venus "You never failed me as a friend Venus…and you never failed as a senshi either…" walking over to her, she put her hands on her shoulders "You are so important to me…all of you, but you have always looked after me in a very special way….since we met, you have been my best friend…"

Venus looked at the princess sadly but with determination "You cannot go back there"

Serenity's eyes started to shine with tears "I cannot promise you that…"

"Whatever you have found there, you are going to end it…"

The princess shook her head "Don't ask me that…" Venus looked at her "I am not asking you Princess…I am telling you…I cannot let this happen again…I won't tell the girls, I won't tell Her Majesty…I won't even tell the General anything…but you cannot return to Earth ever again"

"You can't do this Venus…you have to understand…"

"No Princess, _you_ have to understand. This is not a game…it is not a joke…" Venus looked at the flowers in her hand "You are not going there again…"

Tears started to shine with tears again, shaking her head she brought a hand to her lips "No…" she whispered "…I cannot do that! You don't understand Venus…"

"There is nothing I need to understand Princess…this is for your own safety…you had your fun and now it is time to act mature and stop dreaming with the fact that Earth is going to become part of this Alliance" Venus sighed "Get dressed, Her Majesty is probably getting ready to have breakfast…"

"No…" Serenity breathed, startling the senshi "What do you mean no? This matter has to stop! You cannot go there again!" Venus looked at her frustrated; Serenity started crying again, she tried to speak but words never came out "You must know why I cannot stop going there Venus…if you read souls…you must know by now…" she lowered her head.

Venus looked at her princess sadly "You cannot be sure that is true love…you thought the feelings you had for the General was love…"

Serenity sighed "I know what I feel…"

Venus frowned "Are you even listening to yourself? Does this…_mortal_ being knows who you really are?"

Serenity widened her eyes, the word mortal didn't sound right for her. Endymion was more than just a mortal to her "Yes" she said simply. Venus shook her head and sighed "Then this mortal is with you just because you are a Goddess…"

"No" Serenity said determinant "But because we love each other"

"Princess…" Venus said slowly "Love cannot come from the relationship between a mortal and a Goddess. That is even against nature"

"You don't understand…"

"Of course I understand, and now with more reasons you are not going there again" Venus said "I will make sure of that"

"Are you going to spy on me just like Athamas?" Serenity asked with sarcasm startling the venusian senshi "If I have to I will…"

A maid entered the princess' chambers and stopped as soon as she saw the two women there talking "I'm so sorry…" she bowed "I did not know Her Highness was already awake…" Venus never took her eyes off the princess "No, she is awake…could you look after her and prepare her bath?"

The young maid nodded "Yes, Sailor Venus…"

Serenity widened her eyes "Give them back to me…" she said softly, referring to the flowers in the blonde's hand; Venus looked at her hand and then at her princess "I'm sorry Princess…but I will not…these has to be destroyed"

The princess shook her head "No…you can't do that…please, Venus…" she breathed.

"I'm sorry…" Venus said softly and turned on her heel "I will come back…" she walked out of the room, leaving the princess alone with the maid. Serenity lowered her head and started to sob, now she understood why she was feeling so anxious and worried while she was with Endymion, at this moment she wished with all her heart she had never returned to the moon.

"Princess…your bath is ready" the young maid said from the bathroom; Serenity turned to look at the young girl and nodded "Thank you…" looking at the blue planet in the distance she wiped the tears off her face with her hands and walked straight to the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Venus walked inside her room and closed the door behind her; leaning on it for a moment she looked at the flowers in her hand while the other touched the silky ribbon that tied them together "Princess…" she whispered sadly "The love I read from you all this time was not because you loved the General…but a mortal…"

Sitting on her bed she let a soft sigh "You looked so hurt when I took them away…but I need to destroy them…" Raising her head, she turned to her window and watched the blue planet in the distance with sadness "It's true…it is a beautiful planet on the outside and must be very pretty on the inside…but it is still forbidden…" lowering her gaze she bit her lip "I'm sorry Princess…"

Oooooooooooo

"Salve…" the prince muttered as soon as he entered the study, the four men watched him sit behind his desk "What?" Endymion asked. The four men shook their heads, Jadeite sighed and decided to step in "Are you still mad at us?"

"What you did has no name…" Endymion said slowly and looked at the papers on the desk; Nephrite bit his lip "Prince…"

"…And specially you" Endymion interrupted, looking at him "I thought you realized she was not a treat but the contrary…"

Nephrite sighed and lowered his gaze "We are only trying to protect you"

"Rummaging through my life this way is not protection is…intruding" the prince frowned and looked down at the papers again and started to sign them. Kunzite turned to look at Nephrite and waved his hand as a signal that he shouldn't feel bad for his cold behavior; turning to see the prince again he shrugged his shoulders "Seeing an immortal being is a threat"

Endymion sighed "I won't stop seeing her…"

The white haired man frowned and supported his hands against the oak desk "You are not going to back off? Not even for your mother?"

The prince looked at him and arched his brow "What does my mother has to do with this?"

"By putting yourself in risk, you are putting her in risk as well…haven't thought about that?"

"I have thought in every detail Kunzite, if that worries you…"

"Then why are you doing it?"

Endymion looked at the general "Because, I love her Kunzite" his voice was deep with emotion, there was no doubt that he was telling the truth, his eyes didn't lie either. The general sighed and sat back on his chair "You really love her or is it infatuation just because she is a Goddess?"

"Do you really think I am that low?" the prince frowned, Kunzite raised his brows and let out a loud breath "I just…" he trailed off.

"This is all new for us Master…" Zoicite said softly "We only know your though warrior side…not the one who actually believes in love…"

"Yes…" Jadeite scratched the back of his head "You were the one against love…you said love didn't exist"

The prince sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose "I know I said all those things…I really didn't believe in love and I really though it didn't exist but everything changed the moment I met her…"

Nephrite lowered his gaze; Kunzite knew he felt guilty and took very personal what Endymion just told him moments ago "Endymion…how exactly are you going to continue your relationship with her if it's practically impossible for you to be together, starting with the fact that…you, eventually will grow old and die and she will live eternally…"

Endymion sighed and stood up; walking around the study he rubbed his temples "You think I haven't talked to her about that? That I haven't thought about it? But it is something beyond my comprehension…I love her, I can't just…" he trailed off; looking outside the window "I love her" he whispered.

"Do you see yourself with her in the next five years? Ten years?" Jadeite asked, Endymion turned to look at him and nodded "Yes"

"You are really _that_ in love?" the blonde asked, startled; the prince nodded again "I love her; she has become the best that ever happened in my life…"

Kunzite sighed "I'm sorry Master…I really do, because I know for sure that you are not lying to us…I know your feelings are true because it shows but, we cannot allow her to come here again…"

Endymion bit his lip "So then I suppose it is going to be you against me…because I am not letting her go and she is not letting me go either"

"Do you know what could happen if the gods know about his, Master?" Zoicite asked, Endymion pursed his lips "They are probably going to come and kill me…but I don't know why I am not afraid…"

"Because…you love her?" Jadeite asked confused.

Endymion shrugged his shoulders "I don't know…I am just not…"

"You feel like if you were like them, somehow?" Jadeite asked, the other three men turned to look at him with a shocked expression, Kunzite arched his brow and made a stop signal with his hand; Endymion turned to look at the blonde man "It may sound stupid but…I feel like I can fight for her"

The four men looked at each other and then back at the prince but before anyone can say anything else, Endymion sighed "Do we have any news on the situation on D Point?"

Kunzite looked at him in a knowingly way "…Everything remains the same, sometimes it comes out some sort of smoke from the inside and that is what smells like sulfur…"

"Are there any more reports of harmed people?"

"No, Master"

The prince ran a hand through his dark hair "This is too much…" he muttered, Nephrite looked at him "Maybe all this…is a warning Master"

Kunzite closed his eyes in regret and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Endymion turned to look at the brown haired man "What are you saying?"

Nephrite stood up "Maybe all this is a…"

"What we are going to do is to keep our guard up; fortunately there is any more damage and no more people hurt" the prince turned to his desk and grabbed another stack of papers and started to walk out of the study; Zoicite stood up "Master, what should we do?"

Endymion slammed the door behind him again; the blonde general widened his eyes and turned to look at Kunzite "This is going to be harder than we actually thought"

Kunzite sighed tiredly "It is already hard…" he turned to look at Nephrite "He is angry, don't take so personal whatever he says or do…alright? You are just doing what you think it's best"

Jadeite sighed sadly "How long do you think he will stay mad at us?"

"I don't know Jadeite, until we accept his relationship with the Moon Princess…"

Zoicite bit his lip "So, he is going to be this sarcastic, unbearable man for the rest of his life then…"

"So it seems…" Jadeite sighed again "Maybe if we talk to her…"

Zoicite turned to look at him "We already did Jadeite…but I do not think she is going to give up on him either…"

"Do you really think this is a warning from the Gods Nephrite? Do the stars have confirmed it?" Kunzite asked with worry; Nephrite shook his head "That is only a supposition…but, it could be…"

"I personally don't think it is…it has to be something else…" Zoicite said, startling the other three men "Why do you say that?" Nephrite asked.

The blonde sat on his chair again "If they were here to 'punish' us, they already have caused a disaster…" kunzite bit his lip in thought "You have a point there Zoicite…I do not think that either, they already had come and killed the Prince…"

"All this is stupid really" Jadeite regained his usual raw character and turned to look at his comrades "Gods, cannot do anything to him…he is one of them"

"We are not sure of that Jadeite" Zoicite said.

"Blah!" the blonde waved his hand "Of course he is…"

"Yes Jadeite but, if he is…then why is all this truth hidden?"

Jadeite was about to retort but stayed silent when he realized that his other blonde friend and comrade had a point; Kunzite sat on his chair and rested his chin on his hands "Remember Her Majesty told us that there were beings who wanted Endymion's power…"

"We swore to keep the secret in order to keep him safe…" Zoicite said softly; Jadeite chuckled startling the three men "What is so funny?" Zoicite asked with annoyance.

Jadeite leaned on his chair "I'm pretty sure Endymion can kick some immortal butts if he wants to…" The comment broke the tension in the room and all four men started laughing, Kunzite turned to look at Nephrite and patted his shoulder "You are not doing anything wrong…so don't feel guilty, don't take personal what he might say…"

"Yes…" Jadeite wiped a tear from his face "Endymion is pretty cruel when he's angry…you should know that by now!"

"Yes…and that is why he always ended under that damn waterfall" Kunzite muttered, Zoicite chuckled "Well, because you were always fighting with him…and you always ended up with him…"

Jadeite stood up and walked over Nephrite; patting his back he chuckle "Don't worry, this is our job anyways…" the brown haired man nodded "Maybe we should put him under that waterfall again…"

"Ha, he was the one who used to tell us that we should never give our hearts to anybody…and look at him!" Jadeite raised his hands in frustration, Kunzite sweat dropped "Um…to a women like Eiliya…"

The blonde frowned "She was…agh, forget it"

Zoicite walked over the desk and started to see the papers left there; widening his eyes he took a piece of paper "These are signed…" he mumbled.

"What?" Kunzite arched his brow "Did he leave these here for us to deliver?" he took the paper from Zoicite's hand and started to read it "Why he didn't say anything?"

Jadeite walked over there and watched a small piece of paper with Endymion's handwriting and widened his eyes "He even took the time to give us orders in a piece of paper…how clever and charming…"

"What?" Kunzite frowned.

"_If you are reading this is because you are still in the study doing who knows what. There is work to do over the desk and outside, whenever you feel like doing it I will more than grateful –Endymion"_ Jadeite read and sweat dropped "How did he know we were going to find this note?"

Zoicite bit his lip "He knows us too well…"

"Oh well, here we go…another day full of work" Jadeite sighed and sat in front of the desk and began reading some papers regarding his division "At least I don't have to go and deal with Sophos right now…"

Kunzite took another stack of papers and chuckled "Well, eventually you will have to…I will leave you doing your supervisions, I have some complaints from Endymion to hear…see you later" The three men nodded while doing their respective work and waved their hands "Later!" Jadeite said.

Ooooooooooo

Serenity walked out of her bathroom wearing her clean gown and looked at the young maid waiting for her "Your Highness you should have called me to help you…"

"It was not necessary…" she whispered and walked over to her bed startling the maid "You are not going to do your hair Princess?" Serenity lay on the fluffy white bed and sighed "No…" she said sadly, her thoughts were fixed on the discussion she had with her guardian about her prince "First his guardians…and now mine…" she thought.

"I can help you if you like Princess…"

Serenity smiled softly at the young maid standing a few feet away from her "Would you?"

The maid smiled "Of course, anything to help you Your Highness…"

Serenity's eyes lit up, _anything, _as if the word held all her answers she stood up from the bed and walked over to the maid, holding her hands startling her "Anything? You would do anything to help me?"

The young maid looked at her wide eyed "Yes, Princess…why? Do you want me to help you with your hair?"

Serenity smiled "No, that is something I can do easily on my own…but I do want you to help me with something else…"

Venus sat on her bed and looked to the nothing; her fingers caressed the delicate dry petals of the flowers in her hands, letting a soft sigh she started to rewind all the discussion she just had with her princess and felt her eyes fill with hot tears.

She felt guilt and pain in her chest; she felt like the worst guardian ever, she felt like she failed her princess, her queen and mostly herself because she could not listen to her dear friend's heart. Now that she knew the truth or most part of it, she thought that if she had discovered this before she could have had the opportunity to prevent all this. Whatever her princess had was insanely dangerous for both, her and the mortal.

She looked at the flowers in her hands again and felt her tears starting to take over her now strong and serious character. Walking over to her dresser she left the flowers there and walked to her bathroom to take a quick bath; several minutes after Mars knocked on her door and came in, followed by Jupiter and Mercury "Venus?" she asked out loud.

"It doesn't look like she is here either…" Mercury said softly, Mars frowned "Venus, are you here?" she asked again. The blonde guardian opened the door and walked to her room again with a towel around her head; fully dressed with a clean light orange dress; her big blue eyes widened as soon as she saw the three girls standing in her doorway "Girls…" she whispered.

"We were looking all over for you…" Jupiter said "You didn't join us for breakfast…"

Venus bit her lip and sighed, walking over her vanity, she started brushing her long blonde hair and soon tied it with a red ribbon "I was not hungry…" she said absently.

Mars noticed her dry behavior and arched her brow; walking over to her she put her hand on her shoulder "Venus…are you alright?"

The blonde beauty turned to look at Mars and couldn't hold her tears any longer, Mars widened her eyes and brought her close to a hug "Venus…what is the matter?" she asked scared, this was something very strange, Venus never cried or at least she didn't cry in front of anybody, the other girls walked close to them and looked at the blonde with worry "What is the matter Venus, tell us…" Mercury caressed her hair in a sisterly way.

Venus moved away from Mars and the girls and walked over her bed and sat in silence; biting her lip she wiped the tears off her face with her hand "I was so blind…" she whispered.

Mars frowned and walked over her and sat next to her "Why are you saying that?"

"I promised I wouldn't say a thing but…"

"…But?" Jupiter asked, Venus raised her face and watched the Amazonian woman with sadness "You should be the leader…" then she turned to look at Mars "…Or you…"

"What are you talking about?" Mars asked worried "You are scaring me…"

Venus lowered her gaze; Mars held her by the shoulders "Venus…whatever it is…you need to tell us…we must know, we are your friends…aside the fact that we all share a duty"

Jupiter walked over them and crouched in front of the two girls, Mercury on the other side sat next to Venus "You should not carry anything alone…" Mercury said softly.

Venus bit her lip, her emotions taking over her; she closed her eyes but again tears started to fall "I have failed in protecting Princess Serenity…"

The three girls widened their eyes "What?"

"Did something happen to her?" Mercury asked "Did the General did something to her?" Jupiter asked almost frantic, Mars put her hand on her shoulder "What is happening?"

Venus sighed and opened her eyes "Princess Serenity…is seeing someone…"

Mars frowned "She's back again with the General?"

Venus shook her head, Jupiter arched her brow "Who is he?"

"I don't know…"

The three girls sweat dropped "Then, why are you saying that you have been a terrible guardian to our Princess if you are not sure?" Mars asked; Venus turned to look at the raven haired senshi "I am sure…"

"But you don't know who he is…"

"I just happen to know, where he is from…"

Mercury placed a strand of hair behind her ear "I believe I am not following…"

"How do you know all this?" Jupiter asked.

Venus turned to look at her strong friend "I went to look for her last night and she was not there…and it is not the first time it happens…"

"But she could be anywhere…the palace is immense" Mercury said softly. Venus turned to look at them "In my mission trying to know what was happening with her, I stayed the entire night in her room and searched for clues…something…caught my eye and when I saw it, all my questions were cleared"

"What did you see?" Mars asked.

"Two roses"

The three girls widened their eyes and then frowned at the same time "Roses?" Jupiter frowned "She is going to Jupiter, Oh…is she in love with a jupiterian?"

"No…" Venus said softly "She is in love with a terran"

The three women stood up with a sock expression on their faces "WHAT?" they asked in unison "How…what?" Mars asked again. Venus sighed and lowered her head "She has been seeing someone from Earth…she is constantly escaping to the blue planet…"

Mars shook her head and started to walk around the room "No, no no no no no no no….that can't be true…there has to be some kind of mistake!"

"It's no mistake…" Venus said.

"I mean…roses grow in Jupiter as well! Isn't that right Jupiter?" Mars asked the brown haired beauty "Yes, yes…" Jupiter said.

"Those are not like the roses that grow in Jupiter…and the flowers that grow in Jupiter just happen to resemble to real roses…the ones I found were roses, real roses…"

"You must be imaging things Venus…" Mars said again, "She confirmed it Mars!" Venus raised her voice slightly to bring her out of her shocking state; Mars let out a loud breath and frowned "What?"

"She confirmed it to me…" Venus said softly.

"You talked to her already about _this_?"

"Yes"

"…And you didn't tell us anything until _now?_!" Mars raised her voice. Jupiter stood up and shook Mars shoulders slightly "Calm down Mars…"

"I just found out about it Mars…I just talked to her!" Venus said.

"Did she confirm a mortal gave the flowers to her?" Mercury asked.

"Yes"

"…So _who is_ this mortal being?" Jupiter asked dryly.

"She did not want to tell me…she is clearly protecting him…" Venus said softly, Mars brought a hand to her chest and took several breaths "This can't be happening…she is breaking a taboo!"

"I know what she is doing! Do you think I am feeling all that well? She has been escaping to see who knows who every time we are not around…"

"He must be a peasant…"

The three girls widened their eyes and turned to look at the blue haired girl still sitting on the bed, she was the most calmed of them all, which was something strange even to them "What?" Mars asked.

Mercury sighed and stood up "She must be protecting him because he must be a peasant…why would she protect a strong character if he could obviously protect himself…"

"Um, because he would still be a mortal human being…" Jupiter said.

"Mercury's reasoning is not bad…" Mars said softly, Jupiter sweat dropped "A little shallow don't you think?"

"Well, fine, she is seeing a mortal…and she might be afraid of what we could do to him…" Jupiter said again; Mercury pursed her lips "Well, not only us but the Higher Gods…"

"Oh no no no no no no no…" Mars interrupted again "The Higher Gods must NOT find out about this…it could be a total disaster!"

"Not even Queen Serenity must know…" Venus said "This is something we will have to solve ourselves…or…in that case me…because I was supposed to watch over her"

"We were all supposed to watch over her Venus, this is not your fault" Mars said.

"Mars is right…this is something that concerns to all" Jupiter said softly "We will solve this problem…"

"Where is she right now Venus?" Mercury asked softly; Venus pursed her lips "In her room; I asked the maid in turn to watch over her…"

"I need to see her…" Mars said.

Venus nodded and walked out of the room, followed by the three girls in silence; the blonde woman opened the door and watched the young maid standing near the balcony doors and widened her eyes "Where is she?" she asked starting to panic.

The young maid turned to look at the senshi "I…she…" she trailed off.

"She left, _again!_" Venus raised her voice.

"I could not stop her Sailor Venus…I am so sorry!" she started to cry nervously; Jupiter sighed "She is becoming fearless…she escaped again, now what?"

Venus turned to the maid "You will not mention _any_ of this to _anyone_, understood?" the young maid nodded "I swear I won't say anything, I am so sorry…"

"Leave us…" Mars said dryly; the maid bowed her head and left the room, closing the door behind her. Mars sighed in frustration "Now what?"

Venus turned to look at her "We will follow her"

"What?" Jupiter said shocked.

"I will link my energy with hers…we _will_ find her and bring her back" Venus said determinant; Jupiter blew her bangs "And what if we find her with the mortal?"

"We will have to give him a lesson…"


	80. Chapter 80

**A/N: Thank you so much for all your birthday wishes :) So, I just moved in to my new home...on a new country...weird, I still need to adjust, I am starting to miss home terribly...anyways, here is the new chapter. I hope you like it, if i take a little to post what comes next it is because i am going to job interviews and stuff...and finish unpacking...I know you understand...**

**i do not own sm just THIS plot and SOME of the characters, thank you.**

**have a nice day, Enjoy!**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter eighty**

* * *

Serenity opened her eyes and realized she was on earth again; but this time she didn't want to wait until night time to tell her prince about what happened hours ago. Frowning, she looked around and found out she was not in the palace grounds but near the river, where they first met "Why am I here?" she asked confused; turning around she started walking fast towards Elysion.

After doing his daily chores, Kunzite went to look for the prince and just as he imagined he was there arguing with one of the sergeants "Polemarchos I did everything you asked me to, I just needed to confirm if the order you gave next was yours…"

Endymion arched his brow "And that is why you had to slower down everybody else's activities?"

The sergeant widened his eyes; he was well aware of the prince's strong character but never imagined how serious he could be sometimes "Well?" he asked demanding an answer; the sergeant lowered his gaze "It won't happen again Polemarchos…"

"No, what you should have done was to search for me and ask me personally not via paperwork"

"Yes, Polemarchos"

Endymion sighed and watched Kunzite walking towards his way "Here they are" he gave the prince an envelope with papers inside, the prince took it and took out the papers "I was right after all…" he muttered; Kunzite widened his eyes "What?"

Endymion didn't separate his gaze from the papers he was reading "You were still in the study"

Kunzite sweat dropped "Um…we saw your little note"

"I imagined you would"

"Yes…" Kunzite bit his lip "We were discussing some things…"

"I bet that included my name…"

"…No"

Endymion noticed the sergeant was still there and nodded his head "You may go recruit new soldiers for the mission sergeant" the man bowed his head "Yes Your Highness" The prince chuckled sarcastically and turned to look at Kunzite "Don't lie to me Kunzite, you know how much I hate when people lies to me…"

"Will it make a difference?" the white haired man asked.

"Not really…" the prince started walking; Kunzite sighed and caught up with him "So, are there any news?

Endymion sighed and shook his head "Not really, there is nothing relevant we should put our full attention but still…that damn place is causing problems"

"I just talked to one of the soldiers who came here to deliver that report and he says that everything seems to be under control for the moment, but still the smell is intoxicating and the energy that comes from the inside is unbearable…" Kunzite said.

"I will have to take other measurements…" Endymion sighed "Once, again"

Kunzite pursed his lips "This is probably the only thing that is consuming our time right now, I just revised the reports from my division and everything is under control, so as the other divisions…"

"Well at least something is alright…"

Kunzite put a hand on his shoulder "Endymion…we will find a solution for this…"

The prince pressed his lips and nodded "We have to"

Serenity stood near the guarding gates and tried to see if she could find her way to get into the palace; she knew this time it would be harder for her to concentrate since she practically escaped in broad daylight and now that Venus knew most of the truth she was sure she would have problems once she gets back home. She walked around and waited to see if the guards made their shift turns and when she was about to come closer she spotted the prince talking to several men including his right hand advisor "…Kunzite" she whispered.

"The troop is ready Polemarchos, we are just waiting for your order" the blonde sergeant said; Endymion nodded and made a signal "Very well, King Isra is waiting for you, there shouldn't be any problems"

"Yes, Prince"

"As soon as you get there, send the other troop back"

"Yes, Prince" the man bowed and walked over the troop that was about to leave; Kunzite sighed "The southern point has been the one with more issues than any others…"

"The soldiers there are trained differently for some reason…I prefer to change the personnel constantly…"

"I think it's a smart move…" Kunzite nodded and watched the men leave on their horses "Let's just hope for the best"

Endymion arched his brow "Why are you saying that?"

"Because, Sophos is in _that_ crew"

"What?" Endymion asked, Kunzite nodded "Yes, there he is on the white horse…" he pointed at the man in question; the prince growled "Why…no, no! He must stay here, where is Jadeite?"

"Inside, doing his own paperwork"

The prince sighed and walked over the men who were already starting to leave; Kunzite widened his eyes "Wait, where are you going?"

"Sophos cannot go to that place!" Endymion said and whistled "Stop them, right now!" he said to the guards who immediately sent the order and made the crew stop their journey; the sergeant stepped down of his horse and walked over the prince "Is something wrong Polemarchos?"

"What are you doing?"

The man widened his eyes "W-Why?"

Kunzite watched from the distance and turned to look at one of the soldiers near him "Oy!" he said; the man walked close "Yes, General Kunzite?"

"Go and call General Jadeite and the rest"

"Yes, General" Kunzite sighed and looked at scene in the distance.

Serenity had never watched Endymion in his role as Polemarchos; she must admit that he was intimidating way more than Athamas ever was. She found rather fascinating how he could be that though and serious when she knows the loving and gentle person he actually was.

"What the hell are you doing there?" she watched him ask to one of the men on a white horse.

"I was recruited by the Sergeant" Sophos said; Endymion ran a hand through his hair and turned to look at the sergeant in question "That man can't leave these grounds"

"He told me he had your approval"

Endymion turned to look at Sophos "Since when you can speak for me?"

"I think I am allowed to go there since I discovered the place"

"Really?" Endymion arched his brow and crossed his arms. Sophos nodded "Without me you wouldn't have found that place…" when he noticed the dead glare the prince was giving him, he started to fidget in his seat "…Your Highness…" he finished politely.

"My patience is running out with you…" Endymion said slowly "Get down of that horse"

"Polemarchos…"

The prince chuckled sarcastically "And you are still going to allege with me…" the sergeant turned to look at Sophos and shook his head "Get down of the horse boy"

"I should go! I discovered the place!" Sophos said "If you want me to get off this horse, then you will have to make me!"

Endymion sighed "That's it, my patience is out" he walked over the man on the horse and pulled him down from his leg making him fall on his butt and grabbed him by the collar startling him "You have given me more headaches than anyone else in my life…" his voice went down a couple of decibels making the soldier shake in fright.

Jadeite stood next to Kunzite with the rest of the shitennou "What's going on?"

"Sophos just exhausted Endymion's patience" Kunzite said slowly; Jadeite widened his eyes "Oh shit…"

"_Oh shit?"_ Kunzite turned to look at him "You should go there and prevent him from doing something! It was your responsibility to look after that problematic man!"

Jadeite sweat dropped "And I was; I don't know how the hell he manages to cause so many problems…" he ran to where the prince was arguing with the soldier "Master" he called out.

"This is the last damn time I see you causing trouble…you have been a nuisance since you think you have control over the rest or do you think I haven't read the reports?" Endymion asked the man in front of him; Sophos' breathing fastened, he was scared very scared; he had never seen the prince this angry in his life before "P-Polemarchos I…"

"Every damn report has something negative about you…I am sick of it…Jadeite" he said over his shoulder; Jadeite widened his eyes "Yes Master?"

"Has he given you problems since you started supervising the division where he is in?"

Jadeite looked at the man in Endymion's grip "Most of the time Master"

The prince let the man go and turned to look at the sergeant "This man will not leave these grounds" then turned to look at the soldier "And if you think you can get your Commander position back, you are very wrong"

The soldier widened his eyes "I earned that position" Endymion arched his brow "And you also earned how to lose it" he turned to look at Jadeite "His rank shall never pass the lowest position" the blonde general nodded and turned to look at one of the guards near "Take him to the barracks"

The sergeant looked at the prince with worry "It won't happen again Polemarchos"

Endymion nodded "Go…before it gets too late" the man nodded and bowed "Yes Polemarchos"

"This is my fault Master" Jadeite said slowly; Endymion sighed and shook his head "He managed to make himself unnoticed but…he failed in the end; Kunzite was the one who saw him but I know that if you were here you have noticed him too"

Jadeite sighed and nodded "It won't happen again"

Endymion patted his shoulder "It's alright Jadeite…he didn't leave and that was what mattered" he was about to turn when something or better said somebody caught his eye "Bunny?" he whispered.

Jadeite frowned and turned to look at Endymion "Is something wrong Master?"

The prince shook his head "I have to…do something" he turned to look at one of the soldiers "Bring my horse as quickly as you can"

"Yes Prince"

"Am I missing something?" Jadeite asked; Endymion turned to look at him "No, I need to check up something…" he sighed and gave the blonde man the envelope Kunzite gave him a while ago "Give this to Kunzite; he will know what to do with it"

Jadeite nodded and walked over to Kunzite; Endymion watched the soldier bring his horse ready and stepped in and started to ride away from the palace grounds; Kunzite frowned "What?"

Jadeite gave him the envelope "He asked me to give this to you, he said you will know what to do with it"

Zoicite and Nephrite sighed "So he is still mad…" the blonde said; Kunzite shook his head "Where is he going?"

"He said he needed to check up something…maybe he forgot to tell the sergeant something" Jadeite shrugged his shoulders, the white haired man pursed his lips "No…he would have ordered to do that to someone else…unless he is…" his eyes widened "She is here"

"What?" Zoicite asked wide eyed; Kunzite walked towards the stables "We need to go after him"

"What is going on?" Zoicite asked confused.

Nephrite put a hand on his shoulder "_She_ is here" Zoicite widened his eyes "Oh…" he nodded and followed Kunzite to the stables.

Endymion stopped and stepped down of his horse, running his arms around Serenity "Beautiful…what are you doing here at this time of the day?"

Serenity raised her face up to meet his eyes and he noticed she was about to cry "Beautiful…what…" he trailed off and caressed her cheek "What happened? Did something happen?"

Serenity held her breath for a moment and started to cry; Endymion was starting to feel impotency for not being able to know what was going on with her; turning his head he sighed "Come with me…"

The princess nodded and held his hand, while he helped her step on his horse; as soon as he did the same they rode away toward the lake. The sun reflected over the clear and calm water, giving the impression of a shiny sleek mirror; Serenity closed her eyes and let the warmth from the sun fill her like a soft blanket.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" his deep voice interrupted her thoughts; turning over her shoulder she shook her head "I just…" she trailed off "I want to be with you"

Endymion let out a soft sigh and stepped off his horse again, helping her do the same; patting the animal it started to walk away leaving them alone "You are with me Beautiful…" he cupped her face with his hands and looked at her "…You are not alone, you are here with me"

Serenity sighed and smiled sadly "If I wanted to…" she looked away "…run away from my world, would you take me in into yours?"

The terra prince widened his eyes in shock "Serenity…"

"Would you?" she asked again, with more insistency; Endymion looked at her and cupped her cheek with his hand "Of course I would"

Serenity smiled and leaned her face on his warm hand; closing her eyes she let out a soft sigh "I feel so at peace when I am here…" she ran her arm around his waist "So happy…"

Endymion's own frustration started to melt away; still he felt a wave of melancholy coming from her, Serenity bit her lip "You are mad…"

Endymion sighed and shook his head "No…I'm not mad…I am just…tired, that's all" her question still triggered in the back of his mind, why did she ask him that all of the sudden, he couldn't help but think that something made her take that decision or at least, think about it.

Serenity walked over to him and frowned "Is there something I can do to make you feel better?"

The prince smiled softly and shook his head "This is something that happens every day Beautiful…" he started to walk toward the lake "But there are some days when I feel more tired and stressed than others…" lowering his head, his lips curved into a soft smile "…But you have this power over me, that it doesn't matter how exhausted I am, how tired or mad…" he looked at her over his shoulder "You make it all go away…"

Serenity stood next to him and held his hand, intertwining her fingers with his "You do the same to me…" her heart pounded in her chest "One of my guardians caught me…" her words escaped her lips as if she didn't want them to really come out "She saw me appear in my room…and while rummaging through my personal items she found the birthday gift you gave me…"

"The roses…" he muttered.

Serenity nodded "She took them with her; they are probably destroyed by now…she said she would in order to erase all proof of what I have done…" tears started to threaten her eyes, lowering her head she bit her lip and started sobbing "I'm so sorry…"

Endymion frowned, sighing softly he put his hands on her shoulders "Why are you asking me for forgiveness?" he asked softly; Serenity bit her lip and continued crying "Because…I ruined everything"

The prince looked toward the lake and then back at the princess "Come with me" he took her hand and walked over the lake shore, crouching he wet his hands on the cool water and shook the excess of it and put them on each side of her temples, then started to wipe away the tears away cooling her face with his cold hands while looking at her "Feeling better?" he asked gently.

Serenity widened her eyes a little and nodded. His hands felt cold against her skin but she could feel how her panic, worry and stress started to melt away feeling much better "You are not going to say something?" she asked confused; the prince sighed and shook his head slightly "What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know…you are not mad?"

Endymion moved his hands away from her temples and placed them on her neck "Why would I be mad?"

"Because…I was caught" the princess answered softly "You are…here, trying to make me feel better instead of scolding me"

The prince moved his hands back to her face, cupping her cheeks "Bunny…there is no reason for me to be mad…"

"You are not you today…" she said softly.

The prince sighed "I know Beautiful. I don't feel like myself today…but it has nothing to do with you"

Serenity looked at him with worry "I watched you having a discussion with a soldier…" she said softly and moved away to sit on a rock on the shore "I have never seen you so angry before…" the prince sighed and smiled absently "I wasn't angry…" he said slowly "I was jaded…"

The princess bit her lip "If that was being jaded then…I don't know how you are when you are angry" her comment made him chuckle, turning his face toward her he smiled softly, this time he gave her a genuine smile "It's better if you don't know"

Serenity smiled "You are right on that"

The prince went over to her and crouched in front of her "Beautiful…more than jaded, I am worried, I don't care about what happened to the flowers I care about you…are you alright? Did she…?" he trailed off, hoping that her guardian didn't do something to his precious bunny.

Serenity widened her eyes and shook her head "No, Venus would never hurt me…no…" she lowered her gaze "She asked me about everything…why did I come here in the first place, knowing that having contact with you is completely forbidden…" she sighed and looked at him "I told her my reasons, I told her why I came here…"

"She knows about me then" Endymion said in an affirmative manner; Serenity shook her head "She knows I have fallen for somebody…but, I did not tell her who you were"

"Why?" he asked softly.

"Because, it's my way to protect you…"

"Bunny…I'll be alright" Endymion said softly, cupping her cheek. Serenity shook her head "I am not going to give up on us…I want to be with you…" her eyes started to shine with tears again "Endy…take me with you"

"Bunny…" he whispered.

"Take me with you, please…" she cried softly, her eyes held deep emotion, a mix of desperation and hope. Endymion pulled her closer to his arms and held her tight, letting her emotions take over her for a minute before the prince looked into her eyes "I love you…" he whispered. Serenity placed her hands on each side of his face and closed the gap between them in a tender kiss.

Venus was the first one to open her eyes and turned to look at the rest of the girls "Are you alright?"

Jupiter frowned and looked around "Are we…_here_?" Mercury gasped in wonder "There is no doubt about it…its majesty is undeniable"

Jupiter bit her lip and turned to both sides "How do we know she is here?"

"Because she is here…" Mars took a step forward "Her aura is unmistakable" Venus nodded "Let's go"

"Wait, how do we know we are walking in the right direction?" Jupiter asked confused; Venus turned to look at her "We followed her energy trail…we are her guardians, we know her better than she thinks"

"The sun looks different from here…" Mars raised her face to the blue sky "The sky is so blue…"

"…And it feels so warm…" Jupiter said dreamily; Mercury sighed "Yes, but remember this place is forbidden…"

"The colors are also so bright" the Amazonian beauty said again with amazement; Mercury nodded "There is no doubt this planet is unlike any others…"

"Its energy…it's incredibly strong" Mars said, bringing her hand to her chest, startling the other senshi "What do you feel?" asked Mercury.

"There is energy everywhere…there is no doubt it has a guardian" Mars said in amazement; Jupiter bit her lip "Do you think it is the so called _monster_?" Mercury sweat dropped "Jupiter, do you really believe in that myth?"

"Well, don't you? There has to be a strong reason of why we are not allowed to come to this place…"

"The myth is true…" Mars said softly, while they all continued walking "What?" the three women said perplexed "How do you know?" Jupiter asked; Mars turned over her shoulder "Father told me…"

Jupiter looked at Mars with a worried expression "Do you think that 'entity' knows we are here?" Mars narrowed her eyes at the brown haired senshi "Um…Jupiter, are you nervous?" Jupiter widened her eyes at Mars "What? No!"

Mars chuckled startling Jupiter "What is so funny?" Mars shook her head "I find funny the fact that you are the toughest girl I have ever met in my life and you are afraid of a myth"

"I'm am not afraid, just…curious" Jupiter rolled her eyes, Mars giggled "I can't believe Zeus' daughter is worried about something…or better said, someone"

"I'm not! Jupiter snapped, Venus raised her hand making the stop "I can feel it…her aura…" walking further into the bushes, she pushed a tree branch to the side and widened her eyes in shock. Mars and the rest of the girls caught up with her and looked at the blonde guardian with worry "Venus, what is the matter?" Mercury asked and turned to look in front of her "Princess…" she whispered, Mars and Jupiter widened their eyes and turned to look at the scene before them.

Their kiss was soft and tender, sweet to be said. There was no rush or worries, there was no pain or sadness but pure bliss, both royals were entranced with one another not realizing they were being watched. Venus closed her eyes in anguish, Athamas' words echoing in her mind, then she started thinking about what the queen would say if she knew about this; tears started to threaten her eyes as soon as she opened them and took a step forward.

"Princess!" she called out, interrupting the couple's kiss. Serenity opened her eyes wide when she recognized her voice and turned to look at her "No…" she whispered, Endymion frowned and looked at the blonde woman in an orange uniform a few feet away from them "Who…" he trailed off.

"Venus…" Serenity said softly.

Venus looked at the princess, hurt was written all over her face; Serenity stood up "What are you doing here?"

"I am asking you the same thing Princess…what are you doing _here_ _again_?" Venus diverted her gaze from her to the man standing next to her "So this is the man that gave you those flowers…"

Endymion looked at her, not in shock or scared but defiant and Venus noticed it; what shocked her the most was his calm demeanor "Am I correct?" she said dryly, asking him. The terran prince crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes "You answered yourself since the moment you asked" he said dryly.

Venus widened her eyes; there was something incredibly strong coming from the man in front of her, turning to look at her princess she frowned "Why did you do it again Princess?"

Serenity frowned "I needed to tell him"

Venus chuckled sarcastically "What? So…now you have to inform _him_?"

"Venus…" Serenity pleaded "Don't do this…"

"Do what? You are the one who escapes every night to see _him!_" Venus said with a trembling voice, no matter how much she tried to fight the feeling and what she was witnessing she needed to stand still and take control over the situation "We are leaving!"

"No Venus, I am staying" Serenity said dryly.

"What are you saying?" Venus raised her voice "Can't you see what you are doing, No! We are leaving at once!" she walked over her and tried to get a hold of her hand when Endymion stepped in between "She won't leave unless she wants to" he said, the tension was starting to become stronger alerting the other girls in the distance.

Mars' eyes widened and gasped, bringing a hand to her lips, Mercury turned to look at her "What's wrong Mars?" the raven haired girl shook her head in amazement and worry "No, it can't be…"

Venus' frown deepened "Who do you think you are to stop me?"

"Venus, please stop it" Serenity said softly "Please…"

The blonde senshi watched Endymion closely; there was something in him that caught her attention. She noticed now how incredibly handsome he was but there was something more, his aura was too different from what she expected and it gleamed impressively every time she tried to get close to her princess "Are you trying to stop me mortal?" she asked authoritative.

Endymion arched his brow; his deep blue eyes looked at her defiant. "No, _I am_ going to stop _you_" he answered lowly; his deep blue eyes went darker something the blonde noticed and sent her chills down her spine. The venusian warrior managed to chuckle and grabbed her chain "You dare to challenge me?"

"Venus! Don't!" Mars stepped in, Serenity widened her eyes "Mars?" then she looked at Mercury standing next to Jupiter "Girls…" she said sadly and turned to look at Venus "You, told them…"

Venus looked at Serenity "Princess…" she trailed off; Serenity's eyes started to shine with tears "I can't believe it…" a tear started to roll down her cheek; breaking Venus' heart "This is something that shouldn't ever happen!" she fixed her blue gaze back to the man in front of her challenging him "It's because of this man…that your life is in danger…and he needs to learn his lesson…"

"You better watch what you are saying before I teach you a lesson first…" a male voice interrupted the blonde, making her turn wide eyed "What?"

"Let go off that chain" Kunzite said slowly; Endymion looked at the four men standing a few feet away from them "Kunzite…" he said slowly "Don't…"

Venus frowned "You sure are barbaric"

"And you sure don't know with who you are messing with…" Kunzite answered, making Venus laugh "Please…a few mere mortals can't do anything to us"

"You think that just because you hold divinity power you can treat us however you like?" Nephrite said dryly; Jupiter stepped in "We don't think if we can mortal, we do…"

"I did not know divine women were so conceited…" Jadeite muttered, Mars frowned "You better watch what you are saying, _mortal_" Jadeite let out a soft laugh "Or what?" Mars' frowned deepened and snap her fingers, igniting her powers "I'll burn you straight to the underworld…"

Zoicite looked at Mercury with a defiant, angry stare "You better leave" he said dryly; Mercury arched her brow "You better leave our Princess alone…"

Venus chuckled sarcastically "Stop thinking you can win over us with your pitiful weapons…"

"Pitiful, huh? Let's see about that" Kunzite drew out his sword "Let's see who chuckles in the end…once I finish you off"

"Kunzite!" Endymion said.

The white haired man turned to look at the lunar princess "I'm sorry Princess…but we warned you to stay away from our Master, now you will have to return to your palace without one of your friends…"

The four girl's eyes widened "What?" Venus asked in shock "What did you say?"

"Get the hell out of here!" Kunzite raised his voice.

"Don't threaten me" Venus grabbed her chain and started to gleam "You mortal beings"

"Venus stop!" Serenity turned to look at her four guardians taking position and so Endymion's "Please…stop" Endymion frowned "Stop it, stop it right now!"

"Take your Princess and leave!" Kunzite said; Venus frowned and started summoning her power "You will be sorry…" she took the first move "Venus…Love me!..."

"Jupiter…!"

"Mars….!"

"Mercury….!"

The four men on the other side drew out their weapons and pointed at them, ready to attack. Endymion drew out his own sword and pointed at his shitennou "Stop it!

Serenity's eyes widened in horror and stood in front of her senshi "Stop it!...why are you doing this?" she asked softly "Can't you see you are making this worse?"

"These women have come to kill you Master" Kunzite said dryly, his grey eyes not breaking contact with Venus' blue ones "We are going to protect you the same way they are going to protect her"

Mars narrowed "…Master?" she whispered, confused.

"Drop the weapons…_now_" Endymion warned; Serenity looked at her senshi "Please…don't do it…please…"

Venus looked at the man holding her princess' hand and her eyes widened. After analyzing it, she had no more doubt about it; the glow their auras emitted was something she had never witnessed before. It was beyond natural, there was no doubt that they were deeply in love.

Sighing, she let go of her chain and turned to look at Endymion, her eyes studied everything from him, his posture, his looks, his uniform...there was something in him that made her think that, even though he was still a mortal, he was not just any ordinary mortal and began to rewind the white haired man's words.

"…Master" she whispered, just like Mars did, and widened her eyes "He is _not_ a peasant" she turned to look at Mercury who widened her eyes in surprise, then back at the man standing in between them and the four men "You are _not_ a peasant"

"Ah…so you are finally coming out of your reverie…" Kunzite said and lowered his sword but still remained alert, Venus frowned and turned to look at Mars as she was trying to reassure her guessing, the raven haired woman nodded knowingly and lowered her hand, right before Mercury and Jupiter did as well.

Zoicite chuckled and put his blade back into its cover "What made you think he was a peasant?" Mercury blushed slightly and bit her lip, Jupiter looked at her and arched her brow "For the very first time, you were wrong" Mercury blush deepened "I…" she trailed off.

Kunzite sighed and took a step forward "We better set things straight here" he said, Venus turned to look at Endymion "Who are _you_?"

Endymion looked at her for a moment and took his time to answer; lowering his gaze for a fraction of a second he looked at her again "I am the man that loves your Princess" his voice was calm and deep. The three girls behind looked at him and then at Serenity who was tightening her grip on his hand.

Venus frowned slightly and took a step forward, standing only a feet away from the prince "Are you aware of what you are doing?"

Endymion remained in his same position "Yes" he simply answered, Venus barely shook her head, still shocked "Aren't you afraid?"

"No" the prince answered.

"She can't be here…you know it" she said softly, her voice no longer holding aggression; the prince looked down at Serenity and then back at the blonde senshi "No, she _can_ be here…" he sighed "I am going to say to you the same thing I said to them when they found out, we are aware of what we are doing but we love each other and that is all that matters to us"

Venus looked at Serenity "You know this is something it can't be"

Serenity felt her tears roll from her eyes delicately, her kind gaze turned into one of pleading understanding "I love him…" she whispered to her "…I know you can see it"

Kunzite and the rest of the shitennou stood beside Endymion, while Mars, Jupiter and Mercury stood next to Serenity, the tension was obvious but still neither of them wanted to fight. Venus' eyes held hurt and worry, her princess was right, she was seeing it all of it, all the magic in them all the love and caring.

Mars on the other side, sense the strong energy coming from him, she could tell there was something else about the man next to their princess. It wasn't a malicious energy but incredibly powerful, warm and protective, the same feeling she felt when she appeared on earth.

Venus sighed "Princess…don't make this harder, we have to leave"

Kunzite crossed his arms "We warned you Princess…that the next we seen you here we wouldn't be as kind as before" Venus arched a brow at the man in front of her "You are not to tell her what to do or not"

Kunzite chuckled "As a matter of fact I can, since I am _his_ guardian"

"Stop this arguing" Serenity said softly looking at both guardians; her tears kept falling without control and turned to look at Endymion "I don't…" she trailed off, hiccupping softly "I don't want to leave you…"

Endymion looked at her softly and cupped her face with his hands, his thumbs caressed her soft skin while wiping away her falling tears "Bunny…" he whispered "Everything is going to be fine…" Serenity continued crying, her pain was evident and it was breaking his heart "No…" she shook her head.

Endymion shook his head "Serenity, look at me" the princess shook her head in denial "Look at me Bunny…" Serenity raised her face up to look at him; Endymion smiled softly "Love is what is going to keep us together…"

The princess let out a soft breath and nodded "Yes…"

"I love you Serenity…" he trailed off, Serenity nodded again "I love you too…with all my heart"

"Then that is everything that matters…love is what is going to keep us together…"

Venus watched the scene before her in awe, she was impressed by the seriousness in the man's words and how he could calm her down the way he was doing it. Serenity was right, she could see it; the energy that surrounded them like a blanket made of stars gleaming so strong, something, she never got to see when she was around the andromedian soldier; then her eyes widened when she heard him say something that she was not expecting "Love" she whispered, unlike Athamas, this man, this mortal man was talking about love, a love that surpassed the line between two worlds.

"You have to be calm Beautiful…" Endymion whispered "Promise me you will be calm…I don't like to see you like this…it breaks my heart"

Venus felt a tug in her heart, her eyes was seeing the most impressive thing in her life and she had to tear it apart for the sake of her princess; something she would never thought she had to do someday. She was the senshi of love and here she was trying to break a couple apart.

Mercury watched the man behind the one holding her princess' face and noticed how they took a few steps back, giving the couple some privacy; they acted like if they knew from a while what was happening between them. Jupiter sighed sadly, she could not see what she was sure Venus or Mars could but she knew how difficult this was being for her princess.

Mars lowered her gaze and pressed her lips together, there was something more about the man holding her princess and even the men behind him. Even though she heard many stories about terrans she didn't felt any threat coming from him; then the images of her premonition came back to her mind startling her, her violet eyes widened in realization "Another man…protected her…another man…" she whispered in surprise. Mercury turned to look at the woman in red and frowned with worry "Mars?"

Mars licked her upper lip in thought and turned to look at Mercury "It's alright Mercury, I'm fine…"

Walking over to the couple, she looked at the prince and then at her princess "We need to leave Princess…before anybody notices…" she put her hands on her shoulders, assuring her that everything was fine. Serenity looked at Endymion with sad eyes but before she could say anything the terran prince kissed her softly on the forehead "I will be here…waiting for you, everything will be fine _mihi pulchra dea lunae"_ (my beautiful moon goddess) he whispered in her ear.

Lowering his head he sighed softly, he felt like if his heart was being taken away from him; raising his head he met Mars' violet eyes; the raven haired senshi widened them in shock when she noticed his deep blue eyes change into a more sapphire tone "His eyes…" she thought amazed.

Endymion turned to look at Venus "I will fight against the whole universe if it's necessary in order to be together…"

Venus pursed her lips "You don't know what you are saying…you would be dead in a matter of seconds…you would never survive…you better let her go"

Endymion crossed his arms "I am not leaving her"

Venus arched her brow and walked over to him "I won't deny your strong spirit but you can't offer her what a superior being can"

"Are you sure about that?" the prince asked, startling her.

Venus frowned "Aren't you scared?"

"I don't need to be scared" Endymion answered and felt Serenity holding his hand again, turning to look down at her he smiled warmly "I love her" he looked at Venus again "I love this woman and if I have to fight everyone in this universe I will do it, including _you_…"

Venus widened her eyes a little "What makes you think you will win?"

Endymion smiled slightly "The love we have for one another. I may not be scared because I don't believe in other gods but only in your Princess…"

Venus looked at him and then at Serenity and sighed "Still, she cannot be here…" she looked up at the prince "I vowed my loyalty to the Queen and I won't break my oath to protect my Princess" she turned to look at Serenity "I cannot fail my Queen, Princess…I'm sorry" she turned to look at Mars and the rest of the senshi and moved her head, indicating them to hold Serenity.

Serenity shook her head and looked at Endymion, tears started to fall again from her icy blue eyes "I won't give up on us…" she whispered, only for him to hear; the terran prince blinked his eyes slowly, letting her know the same thing.

Venus started to walk away and turned over her shoulder at Kunzite and the rest of the shitennou "You should keep a better eye on him if you don't want anything to happen"

Jadeite clenched his jaw "You happen to have a wrong idea about us…pretty soldiers"

Mars arched her brow and walked over to him "You better watch your words mortal…because I could burn you into dust in a matter of seconds"

"Mars" Serenity said trying to break from Jupiter's strong grasp "Princess…" she muttered and started to walk with her; Mars snapped her fingers showing the blonde shitennou a small flame coming from the tip of her fingers. Walking over where the rest of the girls were standing she turned and closed her eyes; Serenity put a hand on her lips and send her prince a soft kiss and in a flash of light, the five women were gone.

Endymion sighed and lowered his head, he stayed silent for a while trying to assimilate the situation and how to handle it now that her guardians also knew about them. His thoughts went then to his princess and her eyes so full of emotion and sadness, seeing her cry broke his heart; clenching his jaw he closed his eyes and tried to fight the feeling of impotence in his chest for not being able to do something else, something that could keep her with him.

Kunzite took a step forward but before he could do anything the prince turned on his heel and started to walk away without saying one word. Zoicite sighed softly and patted Kunzite's shoulder "He will come around…"

Jadeite had his head low while he mumbled something; Nephrite frowned and turned to look at him "What's gotten into you?"

The blonde let out a breath and looked at Nephrite "She dared to threaten me! A girl!"

Zoicite arched his brow "Because she can do it…didn't you see the flame coming out of her fingers like nothing?"

"They were trying to protect her…" Kunzite muttered, the image of the blonde woman in an orange uniform came to his mind "…They are in the same position as we"

"We all are dealing with stubborn royals!" Jadeite raised his hands in frustration; Nephrite sighed and shook his head "I believe this is going to be the last time we see her coming…"

Zoicite chuckled and brought a hand to his chin "No…I do not think so"

"What?" Jadeite asked, Kunzite sighed and crossed his arms "I think the same as Zoicite…she is too in love with Endymion…"

"What are we going to do now?" Jadeite asked, giving Kunzite a worried look "Endymion has too much on his mind right now with all that is happening and now this…"

Nephrite pursed his lips "He will continue working like if nothing has happened…that is something I have always admired of him, he knows how to separate his royal duties from his personal life…" Kunzite nodded and sighed "We need to get back; there are still many things to do…and so little time"

Endymion found his horse and grabbed its reins, letting a long sigh he turned to look at the afternoon sky "Bunny…I would give anything to make you happy…please be strong…" closing his eyes he ran a hand through his dark hair and let the soft cool breeze crash against his face and opened his eyes again "I won't give up on us…I won't let you alone…"

"_L__una__dea__mea, formosa mea__, ut __caritas__tua__...__" __(_My beautiful moon goddess, let our love be your strength)


	81. Chapter 81

**A/N:** Thank you so much for all your birthday wishes, thank you. As i said it before, I moved to another country...which is starting to make me feel homesick but, I hope I can get used to it quickly... I want to dedicate this chapter to a dear friend lunastar99, I hope everything is okay and I am looking forward to talk to you very soon :) well, here goes, another chapter of this story I love so much to write. Enjoy.

****I do not own sm just this plot and some of the characters.**

**Divinity: Aquestion of Honor**

**Chapter eighty one**

* * *

Serenity was the first one to appear in her room; walking over to her bed she sat and covered her face with her hands. Venus and the rest of the girls appeared, Mars was the first to walk over the princess, sitting next to her; Mercury followed and sat on her other side.

Venus stayed still looking at Serenity, her mind was rewinding all the previous events and still she couldn't believe what she have witnessed, but after all the beauty she saw it was something that could not be; it was sadly a forbidden love. Jupiter noticed the tension in the blonde's face it was clearly that she was feeling more than just sadness for out what just happened; placing her hand over her shoulder she nudged her "Don't blame yourself for this…"

The blonde guardian sighed and walked over the balcony doors and leaned on one, after taking a few breaths she let out a soft sigh "You won't see him again…" her voice was soft by authoritative "You won't go back to Earth"

Serenity moved her hands away from her eyes and widened them "What? You can't do that…"

Venus bit her lip and closed her eyes for a moment, she was still giving her back at the girls "I can and I will Princess…"

"I won't accept it" Serenity said dryly. Serenity's determination triggered the frustration and worries from Venus' chest and made her turn "Why are you doing this! This is not a game Princess…this is about…" she trailed off "…what you are doing is against the rules of this world…!"

"You don't understand" Serenity said softly "You don't understand!..." she raised her voice in frustration.

"What is it that I don't understand Princess! The fact that you were escaping around in the middle of the night under our noses or the fact that you are having a forbidden affair with a mortal?" her voice held more anguish, more frustration and worry.

"You don't understand that I'm in love…" Serenity stood up; her words came out like silk from her lips, soft and delicate "I'm in love…with him"

"You don't know what you are saying…" Venus said dryly "You are just infatuated with the fact that he is from a place you cannot visit, you cannot lower yourself to live your life as a mortal…"

Serenity lowered her gaze "You say mortal with so much…contempt…"

Mercury looked at Serenity's trembling hands and bit her lip "Princess…it is well known that a relationship between a mortal and a superior being is strictly forbidden, according to the high gods' laws we are not even supposed to have any kind of contact with them and you cross that line…"

"…And they are in the same position as us…" Jupiter said softly looking at Mercury "They were trying to separate him from our Princess…"

Mars looked at Venus who was almost on the verge of tears and sighed "He never said who he was, neither did you Princess" she stood up and went to stand next to Venus. Serenity looked away and bit her lip, tears started to threaten to fall again, her eyes were already red and puffy from so much crying and her cheeks were flushed.

"It is clear that he is not a peasant" Jupiter said, looking at Mercury who was blushing slightly.

"No, he is more than that…" Mars muttered "Much more than that…he had the poise of a regal man, a man with character, with authority"

Serenity looked at Mars wide eyed "Mars…"

"I don't need to see his badges Princess to know he has a high rank"

"What?" Jupiter turned to look at Mars and so Mercury who had a hand covering her mouth "Of course…how could I have never noticed it before…" she said softly.

Venus closed her eyes for a moment and bit her lip "To make things more difficult…" she opened them and looked at Serenity "I noticed it too, but I just need to hear it from you. Is he what Mars says?"

"No regular mortal could have guardians…they referred at him as Master…" Jupiter said softly, still amazed.

"He was wearing an armor…he is a fighter" Mars said "Is he the High Commander of their army?"

"…No" Serenity said softly.

"A High General then…"

"…No"

"The royal's advisor?"

"…No"

Venus lowered her head slightly and sighed, Mars' eyes widened in realization "A Prince…" her voice came out as a whisper; Serenity looked at her startled reassuring Mars' discovery "He has royal blood… he is a Prince" Mars said softly in amazement.

The princess sighed softly and sat on her bed again, looking at her hands "You may think we fell for each other just because of who we are…" she trailed off and raised her face "…I did not know who he was when I first met him…neither did he knew who I was…"

"Why did you do it Princess?" Mercury went to sit next to the princess again "Why did you take that risk?"

Serenity turned to look at the blue haired beauty "Sweet Mercury…" she cupped her guardian's cheek with her hand and smiled sadly "…You knew better than anyone here how much I wanted to see that planet with my own eyes…how I wanted to witness myself the beauty everybody knew it had…"

"…But you knew it was dangerous. I told you that myself, many many times…"

Serenity lowered her gaze "Even so…I needed to go there…"

Venus crossed her arms and sighed "You were risking yourself to be found by the monster living there…" her words were dry, but still she had her back toward the rest of the women; Serenity frowned "…There is no monster on Earth"

Jupiter brought a hand on her chin "We have known that for years…even my…" she trailed off and sweat dropped "…father says it"

"It's a lie" Serenity stood up and walked over to Venus "I have confirmed it myself…" she turned to look at the other girls "They do not live in fear like we have always thought…they live happy, peaceful lives…"

"They live in constant war" Venus said and turned to look at Serenity "They are troubled beings…they do not have any divinity in them…they have no protection"

"Yes they have" Serenity said determinant; Venus arched her brow "They're mortals Princess!"

Serenity frowned and took a step closer to her guardian "Their strength is not measured in the quality or longevity of their lives…they are beings that have feelings, that believe in faith and in love…"

"You are defending them just because you have fallen for one of their royals…you are blind by their supposedly perfect lives…" Venus said challenging her; Serenity shook her head "Yes, I have fallen for a Prince, but he is not just one of too many…he is the Prince of Earth, that is why I am telling you that there is no such thing down there…"

Mars's amethyst eyes widened in shock. Venus frowned "What are you saying?"

Serenity looked at her blonde guardian seriously "That man, has given up his own opportunity to be free in order to keep everyone safe…" she turned to look at the rest of the girls "That man, left his home when he was still a boy to train in order to protect his family…" Jupiter and Mercury widened their eyes in shock.

Serenity turned to look at Venus again "That man, had to deal with death and learned that the only way to keep everybody safe was by taking justice with his own hands…that man forgot about himself…" her voice started to break "…I have never met anyone so passionate about life…"

Venus's eyes widened slightly, she could see in her princess' aura the courage and the determination of her words, she now knew where that passionate and defiant new character came from "…It came from him" she whispered.

"What?"

Venus shook her head and lowered her gaze "This…this is too much, I can't…" she trailed off, bringing her hands to her head she let out a sigh "Her Majesty cannot know about this…" her gloved fingers dig softly into the skin of her cheeks, her cornflower blue eyes showed concern and an unreadable expression, something she didn't even know what it was; biting her lip she looked at Serenity "This cannot happen again Princess Serenity…I am sorry, but, I cannot let you go to Earth again…"

"No…" Serenity shook her head.

"You cannot see the mortal prince again…" Venus started to walk away, Serenity followed her "Venus…I love him!" she yelled in frustration, her voice broke into soft sobs, breaking the girls hearts. Mercury put a hand on her chest and looked at Serenity with sad eyes, Jupiter fought her tears back with all her might while Mars had her hand covering her trembling lips; the scene was to sad to be witnessed.

Serenity felt like if her strength was abruptly taken away from her and fell on her knees "You don't understand…" she cried softly; Venus turned to look at her princess and fought her own tears "…You are going to get killed if you continue going there! Can't you understand that?... You may not believe there is a monster there, but there is, it exists and that monster is the one that sends new souls to Hades…"

"Why can't you understand I am in love with him?"

"I don't want to understand! I want _you_ to be safe! I want _you_ to be happy!" Venus raised her voice and lowered her head "I am your guardian and I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe and if that means keeping you locked in this room, then I will make sure of it" she turned on her heel and wiped the tears that started to fall from her eyes "Get yourself ready…dinner will be served shortly and I don't want Her Majesty to know about this mess…" with any more words said, she walked out of the room.

Serenity started crying again, her hands holding to dear life on the white fluffy carpet on the floor. Mars closed her eyes for a minute and then turned to look at Mercury "Could you…?" she trailed off, Mercury nodded immediately knowing exactly what Mars was going to do; touching Jupiter's arm she moved her head and started to walk away, closing the door behind them.

Jupiter sighed and covered her mouth with both hands "This is too painful…what are we going to do?" Mars sighed and shook her head and started walking towards Venus' room followed by the Amazonian senshi.

Mercury stood up from the bed and walked over to the princess who was still on the floor, biting her lip sadly she put her arms around her shoulders; Serenity turned to look at the blue haired women with sad eyes and let out a sad sigh "I love him Mercury…I cannot stop seeing him…"

"Princess…"

"I can't…" Serenity breathed, tears started to fall from her eyes again.

"Princess…if you continue crying, your face will be much swollen…"

Serenity lowered her gaze "I don't care Mercury…I don't care how I look…I don't care about anything…"

"Don't say that" Mercury looked at her sadly "I believe he wouldn't like to hear you say all this…" Serenity's eyes widened and looked at Mercury again "Mercury…"

"If he is the reason why you became so passionate about life, so brave…so mature…then, it must be because he is one of a kind…nobody has ever made you see life from another perspective…"

Serenity's eyes lightened with hope and the ghost of a smile caressed her lips "Sweet Mercury…"

Mercury sighed sadly "That doesn't mean you can go to Earth again…" Serenity's smile faded as soon as it came and lowered her gaze; Mercury bit her lower lip softly and moved Serenity's arm around her shoulders "Come, Princess…stand up…"

Serenity swallowed and nodded, even though Mercury kept the same position as the rest of the senshi her kind words somehow made her feel better. It was her, the one who was always right, who always had the best opinion about everything and maybe because she never focused really in the full sentiment of love but in her studies. She was grateful to be left with her because it didn't matter how bad the situation was, she never judged her; she only listened and said what she thought it was needed to be said.

Walking over her bathroom, Mercury flickered her wrist and water started to come out of the marble sink "Water always help…" she said softly and smiled "…And it will help you reduce the swelling…"

Serenity moved forward and put her hands under the cool stream of water and washed her face, taking a moment to really feel the cold liquid against her warm skin; opening her eyes she listened to the calming sound of it and smiled softly "…Have you ever seen the ocean Mercury?"

Mercury's eyes widened "Princess?"

Serenity kept smiling softly, watching how the water moved graciously on the sink "…Have you ever…listened to the ocean waves crashing against the powdery sand…the feeling of it touching your bare feet…" she said softly. Mercury listened with interest and awe; she was from a planet that gave her the blessing of the ice and water but never really experienced what her princess was saying "My home planet has no oceans Princess…only large creeks and rivers who are mostly converted in ice most of the time, that is the irony of my gifted power…"

The lunar princess turned to look at her and smiled "I have seen so many wonderful things…the way the sky looks at night, the feeling of the warm sun against my skin, the fresh smell of the trees and plants, the feeling of a true cool breeze…he showed me all…" she lowered her gaze and took the small white towel Mercury was holding for her and patted her face with it, putting it aside she sighed "…And I know there was more to be seen…"

Mercury looked at her and lowered her head "He seems to have taught you so many things…" she said softly, making the princess smile "He…inspires me" Mercury smiled softly and nodded.

"Princess Serenity?" they heard a girl asking before joining them in the bathroom "Oh, Sailor Mercury…I did not know you were here…I came with other three girls to help Princess Serenity get ready for dinner with Her Majesty" she bowed in respect to the two women.

Mercury nodded; she knew they were sent by one of the other senshi "Of course" she said softly turning to look at Serenity "Try to be calm…please Princess…" she turned and started to walk, only to be stopped by Serenity's grip on her wrist, Mercury turned to look at her "Princess…" she whispered and was surprised to see her smiling at her "You will see the ocean one day…we will see it together"

Mercury's eyes widened "Princess…"

Serenity let go of her wrist and nodded "Thank you, Mercury" she came close and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek and smiled slightly "Thank you…sweet Mercury" with that, she walked back to her bedroom and started to get changed in silence with the help of the maids; Mercury watched her endure her feelings letting out a sigh from time to time as a way to let go the feeling curled up in her chest "You deserve to be happy…" she whispered sadly and walked out of the room.

Venus paced back and forth in her room with great worry and sadness, when she heard her door opens "Venus…" Mars called out, once she entered the room. Venus turned to look at her with a serious face "Golden…" she whispered, startling both women "What?" Jupiter asked.

Venus sat on her bed and lowered her gaze "…The color of love…is golden"

Mars narrowed her eyes slightly "You saw it then"

Venus turned to look at the fire senshi and nodded "How could I not see? If it was…beautiful…" sighing she raised her head "I have never witnessed something like it…it covered them like a blanket made of stars…"

"Then it is true love…?" Jupiter asked while sitting on a chair nearby. The blonde senshi sighed again and nodded "I was taught that love was something that could leave you speechless…and nothing has ever left me speechless before until now…"

"What did you see when you looked at her and the general together then?" Jupiter asked, confused; Venus looked at her and shrugged her shoulders "Nothing compared to what I just saw today…"

"It is too sad to know she cannot be with him…" Mercury's soft voice startled the girls; Venus widened hers "How is she...?"

Mercury walked further into the room and crossed her arms "Better…" she lowered her gaze "…but she is still very sad" Jupiter bit her lip "He was amazingly…incredibly…handsome"

Mercury blushed and looked at the Amazonian senshi "Jupiter!"

"Don't tell me you did not notice…" she raised her hands and pursed her lips "More than I could ever imagine a mortal could be…"

Venus sighed and stood up from the bed "He could easily pass from one of us…he was blessed with good looks I won't deny it, but still, he is a mortal and he cannot be with our Princess…"

Jupiter arched her brow and looked at Mars "You have been incredibly quiet Mars…"

Venus turned to look at the woman in red standing across from her in the room and frowned, her silent behavior could only indicate one thing "You felt something…" she said.

The raven haired woman lowered her head for a moment "He is too much to be just a mortal…" Mars whispered and looked at the three women "…The energy that came from him was too strong…" she turned to look outside the window and fixed her gaze on the blue planet in the distance "…There is something that has been ticking in my mind…"

Venus frowned "What is it?"

Mars turned to look at her "Didn't you see it?"

"What are you talking about?" Jupiter asked; Mercury brought a hand to her chin "Is it something bad?"

"More like…discovering" Mars said softly; Jupiter sighed and rested her head on her hand "So, we just found out Earth has a Prince"

"But, he seemed to not be just an ordinary Prince…there was something else about him…" Mars said and turned to look at Venus "The myth is true…"

"What?" Jupiter asked confused and shocked at the same time.

Venus frowned, still the pieces of the puzzle not falling into place; Mars smiled knowingly "He has guardians…" she started to walk around the room "…And he is the Prince of Earth" looking outside the window again, she bit her lip "…Earth has a Guardian and it's him"

"Wait" Jupiter raised her hand "You just said that he is the Guardian…"

"Yes…" Mars said.

"_The_ Guardian?" Jupiter asked again.

Mars nodded "He emanates the same energy I felt as soon as we landed there. That is why, the men with him were so eager to protect him…"

"You can't be positive about this Mars…" Venus said "Mercury said it was a peasant…" she narrowed her eyes and turned to look at Mercury who was sweat dropping "It was a mistake…I am not perfect, you know?" the blonde turned to look at Mars "Are you really sure about it?"

Mars turned to look at Venus "He had too much authority…I have never felt and seen an aura so strong like the one he has…its golden color was impressive"

"Golden?" Venus arched her brow; Mars nodded "Just like what you saw…"

Jupiter frowned "But if he is a Guardian…where is the Monster?"

"He _is_ the Monster…" Mars said slowly.

"WHAT?" Jupiter stood up; Mercury widened her blue eyes while Venus stood still looking at Mars, Jupiter walked over to the red clad senshi "How can _he_ be the Monster?"

"He is a man with power…any regular mortal could never do what we have heard _the Monster_ does…" Mars said.

Jupiter bit her lip "But the Monster is a merciless assassin…and the man we just saw…was protecting our Princess…"

"Think about it…he is clearly a warrior, he was wearing armor…the energy coming from him was incredibly strong…" Mars said again. Mercury bit her lip "Even though the men with him looked quite strong as well, they kept their distance…and…"

"…They constantly said; our duty is to protect our Master…" Jupiter said slowly, finishing Mercury's sentence "But he never threatened anybody he just held our Princess close to him…"

"He said that he would fight the entire universe if he had to in order to be with our Princess…" Mercury said softly.

"Did you see how he eased her immediately?" Jupiter asked; Venus sighed and nodded "He loves her…I saw the energy Mars is talking about, its golden…and it fell protectively over our Princess as well, he protects her, he loves her…"

"But he is…" Mercury trailed off.

"I do not think he is aware of how we call him…"

"I cannot believe that…the famous assassin monster is a gorgeous man" Jupiter gritted her teeth. Venus sighed "Still, it is something forbidden…" she started to walk over to the window "Their love is forbidden…and Princess Serenity cannot go to Earth ever again…that love is destined to be forgotten, they will never be together" Venus lowered her head "He is dangerous…if he is the monster…he can…" she trailed off.

Mars pressed her lips "Her Majesty must not know what happened today…"

"Neither General Athamas…" Mercury said wide eyed; Jupiter widened her eyes "Of course not! That would turn into a total disaster…" Mars turned to look at Venus and frowned sadly "Venus…"

Venus closed her eyes and leaned on the window frame "I failed as a guardian…and I failed as a friend…" her eyes started to shine with tears, Mercury, Jupiter and Mars went to her and hugged her "It is not your fault Venus…don't blame yourself…" Mars said softly "…Our Princess went down to Earth because she wanted to see with her own eyes what nobody could actually tell her…"

"…And, she was mesmerized by its beauty…" Jupiter said softly; Mercury nodded and looked out the window "…And then…she found love, which was something that was not planned…"

Venus sniffed and wiped away her tears "…Love" she lowered her gaze "…She found love with the mythical assassin…" Mercury looked at her with worry "Do you think he would have hurt her?"

The blonde senshi smiled sadly and shook her head "That is the ironic part of it, he was protecting her…" she turned to look at them "…But still, it could cause a disaster between this realm and the mortal one…" sitting on a chair she put her hands on her face "I was very hard on her…"

Mars walked and crouched in front of her, taking one hand away from her face "…It's understandable, you were worried, we all were and we still are because we don't want to hurt her…but all that is left to do is to be with her and keep moving on, she will have to understand…and knowing her, she will…she adores you Venus"

"I will go and see if she is ready to go downstairs…" Jupiter said softly, walking over to the door "Wait…" Venus said and looked at Mars "We should all go…" Mars smiled softly and nodded in assurance "Let's go then"

Serenity was looking at her in the large silver mirror in front of her and sighed softly, she thought about escaping again but with all these girls in her room it was impossible for her to leave without causing a commotion. Lowering her gaze she tried to fight the tears in her eyes and the feeling of hurt in her chest, now that she was caught it was going to be more difficult to go and see Endymion but that didn't mean she was going to give up on their love.

"…Endymion" she whispered, catching one maids' attention "Princess?"

Serenity widened her eyes and looked at her "Yes?"

"Are you alright?"

"…Yes" she sighed "…Are you going to walk with me to the dining room or I can go by myself?" the maid widened her eyes and turned to look at the other three girls "I-I…I don't know Princess, but if you like we…"

"It's alright, we will take her there" Mars said softly, startling the princess; turning to see the four girls she nodded "You are excused, thank you" the four girls turned to the princess and bowed in respect, Serenity nodded "Thank you…" she whispered and watched them leave, turning again she sighed "Are you here to make sure I haven't escaped again?"

"We always walk with you when it's time for dinner…" Mars said softly, taking one step forward. Serenity turned to look at her and nodded "…Right" she started walking over the door in silence; Mercury put a hand on Venus' shoulder in support and started to walk behind their princess.

As they walked down the hall, Kilmakos was hiding behind a pillar watching them and noticed how they were not in their usual light and friendly character but in a more serious one making him wonder what could have happened between them "This might be interesting…" he said to himself.

Queen Serenity stood from her chair in the study and walked over to her desk "Is that all Artemis?" she asked softly, the white clad man nodded "Yes Your Majesty…for all that is all" his voice was soft, something quite strange in him and that Luna couldn't help to notice.

Athamas stood up as well and took a quick look to the papers in his hands and raised his hand with them "I will take a closer look to these and send it back to you in the morning, Your Majesty"

Queen Serenity nodded and looked at the blonde man with sympathy, since the engagement breakup he has been more serious and more distant even to her and it made her feel somewhat guilty. The general nodded his head and smiled slightly "I will see you tomorrow Your Majesty…" he started to walk toward the large doors.

"General" Queen Serenity interrupted, making him turn "Yes Your Majesty?"

The white goddess walked over to him and smiled sadly "Are you alright?" she asked softly; Athamas narrowed his eyes a little and nodded "Yes, Your Majesty…why?"

Queen Serenity let out a soft sigh "I know this must be very hard for you, since you…" she trailed off "Well, you were engaged to my daughter…"

Athamas looked at the regal queen and sighed "That was her decision, My Queen and I have to respect it, even if it's killing me inside…" Queen Serenity pursed her lips and lowered her gaze "I'm so sorry to hear this Athamas…" she looked at him again "I know you care for my daughter…"

"Very much Your Majesty"

"Have you tried to talk with her?"

"There hasn't been too much time to really talk" Athamas said slowly.

Queen Serenity tilted her head and smiled warmly "Why don't you join us for dinner?"

"My Queen?" Athamas' eyes widened.

"I think that will be a good opportunity for you two to talk"

"Your Majesty…are..?" he trailed off, Queen Serenity chuckled and turned on her heel "Well General, you were almost part of this family…" she turned to look at him "I consider you are the perfect man for my daughter…"

Athamas narrowed his eyes _"My plan isn't going as bad as I thought" _he thought "You Majesty…I am…very flattered"

The white queen smiled and turned to look at him "We will be waiting for you then" she walked out of the door followed by Luna, leaving Artemis alone with Athamas.

"General" Artemis interrupted the general's thoughts. Athamas turned to look at him and sighed softly "Yes, Artemis?" the man in white took a few steps forward "I want you to look for something concerning a shadow threatening to cover the sun…"

Athamas arched his brow "Shadow? I have no reports of anything like it"

"I know, that is why I want you to investigate" Artemis said "I want to be sure about it"

"Who told you about this?"

Artemis crossed his arms "That is not the point, please investigate that matter and as soon as you have a report, let me know" Athamas frowned and let out a frustrated sigh "I believe I have been doing a good work in commanding this army, I should know the source to this…"

"Your jurisdiction gives you certain authority in this kingdom, but still, I am the one that has direct contact with Queen Serenity in these matters…" Artemis noticed Athamas' defiant tone of voice and it was something he was not going to take, he had known about the general's wimps and insistent character but had to put it aside just because the queen has chosen him of all the soldiers in the galaxy "This is important, and I trust the source who gave me this information…so, I will be waiting for that report"

Athamas clenched his jaw in annoyance and had no other choice but to nod, after all Artemis was right, he had the authority to order him almost anything just because he was the first advisor to the queen. Artemis nodded and walked to the door and opened it "Her Majesty must be waiting…" his deep voice, interrupted Athamas' thoughts.

"Of course" the general said dryly and walked out of the study, followed by the white clad man.

Serenity walked in silence down the hall and from time to time she turned to look out the windows, catching glimpses of the blue planet and sighed occasionally "My love…I won't give up on you…please, don't give up on me…please…my Prince…" she thought sadly.

As soon as the guards saw her coming their way the bowed in respect and opened the large doors, allowing her come in. Queen Serenity smiled imagining it was her and stood up, Serenity walked in followed by the girls in silence "Dear" the queen went to hug her and kissed her on the cheek.

Serenity forced a smile and returned the hug, but then noticed Athamas was standing a few feet away from them "General…" she said softly.

Queen Serenity moved apart from the princess and smiled warmly "I invited him to join us for dinner…"

"I see…" Serenity said without too much excitement; Mars turned to look at Venus and then at the general, the lunar queen frowned slightly "Dear…are you alright?"

Serenity forced another smile "Of course…why?...why would I be wrong?"

"Your eyes look…tired" Queen Serenity said softly, cupping her cheek, the princess sighed softly "I just…" she trailed off and bit her lip "I took a nap and…I…um, overslept" the queen chuckled softly "That sounds like something you would do…" Serenity smiled and walked to her seat; Athamas pulled her chair out for her to sit "Princess…"

Serenity turned to look at her mother "My senshi are going to be joining us as well…" Venus widened her eyes slightly, surprised by her princess' noble and unexpected action, she thought that she would be rather be alone than with her near to her. Queen Serenity smiled and turned to look at the four girls "Of course"

The four senshi took their respective sit on the table and waited for their princess to do the same, Serenity sat and waited for Athamas to push the chair for her "Thank you General…" she said dryly. Athamas nodded and went to sit again, across from her "I must say Princess, with all due respect, you look absolutely beautiful"

Serenity chuckled sarcastically "Thank you…"

The queen took a sip of her wine and smiled "General Athamas did something wonderful today dear…"

"Is that so?" Serenity arched her brow and took a sip of her wine, the queen nodded "We were going under some political problems and he managed to solve them very well, the Gods in Olympus were quite impressed, he has proven to be a marvelous warrior…"

"What problems?" Serenity asked with annoyance at the mention of the word _warrior_. Athamas smiled and turned to look at her "Well, the enemy we were trying to beat finally surrendered"

"Just like that?" the princess asked skeptical.

The queen started to cut her meal with her knife "No, he fought against it" she looked at her daughter and took a bite. "Oh…" Serenity managed to say. The queen smiled "He has proven to be quite a soldier, who knows maybe he can get to be a Polemarchos"

Serenity dropped her fork, making a loud crisp sound against the china, catching everybody's attention "Dear?" the queen asked confused. Serenity looked at Athamas "A Polemarchos?"

"I know it's…" Athamas began, Artemis turned to look at Venus who was looking down at her plate and noticed she was not in her usual happy character, then turned to look at the princess with a confused expression on her face, then at the general who was trying to say what the queen meant. Luna bit her lip and turned to look at him "Is it me or is there tension in the room?" she whispered; Artemis cleared his throat and took a sip of his water "So thick it can be cut with a knife…"

Serenity started to chuckle, startling everybody in the room, Venus looked at her and then at her hands gripping the silk napkin with great force, like if she was holding her true emotions; Athamas arched a brow "Princess?"

"A Polemarchos?" Serenity turned to look at him.

"It's what every soldier wants"

"Do you even know what it is necessary to become one General?" she asked dryly.

Queen Serenity frowned "Serenity"

The princess sighed and started to cut another piece of her food "_Do you_, General?" Athamas was taken aback by the princess' sudden reaction to his comment "Strength" he said simply. Serenity bit her trembling lip and closed her eyes for a moment the image of Endymion came to her mind _"Why can't it be you?"_ she thought with frustration _"Why can't it be you the one sitting here with me?"_

Venus sighed sadly and lowered her gaze, watching her princess so upset broke her heart but she had no other choice, before being her friend she swore to be her guardian and that was what she was doing, she was protecting her.

"Princess?" Athamas asked, interrupting Serenity's thoughts. Serenity opened her eyes and frowned in thought "It's passion"

"Eh?" the general arched his brow; Serenity sighed and turned to look at him "What you need to be a Polemarchos…it's passion…its certainty" she lowered her gaze and the ghost of a smile caressed her lips, remembering her prince's characteristics "Its loyalty and determination…"

"You cannot be a full warrior if you don't have strength" Athamas said.

Serenity turned to look at him "A full warrior…has more than just strength, a full warrior has heart and courage"

"Serenity!" Queen Serenity interrupted their little discussion "What is the matter with you?"

The lunar princess bit her thumb "I'm sorry…" she stood up "I need to…" she trailed off and walked out of the room, the four senshi widened their eyes in fright and turned to look at the queen "Your Majesty, please, excuse us…" they stood up immediately and went after their princess, afraid that she might go to earth once again.

Venus saw her running down the hall and how she suddenly stopped and leaned on a pillar to start crying again "Princess…" she whispered and ran to catch up with her, Jupiter was about to run behind Venus when Mars stopped her, Jupiter turned to look at her wide eyed, Mars smiled sadly "Let her comfort her…they both need each other" Jupiter sighed and nodded in understanding.

"Princess…" Venus whispered, standing behind Serenity; her soft sobs echoed in the hall "…Princess" she repeated. Serenity turned to look at Venus, her blue eyes again were shining with tears "He will never be like him…" she whispered, Venus moved closer to her princess and held her "Princess…"

Serenity broke into tears again "He is nothing like him! He cannot ever be like him!" she sobbed against the blonde's chest who started caressing her back, turning to look at the blue planet from the windows of the hall she sighed sadly "Please understand…please…"

Kilmakos watched the scene from afar "So, the Princess is suffering over somebody…" he thought "The General will be very interested to know this…" smiling triumphant he started to walk away, Jupiter turned and watched him walk "Who is that?" she asked softly, Mars turned and frowned "…I don't know, must be one of the guards…"

"We should take her to her room…" Mercury suggested "We don't know who might be close…"

"Yes, Mercury is right…" Jupiter said to Mars, the black haired girl turned to look at Venus holding Serenity and walked over to them "Venus…" she whispered, Venus turned to look at her; Mars bit her lip and made a mimic that somebody was there and that it was probably better if they all went to the princess' chambers.

Venus understood right away and nodded "Princess…we better go to your room…" she whispered "We will talk there…" Serenity moved away and nodded, wiping her tears off her face she started walking in silence.

At the dining room, Queen Serenity pressed her cloth napkin against her lips for a moment and put it down "I don't know what happened General, please, forgive my daughter…"

Athamas narrowed his eyes while looking at the door "_The more you run…the more I want you Princess…"_ he thought, Artemis cleared his throat and stood up "General" he said startling the blonde man "Y-Yes?"

"I do not know why she acts that way sometimes…I do not understand" the queen said softly, pushing her plate aside; the general waved his hand and stood up "Your Majesty, do not worry…she just woke up a little annoyed…" he faked a smile "I better go…" he bowed his head.

Queen Serenity frowned "No, you should stay and finish your dinner…"

"I'm fine Your Majesty…it has been a long day and I still need to do some things…"

The lunar queen sighed softly and nodded, Athamas bowed his head again and left the room leaving her alone with her advisors; Queen Serenity sighed again and crossed her hands on the table "Should I go talk to her again?" Luna bit her lip and shook her head "What are you going to say to her Your Majesty?"

"It is just that I don't understand why she acts like this sometimes…I want her to explain to me what is happening to her…what is troubling her"

Artemis lowered his gaze remembering Venus' serious face; it was something very rare in her since she was always smiling. He did not know her well but somehow he felt like something was wrong with her "…Worried" he whispered. The lunar queen turned to look at him "Artemis?"

The white clad man turned to look at her "Your Majesty…" he stood up and walked over a window "May I ask you something Your Grace?"

Queen Serenity smiled "Of course"

"Why General Athamas?"

Queen Serenity frowned "What?"

Artemis turned to look at her "Why do you want General Athamas be the man to marry Princess Serenity?"

Luna blushed and widened her eyes "Artemis, you cannot ask that to the Queen" Queen Serenity turned to look at her black haired advisor "It's alright Luna…" she sighed softly and stood up "We have known for so many years now that protocol must be put aside…you have been more than just my advisors but my friends as well" she smiled and turned to look at Artemis.

"…I think he is the right man for her, he is well prepared, he is strong…he is good looking, he has it all. Serenity needs to be with a man who can be with her, who can support her, who can expand her perspective about life…a man who can protect her"

The man in white crossed his arms "And you think General Athamas is willing to do that?"

"I think so, yes but I have the feeling that you don't agree with me"

Artemis sighed and turned to look out the window "Sometimes I agree with you Your Majesty but others I do not"

"I do not understand…" the queen said with slight confusion.

"The General has quite a character" he chuckled and turned to look at the two women "…Not an easy one to handle…"

"He is a warrior Artemis, remember that" Luna said softly, Artemis nodded "He is, but, there is something about him that I do not seem to understand…let's say he does not like to be ordered around"

The queen frowned "Has he have done anything to you? Has he failed with his duties as High Commander?"

"No, but sometimes he does not accept any suggestions"

"Such as?" the queen arched her brow, Artemis brought a hand to his chin "He has quite a pride Your Majesty…that pride I do not think it is his best quality…"

"Well, nobody is perfect, not even immortal beings…" Queen Serenity chuckled and looked outside the window and sighed softly "Warriors are like that…" she said with melancholy; Luna looked at her queen with sad eyes, she imagined why she said that "Was she like that Your Majesty?"

Queen Serenity chuckled "She was unique and yes, she had her pride very well defined…but that was something that defined her, there was nobody like her in this realm"

"Princess Serenity is too sweet for the General Your Majesty" Artemis said, the queen laughed softly "That is where you are wrong my dear Artemis…Serenity has quite a character, yes, she is a sweetheart, kind, loyal but she has always known what she wants…" looking at Artemis she smiled sadly "…Athamas reminds me of Athan very much...the same defiant character, the same way to express himself…the moment I saw him I knew he was the man that could protect my daughter"

"Your Majesty…" Artemis cleared his throat "With all due respect and if I can know of course…, didn't you have another man in mind for Her Highness?"

"His Majesty said he wanted the best of the best for the Princess…" Luna said softly.

Queen Serenity sighed and lowered his head "Athan would have agreed with me in choosing Athamas for our daughter" she said softly "…I did thought about somebody else…" she trailed off and sighed sadly and raised her head "I think I should go and take some rest…it has been a long day"

Luna and Artemis nodded their heads "Do you want me to accompany you to your chambers Your Majesty?"

Queen Serenity smiled and shook her head "No, it is alright Luna, have some rest" she turned on her heel "Your Majesty…" Artemis called. Queen Serenity turned to look at him "Yes?"

"Let Princess Serenity's guardians talk to her…"

Queen Serenity smiled slightly and nodded "I will Artemis…" she chuckled "…I'm glad she is not alone, I know they look after her like a sister..." Artemis nodded "Specially Sailor Venus Your Majesty"

The queen nodded, her smile widened "Specially Sailor Venus" turning on her heel she started walking toward the door, leaving the two mauians alone. Luna turned to look at Artemis "There is something bothering you am I correct?"

Artemis sighed and sat on one of the chairs, Luna sat next to him on the dining table "Artemis?"

"I am starting to distrust the General Luna…" Artemis' blue eyes looked into her burgundy ones; Luna frowned "Why? Did he do something that he shouldn't have?" the white haired man shook his head "I haven't caught him doing anything illicit, but, there is something…something that cannot let me be in peace whenever I am around him…"

"What could it be?" Luna asked curious.

Artemis bit his lip, his frown deepened "His constant bickering and sense of power sometimes brings out a total image of him…I think that is one of the main reasons the Princess decided not to marry him"

Luna sighed and brought her thumb to her front teeth "As long as you don't catch him doing something wrong or, abusing of his power as Commander there is nothing you can do…"

"I know Luna, but…" the man shook his head, Luna smiled and put her hand on top of his on the table "You are over analyzing too much this situation…that is so _you_…"

Artemis arched his brow "So _me_?"

Luna smiled and nodded "You tend to over analyze everything, but it is because you want to make sure everything is alright…you have always had this protective way to be…it's adorable" Artemis blushed "A-Adorable?"

Luna chuckled "If it makes you feel better, keep a close eye on him…but don't concentrate in finding excuses of why not to like him…he is what he is, a warrior, all warriors are like that, you should know that by now Artemis"

Artemis sighed and lowered his head "Great warriors are supposed to be more aware than prideful"

"Well, General Athamas is a different case…" Luna said softly and stood up "You need to rest, you have thought about it for too long I can tell…"

Artemis chuckled "You know me too well Luna"

Luna smiled "I do. I don't know why…but I do"

Artemis smiled "For a woman that came from a humble home from Mau…you are very unique"

Luna chuckled "For a man that came from a very well respected place from Mau…you are very noble…When I first knew you were going to assist the Queen as her advisor I was surprised to be also considered for that position…how a poor mauian could be part of the Lunar court…" Artemis smiled and cupped her cheek "You do not need to come from a well positioned place to be great…"

Luna widened her eyes and blushed "Artemis…"

"You are a very good advisor to the Queen, better than I am" he said softly, making her smile "Thank you…" patting his hand she stood up "Listen to me when I tell you to go to sleep…"

Artemis looked up at her and smiled "I will…"

Luna nodded "It would be a shame to lose all this long white hair…just because of excess of worry…"

"What?" Artemis widened his eyes; Luna chuckled "I am just saying…relax a little bit, got to sleep!"

Artemis sweat dropped "I am not losing my hair…" Luna patted the man's shoulder "I will see you tomorrow"

"Good night Luna"

"Good night Artemis"

As soon as he heard the door close, his smile turned into a frown "This is all too suspicious…" he stood up and walked over to the window and looked outside and sighed, lowering his head he closed his eyes and remembered the conversation he had with Venus "Shadow over the sun…sun spots…dark energy…" he opened his eyes "The enemy the General was fighting…" he muttered "Who was that enemy…?" leaning his back on a pillar he brought a hand to his chin and frowned deep in thought "…This is something he should be aware of…the General is fighting something…or somebody else…and I have to find out who or what it is…" raising his head, the ghost of a smile caressed his lips as soon as Luna's words came to his mind "…Too sweet, you are incredibly special…one day, I will confess my love for you…pretty Luna"


	82. Chapter 82

_**A/N: **I am so sorry for having delayed this chapter this much, I was planning to post it last week but I just couldn't find the time to really sit re read it, please don't think I have forgotten, of course not, I love this project to just leave it abandoned. Thank you so much for your reviews, I will try to continue answering your questions, doubts and comments :) a big hug for you guys! Enjoy!_

**Disclaimer: I do not own sailor moon, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter eighty two**

* * *

Athamas was walking down the hall toward his room on the other wing of the lunar palace; since he officially became the commander of their army he moved from Andromeda to the Moon. His room was not as spacious as the ones the princess or the queen had, not even as luxurious as the one the senshi had but it was very decent, too different from the one he had back home.

Taking his jacket off he tossed it aside and went to serve himself a drink, an amber liquid similar to scotch. He unbuttoned the fists of his light grey shirt and took a sip of his drink, making a face as the strong flavor impregnated his palate and throat; walking over to his bed he sat in silence and the image of a rarely different princess came to his mind "…Why were you so hurt Serenity?" he said slowly "…Anger is not something we see from you very often…"

A knock interrupted his thoughts and turned to look at the door "Who is it?" he asked with annoyance; on the other side of the door he could hear a slight stutter "K-Kilmakos Commander"

The blonde man sighed and took another sip of his drink "Come in"

Kilmakos opened the door and closed it quickly behind him, bowing his head he walked into the room passing by the small reception area. Athamas turned to look at him and arched his brow "What do you want? Do you have any news? Or is it that you are going to give me another poor excuse of how you could not find anything relevant about the Princess" he took another sip.

Kilmakos smiled in triumph but still he showed great respect for his superior "…You will be delighted to know that Princess Serenity is dealing with some kind of pain…"

Athamas chuckled sarcastically and stood up "Ah…Kilmakos, you sure are a useless man…" he turned to look at him "I already knew that"

"You did?"

"And without even investigating, it is quite obvious!" the man raised his voice.

"So you know she is suffering over a man…" the soldier said, catching the commander's attention "What?"

The short soldier smiled and nodded, Athamas widened his eyes and frowned "A man? How do you know?"Kilmakos took a step forward "I heard her and her senshi talking about it after she left the dining room"

Athamas narrowed his eyes "What did you hear?"

"Princess Serenity mentioned something like, how someone could never be _like him, _her senshi came around her and hugged her, Sailor Venus seems to know what she was talking about…"

"I see…" Athamas took another sip of his drink "So Venus knows who this man is…all the senshi know…did they mention a name?"

"No General"

Athamas' grip on his glass tightened "Is that all?"

"Princess Serenity seemed very hurt…I was moving closer to them to see if I could listen to more but Sailor Mars sensed somebody else besides them so I had to leave…" the soldier said. Athamas sighed and sat on his bed again "I want you to continue what you are doing…I want you to find out who is that man" he turned to look at the soldier standing next to him "Don't come back without a name"

"Yes General" Kilmakos bowed; Athamas took another sip of his drink and narrowed his eyes "...I will find out who you are and then I will make sure to eliminate you once and for all…"

Kilmakos widened his eyes "General…what…?" he trailed off. Athamas chuckled and stood up again to serve himself another glass of scotch "That man is a pebble on a shoe…a pebble I will eliminate as soon as I know who the hell he is"

"Wouldn't that bring problems with the Queen?"

Athamas laughed "I am the High Commander of this army, whatever I do is justified…besides, who could that man possibly be? Just a peon, somebody who just talked to her sweetly with words of _love, _only the man with character and strength…only us warriors know the such thing as love does not exist, it's useless…and an obstacle to achieve what you want"

Kilmakos bit his lip and remained silent making Athamas laugh again "Nothing will happen to you if that is what worries you…as long as you keep serving me the way you have been doing…nothing should happen to you…"

"Should I stop the earth plans then?"

Athamas frowned and looked at him "That is something you shouldn't be asking me…Of course not! I will bring that damn planet down to my feet…that plan stays untouched"

Kilmakos scratched the back of his head "But…General, how am I going to manage to do both things?"

Athamas took a sip of his drink and chuckled "That is not my problem Kilmakos, figure it out" the soldier widened his eyes "But how…" he trailed off "Don't molest me with your incapability...it's a waste of time"

The soldier lowered his head and noticed the general stood in front of him "Just think of one thing Kilmakos…" the soldier raised his head again and looked at Athamas "When I become King and Polemarchos of the Silver Millennium you will be very well compensated"

Kilmakos eyes widened in surprise, his lips curved into a wide smile hidden under the urge to dissimulate his happiness. Athamas raised his brows and smiled "Cheers" he raised his glass and took another sip.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Serenity entered her room in silence and lay on her bed; grabbing one of her pillows she covered her face from her guardians. Mercury made sure nobody was near before she closed the door and joined the other girls in the room "There is nobody outside…" she said softly.

"I could have sworn there was somebody close…" Mars bit her lip and frowned. Venus walked over to the princess' bed and sat beside her "Princess…" she said softly; Jupiter stood next to Mars and Mercury and watched in silence.

Venus sighed and rubbed Serenity's back softly "Princess…you cannot be like this forever, you know that" she felt the princess sigh and turned to look at Mars with sad eyes "I do not know what to do…" she whispered. Mars sighed and sat next to Venus "Princess…you better than anyone knows the responsibilities of being a royal…do you think he will have it easy too? No…he is a man, he eventually will have to give his kingdom an heir…he cannot have family with an immortal being"

Serenity moved the pillow away from her face and sat, turning to look at both girls "The way I feel about him, overcomes all obstacles…I know he loves me and he knows I love him, love can overcome everything"

Venus looked into Serenity's eyes for a moment before taking a deep breath, Mars on the other side was struggling with what her princess was saying about love, she was the one having a more difficult time in believing that true love really existed "Princess, you need to be more aware of your responsibilities…time is ticking and the moment when you will have to take your mother's place will come eventually…"

Serenity lowered her gaze, her fingertips caressed the soft fabric of her duvet "I thought you would understand…" she whispered sadly "I thought that…you would help me change things, to really make a difference…"

Jupiter bit her lip "It is not that we don't understand Princess…but, please, what you are doing…what you want to do…"

"…It's too stupid and impossible for you" Serenity interrupted her, her blue eyes fixed on Jupiter's green ones leaving her speechless.

Venus held Serenity's hand "We are in the same position as his guardians are…we cannot let you risk your lives and the ones that live with you…Princess this is not a joke, you are breaking a taboo…one of the strongest rules upon us…You cannot defy our Higher God's orders, maybe for you it might be easier to get free of the problem but think about him…he is a mortal, his soul can be ripped off his body and be sent to the underworld with God Hades…is that what you want?"

The princess widened her eyes and lowered her head; Venus was right in some part "I believe too much in what I feel…" she said softly "…That was one of the first things he said when we knew what was happening to us was more than just friendship…but…neither of us couldn't help it"

"If you love him Princess…you have to let him go, so he can continue living…" Mars said softly.

Serenity felt her eyes fill with tears again "You can't understand me because you haven't fallen in love…you do not know the feeling of excessive joy and happiness when you see that person…when he holds your hand, when he laughs with you…when he holds you when you are feeling like you just can't go on…"

"Did you ever felt the same for General Athamas Princess?" Mars asked.

The princess shook her head and raised her face to look at her "No" sighing she bit her lip slightly "At first I thought…I did have feelings for him, I felt excited every time I knew he was coming but then…"

"He asked you for some time…" Mercury said softly, joining the conversation after being silent for most of it. Serenity nodded and turned to look at Venus "I know you know the truth of it all…but you just don't want to admit it"

"Because I am your guardian Princess…I swore to your mother that I would look after you…I cannot fail her and I cannot fail you. You are right, I know the truth…General Athamas is interested in you but…this man…this mortal man really adores you. The way he protected you even from me startled me…"

"…Yes, he was not afraid of any of us" Mercury said.

Jupiter nodded "Not even when Mars was about o fry one of his guardians…" Mars sweat dropped "He was crossing the line…"

The brown haired girl sat on the bed "Did this man, knew the truth since you met?"

"No" Serenity said softly "I did not go to Earth because I was hoping to find him…I did not even know Earth had a Prince…I wanted to feel what was like to be in a place like that, there are so many stories concerning the blue planet that I needed to experiment it myself, I wanted to feel free…" she smiled slightly "I have been enchanted by that planet since the first moment I laid my eyes on it…but then, I met him…and everything changed…I was captured by his passion, by his way to see life, the way he appreciates what he has…and then I found out that he was feeling the same thing I was feeling. We started to understand each other and the last thing we knew…we were already in love…"

Mercury sighed "…Does _he_ has a name?"

Serenity widened her eyes slightly, surprised by her question; Mars shrugged her shoulders "There is no need to try to hide who he is anymore, we already know how he looks like and what he is…"

The lunar princess lowered her eyes and sighed softly "…Endymion"

The dark haired woman bit her thumb nail in thought and admiration, narrowing her eyes she arched one thin curved brow "Prince Endymion…so he has a suitable name for who he is" she said softly.

Serenity raised her gaze again at Mars "…But he is not who you think he is…" she said softly startling her; Mars frowned "What do you mean Princess?"

"You think he is a bad person, you think he is weak…you think he is not worthy of my love but that is just because he lives on earth, I am positive that if he were one of us you would have accepted him immediately even better on how you accepted Athamas to pursue me…"

"What makes you think that?" Venus asked from across the room.

The princess smiled to herself, remembering her prince's attentions toward her "I know it Venus; I do not think so…" she frowned "Endymion is more prepared than Athamas in battling and political matters, being a mortal does not limit him to become a well trained warrior without never forgetting he is a man after all and that he serves to protect his kingdom and his family…he is a very noble man, he is very honest…" her face softened "…He always is there for me, he always listens…he inspires me"

Jupiter bit her lip and let out a soft sigh "I am no love goddess…but I can see the love flowing inside and out of you…" Venus remained silent watching Serenity; Mercury smiled sadly and placed her hand over the princess' sympathetically. The princess sighed and lay on her bed giving her back to the girls "You will only understand it until you truly fall in love…"

Venus crossed her arms and turned to look at Jupiter "Could you look after her?" the green eyed woman nodded in silence; Serenity closed her eyes and a tear started to roll down her cheek. Mars bit her lower lip and turned to look at the blonde with a knowing look.

"I will stay as well" Mercury suggested softly and turned to look at her princess. Venus nodded and started to walk toward the door, followed by Mars. As soon as she closed the door she looked at the blonde standing in front of her, with her back at her "What?" she asked softly; Venus turned over her shoulder and looked at her "Tell me the truth of what you think…"

Mars sighed and crossed her arms "He is quite a character, I wouldn't dare to challenge him…he is after all the guardian of that planet"

"Are you sure about that Mars?"

Mars nodded "Venus, there is no doubt about it…my intuition never fails, plus, his aura was not the same as the rest of the men standing next to him. They are his guardians for some reason…you and I both know about this myth, we know part of the story and we know the blue planet holds an entity that has an undeniable strength…Prince Endymion is that entity and…" she trailed off bringing a hand to her chin "What?" Venus asked, turning completely to look at her; Mars looked at Venus "Did you see his eyes?"

Venus' blue ones widened as soon she remembered them "…Yes" she said softly, Mars nodded "I know you saw the same mysticism I did…" Venus nodded "Mars…I do not know what to do…" she sighed and lowered her gaze, Mars smiled sadly and put a hand on her shoulder "Do what you have to do…"

The blonde bit her lip and nodded after a few minutes of silence "Even if that means to lose her as a friend…" she said sadly and started to walk toward her room. Mars stood there watching her walk away and pursed her lips "Don't punish yourself so badly Venus…you are just doing what you think it is best for her…" sighing she turned the other way and walked toward her room as well.

O.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.O

Obelix entered the queen's chambers in silence after knocking "Little Dea?" he called out softly.

"Come on in…" he heard her say from the balcony, her now usual place to spend her afternoons. Her health had become even weaker than before, making her impossible to walk around the palace the same way she used to; Aurea felt terribly bad about it and of course her husband who knew the exact reasons of why she was the way she was.

They have lived so many things together, so many experiences good and others very challenging but their love kept them together but still, it killed him to look at her wither the way he knew the same gods were making her feel, so he asked Aurea to redecorate the balcony with flowers and everything she could think of to make his queen feel more comfortable.

The queen's long time assistant and friend made a very nice work with it, she ordered to place several sheer fabrics hanging from a wooden custom made pergola, warm colored floor cushions were around the half circle place and of course a countless amount of pots with greenery and red roses, Gaia's favorites.

Obelix walked into the room and saw her sitting on her usual spot near the stone rail of the balcony, the warmth of the sun basking her like a sheer golden blanket; she did not need much to look beautiful and ethereal, after all she came from a very respected dynasty. Turning over her shoulder she saw the man in white and gold standing a few feet away from her, smiling she extended her hand at him "They gave us a beautiful day…"

The priest smiled softly and walked over to her and held her hand for a moment before letting it go, sitting on a cushion chair across from her he turned to look up at the blue sky "It is beautiful indeed…you know who is responsible for that…"

Gaia smiled sadly "I do not think she thought of giving us a beautiful day personally…" Obelix pursed his lips and lowered his gaze "Do you really think so?"

The terran queen sighed softly and raised her head up to the sky "I am my Mother's biggest disappointment…first, I was never the lady she wanted me to be…" she trailed of and let out a short chuckle "…always training, with a sword on my hand…and then, I disobeyed their laws and married a mortal and had a child…"

Obelix pressed his lips together "…Speaking of which…" Gaia turned to look at the priest "…What?"

"Are the problems continuing?"

Gaia sighed "I am not sure, Eros tells me they have finally solved many issues…" she bit her lower lip "…But he still doesn't understand Endymion's attitude"

"Ah…so you have noticed" the priest rubbed his hands and placed them on his knees again, the queen nodded "You have too I suppose…"

"He has been like that for days…" Obelix said softly, Gaia brought her legs up and rested her chin on her knees "…For somebody who knows him well he is acting different, for the rest he is the same old Prince but I can tell he is worried…"

Obelix sighed and stood up "I think he has too many responsibilities…too many things to do and too little time…" he turned to look at his queen "The Prince is tired"

"But he wants to continue working in an exaggerated pace…" Gaia retorted "…He is too stubborn to understand that he needs to have some rest sometimes…"

"I believe he feels the pressure of doing a good job when it comes to his jurisdiction, his father has been a great King to this kingdom…he does not want to stay behind, he admires him greatly"

Gaia sweat dropped "Obelix, you better than anyone else know that those two are exactly the same…"

"Endymion does not feel that way"

Gaia blew her bangs "I have tried to talk to him but…he is always busy…" she said softly "…He is always doing research, reading, signing papers, commanding…arguing…I miss his smile, he stopped smiling…" she lowered her gaze and bit her lip "…I know it is my fault…" she whispered sadly.

The priest walked over to her and crouched, holding her hand "…You were terrified, I know…" the queen raised her gaze at him "Obelix, please…look after him once I am gone…"

"Little Dea…don't say that…" Obelix said softly, Gaia smiled sadly and patted his hand "I know my dear friend that my time in this place is soon to be over…I can feel it, Hades is eager to come and take my soul…" she chuckled, trying to lighten the talk "…Remember my friend that my sentence is not yet fulfilled"

Obelix couldn't help the tears in his eyes and pressed his tear dots with his index fingers as if preventing them to fall. Gaia could not help but to encircle her arms around the older man "I do not regret anything…" she whispered "I have been blessed. I have a beautiful family…and I have you, who have been with me all this time…" she smiled and put a hand on his cheek "…We have gone through so many things together…I cannot thank you enough for staying by my side…I know I have been stubborn…I know I have been prideful…but don't you ever forget how much you mean to me…"

"Little Dea, do not talk like that…" Obelix managed to say, he could feel a lump in his throat that was making him impossible to talk "…You have your son, your husband…you cannot give up, not after everything you went through…"

Gaia smiled sadly "…I am very proud of my son Obelix, I know he will be an excellent King one day, don't say this to Eros but he will overcome him…Endymion has a different way to see things, he is strong but yet his heart is noble, he has accomplished things Eros didn't actually do at his age…"

"I know that dear"

Obelix pressed his lips together and stood up, moving across the balcony. Gaia widened her eyes and looked at her husband leaning on the balcony door's frame, his arms crossed but his face features were soft and relaxed; Gaia blushed as soon as she saw him, Eros still had the same overflowing effect on her, he still mesmerized her and made her feel like the luckiest woman alive "I'm sorry my dear" she said shyly.

The king chuckled and crouched in front of her "No, I am the one that should be asking for your forgiveness my pulchra dea della terra…"

Gaia frowned slightly "Why?"

Eros sighed softly and patted her hand "Because I should have given you a better life…I should have protected you more…" Gaia's frowned deepened "Do not say those things…you…" she trailed off "…I love you Eros…I do not regret anything I've done, I love you…I love you the same way I have been loving you since the moment I met you…if not more…" she held his hand tighter "…We have overcome so many things…and you have given me more that I could possibly imagine…we have a wonderful son who every time I see, I think in all the love we have for each other, he is the living proof of our deep love Eros…" tears started to fall from the goddess' green eyes. Eros smiled and brought her hand up to his lips "My beautiful Goddess…"

Gaia smiled at her husband and ran her other hand through his chocolate and grey hair "My handsome Prince…"

Eros sighed and sat next to his wife, still holding her hand "You are right, Endymion has accomplished too many things, I do think as well that he will be a great King"

Gaia let go a soft breath and regained her composure "He works too much..." she turned to look at him "He needs to slower his pace if not he will fall sick" Eros pursed his lips "I have already told him, Leonidas as well, the shitennou as well but he still continues working nonstop…" the king smiled softly "…He will only listen to you…"

"He is so like you…" Gaia chuckled, Eros side smiled "What is that supposed to mean?"

"He is stubborn, just like you" Gaia said softly, her smile faded quickly "I am worried about him dear…" she turned to look at Obelix who was standing across them in silence "Why do I have the feeling that there is something happening?"

Obelix frowned "Something like what?"

Gaia bit her lip "Like…I don't know, I feel like the ones above are doing something…" the priest shook his head "Little princess, I pray every day and night…nothing seems to be altering the planet's energy"

The king nodded and ran a hand around his wife's shoulders "Dear, you are just worried about Endymion…but you have to remember that he is an adult now and that he is well aware of his responsibilities as Prince and as Polemarchos" Gaia nodded and lowered her head "I…I just miss him"

The king looked at his wife with melancholy "Gaia…"

"…He grew up so fast, it was just yesterday when I held him in my arms and looked into his eyes for the very first time…" she bit her lip, trying to fight the urge to cry "…It was just yesterday when he learned his first words and when he learned how to walk…" a tear started to ran down her cheek "…I tried to give him a good life, a normal life…but destiny caught up with him and made him turn into a warrior…"

The king rubbed Gaia's back and turned to look at Obelix, they both share the same expression. The terran queen was scared, worried and they both knew what would make her feel better; Eros nodded at the priest and Obelix walked as quickly as he could out of the room.

"Gaia…" he whispered.

"Destiny caught up with him Eros…" Gaia started crying with too much sentiment "…And _they_ don't care!" the king wiped her tears with the back of his hand but as soon he noticed her melancholy wasn't going away, he decided what it would be best for her; encircling his arms around her he let her cry "Don't hold back my little dea, cry…"

Obelix walked down the hall that led to the study, nodding to one of the guards he entered and closed the door behind him. The shitennou turned as soon as they heard the noise, Kunzite widened his grey eyes in surprise "Priest"

Endymion looked up as soon as he heard Kunzite and frowned slightly "Obelix" he said softly and watched the priest walk toward him and stood in front of the desk where the prince was working "What…" Endymion said.

"Come with me" he interrupted him.

Endymion frowned "Obelix…I am in the middle of…"

"Please Endymion, come with me" the priest insisted, interrupting him again. Endymion frowned and looked at Kunzite who was standing behind Obelix "Could you continue reading this for me?"

Kunzite nodded and grabbed the parchments in Endymion's hand and sat again on his seat in front of the desk. The prince sighed and stood up "Let's go then" Obelix nodded and turned on his heel, walking out of the study, the prince followed behind.

"What is happening Obelix?" he asked, once they were outside the study. The priest stopped in his tracks and sighed "Right now, you are the only one who can make her feel better…" he said softly; Endymion frowned "What are you talking about?"

"Just please, come with me"

Both men walked toward the long staircase and then over his parents' chambers; the prince let out a loud breath as soon as the priest opened the door soon enough to let him know something was not right. The prince frowned and walked over the balcony and widened his eyes as soon as he saw his father holding his crying mother.

Eros turned to his left and saw Endymion standing in the same place where he was standing a while ago and blinked slowly one time and looked down at his wife again, Gaia continued crying desperately and with such sentiment that was heartbreaking. The prince walked over his parents and crouched in front of his mother and encircled his arms around her shoulders the same way his father was doing, as soon as Endymion held his mother tight, Eros moved his arms away and stood up.

Endymion rubbed his mother's back in circles and kissed the top of her head "Mama…why are you crying?"

Gaia's green eyes widened as soon as she recognized the prince's voice, she did not noticed when did Endymion changed places with Eros; moving her head away from his chest she looked at him and then at her husband who was standing a couple of feet away from them, directing her gaze back at her son who was now holding her, her eyes started to fill with tears again while looking at him sadly.

Endymion placed a strand of hair behind her ear, their connection was so strong that they didn't need to say anything; the prince wiped the tears off his mother's face with the back of his hand "I am here Mama…"

The queen shook her head "No…you are distant and sad…" she whispered. Endymion sighed softly "Mama…"

"I am sorry my dearest…I so sorry I could not give you a better life" she started crying again "I'm so sorry…"

The prince frowned "What are you saying?"

"I know you wished you could be free…" Gaia said softly; Endymion shook his head "Mama, I am free in my own way…if you are saying this just because I am constantly working…"

"…I am saying it because you are lacking a life"

The prince sighed and lowered his gaze "Mama it is something I have to do, you know it. I was born with privileges and with that comes specific obligations" Endymion looked at his mother again and patted her hand "…But you are not crying because I work too much…it's because of something else"

Gaia stayed silent and sniffed a couple of times, the prince searched for her eyes and shrugged his shoulders "Mama…come on, we used to tell us everything"

Silence.

"You want me to leave?"

Queen Gaia looked at her son and started to cry again "That is exactly what I do _not_ want"

Endymion sighed softly "Mama…" he trailed off.

"I miss you Endymion…"

"Mama, I am here! I haven't left…"

The queen lowered her gaze and sniffed "You are here but at the same time you are absent…distant…" she looked at him again and caressed his face with the back of her hand "…I miss your laughter, I haven't see you smile in a long time…"

Her words hit a soft spot in his heart. Smiling was something he didn't feel he could do; since the day Serenity's guardians found her with him she had not returned. It had been two weeks since then and all he could do to distract himself was to work; even though he had to manage to solve several important issues, he was substituting his thoughts and the void feeling in his chest with problems, which that was the real reason why he was being the person he was being now. A cold, distant man and the worst part of it was that he was aware of it.

"…Mama, just because I do not smile does not mean I am upset with any of you…I am just busy there are too many things to be done"

"You need to take a rest" she said in a serious tone, looking at him. Endymion ran a hand through his hair and sighed "I cannot Mama…"

"You have to!" she raised her voice slightly.

"I do not want to Mother"

Gaia frowned "How can you risk your health that way, can't you see it is exhausting you?"

"I am fine"

"No Endymion, look at you! You are not fine!"

"I do not want to take a damn rest Mother!" he raised his voice and moved again from her as a way to challenge her, something, he had never done before in his life startling her and the two men near. Gaia widened her eyes in shock and so Eros and Obelix because it was something very unusual, they didn't know how to react but Gaia knew he was being defensive, he was not being Endymion her son, he was being Endymion the Polemarchos, the warrior.

Gaia knew that feeling very well, she had been in that situation many times before. After all she was a warrior too and if he was playing that role she had to do the same and confront him; standing up she looked up at him, even when he was a head taller than her she could still be intimidating "If you want to continue saturating your life with problems fine, but when you feel sick don't come here and ask for attentions from me"

Endymion arched his brow and crossed his arms "You asked me to come, now that I am here you want me to leave?"

"I did not want the soldier to come, I wanted my son!" she raised her voice startling him; her always sweet and calm tone was now a deep and dry one which was something completely new to him. Gaia placed a hand on his chest "Whatever you are keeping here inside...it's killing you"

Endymion widened his eyes and pursed his lips. He felt trapped, diverting his gaze away from her she noticed how the tension in his facial expressions loosened, his eyes changed to a more sapphire blue color indicating he was ripping off the authoritative layer on him exposing his normal and very well known kind heart "It is killing me…you are right" he whispered.

Gaia's eyes filled with tears again and placed a hand on his face "Why are you doing it then?"

"…Because that way I do not have to remember" he answered sadly. Gaia looked at him with concern "You do not have to remember what?"

Endymion looked at her and sighed "…Nothing Mama" smiling sadly he caressed her face with his hand "I am fine, I promise…I know I haven't been near for quite a while now but I promise to give me some time to come and see you…"

Gaia smiled faintly and encircled her arms around his waist, pressing her face against his chest "Meum sol…" (my sun) she whispered; Endymion put his arms around his mother and closed his eyes "Fortitudo mea…" (my strength) he whispered back.

Obelix smiled at the image of the two solar and terran guardians hugging, he has seen Gaia grow and he knew how much he loved her son. To her, Endymion was her biggest triumph and her biggest proof of love; Eros lowered his head and turned to look at the priest "He was who she wanted to see…" he whispered. The priest nodded and chuckled softly "I should go back to the prayer tower…"

Eros nodded "Thank you Obelix, after all these years you are still looking after us, looking after her…"

The priest smiled "She is my little princess…I will always look after her" looking at her he turned on his heel and left the king alone. Gaia moved slightly away from Endymion and turned to look at her husband "Aren't you proud of this man?" she asked softly.

Eros smiled and nodded, making Endymion blush "Mama…" he said shyly. Gaia turned to look at him and smiled "You two are my greatest love, my two handsome men" the prince chuckled and sat on a cushion chair, Eros followed and sat next to his wife and took her hand "How are things doing son?" Gaia turned to look at him and frowned "No work"

"What?" the king arched a brow.

Gaia pursed her lips "It's our family time"

Endymion arched his brow "…Mama, it is alright I can…" Gaia turned to look at her son "Neither of you two are going to talk about work, talk about something else…" sighing she ran a hand through her hair "…Men"

Both men frowned the same way "What is that suppose to mean?" Eros asked her, Endymion nodded and crossed his arms "Yes…I would like to know the same thing"

"Don't you talk about something else?" the queen asked curious. Both men turned to look at each other and then at her "…Like what?" Endymion asked. Gaia shrugged her shoulders "I don't know…do you always talk about work?" she turned to look at Eros "Aren't you curious to know something else about your son?"

Endymion sweat dropped "Mama…there is not much to know about me"

Eros widened his eyes "Dear, Endymion is my son…I think I know him quite well"

Gaia arched her brow "Really?"

"Of course"

Endymion scratched the back of his head and bit his lip "Why this sudden curiosity in knowing things about me?" Eros sighed "Your mother is right, we haven't seen you for quite a while…you don't have breakfast or dinner with us anymore…it is like if you were running away from us"

The prince sighed and crossed his leg, resting his right foot on his left thigh "I am not running away from you, I'm just…busy. Besides, is becoming customary to invite Beryl every time you have an opportunity, I thought I was clear when I said I was not interested in her…"

"Your grandmother likes her" Eros said "…And to tell you the truth son, she does not seem to be a bad person, she is actually very attractive" Gaia rolled her eyes, making Eros chuckled "I know you don't like her because she is Charmindy's protégé"

"…I am not saying she is a bad person or that she is not attractive, I am just not interested in her. Why the insistency in asking me to start a relationship with her?"

Eros sighed "Your grandmother is following the protocol, at your age I was already married with your Mother" he turned to look at her and smiled "And your mother was already expecting you…" he turned to look at him again "She just wants to meet her future grandchild"

Endymion blew his dark bangs "Beryl is not the woman I want to marry"

"Who is it then?" Gaia asked softly, already knowing he had a particular interest in somebody else. The question hit a soft spot; Endymion lowered his gaze and fell silent for a moment, the image of Serenity came to his mind, her smile, her scent, her laugh, her eyes and her sweet voice; he missed her and it was killing him day by day "…Why do we always have to end up talking about this?" he asked with a hint of annoyance and hurt, looking at his parents again he frowned "This kingdom need more things than just an heir"

"Endymion…" Gaia breathed, the prince rubbed the bridge of his nose with one hand "That is why we don't have a family time anymore…and I must confess that this is one of the reasons I rather eat alone…you push too much…" he stood up "I have done everything you have asked me to do…I have become responsible, I do as much as I can and yet, you are not pleased…I do not understand, why is marriage the ultimate goal in every royal's life?"

Eros looked at his son "I understand how you are feeling…"

"No Father you don't" the prince snapped back and lowered his head, closing his eyes for a moment "…I am so tired…so, so tired…I have to fight for everything, I have to think of a strategy for almost everything in my life…it is like I do not have power over my personal life anymore; sometimes I do not even know who the hell I am anymore…"

Gaia bit her lip "You are…"

Endymion sighed "I know what I am Mother, I know I am the Prince of this kingdom and planet, I know I am a soldier, I know I am your son and a grandson…a friend…a man…but there are times were I do not feel like that…sometimes I just feel I am something else, more like an object more than a person"

The king sighed and walked over to his son and put a hand on his shoulder "I do understand how you are feeling…trust me…" Endymion looked at him; the king smiled sadly "Your grandmother wanted me to marry Charmindy, imagine that"

The prince bit his lip and sighed again "But in the end you met Mother and married her…you had it easy"

King Eros let out a chuckle and turned to look at his wife who was giving him the same look. Fights, discussions, dangerous situations, war, fright to only say a few were the things the two royals had to overcome to be together. Gaia lowered her green apple eyes and bit her lower lip "Love never comes easy"

Endymion widened his eyes and looked at her "What?"

Gaia looked at him and smiled warmly "Love never comes easy…you have to look for it and fight for it every day…" she walked over to her son and placed a hand on his forearm "…If you love someone, if you really love somebody you have to fight for that love…because…" she caressed his cheek with the back of her hand "Love…is what will keep you together, forever"

The terran prince parted his lips slightly in shock, those where the same words Serenity constantly repeated him every time they were together; Gaia sighed softly and lowered her gaze "A very wise person and good friend of mine told me that once…"

The words hit him; as if they were magical and the missing piece of his puzzle or the string that joined his soul with hers. Love, was something she taught him, something he experienced for the very first time, love, was what he really wanted to show and give her every day and it was also the madness that was driving him insane.

Endymion ran a hand through his midnight hair, he did not wanted to stay another day away from her; but their destiny was inevitable. Sitting on his chair in silence, he rested his chin on his fisted hand and lose himself in his own thoughts; only one question haunting his mind and piercing his heart: was it really over?

Closing his eyes for a moment he frowned and the thought of never seeing her again, the frustration of his inability to go and seek for her, to hold her in his arms and not being able to hear her silky voice was starting to take its toll on him again. Biting his lip he nodded "Love takes away all reasoning…"

Gaia chuckled and sat next to him, placing both hands over the one he had resting on the armchair and tilted her head "But makes you feel alive…"

Eros frowned and crossed his arms "Endymion, are you…?"

Gaia turned to look at him and blinked slowly as a way to assure him what was happening. The king widened his blue eyes in surprise, Endymion lowered his head and sighed "It hurts…" he mumbled, startling the queen "What hurts?"

Endymion shook his head "This way to feel you are alive…" he moved his hand away from his face and put his extended palm over his chest "I do not even know where the hell it hurts…I just know it does…" sighing again he chuckled slightly "…I am starting to say nonsense…" he stood up and scratched his chin "I better go and do something…"

"You just promised me you were not going to work more than you need to and there you go again…" Gaia crossed her arms and gave him a stern look. The prince lowered his head "Mother…"

"Don't Mother me…do something else" she interrupted him.

"But…"

"You promised Endymion and you know better than anyone that when you make a promise you have to fulfill it"

Eros chuckled and patted his son's back "You better listen to her…"

Endymion sweat dropped and lowered his head in defeat "Has she always been like that?" he asked his father, Eros chuckled and played along "Oh no…"

Gaia arched her brow and smiled, Eros scratched the back of his head "Worse…"

The queen's smile faded immediately "You two are impossible…" she muttered, making them laugh "Dear…you have to accept it, you are not an easy cookie"

Gaia sweat dropped "You either and to make things more interesting, Endymion too…so, we are all on the same page"

Eros sighed "We are an impossible family then…"

Endymion smiled softly "I think I am going to sleep early today…" he was about to turn when he felt his mother holding his wrist, making him turn "No kiss?" she asked softly; the prince smiled and bent over to kiss her cheek "I will be alright…" he whispered and turned on his heel, patting his father's shoulder before leaving them alone.

Eros turned to look at Gaia "Is it what I am thinking it is?"

Gaia frowned "What?"

"Who is she?" he asked.

"I do not know what you are talking about…" the queen stood up slowly and started to walk back to the bedroom, Eros followed and sat on the bed next to her "You just assured me he was…" he trailed off.

Gaia placed a finger on his lips and smiled "…There is nothing much I can say my love, I do not know who she is or if she even exists"

Eros smiled and kissed her finger, bringing her closer to him he encircled his arms around her "I remember when I felt exactly the same…" Gaia frowned slightly "You did? When?"

"Every time I did not see you…every time you were away…" he whispered, while caressing her face with his hand "…You are my life Gaia if you leave, I do not know what could happen to me…"

Gaia blushed and felt her eyes fill with tears "Eros…" she whispered, and placed her hands on each side of his face "…My handsome Prince" she kissed him softly on the lips and parted, opening her eyes "I have been so happy here, living with you…"

The king kissed her again and smiled "You don't regret anything?"

"No" she whispered "…My life up there was empty…if I stayed there I would have never had a son like Endymion…he is my pride, the best of both of us" the king smiled and nodded; Gaia sighed "Chronos was right…Love kept us together"

The king nodded and kissed his wife's left temple "And it will continue keeping us together…" he narrowed his eyes "…Don't think you will get rid of me so easily" he chuckled.

Gaia laughed softly "Dear, we have been together for over 27 years…I do not think that is even possible now" the king widened his eyes "You little…" he laughed and tickled Gaia, making her laugh louder. Even after all these years, they still were the same two persons in love, playful and blissfully happy.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Queen Narella walked down the corridor and out of the palace and stood in the palace's reception area with her personal assistant next to her and three other maids behind her. The guards at the entrance bowed low in respect "The carriage will be here any minute now Your Majesty"

The elder queen nodded and held her hands in anxiety and excitement; just like the guard said a dark brown carriage arrived at the entrance and as soon as the horses stopped the guards outside opened the door and helped the person inside to come out. Soon, the mysterious guest entered the palace and bowed before the queen "Your Majesty"

Queen Narella smiled and nodded her head "I am so glad you decided to accept my invitation Beryl"

Beryl stood straight and smiled "No Your Grace, thank you for considering me…"

The queen in purple waved her hand, indicating the three maids to pick the redhead's large boxes "They will put your things in one of the guest rooms" Beryl smiled widely "Thank you Your Majesty…"

"I am very glad to have you here for a few days...I hope your visit cheers my grandson's spirit"

"Is something the matter with His Highness Your Majesty?" Beryl asked with concern, of course, everything that had to do with the handsome prince was of her concern, especially now that she was more than ready to make a bolder move to capture his heart. She was starting to lose hope when then she received an invitation of the queen to stay at the palace for a few days; of course the invitation was a triumph for Charmindy and a great opportunity for Beryl to capture the prince's heart for once and for all. Her obsession for Endymion was starting to envelop her thoughts and heart and she wanted nothing more but to be his.

Queen Narella waved her hand dismissing her comment "No, nothing dear…you know how this is, he is always busy…he barely has a personal life with everything that happens in this kingdom" both woman started to walk toward the main court, followed by the queen's maid; smiling she took a seat on a bench "I hope that your visit pulls him out of his excessive amount of work"

Beryl blushed and lowered his gaze "I hope to help him as well Your Majesty"

"I have great faith in you Beryl…" she sighed and looked forward "My grandson needs a woman who can give him everything he needs; he needs to start thinking in his future, in starting a family…"

The redhead widened his eyes "…Future" she whispered, Queen Narella turned to look at her and smiled "I think you could be the woman who could be a good queen"

"Queen…" Beryl whispered and put a hand on her chest "…The next Queen"


	83. Chapter 83

**A/N:** I know...it's been quite long, but trust me I sleep very late every night thinking and writing this story. Thank you so much for all your support, it means the world to me. Many of you have asked me how i have been doing now that i moved from another country to the states, i have to say that it's been difficult at moments and fun at others...but one thing for sure it is that its very challenging. I must also confess that i started watching the anime series in order to see if i could use something for the story but boo boo...you tube erased the entire series due to some claim toei animation did...so, i'm out of my usual night sm dose and i am nearly heartbroken because it was some kind of therapy...so, if you happen to know, where can i find the series in japanese with english subtitles (yup, i prefer the original) I would be incredibly grateful, happy and better... :(

But for now, i hope you enjoy this chapter.

**i do not own sm, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter eighty three**

* * *

Days had been long and slow for Princess Serenity; it had been almost three weeks without having any contact with her terran prince and it was tearing her hear apart. She had her times, when she felt like she could not go on and others when she felt she could escape to earth to see him but there was always a senshi near her watching her at all times. Venus had kept her distance with her, although he adored her and cared for her like a sister her duties as leader and guardian came first, and because of that she asked the girls to always keep an eye on her. The other girls were more flexible than the blonde senshi but still followed her orders.

Queen Serenity noticed from time to time her daughter's sudden change and annoyance every time she was near Athamas who, in his attempt to win her heart again started to pursue her with more insistency, over again making her feel more and more trapped in what she constantly called her crystal cage.

Serenity was leaning over the rail of her balcony, looking up at the blue planet, her pale blue eyes were empty and tired from so much crying now, her chest ached like if something was missing and she knew it was his warmth. She missed him terribly making it impossible for her to pretend everything was alright.

"Looking at it again Princess?"

Serenity widened her eyes but did not turn to look at her guardian "I cannot pretend when I am alone, that everything is alright when my heart is shattering inside…"

Mercury turned to look at Jupiter and then back at Serenity "Princess…"

This time Serenity turned to look at them and gave them a sad smile "…I understand, you are just doing what you need to do…" she sighed and turned to look at the blue planet again, her eyes looked at it with great melancholy "…His eyes are the same color of that planet..." she said softly and lowered her head "…I miss to look into those eyes"

Jupiter bit her lip and lowered her head, closing her eyes "…I am so sorry you have to go through this"

Serenity felt her eyes fill with tears, but this time she managed to keep them controlled "…I believe it is my destiny"

"Princess, there are millions of suitors in this universe…there must be one who can make you really happy" Mercury suggested; Princess Serenity curled her delicate hands into fists "…I do not want to search for somebody I have already found" she turned to look at both girls "He is my soulmate…he is my best friend…my companion" her voice started to break this time, and her tears could not hold any longer and began to fall "...Please, leave me alone"

"Princess we…" Jupiter began; Serenity raised her face and looked at her, her eyes full of emotion "Leave me alone, please…I need to be alone" she started to walk back into her room and lay on her bed "…I am tired of being treated like a prisoner…I'm so tired…"

Jupiter sighed and turned to look at Mercury "Come with me…" she whispered in her ear, both girls walked toward the living room section of her chambers "This is too painful to handle, I cannot stand to see her like this…"

Mercury sighed and lowered her gaze "She needs her privacy…I feel like an intruder; she is aware now that she cannot go to the blue planet…we should start giving her more privacy"

"I need to talk to Venus…" Jupiter started to walk to the door and closed it behind her, leaving Mercury alone who decided it was best for the princess to be alone for a moment; sitting on one of the white loveseats she sighed and hoped for the best.

Venus was finishing getting ready when Mars entered her room "Are you ready?" she asked, softly. The blonde guardian nodded in silence and walked to her dresser to pick a golden chain with an orange tainted crystal in the shape of a heart, the raven haired girl smiled slightly "That is a pretty necklace"

Venus barely smiled and touched the cold crystal with her warm hand "Mother gave it to me as a present for finishing my training as sailor senshi"

Mars shrugged her shoulders and pushed her long hair back with her hand "Well my mother only said she hope I didn't turn a cold spirited warrior like my father…"

Venus bit her lip and lowered her head "I'm sorry…"

Mars arched her brow "For what?" Venus looked at her "Well because I mentioned this…not realizing you…" Mars waved her hand and chuckled "Oh, don't worry about that…I actually think it was a nice gesture from your mother, everybody knows she is very nice and kind, while they think mine is cold and well…she is the Goddess of discord, it is normal she is like that"

Venus smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder "You are not alone Mars, you have us and we love you"

The raven haired girl smiled and nodded "I know, that is why I do not feel lonely…"

Jupiter knocked the door and came in, Venus turned to look at her and then at Mars "Jupiter thinks the same…" the Amazonian girl frowned "Eh?"

"We were talking about our parents…" Venus said softly, Jupiter crossed her arms and sighed "Um…there are not too many good things I can say about my father…" Jupiter sighed loudly, startling the two women "Is something wrong?" Venus asked.

Jupiter looked at the blonde woman in her light yellow gown "How long is this going to take?"

"What?"

"How much longer we are going to continue treating our Princess like a prisoner?"

Venus' expression stiffened "We are not treating her like a prisoner…" she walked across the room and turned "You are starting to sound like her…"

"It is not my intention but she is right, can't you see Venus how much she is suffering?"

"Princess Serenity is safe and that is all that matters…her life was at risk when she was there…" Venus retorted, Jupiter walked close to Venus and placed her hand over her shoulder "Venus, you know she was not in danger…"

"Jupiter is right…" Mars said softly, startling the blonde "Mars…" she whispered.

Mars turned to look at Venus "We know it is dangerous but we cannot deny what we saw…"

"Are you telling me that I should let her go there?" Venus raised her voice "I cannot do that, I will not do that! You all know it is forbidden or have you too forgotten?"

"No we haven't…but…" Jupiter trailed off, Venus frowned "But what?"

Jupiter turned to look at her "I cannot stand to look at her like that…she is suffering…" sighing she lowered her gaze "She is suffering too much…"

Mars bit her lip "General Athamas is pursuing her again…and I believe that is affecting her even more…"

Venus sat on her bed and rested her face on her hands; the situation was becoming too complicated on one side there was her princess suffering for a love that she could witness with her own eyes that was real and pure and on the other was their responsibilities as senshi and their obligation to follow the god's laws and one of the most important ones was to not have any contact with the blue planet's inhabitants, not even considering on going there.

Princess Serenity not only broke that law but also fell in love not just with just a mortal but the Prince of Earth and as ironic and unbelievable as it could be he was the being everybody was afraid of "If they find out about what have happened…they could kill us all…" she looked at Mars and then at Jupiter "…She is the Princess of the Silver Millennium, heir to the strongest kingdom in the galaxy if not the universe…the most desired goddess…and he…" she trailed off and sighed.

Mars bit her lip and crossed her arms "I do not know why I have the feeling that there is much more than we actually know…"

Venus frowned "What do you mean?"

Mars sat on a chair across Venus' bed and rested her hands on her lap "…I did not felt any threat coming from him but the opposite…his protective nature is undeniable…and…" she trailed off, Jupiter frowned "What?"

Mars looked at Jupiter and then at Venus "…I am still positive he is the man that protects her in my vision…"

"What?" Venus widened her eyes. Mars nodded "I do not see much…but, I am sure it is him and not Athamas…"

Venus bit her lip "Princess Serenity can't stand being close of Athamas…" Mars frowned "What do you mean?" Venus stood up and walked over a window and leaned on its frame "...I am starting to doubt the General"

"Ha" Mars pursed her lips and looked away and then back at Venus "I trust more the mortal than the General for some reason…"

"I understand you are too sensitive and perceptive but, at least explain to me…I do not have visions and I do not see auras…" Jupiter interrupted, Mars turned to look at Jupiter "The General has a strange way to lead…for some reason I do not trust him as much as I did before…and I have never trusted him completely…the mortal on the other side, didn't alert me of anything wrong, the authoritative aura he has is impressively strong but very different from the one the General has…"

"Are you saying that even when the mortal is the monster, is not as an assassin as we all think he is?"

"No, he is dangerous…but…he has a clearer aura than Athamas'"

Venus sighed "Athamas knew about Princess Serenity's escapades…" the two women widened their eyes in shock "What?" Jupiter asked, Mars only shook her head in confusion; Venus licked her lips and sighed again "He was the one who told me I should be doing a better job in protecting her…it is clearly that he is spying on her…even if I decided to let her go, it would put her in even more danger because he could inform the queen…"

"Why didn't you tell us this?" Mars asked confused.

"Because…I didn't believed him at first, we had an argument…he made fun of how poor was my intent in protecting her…it was because of him I found out our Princess' strange disappearances" Venus said softly "That is one of the main reasons I felt like I was failing in my duties as guardian…"

"I cannot believe it…" Jupiter muttered.

Venus lowered her head "Queen Serenity trusts him, it doesn't matter how good or bad he is…he is a very good soldier and as long as he has the Queen's approval he will continue pursuing our Princess until he marries her"

"Right now, that would kill her…" Jupiter muttered.

"…Jupiter!" Venus raised her voice, the amazonian sighed "I just can't stand looking at her this sad…" she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to find Mars smiling at her warmly "Neither of us…we want her to be happy, but this is too complicated…"

She turned to look at Venus "Eventually, Princess Serenity will have to understand…she will have to see more for her kingdom…" Mars sighed and lowered her gaze for a moment and then looked up again "But we need to start giving her back more privacy…"

Venus sighed "Where is Mercury?"

"Watching Princess Serenity…I asked her to stay in the living room…she is really sad…she cannot stop crying, it's heartbreaking, Queen Serenity will notice any time soon…" Jupiter said worried.

Venus stood up and walked over the door, Jupiter and Mars frowned "Where are you going?"

"To see her…" she said softly and left the room.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Artemis entered the study where Queen Serenity was reading some papers with Luna "I should talk to Zeus about this…I think it can improve our relations with Nebula…" Luna nodded and turned to look at the white mad a few feet away from them "Artemis?"

Queen Serenity looked at him, leaving the papers over the desk "Is something wrong Artemis?"

Artemis sighed and walked over the desk and took a sit in front of it "Your Majesty, has the General given you any kind of report concerning the enemy he claims he have beaten?"

The queen arched a brow and searched for a white envelope in her desk "I believe this is it" she extended her arm, giving him the small package; Artemis opened quickly and started to read with great interest catching the queen's attention "Is something wrong?"

Artemis folded the papers together again and put them inside the envelope and put it on the desk "…I was hoping to read something else"

"Like what?" Luna asked.

Artemis stood up "Your Majesty…have you spoken to God Ares?" the lunar queen widened her eyes and bit her lip "Last time I was in Olympus, why?"

"Has he ever mentioned something concerning the sun?"

"The sun?" the queen frowned, Artemis sighed and shook his head "I am just trying to be sure there is nothing wrong with the sun…"

"Have you noticed something?" Queen Serenity asked with worry, Artemis frowned "Queen, does the sun have a protector?" Queen Serenity widened her eyes slightly and sighed softly; standing from her chair she walked over to a window and watched outside "Yes…it has"

"So there could be a good reason for somebody to try to conquest the sun…" the man said softly, the queen nodded and turned to look at him "Whoever wants great power…yes"

Luna frowned and moved closer to Artemis "What do you mean Queen; I thought the Silver Crystal was the strongest in the galaxy?"

The queen sighed softly and leaned on the window frame and crossed her arms "The Silver Crystal is incredibly strong, it has been in my family for centuries…but just as there is a crystal made from the sacred power of the moon, there is one made from the energy and power from the sun…"

"It really exists?" Luna asked wide eyed, the queen nodded "That sacred crystal has an incredible force that not anybody can get a hold of it, it has to be somebody who has the strength to master it"

"God Helios I suppose…" Luna said softly.

"The stone just like ours has gone through many generations…" the queen started to walk around the study with her arms crossed and looking with her head down, Artemis frowned "Is that crystal powerful?"

The queen turned to look at him "The Silver Crystal has the power of healing and purifying…and if it falls in the wrong hands it could cause great danger; the crystal from the sun holds life force, energy that could bring life or destruction in a blink of an eye…if that stone falls into the wrong hands it could cause not only great danger but complete destruction…" the queen sat on a chair near a window "That is why that stone has to be kept only by great soldiers…the carriers of the crystal have been the strongest in the universe and great Polemarchos"

"Life force…" Artemis repeated and frowned, he brought his hand up to his chin in thought "Queen?" his eyes widened in realization, Luna widened her eyes and turned to look at her queen "…Your friend…" she whispered. Queen Serenity nodded "She was the carrier of it, when she lived in this realm, she was trained by Ares in order to being capable to master it, the crystal chooses its carrier and for some reason it did not choose Queen Nut or my friend's big brother…"

"The Golden Crystal is the stone made from the sun…" Artemis said softly in amazement, Queen Serenity nodded "Yes Artemis, the stone that protects and gives life to Earth as well, so you now understand how powerful it is…it holds great energy"

"…Your Majesty, who is keeping the crystal now? Is it God Helios?" Luna asked, the lunar queen shook her head "No…" closing her eyes she remembered the time when Gaia was sentenced to leave the immortal realm, taking with her the sacred stone "…Gaia took it with her that is all I know, nobody actually knows where it is…" she trailed off and bit her lip, Artemis frowned "But you do, right Your Majesty?"

Queen Serenity lowered her gaze "I will ask General Athamas about this matter Artemis" she said changing the subject drastically.

Walking back to her seat, she tried to read the papers in her hands but her mind drifted into other matters; her eyes narrowed as soon as her thoughts wondered down memory lane. The queen knew the keeper of that majestic stone and she was well aware of the strength of its carrier, pressing her lips together she let melancholy take over her as soon as she remembered that day she looked into those impressive eyes.

Artemis bowed his head "I will talk to him Your Majesty…" he said, interrupting her thoughts. Queen Serenity's lavender eyes widened slightly and smiled faintly at him "Very well, I trust this is only a matter of precaution and assurance more than one of danger, I trust you Artemis"

The man in white nodded and put a hand on his chest, over his heart "Thank you Your Majesty"

From outside the study, down the hall General Athamas was walking toward his afternoon meeting with the queen and the advisors, everything had been working perfectly according to his plans now that the queen had shown great interest in him being the man who marries the beautiful and ethereal lunar princess; it had become usual now for her to invite him over to dinner with them which he thought it was his best chance to prove the queen he was interested and of course show her and try to convince her that his feelings are true.

But the truth was that, his interest in her who was just mere interest in her power soon changed into something more when she started to act different toward him, he had admitted that he felt her safe and that his charm was his best card on the game, but soon that changed and also his feelings who now, more than interest, he had a strong desire for her if not an obsession.

Every time he had the chance, he looked at her and realized that her beauty went beyond reality; she was indeed a moon goddess. Her silver hair fell graciously from the two buns at the top of her head, her big pale blue eyes framed with long dark lashes that enchanted him every time she looked at him; he constantly watched her pouty lips, so soft that he was sure that if he kissed her, it would be like feeling total glory. Her skin was flawless he thought, soft, milky and pale, every time he thought about it, he wanted nothing more but to take her into his arms and make her his "Mine…you have to be mine…" he muttered.

His green eyes seemed to darken with lust as the thought of her being naked in his bed, closing them for a moment; he took a deep breath to cool his mind and his body before entering the study where he was already being expected.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

"Your things are settled Lady Beryl" one of the maids said as soon as she saw the redhead enter the guest room. Looking around her, she noticed the vase over a tall round table full with fresh flowers. Another maid bowed her head in respect and showed her the bedroom, unlike the royal chambers this one did not have a reception, living room and balcony but it was neatly decorated and it was undeniably beautiful. The walls were painted light beige and as if the bedroom was intently meant for a female visitor, the curtains on the windows were light pink with a delicate flower pattern; the bed was white with sheer fabric falling from the tall posts. The quilt was soft pink and fluffy, with the same curtain pattern and on its right side was a light wooden night stand with another small vase with flowers, a candle and a silver tray with a glass and a pitcher with water.

Excitement started to fill her chest, she never thought she could be spending a night in the majestic terran palace and near the prince she so wanted to see, she turned to look at the maid who started to show her where all her things were placed, nodding she turned to one of the three windows along the long wall of the room.

"Is there anything else you need My Lady?"

The question made her lips curve into a smile; placing a hand over her chest she could feel her heart starting to beat strongly "Is His Highness' room near this one?" she asked softly, startling the maid "Prince Endymion's chambers…" she trailed off and walked over the window, standing next to her she pointed a window with a balcony "…It's at the other wing of the palace…" she tapped the spot "The large windows with the light on you see there…those are the ones of his bedroom…"

Beryl's heart pounded faster, as if the girl just revealed something incredibly important to her. The mere fact of knowing where the man of his dreams slept was something that excited her, the room was far away from hers, very far "The royal chambers are not near the rest of the rooms in the palace, not even Their Majesties' are near from His Highness'…"

"He is awake…" she whispered; the maid bit her lip catching her words. She knew perfectly well every girl's intention when they had the chance to come into the palace, their goal was always the same: catching the prince's attention; and it was not something that was bad at all because if she had the opportunity this one was having she would be doing and feeling exactly the same "His Highness tends to stay up until very late"

Beryl's eyes widened and turned to look at her "Do you happen to know what he does so late at night?"

The maid shook her head "I am not the maid that serves him directly"

Beryl frowned "Who is it then?" her voice held a hint of annoyance, she wanted to know everything she could and she wanted to know it _now_. The young maid bit her lip and lowered her head "I am sorry My Lady, but I cannot answer you that…"

"Why not? You are a servant; just like the one who serves him…all of you should know"

The comment made the girl feel uncomfortable "We do know but we are not allowed to give up that information and that was a request from His Highness himself, he is incredibly reserved with his personal life"

"Do you know how do I get there?"

"Where exactly, My Lady?"

"There! To his chambers!"

The maid widened her eyes in shock by Beryl's boldness "You cannot go over there My Lady" Beryl bit her lip and walked over the dresser and picked up a pearled and gold necklace "Do you like this?" she asked anxiously, showing her the piece of jewelry. The young woman widened her eyes and gasped "My Lady…" she trailed off.

"Do you like it?" Beryl asked with more insistency.

"Y-Yes…"

"I will give you this necklace if you tell me how I reach his chambers"

The young maid bit her lip and lowered her gaze, Beryl let out a deep breath "If you serve me directly and help me gather information about Prince Endymion I will compensate you very well…wouldn't you like to have many things like these?" she showed her box of jewelry. The young woman looked at the exquisite pieces of jewelry gleaming before her and bit her lip "I…" she trailed off "If Prince Endymion finds out I leaked personal information about him he will fire me…I would be breaking his rule and he is very strict when it comes to that…"

"He will not know" Beryl said darkly.

The maid licked her lip and closed her eyes "What exactly do you want to know?" she asked, opening one light brown eye; Beryl smiled "How do I get there…"

"His room is on the west wing of the palace, I haven't really gone there because that is not my job…I normally serve Lady Aurea with other duties, like serving the guests. But I do know, the Shitennou's respective rooms are near His Highness'"

"How near?"

"Well…I know they are not exactly near, but they are on the same wing"

"Are there guards over there?"

"…Nobody guards his bedroom if that is what you are asking My Lady"

Beryl smiled and placed the necklace on the young maids' hand "You see, no harm done…that wasn't so hard or was it?" the maid looked at her hand wide eyed and shook her head. The red head sighed dreamily "As soon as you learn something about him, his location, who is with him at the moment, anything you can gather…let me know and I will compensate you every time"

"You are excused" Beryl waved her hand. The maid nodded and bowed "Good night, My Lady…"

Beryl turned and walked over the window again, her lips curved into a smile; placing a hand over the cold crystal from the window, her breath blurred her vision slightly because of her rapid breathing; knowing where Endymion slept made her feel closer to him in a way, even though his room was far away from hers, being able to look at his window felt like a triumph to her "I wonder what you are doing right now…" she whispered.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Endymion closed the book he was reading and put it aside on the couch where he was sitting. Even though he was reading one he found incredibly interesting he could not focus because his thoughts where somewhere else. Resting his head on the back of the sofa, he sighed and looked at the ceiling "…Serenity" he whispered.

Closing them for a moment, he wished he could find a solution to this problem, to this obstacle that was keeping them apart. Even after all those days formed into weeks he could not stop thinking about her, his heart wished he could see her one more time, he wished he could feel the softness of her skin against his hands, the sincerity and love in her eyes, the sweetness and delicacy of her lips and the soft sound of her voice and laughter.

He managed to do his work and duties alright, yes, it was true, he had been working in an excessive manner but only with the intention of distracting his heart and mind. Doubt and worry sometimes invaded his thoughts, making him wonder if she was doing alright, if she was well, if she was happy; if she still remembered him and then, the question that made his heart stop if she still loved him.

Sighing, he moved his head forward and ran a hand through his dark hair "I need you Bunny…" he said sadly "I miss you…" turning his head to look out a window, he stood up and walked over it; leaning on it he looked up to the sky fixing his gaze on the white moon gleaming against the darkness of the night sky.

"…Love will keep us together" he whispered again.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

"Love will keep us together…" Serenity whispered against her pillow; she heard her guardians come and go from her bedroom, making sure if she was asleep or only pretending to be asleep. After her talk with Mercury and Jupiter, she did felt tired and sleepy, after all, crying so much was taking its toll on her and made her feel less excited about anything and more vulnerable to everything.

Venus entered this time she noticed, sitting at the edge of the bed she shook her slightly "Princess…" she called out softly, Serenity opened her eyes and moved her pillow away from her face, revealing her red, puffy and tired eyes, it was no surprise for Venus to know she had been crying, again.

"It's almost dinner time" the guardian said.

The princess lowered her gaze, letting out a soft sigh "I do not wish to go down stairs tonight…"

Venus bit her lip "Your mother will ask if you are fine…"

Serenity turned to look at her "…And you will tell her I was feeling tired…she does not need to know the truth"

Venus sighed "Why are you making this so difficult Princess, when you know the rules perfectly well…?"

"I do not want to go over that again Venus…you know why and that is not going to change" Serenity's words were definite and strong, Venus had to recognize the seriousness and truth in her heart when the princess talked about her relationship with the terran prince, lowering her gaze she was not sure of why she was about to say what she was about to say "It's golden, the love between you two"

Serenity widened her blue eyes and looked at her "Venus…" she whispered.

Venus shrugged her shoulders "He is what he is, a mortal and a terran…a forbidden man for you but his love is undeniable…I thought you should know"

Serenity gave her first genuine smile in a very long time and reached for her guardian's hand "I know you are doing this because it is your duty and I thank you…but please, do not put duty over your gift, you are believer of love…and I knew you would understand it one day"

"I am not saying you can see him…" Venus reassured "I am just…"

"I know Venus…" Serenity interrupted, raising a hand "…But, at least you are admitting to me not to the girls that he really loves me"

"I do not know him, to me he is dangerous" Venus said slowly.

"You are right, you do not know him…" she smiled to herself "…But I am telling you the truth about his kind heart, he is not like the rest of the men I have met before"

Venus chuckled "That is for sure Princess…"

Serenity frowned "Not just because he is a mortal he is different, he is more intelligent than so many men in this universe…" she lowered her gaze "If he were the Commander of this army…" she looked at Venus again "…Things were incredibly different"

Venus arched her brow "What do you mean?"

Serenity smiled softly "Endymion is more aware and prepared than Athamas…he is not a Polemarchos for nothing"

Venus' eyes widened in shock "What?... he is…" she trailed off; Serenity nodded "He is…"

"But being one is not an easy thing to do…and how in the universe a mortal can become one?"

Serenity smiled "You now understand why I say everything would be different?"

Venus frowned, with this new information, there was no doubt that the man her princess loved with all her heart was no other but the myth she learned about when she was in training. Things between warriors and soldiers were known, and it was incredibly hard to become a Polemarchos and for him that was a mortal and part of the selective group and only few warriors with that title in the universe cleared any doubt that could possibly cloud her mind. Other, was to think that that title was only a mention to his rank and had nothing to do with any kind of divine meaning, that reasoning made more sense, because if he happened to be a real Polemarchos, that would be too much coincidence and would reveal what many beings in this realm would want to know.

"Princess, A Polemarchos is a divine and superior being…your mortal prince could never be one…maybe being called like that is only as a matter of respect for him because he is the High Commander of the terran army…"

Serenity sighed and lowered her gaze. Her heart told her it was because there was something more about him, she felt it every time she looked into his eyes and very time he held his hand; she remembered the time he healed the bruises she got from Athamas and the way he made her feel every time she was upset about something. Endymion had an energy impossible to ignore and deny "I knew you would say something like that…" she whispered and looked at her guardian again "…Even if that is just a title, just by talking to him you know he is a better warrior than Athamas…you do not need to see much, the difference is clear and obvious"

"You are too much in love with this man…" Venus said "…Love blinds the truth sometimes"

Serenity frowned "I thought you were a believer of love"

"And I am Princess but, you find this man too perfect and extraordinaire when he really is something else…"

"What exactly do you think he is? Tell me"

Venus sighed "A mortal with good fighting skills"

Serenity frowned slightly "Sometimes Venus, you only see what you want to see…but there is more than meets the eye"

Venus arched her brow "Did you learn that from him?"

The princess chuckled "Not exactly" sighing she looked around the room and frowned "Where are the girls?"

Venus looked at her sternly "They are taking a rest…" Serenity opened her mouth in surprise and then closed it quickly, noticing her guardian's serious expression, narrowing her eyes she moved closer to her "Now what?"

"Princess I do not want you to hate me"

Serenity tilted her head "I do not hate you Venus…" she turned her head and looked her balcony doors "…I just…I miss him…I cannot pretend nothing is happening when my heart aches to see him…"

Venus lowered her gaze and let out a soft sigh "Do you really miss him?"

Serenity nodded "Very much…"

"His guardians do not want you near him…I cannot tolerate the fact that they threatened your life"

Serenity smiled at the mention of the shitennou "They are kind men; they have never threatened my life. I understand they are trying to protect him just the same way you are trying to protect me, but they were always kind to me…they are good men"

Venus looked at her princess with amazement; there was no doubt her princess was a very kind woman and thought that maybe she should have been the goddess of love instead of her, at the mention of the terran prince's guardians she remembered the man that had no fear in confronting her "The white haired man…" she said looking at Serenity "…Who is he?"

Serenity smiled slightly "He is the leader of the shitennou, next to Endymion, his name is Kunzite"

"He does not seem to be nice" Venus muttered. Serenity chuckled "His is a serious man but he is not mean…he is like that because well…he looks after his Prince"

Venus sighed and stood up, walking over the princess' dresser "At least they have the same purpose as us", turning to look at Serenity she found her standing near her balcony looking outside with her hands close to her chest. The blonde guardian smiled sadly and turned on her heel "Mars will come in a minute"

Serenity turned to look at her guardian and bit her lip, nodding she let out a soft sigh "Good night Venus…" she whispered; Venus walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder "I am only protecting you…" the princess lowered her gaze and nodded again "I know Venus…you are doing your job, I respect that"

Venus pursed her lips and patted softly her shoulder "I will see you in the morning, sleep well Princess…" she turned and walked away, leaving Serenity alone for a brief moment before Mars walked in and sat on a chair across the princess' bed "Good evening Princess" she greeted with a soft smile on her lips.

"…Good evening, Mars" Serenity sighed, this situation was starting to become a routine and she silently was starting to memorize to perfection. Walking over to her dresser she picked out her night gown and sat on her bed, looking at the soft fabric caressing her fingers; Mars tilted her head and crossed her arms "Do you want me to help you?"

Serenity sighed "I do not know what I want anymore…" she looked at the raven haired woman across from her and gave her a sad smile "…But taking this gown off is a good start"

Mars responded her with the same sympathetic smile and stood up, walking over to her she started undoing the ribbons tied at her back, loosening the gown.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

The next morning, Endymion woke up not feeling entirely well. It seemed that staying up until very late was starting to take its toll on him or maybe, it was the same excess of work that was weakening his defenses.

His head felt like it was about to blow, he could feel the intensity of the pain running through his temples and across his forehead; his eyes could not adjust completely to the light coming from the morning sun and for the third time he ran his hand through his midnight hair hoping his drowsiness would go away as soon as he completely wake up.

He stood up, and walked toward the bathroom ready to take a shower when his bedroom door opened, showing Megumi with a basket on her hands, indicating it was her day to come and organize his clean clothes "Good morning Your Highness" she bowed in respect.

"Good morning Megumi…" he answered with a deep and raspy voice, still under the influence of sleep. The maid noticed there was something different in the prince, was he losing weight? Was he taller? Was he paler? Or maybe it was the fact that he just woke up she thought. it was not a new thing to come into his room and find him still wearing his pajamas, she had earned the trust from him over the time and that gave her the confidence to not feel as ashamed as she felt the first time she saw him in that way.

At first she admitted to her heart that she had a deep crush on him just like any other girl in this kingdom but she had her mind set to think that it was impossible for her to be with a man like him. Her heart beat quickly every time she looked at him, being a peasant it was obvious he would never look at her the way he would probably see a girl from the court and she was fine with that, she was already grateful to be able to be that close to him. With time, she learned he was more than a big brother to her than a potential lover; not that they had the longest conversations or shared too many secrets but they knew how to respect themselves. Endymion did not treat her like a maid, but more like a friend and sometimes he responded the same way she did to him, treating her like a little sister.

"Prince, are you feeling alright?" she asked with worry.

Endymion made a huge effort to smile, but he couldn't "My head feels like if it is about explode…"

The girl took a step closer and put his clothes over his bed and took another step closer to him "May I?" she asked softly, the prince frowned slightly when the light started to bother him again "Yes…" he bent down a little and let her place her hand over his forehead; Megumi widened her eyes "Your Highness, you are burning with fever!" she said with worry.

"Agh…" Endymion muttered "Just what I needed right now…"

The girl stepped back "I will call Lady Aurea so she…"

"…No, please…Megumi, It's fine…don't call her, I will be fine, I have to work anyways…I cannot take the day off"

"But you are burning with fever Your Highness…" she said softly.

Endymion smiled slightly this time "I will feel better as soon as I take a shower…" turning on his heel, he walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Megumi stared at the door with a worried expression "Prince…" she whispered; as soon as she heard the water running she started making Endymion's bed after she hung his clothes in the large closet.

Endymion rested his head against the cold wall of his shower and closed his eyes; his head was pounding and felt a huge pressure in his cheeks and temples, the hot water rummaged through his hair and traced the muscles in his body almost as if it was trying to comfort him; he stayed immobile for several minutes before he could feel better and start shampooing his hair "...This day will be a challenge" he muttered.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Queen Narella entered the dining room where Beryl was already waiting for her, the older woman smiled and nodded her head "Good morning Beryl" she greeted; Beryl smiled and bowed deeply in respect "Your Majesty, good morning" raising her head, she noticed the king entered behind his mother, followed by Queen Gaia who as soon as she saw her standing there widened her eyes in surprise "Lady Beryl" she said softly.

"Your Majesties…" she bowed in respect again at both royals.

King Eros cleared his throat and turned to look at his wife and then at his mother; Queen Gaia pursed her lips and took her seat next to her husband not looking at the young woman in deep blue. King Eros took a sip of his coffee and took his time to savor the hot liquid and of course used his drink as an excuse to really not start any kind of conversation; Gaia took a sip of her tea and crossed her hands over the table, waiting for her usual bowl of oatmeal and fruit "Tell me Beryl…what brings you here so…_early_ in the morning"

Beryl smiled at the terran queen and took her seat a few chairs away from the queen; placing her tea cup down she turned to look at Queen Narella who immediately entered in her defense "Lady Beryl will be staying with us for a few days…"

Gaia widened her eyes and shook her head slightly, she was about to say something when she felt Eros' hand over hers, turning to look at him she watched him shook his head in denial as if he was trying to prevent her from saying something inappropriate. To Queen Narella, Beryl was a damsel but to Gaia she was the bomb that would completely destroy the trust between them and Endymion, because she knew the reaction he was going to have as soon as he learned of his grandmother's doings and for the very first time in her life, she hoped not to see him join them for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

"Salve…" a tired voice interrupted her fearful thoughts; closing her eyes she let out a soft sigh.

Beryl's heart started to pound strong in her chest, yes, the man she desired to see had finally arrived. Wearing his military uniform this time in a deep blue hue and impeccable black boots this time without his cape, he nodded his head and took a sit on his usual place without realizing Beryl was there, looking at him with her lips slightly parted.

Clearing his throat, he turned to one of the maids "Can I have some coffee?...black"

As soon as the cup of coffee was placed in front of him; he took it without hesitation and took a long sip in his mind wishing the strong beverage would make him feel better. He stayed silent for a couple of minutes and turned to look at his father while he placed his napkin on his lap "I just sent the notifications you signed yesterday, Kunzite must be taking care of the other requirements for the solicitation we made to the three points…"

King Eros arched his brow, surprised that his always sharp son hadn't notice the redhead sitting across from him "Very well, I will talk to Leonidas later this morning to see how things are doing with…" he trailed off.

Endymion frowned and studied his father's and then his mother's faces; turning to his other side his blue eyes widened in shock "Beryl!" he said with surprise in his voice "Wha…" he trailed off.

Queen Narella chuckled "Dear, you came in so concentrated that you didn't even notice her being here with us"

"Wha…" he trailed off again.

Beryl gave him her most charming and captivating smile "Her Majesty invited me to stay here for a few days" Endymion's eyes widened more in shock and turned to look at his grandmother. Queen Narella smiled and took a sip of her tea "I think it is better if she spends some quality time here so you two can get to know better and bond"

The prince fell silent, stiffening his jaw he began eating his breakfast in silence putting aside the fact that he was still burning with fever and his head felt like if it was about to explode. Beryl tried to say a few things and joined the conversation with Narella while Gaia only muttered a few words from time to time; Endymion let out a sigh and closed his eyes trying to shake off the feeling of dizziness and exhaustion.

Beryl watched him with longing and studied his handsome features, how the way his dark bangs covered his eyes every time he lowered his head, the shape of his lips and how inviting they were, his strong jaw and of course, his beautiful, beautiful deep blue eyes. As always, she tried to wear something that could provoke him to look at her, something he could find attractive and that would make him notice her well toned body.

"My Prince, it is very good to see you" Beryl said in a sweet voice.

Endymion turned to look at her and frowned slightly "And it is always surprising to see you Beryl" he faked a smile and started to spread some butter on his bagel.

"We haven't seen each other since your birthday celebration Your Highness" she said softly.

"We have Beryl, just not this close…" Endymion said slowly turning to look at his mother "Do you need anything?"

Queen Gaia waved her hand and took another sip of her tea "I'm fine dear" Beryl bit her lip and lowered her gaze "I hope we can spend more time together My Prince…"

Endymion arched his brow "Beryl…I" he trailed off.

"Your Highness…"

"It is not that I do not like you to be here with us, but, it is a difficult time for me right now…I have a massive amount of things to do"

The redhead bat her lashes a few times and lowered her gaze, her lips curved into a knowing smile. Somehow, the maid who gave her the information was going to keep working for her and that, was a good card she had in her favor.

Biting his bagel, Endymion swallowed the small piece and took a final sip of his coffee "I should get going" he pushed his cup aside and stood up, startling everybody in the room.

"Enjoy your stay Lady Beryl" Endymion said slowly.

Queen Narella widened her eyes "What? But you just got here dear"

Endymion turned his face at her and gave her a hurt look "It doesn't matter; I need to get to work…" the older queen frowned "Can't you just leave all your doings for just a few days? We have a guest!"

The prince arched his brow "No grandmother_, you_ have a guest, I have a responsibility…if I have the time to spare I will join you but don't expect me to leave all my work undone…" turning on his heel "Now, if you excuse me…I'm going to work"

"Endymion!" Queen Narella watched him leave and turned to look at her son "Eros…" she said softly. King Eros sighed and stood up "Mother, this is not a good timing..." he said slowly "But, Endymion is right, this kingdom does not protects by itself…" the king kissed his wife's hand and left the room.

Queen Narella sighed and tried to control her annoyance "Well, it seems it just the three of us today…"

Queen Gaia cleared her throat and looked at her mother in law "Beryl" she said startling the redhead "Yes, Your Majesty?"

Gaia diverted her gaze from the older queen to her "I hope you enjoy your stay in the palace…"

"Thank you Your Ma…"

"But…" Gaia interrupted her, raising her index finger and arched her brow "That does not mean that my son will be able to leave unattended his obligations…"

Beryl licked her lip with delicacy and pressed her lips together "I understand Your Majesty…" she said softly. Gaia sighed softly and stood up "If you excuse me…"

"Where are you going?" Narella asked with confusion.

Gaia turned to look at Narella "I need to talk to Aurea…" turning on her heel, she walked out of the dining room, leaving the queen and the girl alone. Beryl bit her lip and lowered her gaze "Your Majesty I..."

"It's alright darling" Queen Narella said softly, taking another sip of her tea and turned to look at her "Would you mind spending some time on your own, there are some things I must do before lunch time"

Beryl nodded "Of course Your Majesty" she stood up right after the queen did; Narella turned to look at her and smiled softly "I will see you in a bit, go on to the gardens, it is a lovely day outside"

The redhead beauty nodded "Thank you Your Majesty"

Queen Narella patted her shoulder and walked out of the room. Beryl bit her lip again and brought her hands to her chest "Why can't I cause the impact I want on him…" she whispered and bit her thumb finger, lowering her gaze she blushed when his handsome face came to her mind "…But I won't give up. I will enchant him, I will be his…"

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Queen Gaia entered her chambers where Aurea was finishing making up the bed and sat brusquely on a chair outside at the balcony; the brown haired maid walked over to her and leaned on the door frame crossing her arms "Good morning?"

"…Good morning" Gaia muttered.

"Are you alright?" Aurea asked, confused. Gaia turned to look at her "She is being stubborn…"

"Who is?"

"Gaia!" Queen Narella entered the room, the terran queen sighed; closing her eyes she rubbed her nose bridge "Narella…" she said softly "I am over here"

The elder queen walked over to stand next to Aurea, who had a look of total confusion "Your Majesty…" she said softly; Narella waved her hand never diverting her gaze from her daughter in law "I think you are too old for that kind of behavior" she said dryly.

Gaia frowned and looked at her "What are you trying to say?"

"You are being childish"

The raven haired queen stood up and stood in front of Narella "I am not being childish"

"Then what are you doing? You are certainly not acting like a Queen, more less like the Goddess you are"

Gaia frowned "Why do you keep doing it Narella? Why do you keep bringing her here?" Queen Narella crossed her arms "Because I think she is the right woman for Endymion…I am his grandmother, and I want the best for him"

"Yes, Narella you are but I am his mother and your son is his father and we both are aware of how all this upsets him greatly, Endymion does not want her…he is not interested in her" Gaia raised her hands in frustration. The older queen frowned "Open your eyes Gaia…your story will not repeat itself! Endymion is twenty five years old and he needs to bring this kingdom an heir…he needs to start thinking about getting married, settle down and start a family…"

"My story?" Gaia said with hurt.

Narella sighed and closed her eyes, lowering her head "If you are hoping that Endymion will marry a Goddess…that is not likely to happen…"

Gaia held the urge to cry, she was starting to feel frustrated and tired of this situation "Why are you doing to him the same thing you were doing to Eros?"

"What are you saying?" Narella widened eyes in shock; Gaia frowned and looked at her straight in the eyes "You wanted him to marry Charmindy…"

"Yes, but he met you" Narella said and then regretted the way she spoke, lowering her gaze for a moment she sighed "I wanted the best for him at that moment…I did not know you two were in love, I did not know anything, neither Odell…"

Gaia looked at Narella with sad eyes "I am so sorry for all the problems I caused in the past…" she whispered, Narella took a step forward "Gaia…that is not…" she trailed off.

"I know what you are trying to say Narella…my nature put your son in great danger, and as a mother you felt your life hung on a thread…" Gaia lowered her gaze "…Endymion is my son, I brought him to a different world, a world where he should be recognized for who he really is…but is if because of that same feeling of great worry and desire for him to be well that I have protected him all these years…"

Turning she walked over her bed and sat "I am not saying that he should not marry…but I think, that he deserves the same right his father had when he chose to marry me instead of Charmindy…if he does not love Beryl, why do you have to force him to bond with her…"

Aurea widened her eyes in shock, never in all her years in the palace had seen the two queens having an argument; both were always in sync and friendly to each other, there was never a doubt that the older queen loved Gaia as her own daughter. After the war between her and the gods ended she took her under her wing and protected her, giving her all her support to be her son's wife. Now, they were disputing over the prince's life, and it didn't matter how much Narella denied it, she was doing the same thing she once was doing to her son when Charmindy was the potential candidate to be queen and of course, her favorite.

"Because I do not think, there is a better woman for him out there…she is beautiful and…"

Gaia frowned "Beauty should not be the requisite a woman needs to marry him…it should be something else, something special…Endymion deserves to be with a lady not a protégé…" sighing she looked at her mother in law "…Please Narella, my son has gone through much…"

"Gaia…" Narella breathed.

"Destiny caught up with my son's life…and he had to give up his freedom in order to be the warrior he is now the least we can do is to respect his decisions…" Gaia said softly.

Narella lowered her gaze "Give this woman an opportunity Gaia…just like you, I want the best for my grandson…" sighing she walked over her and placed a hand on her shoulder "I have always admired your passion…you have always had a fierce heart so full of life and love…"

Gaia widened her eyes and looked at the older queen "Narella…"

Narella smiled "I am so proud of you my dear and I am so happy that you were the one to continue this humble legacy…compared to yours. It will be incredibly difficult to fill that crown you carry upon your head"

Gaia's eyes shone with tears "Don't say that…"

Narella smiled and sat next to her "Dear, there will be no other Queen like you…that I am sure, but, we must realize that right now, Beryl is Endymion's best option…"

Gaia sighed and lowered her gaze, Narella patted her hand softly "Just…give him time to really get to know her…and you will see how he changes his mind"

Gaia looked down at her hands and sighed, pursing her lips in defeat, she had to admit that Narella was right to some point; she had to give his son time. Time to think about him, time to evaluate his life and what he really wants, time to plan his future, time…to be happy.


	84. Chapter 84

**A/N:** I know! it's been a long time, almost three weeks, i am so sorry...but i needed to write a few more chapters before i posted this one, you know how much i like to have chapters to spare, it's been difficult because i haven't had the time to really sit and write but i am doing my best. You know I will not leave this story unfinished, that goes against my principles lol.

I hope you like this chapter, and i am really going to try to post more frequently, just like before :) Enjoy!

p.s. I love you all and thank you soooo sooo very much for all your support, you, are the best.

**I do not own sm, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter eighty four**

* * *

Endymion entered the study and closed the door, leaning on a pillar he let out a loud sigh "Prince?" one of the soldiers said startling him, the prince raised his head and watched his father in the middle of a meeting with Leonidas, several soldiers and his shitennou.

Eros frowned "Son, are you alright?"

Endymion started to feel dizzier than before and started to sweat cold. Biting his lip he swallowed and nodded "I'm alright; let's continue the meeting" taking a seat in front of the large desk, he rubbed his temples; Kunzite turned to look at him and noticed his pale face "Endymion, are you alright?"

The prince only nodded and waved his hand, dismissing any other comments concerning his appearance and strange behavior. The king continued talking and suggesting solutions for the constant problem: Point D.

Leonidas extended several maps over the large tables for the prince to examine "This area seems to be contaminated by this strange sulfate…" Endymion muttered, marking the surroundings of the cave.

"The damage seems to be increasing Your Majesties" one of the soldiers said.

"And more deaths are being reported…" Kunzite said slowly; Endymion frowned "What?"

"These just came in…" the white haired man gave the prince an envelope with new reports from the southern point, Endymion started reading them as soon as he took them out "…This cannot be happening" he sighed tiredly. Eros turned to look at his son with a worried expression "Son…"

"This cannot be happening…" Endymion repeated "We have done everything we can and this keeps happening"

Eros frowned; something with his son was not right; he was pale and he constantly rubbed his eyes. Walking over to him, he placed a hand over his shoulder "Endymion, why didn't you say anything?"

Endymion frowned "About what?"

Eros turned to look at the men behind him "Excuse us a moment" he said before taking his son by the arm and walked across the large room "You are sick"

"I am fine Father"

Eros crossed his arms "You can't fool me, your face says it all…look at you, you cannot work in this condition"

"If I do not work, things will get worse than they are right now…" Endymion frowned and raised his hand holding the papers Kunzite gave him moments ago "Here are all the people that have died in the past days…this is my responsibility"

Eros took the stack of papers away from his son's hand "Endymion, I know, but this is not your responsibility only but also mine…I am the King"

"And I am your Polemarchos…I need to be here"

"My Polemarchos does not function well when he is sick…" he said dryly; giving him a sympathetic smile he patted his shoulder "Son…you have done much these past few weeks that it was only a matter of time that you would fall sick…Your mother warned you, now what do you think she will say when she knows you are like this?"

Endymion looked at his father "Mother should not know"

"Endymion…" Eros said in a warning tone.

"Father…please" the prince said softly "She does not need this kind of worries…"

"Then you need to go and have some rest" the king said; Endymion frowned "What? No"

Eros sighed "Endymion, you cannot work like this! You do not think straight when you are in this condition…you are not useful to me if you are sick! I will take care of things today, Leonidas is helping me and so your advisors…but please…go and have some rest, if you don't want to worry your mother, please do as I say"

The prince lowered his head and put his hands on his waist; this had to be some kind of a joke. Falling sick in a critical day like this and what made him feel more frustrated was the fact that he had to go back alone to his room and let his thoughts take over his heart and reason. He did not need this, he did not wanted to feel vulnerable again; his work was the only thing that was keeping him sane right now that his heart felt empty and cold.

Sighing, he nodded again "I believe I do not have other choice…"

Eros nodded "You remind me so much of me…" she chuckled softly "And so much of your mother at the same time"

Endymion arched a brow "Because I am stubborn, I know…"

"For that and many other things…" the king said softly, patting his shoulder "Son, whatever you are feeling right now, please know everything will be alright" the prince narrowed his eyes "What?"

"Your grandmother's ideals…" he trailed off.

"Beryl…" Endymion muttered, "That matter is another headache…I thought I made myself clear when I said I did not want anything with her…"

"I won't tell I sent you to rest for today…so you won't have to deal with that right now, but please, go to sleep"

Endymion bit his lip and nodded "Thank you Father…" he said softly; Eros smiled "Anything for you son" the prince smiled at his father and walked out of the study in silence; closing the large door behind him.

"Your Majesty…is His Highness alright?" Zoicite asked with concern. King Eros nodded "He is alright Zoicite…I just asked him to do something important for me so he won't be available for the rest of the day"

"Do you want us to go and assist him Your Majesty?" Kunzite asked; the king shook his head "No Kunzite, he will be alright, it is something he must do alone this time, you will be working with Leonidas and me for today" the four men nodded their head in respect "Yes Your Majesty" they said in unison.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Endymion walked a few meters away from the study and stopped looking at the courtyard from the slightly high corridor that gave a perfect view of the tranquil inner garden. Leaning on the rail, he sighed and waited for the dizziness he was feeling to fade away a little.

The crisp sound of the fountain water at the center echoed, soothing his troubled mind, closing his eyes for a moment he let himself drift into a blissful memory involving his gorgeous princess; his lips curved into a soft smile "My beautiful bunny…" he whispered.

"A penny for your thoughts, Your Highness?"

His azure eyes opened immediately and turned to his right "Beryl…" he muttered softly, the redhead tilted her head and smiled. Endymion frowned slightly and ran a hand through his hair "What are you doing here?"

"I was taking a small tour Your Highness…I hope you don't mind"

"I thought you were with my grandmother"

Beryl bit her lip "She told me that she needed to do some things before lunch…and suggested me to take a walk around the palace"

"I see…" Endymion said slowly "This is not an exciting section of it…you should go…" he extended his index finger and pointed to the other direction "…That way"

Beryl chuckled softly "It may not be the most exciting but it is the most important"

"Why is that?" Endymion arched his brow. Beryl smiled "This is where His Majesty and His Highness work…every decision made in benefit of our kingdom comes from this place"

The woman had a point, Endymion thought and for the very first time she was not being provocative or insistent but rarely mature and, at some point he was thankful for it because he did not had the strength to deal with nonsense, now that he was feeling incredibly bad.

"My visit must have bothered you Your Highness but believe me when I say that it was Her Majesty the one who invited me to spend a few days here..." she said softly; the prince let out a soft sigh "It…doesn't bother me Beryl, it was surprising to see you there this morning that is all. I am very used to my own customs that when something different happens I tend to get startled…"

Beryl lowered her gaze "I hope, I am a good different thing…Your Highness"

Endymion widened his eyes slightly "You do not see a woman like you in this place very often…" he cursed himself as soon as those words escaped his lips, was he flirting with the woman in front of him? No, he was not, he assured himself.

Beryl blushed and bit her lip for a moment "Your Highness…" she trailed off, letting her sensuous voice take over; it was clearly evident the sexual tension was still there every time they were alone. She knew she had that kind of power over every man that crossed her path; even when she lived on the streets and worked in that pub, her beauty captivated every man around, making a very much desirable woman in the kingdom of course, after the queen herself. Her beauty was magnifying, her lips pouted always in a very sensuous way and she was sensual and sexual at the same time without even really trying; for years that quality was her curse because she was target of constant comments and harassments from part of men and curses and bad talk from part of almost every woman she met.

Now, her luck had changed. She was no longer the woman that slept under a tree and that asked for a free piece of bread, now, she was a Lady and it did not matter how much she wanted to deny the true reasons of why she was there, or how she got there she was at the palace now, standing in front of the man she always longed to see and meet. The same man she remembered looking at the distance when he left the palace to train and returned as a true soldier once the war was over.

Endymion looked at her without not really paying attention. He was well aware of her beauty and the energy that always was whenever they were standing in front of each other; his body reacted in some way to hers but he knew it was nothing else but just lust. If he had met her years back he probably had already bed her many many times; or even he would probably have her as his mistress to please him whenever he wanted to be pleased and he knew that if he asked her, she would have said yes.

Lust, something so different from love; like water and oil, he could not see anything else from her because he was not in love with her but only attracted and not even attracted anymore. She was gorgeous, but not beautiful; she was delicate but not pure, she was kind but not gentle; she wasn't her, Beryl was not Serenity and it was the moon princess who made him feel alive, who made him want to change, to be a better man every day. He would give anything in his power to see his princess again, to hear her smile, to look into her eyes, to kiss those delicate and soft lips of her, to just hold her in his arms and never let her go.

"You should take a walk through the gardens, they're better than the hallways, trust me" he said, trying to lift that heavy and thick energy surrounding them. Beryl widened her green eyes in surprise, she thought for a moment that she was captivating him but still, she could not let her guard down "I would if I knew which way I should go…" she chuckled softly "His Highness would be very kind to join me for a walk?"

Endymion felt bad to always leave her alone when she didn't really deserve that kind of treatment, after all, it was not her fault to be there at the palace. Lowering his gaze for a moment, he let out a soft breath "I…" he trailed off "…Only for a brief moment…"

Beryl could not believe what her ears just heard; he had agreed to spend some time with her, her heart started beating faster with the excitement of being near him for more than just mere seconds. Smiling widely, she bowed her head in respect and waited for him to start walking; Endymion did not offer his arm or did anything extraordinaire but he sure made her feel like she finally had accomplished something important, something not any other woman in this kingdom achieved before.

They both started walking in silence down the hall and toward the garden, as they were walking, the prince turned and remembered the time he found Serenity waiting for him there and caught a cold. His eyes softened by the memory and instead of feeling better it actually made him feel worse.

"The Palace it really is magical…" Beryl said with amusement.

Endymion shook his head and looked down at her "Excuse me?"

"Magical" Beryl smiled, and continued walking "When I was little, my parents used to tell me that this place held magic inside its walls…"

Endymion frowned slightly "Magic?"

The redhead turned to look at him "There is magic, everywhere you look at…the beauty of this place is indescribable"

"I see…"

"You do not agree with me Your Highness?"

Endymion looked at her and gave her a small genuine smile "Actually, I do"

Beryl's cheeks flushed in a red tone, her smile widened making her look more innocent from what she normally appears "Maybe we have more things in common after all Your Highness"

Endymion let out a small chuckle and leaned on a pillar, near the garden "I am a strange person Beryl…" he said slowly, Beryl tilted her head "What do you mean Your Highness?"

The prince rested his head on his arm "…I have a very particular way to see things and to see life or at least that is what I was told"

Beryl took a step closer to the prince "Your Highness…maybe we two share a similar way of looking at things"

Endymion smiled, Beryl noticed, the same warm smile she saw that time at one of the occasions she had dinner with the royals; lowering his gaze he let out a soft chuckle "No Beryl…I highly doubt it"

"Why?"

The prince raised his face, keeping the same beautiful smile "…There is only one person who shares the same thoughts as me…"

Beryl frowned "One…person?"

Endymion shook his head and looked down at her and nodded, sighing he ran a hand through his hair, his dizziness started to come back again. He closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose "Beryl…"

"Yes Your Highness?"

"Why are you really here?"

The redhead widened her eyes, she was taken by surprise with his question "Prince…" she trailed off; Endymion turned his head and looked at her "…I do not want to break your spirit once again Beryl, that is why I am asking. If you are here just because you accepted my grandmother's invitation that is fine with me and I am actually glad and hope you enjoy your stay but, if you came with another intention…I would have to say that you are wasting your time"

Beryl could feel her heart beating on her throat, his sharpness impressed her greatly. Sure, she was there because she accepted the queen's invitation but also with the desire of making him fall in love with her, her staying in the palace was a golden ticket to the throne, the crown and his heart and also meant her freedom from Charmindy because she would not have to bear with her mistreatment anymore.

Lowering her gaze for a moment, she continued walking beside the prince; biting her lips in thought she raised her head again and looked forward "…Are you against love Your Highness?"

Endymion stopped in his tracks "Love…" he whispered only for him to hear. Love, the word echoed in his mind and made his heart beat faster every time he listened to the sound of those four letters out together. Love was the reason he was like that, love, was the feeling of freedom and at the same time what made him feel with impotence; he liked it but at the same time he disliked it because the only thing he could do, was to nurture his memories with her.

Beryl noticed the sudden stop and turned to look at him standing there in the hallway, expressionless "Love is a very strong word and very strong feeling Beryl, something that could easily be mistaken with lust and caprice"

His words surprised her, widening her eyes she lowered her gaze again "…Lust and caprice" she thought, she wondered if her desire for him had already crossed that line just because of Charmindy's insistence or if it was really love. She started making up several excuses in her mind, she really wanted him to be with her and she really wanted to be with him, give him whatever he needed, whatever he asked for. No, she was not obsessed she thought; she was in love.

Raising her gaze, she looked at him and said nothing, just admired his attractiveness. Blushing slightly, she started to wonder how she could not feel love for this man when he was practically perfect. His voice was rich and deep, since the moment she met him and crossed words with him, the comparison of his voice with wine came to her mind; his scent was incredibly sensual and mesmerizing, and she did not need to imagine too much to know he had a well toned body underneath his clothes.

"Love has lust…love, has desire" she said softly, looking at him, Endymion arched his brow and let out a small chuckle "You say it with so much confidence…"

Beryl smiled and walked over the prince "Of course Your Highness…" stopping a few feet away from him, she looked into his eyes "What is of love without full lust and…pleasure?"

Endymion remained with his brow arched "Love should not be a perdition"

"The moment you fall in love you are in perdition Your Highness"

"Is that what you think?"

Beryl smiled sensuously "That is what I believe"

The prince crossed his arms and lowered his head for a moment, his lips curved into a smile "It is quite strange to talk about love with you…"

Beryl widened her eyes in surprise "Why is that Your Highness?"

Endymion looked at her, still with a smile on his face "Because the more we talk the more I realize how different we think…" Beryl's eyes went wider "W-What?"

The prince closed the medium gap between them and looked down at her "There is no doubt there is something between us, the energy that surrounds us every time we are near is undeniable, but that is no good reason to think we are meant for each other…"

The girl with red hair looked at him surprised, startled better said. She thought she was convincing the man to actually look at her differently than just Beryl and more like a queen but it seems it did not happen "Your Highness…" she chuckled softly "You cannot be positive about it if you do not set your feelings free"

Endymion chuckled, all the sweetness in his voice melted away leaving only one full with sarcasm "My feelings are not made to be set free Beryl…I do not think anyone's feelings actually"

"You are aware of what happens between us…"

"Very much"

"And still, you do not want to make it a reality?"

Endymion arched his brow "Reality?"

"Your Highness…if you want me to be yours I can be yours"

Endymion sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose "Beryl, things do not work that way…" he looked at her "If we two have met several years back, probably things would have been different, but…we didn't"

"I can be the woman you need"

"No Beryl, you cannot"

"Why not?"

Endymion crossed his arms "Because I do not _need_ a woman…" chuckling he started walking again "You and me think very differently and see things differently…as I said before, I won't deny your beauty and your port…" he turned to look at her "Every man would be delighted to have you, but my mind is set on something else…I am not a regular man, I am one with infinite responsibilities…"

Beryl bit her lip and lowered her gaze "…Every man…but I know you desire me, I know there is a sexual attraction between us…it is right here and right now at this very moment"

The prince nodded "Yes it is, it exists but I won't…" he sighed again "Beryl…just, leave things like this…"

"Your Highness"

"I am afraid I must leave now, there are things I need to do…are you going to be alright all by yourself?"

Beryl pressed her lips together and nodded "Yes, Your Highness"

Endymion gave her a sad smile "I am sorry Beryl…" he said softly, startling her "…You do not deserve this kind of rejection from me…but I truly believe I am not the right man for you, but somebody else and I hope you can find him soon"

Turning on his heel he started walking away, leaving her alone. Beryl watched the man walking with strong steps, something she noticed since she met him; the sound of his boots against the marble floor echoed in her heart each and every time making her feel more and more alone. Her eyes started to fill with tears, once again he had said he did not want her, frowning she curled her hands into fists and let her tears fall silently "I won't give up…" she whispered between sobs, her hands started to shake, opening her green eyes she looked in front of her "…I won't give you up. _You_ are mine"

Endymion entered his room startling Megumi who was still cleaning his chambers "Y-Your Highness…" The prince gave her a knowing look and shrugged his shoulders "I cannot lie to you…"

The young girl blinked a couple of times and stayed silent, Endymion sat on one of the couches in his living room "I was sent back to rest…"

"Your Highness, with all due respect that was only a matter of time…your face is too pale to be alright…"

"I could have worked anyway…"

Megumi bit her lip "Do you want me to bring you anything Your Highness?"

The prince smiled at her and shook his head "No, I am alright…I just need to have some rest…I think…" he rested his head back on the sofa.

"I can bring you some tea…"

"No, that's alright…"

"Do you still have fever?"

"A little…but I will be alright"

Megumi nodded and turned to leave "I will leave you alone then Your Highness…"

Endymion opened his eyes "Actually…" he said softly, startling the girl who turned to look at him "Yes?"

Endymion smiled softly "I do not want to be alone…if it is alright with you, could you stay for a little while?" Megumi widened her eyes surprised "Y-Your Highness…" she blushed. The prince chuckled and closed his eyes again "I do not bite Megumi…and I am certain that I'm not a cannibal either…you are safe"

"Do you need anything?"

Endymion opened his blue eyes and looked up at the ceiling "Just someone to talk to…" he said softly and turned to look at her "…More like a friend"

The girl blinked a few times "Is there something troubling you, Prince?"

The prince pursed his lips and lowered his gaze "Beryl is here…" he let out a breath. Megumi stood several feet away from the prince, holding her duster before realizing he was serious when he said he needed a friend. Walking over to one of the cushion chairs across from him she placed the duster on her lap and looked at him "…Is that a bad thing Your Highness?"

Endymion sighed and crossed his arms, still staring at the ceiling "You probably know by now that my grandmother wants me to marry her…"

Megumi lowered her gaze and nodded "I heard she is the best candidate to be queen…"

"Candidate…" he said softly, Megumi bit her lip "I am sure everybody wants the best for you Your Highness…"

Endymion frowned "What do you mean?"

The young girl blushed and looked at her hands playing with the duster's handle "Everybody wants our Prince to be with a very pretty and fine lady…being not an ordinary prince, the expectation is higher…"

Endymion frowned "Do you think I am not an ordinary Prince?"

Megumi shook her head; the prince arched his brow "Really? Why not?" The girl raised her face and looked at him "You fight for us all...you do not sleep to keep us all safe…"

"Do you think Beryl is a pretty lady?"

"I do, Your Highness"

Endymion turned to look at her "Do you think she is the woman I should marry?"

"You don't Your Highness?"

The prince sighed and shook his head "I don't Megumi…"

The brown haired girl bit her lip in thought "…You do not think she is pretty?"

"Oh no, she is very pretty…" the prince said softly and sat straight again "I just do not think I am the right man for her"

Megumi widened her eyes "With all due respect My Prince…you are every girl's right man" her comment made Endymion chuckle "Just because of who I am…but, what if I were an ordinary man?"

"You would still be, a very respected and pursued man"

Endymion smiled "Thank you Megumi"

The girl looked at him with curiosity and tilted her head "If you know she is very pretty and you know she is very interested in you and that she is here for you…why don't you just give her an opportunity?"

The prince bit his lip and lowered his head, resting his arms on his thighs "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Of course, Your Highness"

Endymion looked at her "I believe in love…"

Megumi widened his eyes "Prince…"

"I know, shocking isn't it? Everybody would think I am a heartless man with no feelings at all…but I actually want to marry for love not for obligation" he lowered his head again and let out a soft chuckle "And it cannot be Beryl, because I do not love her…"

Megumi tilted her head to the other side "But…maybe you can Your Highness, if you give her a chance"

"I cannot Megumi…" he sighed "Because I am already in love…with somebody else" Megumi gasped in surprise, catching the prince's attention, chuckling he looked up at her "I think the news surprised you…"

"…" the girl stayed in shock for a moment, shaking her head slightly she frowned "Are you really Your Highness?"

Endymion chuckled "Is it too hard to believe?"

"N-No…it is just…unexpected" biting her lip in though she felt her heart break slowly when his confession started to fall into place, he has been her crush since she met him and not that she expected something from him, starting with the fact that he was much older than her, she somehow did not expected this to happen anytime soon, frowning again she looked at him "Prince…if you are in love with someone else, then why is Lady Beryl here and not the other Lady?"

Endymion smiled "It is very complicated…the other Lady cannot be here…"

"But you are our High Prince…you can help her…I mean you can…" she trailed off; Endymion shook his head "Not this time Megumi"

Megumi sighed sadly and lowered her head "Is she as pretty as Lady Beryl?"

Endymion smiled and looked at her "She is more than pretty, she is my soulmate"

Megumi frowned and stood up, startling him "Megumi?" he asked softly, Megumi started walking around the room "With all due respect Your Highness…you are a warrior Prince; you fight to protect us all, you fall sick because you work very hard to keep us all safe…" she turned to look at him "But when it comes to your own safety and happiness…you stop fighting…"

Endymion widened his eyes, Megumi shook her head "I do not accept that Your Highness…you are a fighter, you should be fighting for her…if she is your soulmate…you should be fighting for her as much as she should be fighting for you…"

"Megumi…"

The girl tilted her head "That is what I think..."

The prince smiled and stood up, walking over to her he ran his arms around her respectfully, completely startling her "Y-Your Highness…" she said wide eyed.

"Thank you"

"F-For what?"

Endymion parted away "For listening to me…for being a friend"

Megumi smiled "Thank you for trusting me with something so important to you…I will keep it a secret"

The prince smiled and nodded "Thank you Megumi, I know you will" turning on his heel he started to walk toward his bedroom "I am not supposed to be here, in case anyone asks…you haven't seen me"

The young girl nodded "Yes Your Highness, if Lady Beryl asks I will tell her that"

Endymion chuckled and turned to look at her "Yes, especially her" the brunette smiled and nodded "I will bring your dinner then Your Highness"

"Thank you Megumi" yawning a little, he covered his mouth "I think…I will go and have some sleep"

The girl nodded and bowed her head in respect until she heard the doors of his bedroom close slowly; looking up she bit her lower lip and let out a soft sigh "…She must be very special…to have captured Prince Endymion's heart it is because she is somebody very special…"

O.o.o.o.o.o.o.O

"Do you think we should…?" Jupiter asked softly.

Mercury bit her lip "But what if she escapes again?"

Mars sighed and stood up, walking across the room "We have left her several days alone and she hasn't gone there…" turning to look at Venus "But you know her feelings remain the same…"

Jupiter and Mercury turned to look at the blonde leader "After all this time?" Jupiter asked.

Venus sighed and lowered her gaze "A feeling like that cannot be ignored Jupiter…"

"What are you saying?" Mercury asked with wide eyes "Are you…"

"No…of course…" she trailed off, Mars crossed her arms and frowned, walking around the room she bit her lip "I have been having more premonitions…"

"What?"

"What?"

"More premonitions?"

Mars nodded and turned to look at her friends "Danger is closer than we thought…"

"What do you mean?" Jupiter frowned.

The raven haired girl bit her lip and turned to look out the window "…We need to protect our Princess no matter what" Jupiter sighed and leaned on her seat "Mars that is our main purpose…"

"Maybe I am not explaining myself correctly…we need to protect our Princess no matter from whom or what do we have to do in order to do it"

Mercury widened her eyes "Mars…are you…" she trailed off, Venus crossed her arms and lowered her head "Mars does not trust the general…and neither do I"

Jupiter's frown deepened, diverting her gaze from the raven haired girl she looked at Venus "The General…has he done anything to her?"

"We are not positive about that…" Mars spoke "But…" turning to look at the blue planet from the window "My visions keep showing me another man protecting her instead of him…and the more time it passes the more I recognize the silhouette…"

"The mortal" Mercury said softly, slightly surprised. Venus raised her head "We are not sure he is the man that is protecting her…we are not sure if this darkness will approach us…but we need to be aware of the General…"

Mars frowned and let out a soft sigh "Venus…"

"Mars" Venus looked at her sternly "What you are suggesting is even worse…she cannot go there with him, it is against the law!"

"Venus, this time…it is our only way, our only plan…"

"I do not agree, I do not accept it!" the blonde raised her voice at her, Mars shook her head "Athamas' energy is not reliable"

"But he is the Queen's favorite"

"Venus…Princess Serenity's soul is very hurt…she needs to regain that energy…"

Venus arched her brow "Are you even listening to yourself?"

"Yes!"

Mercury bit her nail and turned to look at Jupiter who was rubbing her temples "I think we should give her more freedom…and if she continues being the way she is, then we will have to take some measures…"

Mars crossed her arms "Father is acting worried…he will come one of these days to inform Queen Serenity about something…if he has not done it already"

"What do you mean worried?" Mercury asked, Mars sighed and sat on one of the chairs in front of the girls "He has been spending too much time in Olympus, being a very good reason that something is happening…"

"Did you talk to him?" Jupiter asked.

"…Yes"

Venus bit her lip "That explains Her Majesty's constant meetings in Olympus then…even Artemis is acting different…"

"Although Athamas is on our side…I have the strange feeling that he is doing something else…" Mars said softly "And he is the man preferred by the Queen…"

Venus shook her head "It is so contradictory…" standing up she went to stand next to one of the windows in the room and leaned on the wall "…The man who cannot be with her is the one that can protect her the best…"

"Are you saying it seriously?" Jupiter asked.

Venus turned to look at Jupiter "Mars is right in one thing…Athamas is not completely on our side…but we cannot prove the contrary, Artemis keeps a close eye on him but still he does not have any clue or proof of what we are saying…"

Mars closed her eyes for a moment "I cannot see my Princess the way she is anymore…" letting out a soft sigh she opened them again, revealing a beautiful amethyst color "And I know you can't either Venus…"

Venus pursed her lips and shook her head "Mars…"

"I can't Venus…I am sorry"

Mars turned on her heel and started to leave the room when Venus held her wrist "What are you doing? You are a sailor senshi! The one to protect the Princess…" Mars' eyes started to shine with tears "Exactly…" freeing her hand from Venus' grasp she frowned "I am protecting her…"

"We can do that ourselves" Venus said dryly.

"We can protect her Venus, you are correct but…can we protect her from her own self? Her soul is fading away…she is not motivated…and I cannot see her like this anymore…and I know that you can't either, any of us can…we can find a way…but for now…we need to bring her sprit back again" turning again, she walked out of the room leaving three women very confused and worried.

"Mars!" Venus called her before she closed the door, but with no avail.

"…Is she…?" Jupiter trailed off.

Venus closed her eyes and nodded, Mercury widened her eyes "Aren't you going to do anything to stop her?"

The blonde opened her blue eyes again "There is nothing else I can do but to never approve what our Princess had decided…" she turned to look at the blue haired princess "…I am the senshi of love…and Mars is right…Princess Serenity's soul is starting to fade away…and he is the only one who can bring her back from her pain"

"But…" Jupiter's eyes started to gleam with tears "…We are putting her in danger…"

Venus lowered her gaze and looked at her chain "…There is no safe place anymore…" sighing she closed her eyes for a moment "…I just want her to be happy…"

Mars entered the princess' room and stood a few feet away from her in silence, her hands curled up into fists; she could not believe what she was about to do but she was aware it was in order to save her. Princess Serenity felt the senshi's presence and turned to look at her "Mars…?" she asked softly and slightly startled.

"Go"

Serenity frowned "What?"

Mars frowned and closed her eyes "Go…" she repeated, her voice trembling a little. The princess' eyes widened "Where do you want me to go?"

Mars opened her eyes and looked at her, walking over her she crouched in front of her princess and placed her gloved hands over her princess' "…Go see him"

Serenity's pale eyes widened slightly more "See who?" she was not sure of what she was talking about, the suggestion actually surprised her greatly "See who Mars?" she asked again. Mars looked up at her and bit her lip for a second "…The Prince…go see him"

"…What?"

"Do not try to reason, do not try to understand right now…just…go"

"But…Venus…" the princess trailed off.

"Have you given up on him?" Mars asked.

Serenity shook her head "No…"

"Then go…but promise me something first…"

Serenity nodded softly; Mars sighed and gave her a small smile "Please, come back at dawn…that is all I am asking you…" the princess frowned a little "Mars…"

"Go now Princess before I change my mind…"

Serenity stood up and walked over her balcony; her heart started beating strong and fast like it haven't done for weeks now, the excitement of seeing him again was engulfing all her senses and Mars could see it clearly; standing up she looked at her slim and delicate figure fade away in a silver shimmer, indicating she summoned her power and left to Earth.

O.o.o.o.o.o.o.O

The sun was not set yet, but it was clearly late in the afternoon. Lunch had already passed and as the king promised, he excused Endymion from every meeting and dinner; Beryl felt slightly disappointed to find his seat empty across from her on the long table.

The prince let out a loud sigh and turned on his left side away from the windows and continued trying to fall asleep. After his talk with Megumi he went to bed but then after a while stood up and roamed around the room thinking of many ways he could solve many of his problems and only to go back to bed again, he repeated this routine three times already not being able to do either of them.

His room was already starting to become darker and darker by the moment and not that he did mind really, Megumi entered occasionally to leave him a cup of tea or just to see if he needed anything but always found him lying in his bed.

Silver sparks started to shine like glitter in the light soon revealing the moon princess who immediately knew where she appeared. Her lips curved immediately into a wide smile and closed her eyes indulging herself with the very fresh and masculine scent of the room she missed so much and that kept in the back of her mind, the scent she knew so well and sent soft chills to her whole body.

Opening her eyes, she tried to adjust them to the darkness and frowned in confusion to really wonder if she was in the right place; but the feeling and the aroma was unmistakable. Taking a few steps forward, she opened the large door and closed it behind her softly.

Endymion felt a presence in his room but his head still hurt a little he did not paid too much attention, thinking it was nobody else but Megumi who came in to check if he needed anything again "I'm alright…" he muttered half asleep and half awake, at not hearing a response he imagined the girl had nodded and left again, but still there was something not normal, he still felt something different.

Walking over to his bed, Serenity sat next to him and put a hand on his back and as soon as his warmth reached her skin she closed her eyes and smiled to herself, she was there next to him, finally after all this time. She did not need much to be this happy but only to be with him; the darkness in the room impeded her to see his handsome face but still she moved her hand up to his head and ran her fingers through his silky hair.

Endymion opened his eyes and widened immediately, recognizing that touch. Sitting on his bed he turned to light a candle on his night stand and as soon as the soft and flickering light of it dimly illuminated the room he turned his face and parted his lips, as if he was about to say something.

Serenity looked at him with teary eyes "En…"

Endymion did not wait anymore and kissed her, interrupting her. Serenity closed her eyes and let herself lose into the kiss, she felt his hands rest on each side of her face and his lips caressing hers, a very subtle and unique way. Her hands roamed through his midnight hair resting on the back of his neck; the prince moved his face and started to kiss her neck softly while she could not hold her tears anymore and started to fall silently from her beautiful eyes.

His arms encircled her, holding her close to him "Beautiful…" he whispered in her ear. Serenity smiled and rested her head on his chest for a moment, closing her eyes she heard his heart beating strong and smiled; raising her face she looked at him "Hi…"

Endymion flashed her a dashing and genuine smile "Hi" he said deeply, his voice filling her ears, enchanting her like he always did. Placing her hands on each side of his face, she looked at him straight in the eye and stayed silent for a moment "…I have longed to see your eyes…" she whispered and looked at his lips "…To kiss your lips…" blushing, she lowered her gaze "…To hear your voice…and your heart…I have missed you terribly…"

Endymion kissed her forehead and looked at her in the eyes "...My bunny" smiling he tried to hold the tears forming in his eyes "My beautiful bunny…I missed you too…"

Serenity held his hand and moved her face to look into his eyes, hers already shining with tears as well, Endymion wiped them off with the back of his hand "Don't cry…" he whispered, Serenity's grip on his other hand tightened and bit her lower lip "I was so afraid…"

Endymion tilted his head "Why?"

"That I would never see you again…"

The prince caressed her cheek softly and looked into her eyes "…Never, not even in a thousand years I would let that happen…it doesn't matter how much time we do not see each other, I will find you and you will find me…"

Serenity's lips trembled and nodded, lowering her head "You promise me that?"

"My dearest…" he placed his hand under her chin and lifted it "…I swear with my life that I will always be with you, no matter what" smiling, he moved closer to her again and kissed her softly on the lips. Parting a few millimeters from her face he frowned slightly "You escaped again…"

Serenity smiled softly and shook her head "Not this time…"

Endymion widened his eyes and moved a few inches back "You did not?"

The princess kept her smile and ran a hand through his hair, watching how his bangs fell on the same place every time she moved them back; she missed so much the feeling of his hair through her fingers, the sound of his voice and his hypnotic gaze "One of my guardians let me come…" sighing, she sat straight on the bed, still holding his hand "I am so sorry I took so long to come back…"

Endymion smiled softly "Beautiful there is nothing you should be sorry about…I knew something like this would happen…" sighing softly, he lowered his gaze "I won't lie…" he raised his head up again "…I was starting to lose my mind…"

Serenity ran her arms around his neck and took in the scent of his cologne, closing her eyes she kissed his neck softly, this time sending shivers all over his body, the motion was unexpected and surprising. Her hands caressed the back of his neck, lowering them to his back; she traced random patterns with her nails softly while she continued giving him butterfly kisses all over his neck and cheek.

The prince closed his eyes and smiled, this was a completely new thing for him being him always the one who made the first move for everything and he had to admit it, he liked it. This is all he wanted and all he needed, the woman, the great love of his life was there with him and nothing else mattered, not his headaches, not the fever he was sure he did not felt anymore, not his worries or obligations; right now he was not even Endymion but only a man deeply in love.

Running his hands around her shoulders, he moved them down her back as well and brought her closer to him. They did not need words to let each other know how much they missed being together. Serenity moved her face to the other side of his neck and continued kissing him softly only to stop a few seconds after and looked at him "…Dance with me" she whispered, rubbing her nose against his softly.

Endymion arched a brow, making her chuckle "Yes, dance with me…" she said before he could retort something making him widen his eyes slightly.

"I know you very well Prince of Earth" Serenity said playfully, her voice never rising but stayed as a whisper all the time. The dark prince smiled and kissed her hand "Of course you do Princess" standing up, he took her hand and both walked toward the balcony doors and looked outside, the soft light of the moon fell over them and as soon as the light reached her, she seemed to gleam softly; Endymion admired her and caressed her face "You are so beautiful…"

Serenity blushed and traced the line of his jaw with her finger "Would you stay with me forever?" she asked softly. The prince bent his head and caressed her ear with his lips "…I am yours Princess…" his warm breath made her close her eyes in bliss feeling fully complete and happy, the low sound of his voice seduced her and made her almost lose her mind, the effect he had on her was amazing and unexplainable.

They stood there, letting the soft light of the moon enlighten them. Endymion kept both hands on her lower back while Serenity encircled her arms or what she could around his neck, without any key or music the prince started to move slowly and in silence; Serenity smiled and rested her head on his chest and listened to the beat of his heart. Moving one arm away from his neck she caressed his face and looked up at him "…I missed this"

Endymion smiled and twirled her, making her back be against his chest; encircling his arms around her waist he gave her butterfly kisses on her ear "…Me too Beautiful"

His voice was low and husky, delicious was the correct term for her. It caressed her senses and drifted her to another time and to another place, the mix that made his body, warmth, scent and voice was pure perfection and bliss for her; there was no doubt she thought, that this man was the one for her, he was the only one that made her feel like a woman.

Lowering his head to her level, he traced the line of her delicate jaw with his lips until he locked his with hers in a passionate kiss; Serenity did not wanted to keep holding back her feelings and let herself go under the spell of his passionate love. Running her hands through his hair, they broke the kiss several times only to gasp for air before continuing kissing with much love and tenderness; Serenity's heart started to beat with a strong force, it was too much what she had in her chest, too much passion, too much love and too much excitement and happiness to see him, to be in his arms once again. Entranced by the passion of his kisses, by his strong hands roaming in her back, supporting her and giving her security she opened her eyes and parted a little breaking the kiss.

Endymion watched without saying anything; Serenity noticed his eyes turned into a deeper shade of blue, stormy but entrancing, captivating a shade she had seen before "Passion" she whispered.

"What?" he whispered back, the lunar princess smiled and pushed his bangs back "Your eyes…are expressing passion"

Endymion chuckled deeply and smiled, pushing her bangs aside he looked at her and sighed softly "As observant as always…"

"Only with you" she smiled and turned to look around and then back at him "You were you in complete darkness?"

Endymion answered with a smile and began dancing with her slowly "Because…I was trying to let my pain go…"

Serenity frowned and turned over her shoulder "Pain?"

Endymion kissed her bare shoulder and then her neck "I haven't been feeling very well all day…"

The princess turned this time and looked at him "Are you sick? Is there anything I can do to help you feel better?"

The prince encircled her waist with his arms and smiled softly "You already have Beautiful…" Serenity looked at him for a moment and bit her lower lip "Endymion…"

"Mmm?"

Serenity frowned and touched his face "Why are you so pale?"

Endymion frowned "Pale?"

The princess tilted her head "You look like you haven't slept well…"

Endymion sighed and stopped dancing with her, moving closer to the window he leaned on its frame; crossing his arms he turned to look at her "You know me too well Moon Princess…" lowering his gaze, he let out a soft chuckle and then looked at her "…And I cannot lie to you either, so I will tell you the truth"

Serenity looked at him with a puzzled expression "Truth?"

Endymion nodded "…Since you left with your guardians I tried to deal with the solitude and the desire to see you, many times I felt I was about to lose my mind…" he lowered his gaze "…Problems continued in the kingdom, so I focused on my work and stopped sleeping and eating well…I must confess that even with all the load of work and pendants, when I get to be alone here in my room your memory haunted my thoughts…" he looked at her again "I missed your voice…I missed your eyes…your laugh…I missed you terribly"

"Endy…" Serenity whispered "…Did you really suffered as much as me?"

"Look at me…I cannot function without you…I don't eat, I do not sleep…I do not feel alive when you are not around…I love you and being away from you is torture for me…But I knew that this was just only a test…I never gave up on us…I never gave up on you" he said softly. Serenity felt her eyes fill with tears and without hesitation walked over to him and hugged him "I did not either…" her tears started falling "I did not either…" she repeated in between sobs.

Endymion caressed her back softly "Beautiful…do not cry"

Serenity looked up at him "I cannot stand to know you suffered…"

The prince wiped the tears off her face with the back of his hand "Beautiful…I cannot stand to know you suffered as well, but this are trials and our love is too strong to overcome them…it hurts to be away from each other but we will be together one day and it will be forever"

"Forever…" she whispered, giving him a sweet look she smiled softly "…Love me forever Endymion" Endymion held her tight and lifted her looking into her eyes "…I will love you now and forever" he whispered, his lips caressed her cheek "I cannot be far away from you any longer…my soul reacts to you, my heart beats faster…I will never give up"

Serenity pressed her forehead against his and closed her eyes "Our hearts beat at the same time…I can feel it, nobody understands what we feel…"

Endymion smiled "Does it really matter?"

Serenity opened her eyes "What?"

"Everybody understanding _us…_what we feel?"

The princess smiled and shook her head "No?"

Endymion chuckled "No Beautiful…because, this love is something that it only concerns to us…something we only understand, something we nurtured all this time…"

Serenity encircled her arms around his neck "Yes…but, don't you think it would be nice to be accepted by our families and friends?"

Endymion smiled sadly "They will…you will see"

"How do you know?"

The prince bit his lower lip playfully, trying to lighten the mood "I just know my dear…I know it" and kissed her softly on the lips "You will see…" he whispered. Serenity smiled and let out a soft sigh of comfort and relief, because she was finally where she felt she really belonged.


	85. Chapter 85

**A/N:** Thank you so very much for all your support and reviews, last chapter was a lil' corny I was told, but, in the end it got good acceptance, thank you. Let's see how this chapter goes, I hope you all like it and of course, I am ready to listen to all of you, so, feel free to write me and speaking of writing, you can now follow me and my crazy thoughts via twitter, where you can know the status of the chapters, the story or just when I am in my artist mode. You are very welcome to follow me at carolinaisred :)

Well, I leave you now with the story, enjoy!

**p.s.** Things in my new home have been going ok, still is a challenge, I still haven't found what I am actually looking for but I hope to soon.

**p.s.2** Princesa de la Luna asked me if I had any drawings concerning the story...I do not actually, just sketches and I left them back at home since I did not bring most of my painting stuff, nor my scanner, but what I can do share with you (and this goes to everyone) is the soundtrack of the story (think of it as a series) with the music that inspires me to write, it is nothing to scandalous, just some good, indie, alternative and classic good tunes :)

_**I do not own sm, just this plot and some of the characters. T.K._

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter eighty five**

* * *

Beryl walked inside her room and started to take her jewelry off; tossing them over the vanity she walked immediately toward the large windows to look at the prince's windows to see if he was there and awake. After dinner time, she tried to go to that particular wing of the palace but was stopped by one of the guards.

Resting her hands over the cold crystal of the window, she looked at the balcony doors and watched the lit windows "You are there right now…" she whispered to herself "I wonder what you are doing right now…"

The young maid entered the room and closed the door behind her "Good evening Lady Beryl…"

Beryl's lips curved into a soft smile and looked over her shoulder "You are going to help me with that…"

"I beg your pardon My Lady?" the girl widened her eyes.

Beryl turned to look at her and then walked toward her vanity, taking a golden bracelet with rubies "…Do you know by any chance what the Prince might be doing right now?"

The young maid shook her head "No My Lady, he is probably working…like he always does"

Beryl bit her lip and frowned "Can't you go over there and investigate?"

"No My Lady…I am not allowed"

"Can't you ask one of the many servants in this palace?"

"What exactly is what you want to know My Lady?"

"What he does…who serves him directly…who he sees…everything"

The young maid lowered her head "My job only consists on serve the guests and Lady Aurea directly…she is the one who gives me my chores for every day…I cannot really help you on what you are asking for My Lady…"

"Why are you so afraid of telling me?"

The maid bit her lip and looked away, her silence gave Beryl a slight clue "You won't get caught…I already promised you that" walking over to her she turned her toward the mirror "Look at yourself…" she said softly "You are so young…wouldn't you like to be more than just a maid?"

"My Lady?"

"I was once in your position little girl, I was once a young girl with no purpose in life…but look at me now…" she walked over to her bed and sat "…I am the future Queen of this kingdom…" looking at the young maid she smiled "…And you can be my personal assistant once that happens…you will have the same position or even a better one than Lady Aurea…"

The young girl widened her eyes "Me? being like Lady Aurea?"

"Think about it…I am practically your new Queen…this is a win win situation…" Beryl smiled "Just tell me what I want to know about the Prince…and that it's all"

Isma, the maid; bit her lower lip in thought again and lowered her head "I…" she trailed off. Beryl arched a brow "You what?"

"I…" she trailed off again, making Beryl laugh softly "You are too innocent, that means…you do not want to really succeed…what a shame…you seem very smart but I think I will have to find another girl to…"

"…Megumi"

"What?" Beryl asked slightly surprised, the young maid raised her head and looked at her "The maid that serves the His Highness directly…is Megumi"

The redhead smiled widely "Megumi…now, that wasn't so hard…do not worry, she will never know you gave me the name…" standing up again, she walked over the window and looked outside "The bracelet is yours…you are excused…"

The maid widened her eyes and turned to look at the vanity and grabbed the heavy piece of jewelry, looking at the woman a few feet away from her, she bowed in respect and left the room. Beryl placed her hand again against the window and traced with her finger the lines of his balcony with the same desire she would have if she was with him "…I wonder what you are doing now…"

O.o.o.o.o.O

Endymion broke the kiss and walked over to his bed, holding Serenity's hand. The princess noticed something was different or strange with him that even thought she could tell he was as excited and happy as her still, there was something odd "You look tired…" she said softly.

The prince lowered his head and smiled softly "I am Beautiful…very much"

"You need to sleep"

"No my dear, I need more than that…" he said, looking at her again. Serenity frowned and tilted her head "What do you mean?"

Endymion sighed, running a hand through his midnight hair "This past few weeks have been very difficult to me…I've been working more than the accustomed and it finally took its toll" Serenity pursed her lips and crossed her arms, startling him "What?" he asked softly.

"I do not like to hear that…"

Endymion blinked a couple of times, still surprised by her serious pose "Beautiful…"

"No, do not beautiful-me… Endymion what you are doing it's not right! What kind of Prince you are, all sick and…" she trailed off and widened her eyes when she noticed him holding the urge to laugh, frowning she glared at him "Why are you laughing?"

"I am not laughing"

"Yes…you are"

"Serenity I am not laughing…"

"Then why are you smirking then?"

The prince frowned, trying to keep holding his laughter "I'm not smirking…"

Serenity sweat dropped, her frown deepened "You are a terrible liar…" Endymion lowered his head and started laughing; the princess let out a soft sigh "See how I was right?" Endymion looked up at her and continued laughing; Serenity tried to stand up but he held her hand, she turned to look at him without saying a word.

Endymion bit his lower lip for a moment and let out a soft sigh "Bunny, where are you going?"

"You are laughing at me!"

Endymion arched his brow and opened his mouth to speak but the princess spoke first "Do you think this is funny? You are sick! and you think this is funny…"

"I am not laughing at you"

Serenity frowned "Of course you are!"

The prince gritted his teeth and pulled her closer to him "Do not be silly my pulchra bunny…I am not laughing at you…I just…"

"What?" she said slowly. The prince kissed her hand "I just think you look incredibly adorable when you scold me"

Serenity widened her eyes "A-Adorable?"

Endymion kissed her hand again and looked at her "Yes, adorable" he stood up and looked down at her "I know all this is caused by no other but me, but there were so many things happening that I could not think of anything else…" he let out a sigh "…Thank you, for worrying about me" his voice turned softer, deeper and it was melting her heart; pressing her lips together she lowered her gaze "…I…" she trailed off and looked at him "…I would die if something happens to you"

Endymion frowned and held her close to him "Serenity…don't…"

"I swear I would die if something ever happened to you…" she whispered, tears falling from her eyes. The prince held her from her shoulders and pushed her away a few inches and looked into her eyes "Do not ever say that again"

"You are my life…" she whispered between sobs "And you are mine…but do not ever dare to say that again, ever" he said slowly, wiping her tears off her face with the back of his hand; sitting on the bed again still holding her hands he looked up at her "Serenity…" he said seriously, letting her know he wanted her to look at him.

"Nothing will happen to me…" he said slowly and narrowed his eyes slightly "…But in case something does…"

"Endymion…" Serenity felt her eyes fill with tears again, Endymion squeezed her hands with his a little interrupting her "In case something does happen, I want you to be safe..."

Serenity bit her lip for a moment and lowered her head "…I will be if you are…"

Endymion sighed and encircled his arms on her waist and leaned his head on her belly "…I will always find you Serenity…it does not matter how many lives we have to live…I will always find you…"

"Endymion..." Serenity breathed, looking down at him. Running a hand through his hair she smiled sadly "Love…"

"…Will keep us together" he finished her sentence. Serenity was about to sit next to him on the bed when a she heard a knock on his bedroom door, Endymion moved his head away from her and turned to the door silent.

"Your Highness?" he heard Megumi call from the other side of the door. Serenity widened her eyes and turned to look at Endymion who was already standing next to her, turning to look at her he caressed her cheek "I do not like to do this but, it's for your own safety…" he took her to the other side of the room to his walk in closet "It will only be for a moment love" Serenity looked at him and nodded, the prince bent and kissed her on the lips and walked toward the door, opening it "Yes Megumi?" she heard him say softly.

Serenity tried to peek, who this Megumi girl was and why he did not sound as serious and stoic as he always did with everybody else; biting her lip she frowned in thought and watched the prince walk back to his bed.

"I brought you your dinner Your Highness"

Endymion smiled and pointed his desk "Thank you Megumi…"

"Her Majesty asked for you…" she said softly, placing the silver tray over the wooden and elegant desk carefully. Endymion let out a soft sigh "Which Majesty?" he asked tiredly; Megumi turned to look at him and tilted her head "Both, but Queen Narella was more insistent, Your Highness"

Endymion let out a soft chuckle "Of course…" he started to walk toward one of the windows of his room "Did my mother asked why I was not present?"

Megumi nodded "Yes Your Highness but King Eros explained you were away in a meeting"

Endymion nodded "Thank you Megumi" he said softly, the young maid bowed her head in respect and looked at him "Is there anything else you need Your Highness?"

"No Megumi…you can go to sleep…thank you"

Megumi nodded and bowed again, turning on her heel she closed the door behind her; Endymion heard her closing the main door of his chambers and turned to look at Serenity who was already standing near the hearth "You lied…" she said softly. Endymion sighed softly "My father did it for me this time…"

Serenity frowned "Why?"

Endymion walked over to his bed and sat "I was not feeling well this morning…I had fever and a strong headache, when I went to this morning's meeting he noticed there was something wrong with me and asked me to rest for the rest of the day"

Serenity walked over to him but did not sit on the bed next to him, instead she looked at the tray over the desk with curious eyes; Endymion frowned slightly "What is the matter?"

"Aren't you going to eat it?"

"What?"

Serenity pointed the tray "That"

Endymion shrugged his shoulders "…I am not hungry Bunny…"

Serenity arched her brow "Have you eaten today?"

The prince widened his eyes "W-What?"

"You heard me…" she said softly, crossing her arms. Endymion sighed "…Not much"

Serenity walked over to the desk and watched the tray with covered plates and silverware and brought it over to the bed, placing it next to him she sat and looked at him "How are you going to feel better, if you are not taking good care of yourself?" she asked softly.

The prince smiled kindly and kissed her hand "Alright..." he sighed in defeat and looked down at the plates and lifted the silver lids that kept the food warm and intact while studying what was served. Serenity frowned slightly and tilted her head in curiosity.

Steam came from the food in one of the plates and reached Serenity's nose, endulging her with it's scent that to her it was nothing of what she expected. Biting her lip, she felt her stomach growl making a loud sound; Endymion widened his eyes and looked at her "Bunny...are you hungry?"

Serenity blushed "N-No..."

Endymion chuckled "If you are not hungry, then what was that sound?"

"I do not know...maybe an animal"

Endymion laughed this time "Yes...and I was born yesterday" said with a playful smirk. The princess blushed a deep tone of red and lowered her gaze; the prince lifted her chin and looked at her in the eyes "...I believe we can never lie to each other because we are terrible at it"

Serenity widened her pale blue eyes "...I"

Endymion smirked and arched his brow "Did you eat today?"

"I..." she trailed off and frowned, remembering she did not, letting a soft sigh she shook her head slightly "But, you are the one who is sick not me...and that is your meal not mine"

Endymion smiled, not moving his hand away from her chin "Bunny, this is too much food for me, I never eat it all, stop arguing and have dinner with me"

Serenity frowned slightly "But..."

The prince put his index finger on her lips silencing her "Just as much you worry about me I worry about you...you think I may have not noticed it but I can tell right away that you haven't eaten well either..." his voice turned into a soft whisper and moved closer to her "...Stop arguing and have dinner with me"

Serenity could get lost in those deep blue eyes, always holding truth and love just for her. She loved the way he looked at her, so different and passionate, she could tell. Smiling as a way of making a truce, she nodded and looked down at the plates; Endymion noticed her hesitation and frowned slightly "What is the matter?"

Serenity bit her lip and looked at him "Nothing...it is just that..." she trailed off pointing at the plate "What?" asked him puzzled.

"I do not know what is it"

Endymion blinked a couple of times and chuckled, Serenity frowned "Don't laugh at me"

"I am not laughing at you, but, why don't you better try it and then you can tell me if you like it or not"

"But I do not know what it is..." she said softly and slightly confused. Endymion smiled and picked his fork and rolled it through the creamy pasta and moved it toward her mouth "Open" he said softly.

Serenity widened her eyes and looked at the fork, Endymion arched his brow "If you do not like it, I'll let you spit it on my face"

The princess bit her lip before opening her pouty mouth and let Endymion feed her, the prince looked at her expectant, waiting for some kind of reaction from her while she on the other hand savoured the big difference between this food and the one she normally eats at home. It was something extraordinaire the amount of flavors, all alien to her indulging her senses, her small moment of bliss ended and swallowed her bite; turning to look at him she smiled shyly.

"I knew you were going to like it" he said softly and repeated the same action, this time taking himself the next bite. Serenity looked at him with curiosity "What is it called? What is it?"

Endymion swallowed and smiled "It's called pasta"

"...Pasta" she repeated softly and looked down at the large plate again "And what is this?"

Endymion smiled "That's a potato..." he pinched the small piece and gave it to her, she obediently opened her mouth again and savoured it's peculiar flavor and sandy texture, smiling she swallowed it "It's also good..." she giggled.

The prince smiled and gave her his fork, him taking the one used for salads "Here, have yourself"

Serenity smiled and took the silver fork, and tried to do the same movement he did on the pasta, failing in her attempt and started laughing at herself "I am terrible at this..."

Endymion chew his own bite of food and smiled once he swallowed "We all are at first...just, twirl it through the pasta like this..." he helped her rolled the fork catching all the spaguetti strings, Serenity chuckled "You have very strange but delicious food"

The prince chuckled "If this is strange for you, what do you eat then?"

Serenity stopped rolling the fork on the spaguetti and widened her eyes "Salads...fruits...soups...vegetables...there are certan messengers who brings all those things to us from Olympus..."

"Nothing grows on the moon?" Endymion asked, while bitting a piece of tomato, he preferred eating the chicken breast salad while Serenity ate the mushroom creamy pasta with vegetables. They were having their first dinner conversation together. After Serenity's first bite of terran food, they decided to sit on the floor near the hearth; the prince opened the bottle of wine Megumi left him and poured the deep burgundy liquid on the glass they both shared.

Serenity already mastered the spaguetti technique with the fork and shook her head "No..." she said softly.

"How does the moon looks like?" he asked, curious. Serenity smiled "Well...it's a peaceful place, we do have trees, water and wind, a gift from the Higher Gods..."

Endymion smiled at her "Must be beautiful..."

Serenity smiled widely "You will see it someday"

The prince chuckled "I would love to Bunny but I highly doubt it"

Serenity frowned "Why?"

"I am a mortal Beautiful...I cannot go there..." lowering his head, he pushed his empty plate aside and let out a soft sigh "How does this planet looks from the moon?"

Sereniy smiled "It looks like a blue crystal marble hanging in the sky"

Endymion smiled at her and put her also empty plate on top of his and pushed them aside and held her hand, intertwining his fingers with her "I feel like I am alive once again" he said softly, pulling her closer to him. Serenity smiled and turned to look at him "It has the same color of your eyes…"

Endymion gave her a smile, not just any smile but that particular smile that made her heart race. The smile that made her whole body feel like she belonged to him; she bit her lip softly and ran her hand through his midnight hair.

Endymion rested his forehead with hers and rubbed his nose against hers softly, closing his eyes for a moment, he let the sensation of completeness fill his chest and his heart. His smile widened with the sound of her voice "Your voice…" he whispered "So melodic…you are everything I need…" he opened his eyes and turned bluer "Everything I need…" he repeated "I want to love you forever…I just want to love you"

"Do you feel the same way I feel?" Serenity asked very softly, her breath caressed his face with tenderness, the flicker of the flames in front of them making playful patterns around the room. Endymion rubbed his nose against hers again and looked straight into her eyes "What I feel for you Serenity…it is so strong I cannot describe it…" his voice went deeper "…Forgive me My Goddess for I am just a simple mortal man…but a man deeply in love with you, and as such… there is nothing more I want but to make you feel my love"

Serenity felt her eyes fill with tears, how could a man like him love her so much? How come the gods above the mortals haven't noticed their sincerity and their kind hearts. How can they be so blind?

Her hands rested on each side of his face and searched for his lips, caressing them with hers slowly. Her teeth slowly started to bit his lower lip softly, allowing him to deepen the kiss. After a few minutes, Endymion parted and looked at her, his face turned serious startling her "Endy?" she called him softly, still feeling her lips numb for so much kissing.

"Beautiful, you have to be careful" he said, his tone serious and calm but still Serenity noticed a hint of worry. He was right in something, there was no other women besides his mother that knew him so well like her. She knew he had different smiles, she knew how to read his eyes, she could tell when he was upset, happy or in this case worried.

"I do not understand" she said.

The prince turned to look at the dancing flames inside the hearth "The earth is starting to speak again…this planet is feeling pain…I am feeling pain"

"What do you mean?" Serenity frowned.

Endymion let out a soft sigh "This happened before…" he lowered his gaze "You may think I am crazy…" he let out a soft chuckle "But…I feel like I have a connection to this planet…"

"A connection…" Serenity repeated.

Endymion narrowed his eyes "Since I was little, I could feel when a storm was nearby…when the ocean was uneasy, when a fire threatened the woods…when the ground is about to tremble and crack…I always knew when it was about to happen, like a premonition…" he turned to look at her "I can see things through the touch…I can feel, I can see…" he lowered his gaze and turned to look at the dancing flames again.

"That is how I know where you are, whenever you come here…I can feel you…"

Serenity looked at him surprised "You feel me?"

Endymion nodded "My heart starts to beat faster…it's a feeling in my chest I cannot describe…but, I know when you are here…" lowering his gaze he let out a soft sigh "…Obelix is the only one that knows…I remember hurting him several times without me really wanting to hurt him, there are times when I feel all this energy running through my veins reaching my fingertips, something I cannot really explain…and that with time I learned how to control with his help…"

Serenity widened her eyes in amazement, not only he was strong because of who he was but also because he had a gift "Your healing energy…" she said softly, the prince nodded and turned to look at her "I have always felt like there is something else about me…"

"Have you ever, talked to your parents about it?" she asked, curious.

Endymion shook his head "My father is a man of science, he believes there is always a main reason for everything; my mother…" he trailed off and sighed, Serenity narrowed her eyes and moved closer to him "What about your mother?"

Endymion hesitated a couple of minutes before starting to talk again "My mother is special…very special, I have always thought she was some kind of angel…" he turned to look at Serenity "Since I was little, I have felt she holds a secret…it was her who asked Obelix to train me first, she said I needed to learn how to pray and how to strengthen my heart and soul…but that was it" he smiled and bit his lip for a moment "You think I am crazy…right?"

Serenity shook her head "No…I don't" she lowered her gaze and held his hand with hers "You are very special" she looked at him "You have a wonderful gift…"

Caressing his face, she looked at him in the eyes "You are a true Prince of Earth"

Endymion gave her a sad smile, which she identified immediately "You are feeling…"

"Serenity, I do not know what it is…but it is intensifying…and whatever it is I don't want you to be hurt…I want you to be careful, very careful" he caressed her arm with his fingertips "I do not want anything happen to you…" he sat straight and ran his fingers over her face, closing her eyes "I will always do everything in my power to protect you…but if I am not near you…I want you to be careful…"

"Endymion…" she whispered, opening her eyes to see him "I do not want anything happen to you…"

"Nothing will happen to me beautiful…" he said softly, kissing her hand "Nothing will happen…"

O.o.o.o.o.o.o.O

"We must be alert"

"This is something that requires our full attention…"

Zeus frowned and looked at Poseidon "Has your daughter found anything threatening?"

The tall man with dark blue hair nodded his head and let out a loud sigh "Neptune saw a reflection in her mirror…but she cannot find what it is or who is causing it…"

"Mine, has been feeling something as well…" God Aeolus said "Uranus has been very impatient…"

In between of dark smoke, a man wearing black appeared. His deep colored eyes looked at the Higher God "It is something powerful…I can feel it"

Zeus turned to look at his brother "This could be the perfect timing…"

"For what?" Poseidon frowned, Hades walked toward them "Time for taking the lost crystal from its owner…"

"You know you cannot do that Hades"

All three men turned to look at Chronos standing near the door, next to him was a woman wearing a black dress with an old key shaped rod; Hades frowned "Chronos…" he muttered.

The man took several steps forward and stopped "You cannot even think of doing that"

"And why not? Its carrier is a threat anyways…"

"What you want is his soul…you want him…it's a trophy you want to acquire Hades, don't be so ambitious because you might get burned…"

Hades side smiled and crossed his arms "He is a threat"

"No, what you want to do is a threat. That crystal is not a toy…"

"And what about its vessel?"

Chronos frowned, Hades chuckled "Ah…I see, I hit a soft spot" the dark man turned his back on Chronos and started walking across the large room "You still have a soft spot for that traitor…"

"She is not a traitor" Chronos said, crossing his arms "You do not need to do what she did to be a traitor Hades…or have you forgotten where we live, who we are?"

Hades gritted his teeth "Can't you see there is something that threatens us?"

"You cannot fight against destiny Hades…"

Zeus frowned "Is the demigod the treat we are looking for Chronos?"

"You should have let me killed that bastard when he was born…his soul would be safe in the deepest of my palace in the underworld" Hades said in a cold voice.

"Hades!" Zeus said out loud, making the dark man turn "This is not about killing someone, it's about solving this issue…we have our well prepared senshi…" turning to look at Poseidon he nodded "We need to contact Ares and inform Serenity about this…"

"If we get hold of that crystal we can forget about all treats" Hades raised his voice, Chronos frowned "It's the ambition talking this time…and it is why I am letting it pass this time, but be sure that there will not be a next time"

"Why do you protect them so much?"

"He is the rightful owner of that stone; he is under the protection of Helios and he must be left alone" Chronos frowned and turned to look at Zeus "It is destiny taking its course"

"Can we prevent this destiny?" Zeus asked.

Chronos lowered his gaze for a moment "There are many keys to that door…whatever decision we all make can prevent it or make it happen quicker"

"We still haven't known who the enemy is…" Poseidon said with worry, looking outside the large window; Chronos narrowed his eyes and raised his head "Darkness will always follow the light…and light can only fight darkness…"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Zeus asked.

Chronos looked at the bearded man "The time for the strongest warriors in the universe to fight will come…"

"When?" Zeus asked "You know all, you know the course of destiny…"

Chronos let out a soft sigh; Hades frowned "I insist in gathering the crystal…that's our only hope for this problem"

"Killing it is not going to solve anything!"

"I will talk to Ares…and call for an audience with everybody to inform of this matter…until then, until we are sure where this is coming from, we are not to say a word" Zeus said, turning on his heel.

"Do you think nobody will wonder?" Poseidon asked "Brother, it is a dark shadow tainting the seas…my daughter has seen it. The talisman does not tell a lie"

Zeus turned to look at Poseidon and then at Hades "We must do whatever it takes to not ask your daughter to erase all madness…" Hades crossed his arms "Saturn is also sensing great danger…"

"We cannot let Saturn to use her staff…" Zeus let out a loud sigh "We are not to say a word about this until Ares gather more information…"

Chronos looked at Zeus "We must also look after Serenity and her daughter…"

"The jewels of this galaxy…" Poseidon said softly, lowering his gaze "The young Princess has senshi protecting her…"

"Still, whatever this is…we must strengthen the Silver Millennium and all Olympus…" Zeus said.

Hades turned to look at Chronos "I hope your daughter is well aware of her duty, outer senshi must not be allowed to leave their posts…their time to take charge is soon to come" turning to look at the young woman near the large door he grimaced "It is a shame really, to leave your beauty to solitude…" turning to look at Chronos he frowned slightly "Why did you bring her here?"

"She has to know everything in order to fulfill her duty" the man said with a deep voice; Hades turned to look at her again and narrowed his eyes "You are the one who will have to keep that being away from us"

The young woman widened her deep burgundy eyes in shock, Hades smiled slightly and turned to Chronos "Is she the one who will guide his soul to the underworld once he dies?"

Chronos narrowed his eyes "Why do you want his death with so much desire?"

Hades frowned "Have you forgotten his legacy? Have you forgotten the blood that runs through his veins?"

Zeus stepped down the stairs of the large room and walked over to Hades and Chronos, followed by Poseidon and Aeolus "Helios sealed that being in the deepest of your world…away from every possible living star, where silence is not an option…his seal is unbreakable"

Hades turned to look at Zeus "Brother, what makes us think that seal can't be broken, what makes us think his legacy can't be fulfilled?"

"I will call for an audience, but first I will talk to Ares"

"Where is he right now?" Aeolus asked "This a matter of great importance"

"I preferred to talk to you first…so we could know what to do from this meeting…even though Ares is a Polemarchos to Olympus and a High God, he is not in the same jurisdiction as us…" Zeus said slowly "I will talk to him, until then" he turned and disappeared in a flash of thunder, Poseidon nodded and turned to Aeolus "Their time to shine is soon to come" he chuckled; Aeolus chuckled and nodded "They couldn't pass unnoticed for too long…" Poseidon turned to look at Chronos and Hades "Until then" and both men disappeared.

Hades let out a soft sigh "You care too much for her, even after all this time…"

Chronos smiled sadly "I watched her grow; I watched her turn into the woman she is now…"

"A great warrior indeed but we must not forget everything that happened…" Hades narrowed his eyes "In these cases, the best thing we can do is to think as Gods and not friends or family…"

"She is a very important part of my life, I cannot…" Chronos trailed off; Hades gave him a sad smile "…I know"

Chronos looked at the man in black "Please, Hades…"

Hades pursed his lips "Chronos, that decision was already made…" he looked at the man in front of him and saw the hurt and hope in his eyes, what he was asking was clearly something important to him, he could tell. Chronos was not a god that somebody could break easily, in fact, to fight the Lord of Space and Time was not something anybody dared to do, not even him who was the Lord of the Dead.

Giving him the ghost of a smile, he nodded "You know better than me when it comes to this…I cannot deny you that" turning to look at the young woman he gave her the same smile "You have a great responsibility in your hands…do not be fooled by your heart…" he turned to look at Chronos and disappeared seconds after in a cloud of dark smoke.

Chronos looked out the massive window in front of him and let out a soft sigh, his knowledge of things sometimes was not something he wished to have; destiny was something that haunted him like a ghost and informed him of everything that could or could not happen. It pierced his heart, to know the faith in the stars and the faith of his loved ones.

"Father?"

"There are three rules you must follow as Guardian of the Gates of Time…" he said, not looking at the young woman standing a few feet away from him "One: You must never use the space time keys to your advantage"

"Two: You must never let anyone cross the Golden Gates of Time and Space…"

The young woman frowned, waiting for the man to speak again "And three?"

Chronos took a deep breath and let it out "Three" he turned over his shoulder "…You must never stop time"

"…Stop…time…"

Chronos smiled sadly and turned completely to look at his daughter; the soft cool light from the far sun illuminated the room, emphasizing her olive toned skin "My dearest daughter Pluto…you hold within your hands the true key of time…"

Pluto widened her eyes and looked at her garnet rod "Father…"

"Since you were born I knew, you were destined to be a senshi, the senshi of the underworld…the guardian of secrets…I knew you were the one who was to follow my steps and continue my legacy…"

"Father…what I just heard…" she said softly, Chronos smiled sadly "It's part of our past, it happened many years ago…"

"…Part…of your past…" she breathed, Chronos walked closer to her "Come…"

They both walked over to the large window; Pluto widened her eyes in wonder and amazement because of her first time being in a place so open and full of light. Since she was little and finished her training as a sailor senshi, Pluto was sent to guard the gates Chronos once kept safe. Her deep burgundy eyes watched with admiration every planet floating in the vast light blue sky full of clouds; but then she watched in wonder one in particular.

"Who is the woman, Lord Hades was talking about?" Pluto asked slowly, Chronos looked at the blue planet in the distance and let out a soft sigh "The woman that once protected that planet you see right now"

Pluto turned to look at her father with a puzzled expression "Did you love that woman?"

"I still love that woman Pluto…" Chronos answered softly, startling the young senshi "Just not how you think I do…"

"I do not understand" Pluto said.

Chronos never diverted his gaze from the planet in the distance and smiled "I am too old my dear, I watched that woman be born and grow…turn into a beautiful lady. She comes from a family of warriors…Helios as her mother's father, her father and her brother…"

"Lord Helios…" she said in amazement.

Chronos nodded "Helios always looked at her as his privileged, his golden child and truly believed in her enormous capacity to learn how to be a warrior; her older brother noticed it and that is where all began" letting a soft sigh he continued, closing his eyes he started remembering the events "He was a superb warrior, as good as Ares, everybody was certain that he would be the next Polemarchos…a true promise and a very good match to every woman, tall, lean, dark hair, piercing eyes…" he trailed off and took a breath.

"What happened to him Father?" Pluto asked softly; Chronos turned to look at his daughter and shook his head slightly "We still do not know what happened; envy and jealousy started to overcome him…he wanted more power and because he knew he could have it just with a flick of his hand he desired the ultimate source of it…The Golden Crystal…"

Pluto widened her eyes "The Holy stone you were talking about minutes ago…"

Chronos nodded "The stone with all the power of the sun…its force is extraordinaire and it is the only stone that chooses its carrier or better said its protector and he wanted to be chosen…because that would make him the protector of the sun and earth combined…but Helios noticed it, and so Geb and Nut…by the time they wanted to control him it was already too late, he was ready to fight his own linage…his own family. _He _joined forces with a dark witch known as Metallia and began a war against all of us, hurting his own parents and threatening his sister's life…that is when Zeus, Poseidon, Aeolus, Hades and I joined forces to seal him in the deepest of the underworld..."

Pluto gasped softly, bringing one hand to cover her mouth "That is the seal…" Chronos nodded, Pluto bit her lip and looked at her father "And…what happened to the little girl?"

"After the war ended, Helios was already a High God…and the time to give the crystal a new protector came, choosing her. Against her mother's wishes she was trained by Ares to become a true protector making her the earth goddess, years passed and she grew up to be a beautiful woman…desired by too many and dear friend of the lunar goddess, her mother's wish was her to be a bride, marry a good suitor and to have her own family, to bring a new heir to continue with the legacy so she could stop playing the role of two…she never thought love could find her one unexpected day; she lived on earth and on earth found her match…" the man bit his lip for a moment and turned to look at the blue planet "…She broke one of the most important rules of this realm by falling in love with a mortal, with time, Metallia found out about it and accused her of being a traitor, proving her words true she was stripped of her title and was sent to earth to live as a mortal being with a sentence of return but as a spirit only to be sent to Hades' kingdom in the land of the forgotten…"

"That is…" Pluto trailed off and closed her eyes, holding her urge to start crying "…So cruel…she just…" she trailed off, feeling a lump in her throat she opened her eyes and looked at her father but before she could say anything Chronos continued "She married her mortal prince and began living a life as a mortal queen, Metallia could not bear to see her being happy and fought her but did not count that she took the crystal with her so put a seal on her, saving the planet from destruction…time after she found out she was expecting her first child and gave birth to a healthy boy…"

"Lord Helios has a great grandchild…" Pluto whispered and widened her eyes "Is that…" Chronos nodded "Since the moment he was born, he was chosen to be the next protector of earth, who with time turned out to be a superb warrior, and now a Polemarchos…"

"…Why does Lord Hades want his soul?"

Chronos sighed "He thinks he is the reincarnation of the man they sealed many years ago…he believes that a demigod should not have the power he has…he considers him a threat, and since he has killed many in a blink of an eye he was started to be called the assassin or the monster…"

"The myth is true then, but just not what everybody thinks…" Pluto said softly "…Father, is this man…really the monster Lord Hades thinks he is?"

"He has the same passion and conviction his mother had when she was his age, when she was a warrior…" he lowered his gaze "I am certain that he is not the threat they think he is…although, he has prohibited to cross to this realm…"

Pluto widened her eyes slightly "…Why are they so afraid of him?"

"He is a legend, a living myth…he has the power to fight Ares and even Zeus with a great chance of winning…although Zeus and the others do not share Hades' thoughts, they do think he is dangerous and because of his mother's decisions, the contact between earth and this realm is prohibited…" Chronos started to walk toward the door when Pluto turned to look at him "Father…"

Chronos stopped and turned over his shoulder, Pluto walked over to him "Something is going to happen am I correct? This unusual energy is changing the course of time…"

"Nothing is changing anything my dearest daughter; it is only destiny doing its work…" Chronos smiled at her sadly.

"Your smile tells me otherwise…" Pluto said softly, startling her father "I can see the pain in your eyes, the worry in your heart…why don't you tell me father, perhaps I can be of assistance…maybe I can help you…"

Chronos shook his head "Pluto, I won't deny my troubled heart…I am worried about her, I always loved her as a little sister…even now that she has a good guardian with her, if something happens…it could affect her even more than us because she no longer is under the protection of Olympus or the Silver Millennium…Earth is a planet everybody would like to govern because of its capacity to self sustain and because of the incredible amount of living energy in it…"

"The disturbance in time…"

"It could affect all of us dear, but…" the man trailed off "You have to promise me, that as a Guardian of Time you are not going to break those three rules…if you ever fail the third rule…" Chronos trailed off and took a deep breath "Your life will cease to exist…and, before a guardian, before a senshi you are my daughter…and I do not want anything happen to you…you have to promise me that…"

"Father…"

"Promise it Pluto…"

Pluto looked at her father with sadness and worry. She never doubted the love he had for her, he trusted her but it was very rare to see him act like a father more than a High God. This time, his eyes were shining with tears of worry and love, the eyes of a loving father, her, loving father.

"I promise Father…"

Chronos regained his serious demeanor and opened the large doors of the room; Pluto started walking but stopped before she could pass him "Father…you never told me his name…"

Chronos frowned "Who's' name?"

"The name of the man you sealed…"

"His name is not to be repeated, by Zeus' orders…" Chronos said slowly, Pluto pursed her lips "And the name…of him, the demigod…do you know it?"

Chronos smiled "Curious little girl…" he nudged her pointy nose and started to walk out of the room, Pluto followed "Father…"

"You will know it in time…"

"What do you mean papa?" she asked, now in a more lovingly manner; Chronos smiled at the sound of the simple and yet wonderful word "Things happen for a reason my dear…that man, was not born to be forgotten, you will know who he is one day…"

O.o.o.o.o.o.O

Athamas was sitting on his desk reading some papers when a very hurried Kilmakos entered; closing the door behind him and startling the blonde man in the process "Don't you know how to knock?"

Kilmakos widened his eyes en bowed in respect "Forgive me, General…"

Athamas frowned "Why are you panting?"

"I was running…I had to inform you something that might be very important"

The blonde's frown deepened and let out a sarcastic chuckle "How many times did you see Serenity cry this time over this man who, by the way…still do not know who the hell he is?"

"It is not about Princess Serenity this time General…"

Athamas rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth "Even worse…you are not doing the job I asked you to do…"

"God Ares is here"

Athamas stayed silent for a moment, digesting the news "What?"

"God Ares…"

"I heard you well" the blonde waved his hand "My question is, what for?"

Kilmakos shrugged his shoulders "I just saw him enter the study where Queen Serenity is at this precisely moment"

Athamas let out a loud sigh and stood up, bringing a hand to his chin in thought he imagined all the possible reasons of why the Lord of war could be there visiting the queen; widening his green eyes slightly he turned to look at Kilmakos, who was still standing in the same place "If I learn that you left any lose strings in our plan…I swear I will…"

"General I did…not" Kilmakos stuttered a little "I have been doing a good job"

"Oh, is that so?"

"Of course, everything you have asked me to do I have done it perfectly" Kilmakos said slowly.

Athamas arched his brow and started to walk around him "Right, and if that is correct then tell me soldier…who is the man Serenity is crying over hmm?"

Kilmakos widened his eyes "I-I…do not know General"

"You do not know…" Athamas repeated softly "…And tell me, where is he from?"

"I…"

"Where did Serenity go all this time?"

"…"

"How did she manage to escape in the first place?"

"…"

"Have you continued gathering energy from the mortals?"

"Um…"

"Did you already _killed_ the monster?"

"General…"

"ANSWER ME!" Athamas raised his voice and arms in anger, scaring the soldier "General…" Athamas turned and grabbed him by the collar and looked at him straight in the eye "If I happen to learn that you have left our plan slightly uncovered…If I find out that Ares is here because of something you did wrong…I swear to you that…"

A knock came on the door and opened seconds later "General" a guard said slowly. Athamas let go of Kilmakos and turned to look at the man standing several feet away from him "Yes?"

"Her Majesty the Queen has requested to see you, immediately"

Athamas swallowed strong, for the first time in his life probably he was feeling threatened and, scared for not knowing what to do. Something was not right with the visit of the Lord of war, more less of this unexpected call, something was happening, something was changing and change was something he could not manage right now, not ever.


	86. Chapter 86

**A/N:** I know, it's been a while since I last posted but trust me, it is not because i have given up the story. I try my best to find my time to write, I have everything in my mind i just need to put my fingers and my imagination to work ;)

I hope you like this chapter :) as always, i am very grateful, and i love reading your reviews. It means a lot to me. Thank you.

**I do not own sm, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter eighty six**

* * *

Athamas walked down the hall and waited for the guards open the study doors for him; Kilmakos joined him this time but as soon as he was about to enter Artemis blocked his way "The occasion requires only the General's presence"

The blonde general turned to look at the soldier and nodded his head "Continue doing your duties" the soldier nods his head and turned on his heel, Athamas turned to look at Artemis and frowned "What is happening?"

Artemis stepped aside and let the blonde general walk into the room, as soon as he entered his green eyes widened by the image of the God of War, Ares. This would be the first time he'd see a god in person "Your Majesty" he bows in respect, waiting for an answer of Queen Serenity.

"So you are the famous Lunar Commander…" Ares said slowly.

Athamas felt his heart race at the sound of the god's deep voice, could it be that he already found out about his plans to conquer the moon kingdom and the power of earth?

"Rise, Commander so I can see your face" Ares said; Athamas immediately obeyed. Ares narrowed his eyes and turned to Queen Serenity "Are you positive he is well prepared for the task?"

"Task?" Athamas asked with confusion, Queen Serenity pursed her lips "I believe that it is crucial for you to be present, now that you are our army's commander it is important for you to know the treats and challenges this position presents" turning to look at her long time friend, the queen frowned slightly "Tell us the truth Ares…"

Ares leaned on the marble desk behind him and crossed his arms "The Higher Gods have been sensing a strange and very strong energy around us…it might be dangerous"

Serenity widened her eyes and so Artemis "Energy?"

Ares sighed and nodded, looking at the man in white "We are recommending taking extreme safety measures…"

"Who is the responsible behind all this?" the lunar queen asked with worry. Ares shrugged his shoulders "We do not know yet…but it is strong, and we cannot let our guard down"

Artemis frowned and remembered Venus' questioning about the shadow covering the sun and somehow everything made sense "Strong energy...are planets being in danger?"

"The whole galaxy Artemis and if we are not careful, it will be the whole universe…we do not know who is behind all this and what it is aiming for but, we must be alert and prepared" he turned to look at Athamas "This is the task I was mentioning before, as the High Commander of this army, you must be alert and prepare your soldiers to attack…"

"Right" Athamas bowed his head.

"Have you thought of a strategy for these matters?" Ares asked, startling the general "Strategy…" he repeated, but as soon as he noticed the High God's face he lied "Yes, I have…although it might need some modifications, is there more information that could help me…"

"…That is your job soldier, not mine" Ares responded dryly, interrupting him "You should know that by now"

Athamas widened his eyes and hesitated for a moment "But if…"

"You claim to be a great soldier General, for a man who is in charge of the Andromedian and the Lunar Army this kind of tasks are normal"

"Ares, the lunar army haven't fought in too many years…since Athan…" Queen Serenity tried to defend the blonde man; Ares turned and raised his hand "If he is a soldier, he has to understand this…this is another test to prove if he can be suitable for a title as Polemarchos"

Turning to look at the blonde man again, he frowned "I suggest you put your protection plan to work"

Athamas nodded "Right away"

Ares turned his back on him and walked over to one of the many windows of the study, Queen Serenity knew Ares extremely well, being friends for so long gives her the authority to know exactly when he does not want to keep talking to someone, in this case a subordinate. Talking to a god was a privilege, and to Ares' eyes Athamas was taking more of the ones he had to have.

Queen Serenity turned to look at Athamas "You are excused General"

Athamas nodded and bowed deep in respect, without saying another word he walked over the large doors and waited for them to be opened and left the study, leaving Ares alone with Serenity and her two advisors.

"You are too harsh Ares" the queen said.

Ares turned over his shoulder and frowned "If he is a real soldier, he should know we warriors are not here to establish a friendly relationship"

"Why don't you trust him?" Serenity asked.

"Why do you?" Ares turned completely, startling her and her advisors "Why do you trust this man so much?"

"He has proven to be a good soldier, he has defeated many enemies in the past and he is the man qualified to be with my daughter"

"Your daughter needs to be with a stronger being not with him…" Ares walked toward her and looked her straight in the eyes "Your daughter is a light of hope, the jewel of this universe…nobody can match her beauty and purifying power. The silver crystal needs to be protected, she needs to be protected by a stronger being not an inferior like him…"

"He is qualified Ares…he is well prepared and I truly think he can become a Polemarchos"

Ares let out a soft chuckle "We are talking about this, in front of them because they have been part of this story for so many years…Artemis won't let me tell a lie, for he is a man close to warriors"

Queen Serenity turned to look at Artemis "Do you share the same thoughts Artemis? Do you think the General is not qualified to be in our army?"

Artemis hesitated for a moment "Her Majesty chose him to be our leader; I can't go against your command Your Grace"

"Face it little flower…you want Athamas to be with your daughter because you want your own story to repeat itself and to actually work this time, you want to see your own story with a different ending, a happy ending…but the truth is otherwise" Ares let out a soft sigh "I am so sorry to be this direct…"

Queen Serenity lowered her head "Athan was a good man" she whispered.

"You knew very well who he was Serenity…" Ares moved her chin up with his finger "You knew, he failed you…after everything he did to you, you still forgave him…"

"Because I loved him" the queen said softly, in the verge of tears "I loved him Ares…he is the father of my child, of my jewel…he died protecting us from Nehelenia…"

"You are living the past all over again little flower…"

Queen Serenity frowned "And what about you?"

Ares turned to look at Artemis and Luna "Could you give us a moment?" both mauians nodded and left the room, leaving the two monarchs alone. Ares turned to look at Serenity again "What about me?"

"You are still in love with Gaia, isn't that live the past as well?" Serenity asked.

Ares closed his eyes and lowered his head slightly "I never married Gaia, she did not chose me…" Queen Serenity frowned "But you married Eris to fill the vacant space Gaia left in your heart…you wished time could go back to when she was here and try to win her heart again…" the queen walked away from him over to the living room "…But what makes you so different from Athan then Ares? You broke her heart as well, many many times…with the woman you ended up marrying…you betrayed her by going down there to fight her…"

"I was blinded Serenity, I know I hurt her and I would give anything in my power to see her at least one more time, to ask her to forgive me…" Ares closed his eyes and pursed his lips for a moment "…Do you think I feel alright, knowing her faith? To know what will happen to her as soon as her soul leaves her body?"

Serenity felt her eyes fill with tears, Ares put his hands on her shoulders "Serenity, I know you have always thought who would be better for your daughter…"

The queen widened her eyes "Ares…"

"But it is him the one the rest of the gods are doubting…"

"What do you mean?" the queen frowned.

Ares sighed and sat on one of the chairs "They are suspecting it has something to do with…_him" _

"What? That is impossible! He was sealed away…you fought in that war, you fought against him…" Serenity said wide eyed "And…what him has to do with…"

"He is part of that legacy; the gods truly believe he has the same power he had…and that he might use it against us"

Serenity shook her head and walked over to a window, looking at the blue planet in the distance she shook her head again in denial "It is impossible…"

"He is considered a monster, an assassin…remember that"

"But because Gods have sent them many kinds of trials…on earth there are many enemies, they are a complete nation…and unlike us, they protect themselves…" the queen said softly.

"Zeus personally has given me the task to investigate this matter, being in my jurisdiction I have to pay close attention to him…" Ares said.

The lunar queen let out a soft sigh and sat on a chair across the man with golden armor "…Are you going to search for her as well? Are you going to talk to her?"

Ares shook his head "I cannot…I can no longer be close to her…"

"Do you really think he is the reason of this danger?"

The lord of war shook his head "My daughter…has asked me before if I ever heard about a shadow covering the sun…" Queen Serenity widened her eyes "A shadow…Artemis asked me that as well"

Ares rested his elbows on his knees and let out a loud sigh "Mars is very intuitive…and I trust her"

"Of course" Serenity said softly.

"…She mentions a shadow, sun spots…like a disease, covering the sun…"

"The sun…" she trailed off widening her eyes "If the sun is threatened by darkness then, why would they or him in that matter be the treat?"

"I do not know little flower, Hades is anxious and he wants his soul in the underworld…"

"But, Chronos would never allow it, I would never allow it" Serenity frowned "Ares…"

"That is why, I am asking you to keep a close eye on the General…what is threatening us is not a game, it is not an enemy we should just ignore, we do not know who it is or what it wants…you need to protect your daughter…" Ares said slowly.

"The senshi are with her, your daughter is a superb guardian"

"Mars has been feeling very anxious…she has too much in her mind, she won't tell me but, I know it is because of her visions and because of the problems between her mother and I"

"Are you still having problems with Eris?" Serenity asked with sadness in her voice; Ares nodded and sighed "I will always have problems with her…"

"Are they because of Gaia?"

"Because of everything…"

Queen Serenity lowered her gaze for a moment, before going over to him. Sitting on a chair next to him she placed her hands over his "Ares…you need to see her, so you can finally let her go"

"I can't Serenity…" Ares looked at the lavender haired goddess, they both felt like years hadn't pass by, just like they were the beings they were before they turned who they were now. The blonde man lowered his head "…Going there will only bring her problems…and she already has too many…" Serenity noticed a tear rolled down his cheek "Ares…" she whispered.

"Her body is too fragile…"

Serenity lowered her gaze "…Do you know when…"

"…No" Ares looked at her, not hiding his tears "But…Hades is already waiting for her…"

The lunar queen held Ares' hand with force "Her body may be fragile, but I know her soul is still the same…and, you told me once, that I should not have to worry for she has the best guardian of all"

"And she does…but he won't be able to save her from her destiny"

Queen Serenity sighed and stood up "I do not know how Hades will act…I do not know if he will hurt her, if he…" she trailed off and took a deep breath "If he is the one who is going there personally to take her life…"

Ares lowered his head "I think that is possible"

"Is there…" Serenity asked softly but stopped, startling the man in gold "Little flower?"

Queen Serenity turned to look at Ares "…Any way we could save her?"

Ares stood up and ran a hand through his sandy blonde hair "I do not know little flower, that is not my jurisdiction…" he walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder "Little flower, our past…our lives is something we cannot change…we have a family now, each and one of us and we have to look over them, that is why I ask you to think carefully who do you want for your daughter…"

Serenity stood up and looked at Ares in the eyes "He has shown nothing more but education and preparation…"

Ares crossed his arms "Is he really the man you always wanted for her?"

The queen turned her face to the side and sighed "No…" she turned to look at him again "…But he is the second best"

Ares chuckled "There is no second best little flower…at least with the one you thought for her, there is no second best…" patting her shoulder he smiled sadly and started walking over to the door, startling her "Where…?" she trailed off.

"I have to leave…I still have a meeting left…" he sighed and shrugged his shoulders "These things never end"

Queen Serenity smiled "I remember when you used to come here just to chat…"

Ares chuckled "That and to see if your lovely friend was around…"

"And you always got lucky"

"Of course" Ares smiled "Think about it little flower…" waving his hand, he turned on his heel and left the room. Queen Serenity stared at the large doors and let out a soft sigh "My dear daughter…" she whispered.

O.o.o.o.o.o.O

"Argh…" Athamas stumped the door behind him and leaned on his desk "Damn you God…" he muttered with rage and looked down "I am a worthy, not only worthy but superb warrior, a soldier…the next Polemarchos!"

Kilmakos opened the door behind him "General?"

"What are you doing here? I thought you were going to continue doing what I ordered you to do!" Athamas grumbled; Kilmakos widened his eyes and jumped a little bit "Um, yes, I was General but…Princess Serenity seems to be locked in her chambers again"

"Locked?"

Kilmakos nodded "Sailor Mars has been there all night and now this morning…she hasn't come out of there…"

"I see…"

"What should I do?"

Athamas frowned and shook his head in annoyance "What? Do you think I am here to solve all your problems, that is your job! If you can't do it I will send you to the dungeons to watch some dying spirit…"

Kilmakos widened his eyes in shock "No, please…anything but the dungeons"

"Then do your damn job!"

"Y-Yes…General"

"Have you collected more energy?"

"Y-Yes…I sent some men to gather more, but it's becoming more difficult, he has planned a good security strategy…"

"Strategy…" Athamas repeated softly, thinking in what Ares told him minutes ago. They were talking like if they were referring to somebody in particular, maybe him, he did not know but he wanted to so he could smash him as well just like he planned to do it with all the mortals and it's prince.

"I have to crush him Kilmakos, I have to crush him and anyone who crosses in my way…"

Kilmakos bit his lip and lowered his head "It is becoming too dangerous General…"

Athamas frowned and turned to look at him "Not if I have the beautiful Princess with me…" he gave the short man a devilish smile and turned to walk toward his desk "You have no idea of how much I want her…of how much my hands want to roam her small and fragile body…"

"But…Her Highness is not close to being fragile…" Kilmakos said.

Athamas turned to look at him "Serenity is like a flower petal; soft, delicate…enchanting, with an exquisite aroma…pure…but with a change she can break into tiny little pieces, that is why she has been in her room all this time, because she is broken…" his face changed to a one more frightening "…Because she cries over a man who I do not know who he is…"

"General…" Kilmakos tried to excuse himself again.

"I SHOULD BE THE ONE SHE IS CRYING OVER NOT ANOTHER MAN!" Athamas grabbed him by the collar again, scaring him "General…please" the soldier looked Athamas into his green eyes and noticed they no longer held sanity in them but only madness, his pupils dilated as his frown deepened and as he heard his teeth grit he tried to free himself from his strong grasp "General…"

"The Princess will be mine…" he said in a very low voice "…And I will be King…and when I do, things are going to change around here…" his lips curved into an evil scary smile, Kilmakos widened his eyes in fright and managed to free from Athamas' grasp; Athamas started laughing uncontrollably scaring the soldier even more.

There was nothing left, not a single trace of the man he knew and admired back in Andromeda. He remembered, as he looked at the man throwing things from his desk while laughing when he was just a soldier; Athamas in his old days was a well educated and well prepared man, just like the queen often says. He was known to be a very skilled swordfighter and to hold the dream to become a Polemarchos.

Of course, like any other soldier before that he was a man and many women slept in his bed but his conviction into turning a warrior remained strong. He remembered, admiring the lunar king of that time, King Athan a man who practically had the same life Athamas had, how he rose from the bottom and became a warrior, then King by enchanting the Lunar Princess.

Athamas wanted the same destiny King Athan had and he was on his way to achieve it, having many recognitions and honorable titles in the military rank, he became General and with that became the head of the andromedian army once they all knew their king and commander had passed away. Athamas' plans started to work just as he thought they would be, he was accomplishing every goal he planted in the beginning, being the son of a servant and a low ranked soldier to being the man he turned out to be was more than he could ever think of, until he heard of _him._

_Him_. The man with the mystery life, the man who was raised and trained to be a warrior; the man who sent souls to the underworld continuously. The man the Gods constantly monitored and that with time they called ''the assassin, the monster or the most heard and common: the warrior prince"

Something in Athamas' mind flickered, like a spark and so his ambition started to grow. By the time Kilmakos finished his training and was chosen to be at the general's service, with all the illusion of finally meet the man who was following the fallen king's steps.

He remembered his always convenient points of view and plans, he actually enjoyed being at his service because he never lost focus, his goal was set and he was sure he would be a true Polemarchos one day; but the ambition and the desire of being the only one was starting to eat him alive, the rumors of the 'monster's achievements' were more and more constant and so it is where all it began.

One day he was a fine soldier, the next day he was an ambitious man, starved for power. At first, Kilmakos did not know why Athamas was so interested in taking so much energy from the planet everybody knew it was forbidden to visit, then he learned it was his strategy to 'destroy' the 'monster' then, it was because he simply wants to rule everything. When Athamas met Princess Serenity, at first he was enchanted, marveled by her extraordinaire beauty but being a man who always could get what he wanted and who he wanted took the noble princess for granted and continued bedding a mistress he had back home, he felt safe and he felt his plans were going right on track but everything changed the moment she decided to cut him off her life.

Now that Princess Serenity did not want him but clearly somebody else and that Artemis is starting to question his methods and that he was still trying to break the 'monster' his ambition only grew and turned into what it seemed pure possession and madness.

"General…"

Athamas stopped laughing abruptly and turned to look at him, still with an insane expression "You are going to do what I ordered you to do…and be sure that if you fail…I will send your useless soul to the underworld so it can be eaten by the ones in pain…"

Kilmakos' eyes widened "No, General please…"

"I am the High Commander of this Army and the Andromedian as well…soon to be married to Princess Serenity and King of the Silver Millennium" he turned to look at the soldier "You better do right your job…"

Kilmakos bowed his head and turned to leave; closing the door behind him he leaned on it and took a deep breath "What happened to you General…it is like I do not know you anymore…"

In the spacious white room, Sailor Mars was lying on the Princess bed when she noticed it was already morning; scared and almost frantic "Oh no…Princess" she moaned with worry.

"Do not worry Mars…"

Mars widened her eyes and turned to see Princess Serenity sitting in her vanity chair, combing her washed hair; sitting on the bed she rubbed her eyes "I…" she trailed off.

Serenity smiled "I came in the time you asked me to…but I saw you deeply asleep that I did not want to wake you up…"

"I…I was so tired…I was awake, waiting for you but…"

Serenity turned to look at herself in the mirror and continued brushing her hair "I also fell asleep…if it wasn't for Endymion, I would still be there…"

Mars widened her eyes "He…he sent you back?"

The princess nodded and turned to look at her "He knows you are only trying to protect me, he understands…you really have a very different concept about him, he sent me back against my own wishes…"

Mars stood from the bed and walked over to her; taking the brush from her princess' hand she started brushing it "I believe I will have to thank him…I know that you would have stayed there…probably forever"

Serenity blushed and lowered her gaze, Mars noticed it and smiled "Thank you Princess"

Serenity widened her eyes and looked at her through the reflection "For what?"

"Turning back home…" Mars smiled sadly "I know how much you wanted to see him…"

"I made you a promise Mars…" Serenity said softly "…I thank you for letting me go and see him…it meant too much for both of us…"

"Princess…" Mars stopped brushing Serenity's hair and crouched in front of her, placing her hand over hers "You are conscious this might not repeat again…right?"

Serenity widened her eyes; Mars noticed how her breathing started to speed up "Princess…"

The princess lowered her head and closed her eyes "I know…Mars" she said softly as a whisper. Mars looked at her sadly, it was no secret now that her princess could not see anybody else when she knew her heart belonged to somebody else, it was a sad picture.

Serenity raised her head and looked at her "One day…we will find our way to be together…one day…"

"Princess…"

Serenity shook her head "It does not matter how many years will have to pass…we will be together, one day…"

Mars sighed and lowered her gaze "I'm so sorry Princess…"

"Princess"

Serenity and Mars turned to look at Venus standing near the door, the blonde turned to look at Mars who was still crouching next to their princess; Mars stood up and nodded, letting her know she did went to earth and went back as they agreed. Venus walked over to Serenity and ran her arms around her "I am so glad you are here…"

Serenity smiled and returned the hug, after all their arguments and constant fighting she knew everything she did was only to protect her, it hurt her not being able to be with her prince but she knew that Venus was aware of how important he was to her and even though she did not agreed their relationship if it wasn't for her she would have not being able to go and see him again.

Mercury smiled and nudged Jupiter as a sign of happiness; Jupiter smiled widely and turned to look at Mars, nodding she returned the warm smile. It seemed that after the storm it was finally time for the sun to come out.

"I was worried that you wouldn't want to come back" Venus said softly.

Serenity smiled "I know that…what you did was a great effort, I know how difficult it must have been for you…and you still let me go to see him…"

Venus held her hands "Was he happy to see you?"

Serenity smiled "Very much…"

Venus turned to look at the rest of the girls "You proved us that we can trust you…"

Serenity frowned slightly "What?"

"We had a little talk…and we thought that maybe…we could find a way so you can see him maybe once a week…" Venus said slowly, Serenity widened her eyes in shock "…Venus"

Venus smiled softly and turned to look at Mars who was now standing next to her, Jupiter and Mercury joined them as well; Serenity smiled widely and hugged the girls "Thank you so much…thank you…"

"But there is one condition…" Venus said.

Serenity moved away from Jupiter and looked at the blonde "What is it?"

"You are not going alone" Venus turned to look at Mars "One of us will be going with you…"

"But…" Serenity trailed off "It is dangerous for you…to…"

"It is more dangerous for you than for us…even though the risk is the same, since we all are part of this realm…if the Higher Gods find out about this, we are doomed" Jupiter said.

Mars put a hand on her shoulder "I am sure that he will understand, just as he did when he sent you back home…"

"It's his guardians the ones we should be also worrying for…" Jupiter said.

"But that it is why she will not go alone" Mercury joined the conversation "If they are as prepared as they claim to be, they should understand…"

"Girls…" Serenity breathed. Venus took her hand "Princess…we do not know how long we are going to let you do this…eventually, this affair of yours will have to come to an end…but in the meantime, we do not want to see you depressed…"

"The Queen is starting to suspect" Mercury said softly.

"…And not only the Queen, Athamas as well…" Jupiter said, turning to look at Mercury.

"…Athamas" Serenity widened her eyes and turned to look at the girls "He…"

"He could never win against Athamas Princess…that is why we need to be together…" Venus said softly. Serenity lowered her head "Athamas is going to keep pursuing me…"

"He is determinant"

"He has been acting very strange lately…" Jupiter said, while sitting on a cushion chair next to a window. The girls frowned and followed her, sitting either on the bed or the floor just like in the old times when they spent their afternoons talking about everything and at the same time about nothing.

The three girls sat on the bed, next to Serenity "Athamas has been acting strange since he started living here…" Mars said "It is strange…"

"He probably realized the mistake he committed when he decided to ask for some time…" Mercury said softly.

"We must be very careful…" Mercury said softly. Serenity noticed Venus' worried expression "Venus…" she whispered, making the blonde look at her "Yes Princess?"

"Thank you…"

Venus sighed "I still think it is a bad idea and I still think it is insanely dangerous…" she trailed off, Serenity smiled softly "But?"

Venus arched her brow "But what?"

"You did not finish what you were saying…"

The blonde guardian crossed her arms "I was not going to say anything else…"

"Yes you were" Serenity giggled "Say it, because you know it is true love…"

Venus sighed and shook her head; Serenity nudged her arm and smiled "Say it!"

"Princess…I am doing this because…"

"You too are a terrible liar Venus"

Venus widened her eyes and looked at her "Who else?"

"Endymion"

The girls giggled "How can you tell?"

Serenity let out a dreamy sigh and lay on the bed "His eyes tell me everything…he has the most expressive eyes I have ever seen" Venus looked down at her princess "Has he…ever been violent?"

Serenity widened her eyes and looked at Serenity "Violent?"

"Yes…like, rude…violent, have you ever watched him attack somebody?"

The princess shook her head slightly "Well…only once I have seen him very upset, but it was because one of the soldiers of his army was not doing something he was supposed to do…" sitting on the bed again, she ran a hand through her long silver hair "He is always so respectful…so calm"

"That means, his presence says it all…he is a well respected man" Mercury said softly.

Serenity smiled "He is very much loved by his people…by his family…"

"Have you met his family?" Jupiter asked; this time the conversation was different from the other ones, this time, they were asking things like in the old times instead of just wanting an explanation of everything she did with him. Serenity bit her lower lip and shook her head "…No"

Mercury turned to look at Jupiter "It would be rather dangerous for her to meet his family don't you think?"

Jupiter pursed her lips and leaned on her chair "True…I just wondered…"

"Although…I would like to meet his mother…" the princess said softly, startling the four girls "His mother?...you are talking about, the Queen?"

"Yes" Serenity answered and lowered her gaze; her fingertips felt the softness of her comforter "Every time Endymion talks about her, his eyes are filled with melancholy and admiration…" she turned to look at the girls "He told me once that since she got sick, she barely attends to social gatherings or parties, it is actually a privilege to the people of their kingdom to see her…"

"She is a loved Queen I suppose, to be considered a privilege to just see her" Jupiter said softly "I wonder why…"

"Well…" Mars let out a soft breath and leaned on the bed "Do not take me wrong Princess, but, to have a son like him, she must be…let's say, unique"

"What do you mean?" Serenity asked curious.

Jupiter chuckled "She means that he is too handsome to be true, if he is like that then she must be well, very pretty"

"I think she is more than that…" Serenity said softly, looking up to the ceiling "He does not talk much about her, but…when he does; it is like she is praised not only by her beauty but for something else…"

Venus sighed and lowered her gaze; Mercury turned to look at her and frowned slightly "Venus, what is the matter?"

The blonde guardian didn't look up and stayed silent; Mars on the other hand knew perfectly well what was going thru their leader's mind. She was about to say something when a maid interrupted them "Excuse me, Your Highness…senshi" the five girls turned to look at the girl standing near the door "Yes?" Jupiter asked softly.

The maid turned to look at the raven haired girl "There is a visitor for Sailor Mars…" Mars slightly widened her amethyst eyes and nodded, standing up she looked at the girl "Is there something else?"

"Breakfast is almost ready Your Highness; Her Majesty is waiting in the tea room as always"

Serenity smiled softly "I will be there shortly, thank you" the maid bowed her head and left the room; Mars turned to look at the girls "I will be back"

Mars walked out of the room and closed the door behind her; walking down the long silent halls her heels contrasted with the serene scenario being the only noise in the place. She crossed the smithy doors and looked for her visitor but frowned with confusion.

"Always so desperate…remember to keep your calm"

Mars smiled softly and turned to meet the person behind her "Papa…" she breathed; Ares smiled slightly to his daughter and walked closer to her, pressing his lips against her temple "Did you just got here?" she asked.

Ares shook his head and departed from her a little "I was about to leave actually, but I wanted to see you first…" Mars gave her father a sad smile "What a shame…I was hoping to see you a little while longer"

Ares responded her with the same smile she gave him first, running his hand through her dark hair he let out a soft sigh "Me too my dear but you know how this is…"

"That is the price you pay when you are the daughter of the God of War after all" Mars joked, trying to lighten the mood a little bit, Ares pursed his lips and caressed his daughter's cheek with the back of his hand "I'm so sorry…" he whispered.

Mars frowned a little and tilted her head "Father?"

Ares started walking toward the fountain and looked at the dancing water falling from its top "The life I have given you has not been the ideal…"

"Are you saying it because of the relationship you have with Mother…because of the ghost of that woman you hold close to your heart?"

Ares widened his grey eyes and turned to look at his daughter, how did she know about that? He thought, how could she be aware of the reality of things when he always tried to keep her occupied, when he always tried to give her the best of him. Mars read his expression and knew he was surprised, giving him a sad smile she walked up to him and held his hand "Father, I have known that for too many years now…"

"Mars…" Ares whispered.

Mars lowered her gaze "I am no one to judge you Father, Mother has not been an easy person to deal with…you better than anyone knows that…I do not know your past, but I respect it, you stayed with us even if that meant going against your own feelings and happiness" she looked up at him "I love you, you have been there for me all the time…"

"Dear, I just wished I could have been more…"

"But you did, all the time…every time I needed you; you were there to take care of me, to give me your love…" Mars looked up at him "Do not worry about me…"

Ares smiled and caressed her cheek again "You are so strong, I am very proud of you but I cannot help being worried" Mars widened her eyes slightly "…You came to talk to Queen Serenity" she breathed, her heart started to pound faster in her chest "Is something the matter?"

"Mars, you need to protect the Princess no matter what…"

"Papa…" Mars trailed off "My visions…" she widened her eyes again "My visions are not just dreams…but they are actually true?"

Ares sighed softly "I am not sure of that yet dear, but it is clear that something is happening and it has to do with the sun…that is why we are worried, the sun is a very powerful star in our system it cannot be contaminated by evil forces…" the lord of war placed a hand on her shoulder "Have you seen in your dreams who might be the responsible of this?"

Mars lowered her gaze and tried to remember "No…I only see a dark shadow…I only hear laughter and too much death…"

"…Death" Ares muttered and closed his eyes hoping that everything would be solve quickly, it was his job as Polemarchos to protect Olympus and the Silver Millennium even though Queen Serenity had Athamas as the Commander of their army. Frowning, he turned to look at Mars "Dear...I want to ask you something and I would like to keep this conversation between us"

"Like always Papa, of course" Mars said softly.

"What do you think of Athamas?"

"The General?" Mars arched her brow and pursed her lips "Well…" she trailed off. Ares' frown deepened "Is he a good soldier? Is he doing a good job?"

"I am not sure Papa, I do not really talk to him…but, to be sincere I do not trust him as much as Queen Serenity does…not even Venus, she thinks he is up to something but we still haven't caught him doing anything wrong so it might only be suppositions…" frowning she crossed her arms "Why?"

"Serenity counts too much on him…and I have my doubts…" Ares said slowly "He is the best candidate for her to be her daughter's husband"

Mars nodded "Do you think he is a bad soldier?"

"I do not question his methods…but I do not think that those will help him to achieve what he wants…"

"…What he wants?" Mars frowned.

"His goal is to be a Polemarchos…but, he has deficiencies…" looking at his daughter, he held her hand "I have wished for Serenity to have thought of somebody else for her daughter…not him"

"Do you know anything bad about him Papa?"

Ares smiled at the sound of 'papa' there was no doubt she was his little baby girl. Ares pushed Mars' bangs aside and admired her beauty and elegance; the red of her senshi uniform contrasted with her pale alabaster skin and her dark hair, his eyes softened, he could never dared to be a strict father with her, even when he was, when he trained her, he always found his way to show her that to him she was all that mattered.

Mars became his life, since the moment she was born, since the moment he held her in his arms and as soon she opened her eyes she made clear that she was his little treasure. Eris on the other side maintained her distance with her, her heart started to become unsure, with time, she noticed Ares paid close attention to his daughter, making Eris feel left aside. Her jealousy with time turned regret and bitterness, turning her into a cold woman never really giving her heart a chance to forget and to leave her husband's past behind.

Eris is too stubborn, to live and to let live; Ares understood that since the first fight they had. Even though he cared very much for her, she still reminded him the love of his life, the woman he almost had and let escape because of his affairs with his now, wife. Ares learned to deal with her but he was never sure if his daughter did, he was not sure of what she thought in reality about the life she had back home, she never claimed him anything. Looking at her now, all prepared and grown up, secure of herself and with such poise and elegance, he could not be more proud of her, he could not be more happy to have a beautiful girl as his daughter.

"No…but I know you too have your own doubts about him" he said with a low voice, lowering his gaze he let out a soft chuckle "My dear daughter all I ask is for you is to be proud of who you are and remember your duty"

Mars smiled and leaned her face on his hand, still caressing her cheek "How can I not be proud? When I have you as my father…"

Ares smiled "I do not know how things will turn…but, in the meantime do not let your guard down and continue protecting the Princess"

Mars nodded "I will Father. Do not worry; I will make you feel proud of me"

Ares kissed her temple "I am proud of you since I knew you were coming to this universe…" Mars smiled widely; Ares regained his straight posture and cleared his throat "I must go now…there are things that I need to investigate" Mars nodded. The lord of war winked an eye at her and started walking away when Mars tried to stop him "Papa"

Ares stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her, the raven haired princess walked over to him and gave him a soft smile "Tell Mother I said hello and that I love her…"

The blonde god felt his heart soften with her kind words, amazed by how even after all she went through, watching him and Eris argue all the time, her constant cold demeanor and her constant depressions Mars put everything aside and tried to always send her her love. Behind that strong and determinant character, there was no doubt an innocent and kind girl hid inside her heart.

"I will" he said softly, caressing her cheek "I promise…" Mars smiled and watched her father walked away from her, leaving her alone in the main court. Turning to her princess' balcony she let out a soft sigh "My duty is to protect you…but also to be your friend…because I know how the heart aches when something is missing, I will try my best to always make you feel better…do not be sad Princess, someday the sun will shine for all of us…"


	87. Chapter 87

A/N: life is unexpected, full of surprises, sometimes it hold good times but also bad times. I'm so sorry I took so long, I was away doing some things...please don't think I will ot continue with the story, actually I am already starting to work on the third season. I hope you enjoy this one and I will see you soon! (very soon)

i do not own sm. just this plot and some of the characters.

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter eighty seven**

* * *

The crisp sound of heels echoed in the marbled hall, the soft light from the sun entered from the long and tall windows from it giving a perfect a beautiful morning sight, just like if the moon's artificial nature wanted to make the small trip to the tea room a nice one.

She knew in her heart what she was going to hear or better said what she was going to see. She knew it and let out a soft breath as soon as she saw the feminine decorated doors from the tea room and walked in "Good morning" said softly; Queen Serenity raised her gaze and smiled warmly "Good morning dear, how was your sleep?"

Serenity smiled at Luna and Artemis who were sitting next to the queen on the medium sized table "Good morning Your Highness" said both mauians in unison, Serenity sat across her mother and her advisors and took a sip of her cup of tea Luna just served "Thank you Luna and good morning to you too" she smiled, patting the dark haired woman's hand in gratitude, placing the silky white napkin on her lap she took another sip of her tea "My sleep was fine Mother, thank you for asking"

The lunar queen smiled and took a bite of her fruit; Serenity looked down at her plate and analyzed her food "It is different…" she mumbled.

"Did you say anything Princess?" Luna asked curious.

Serenity blushed a little and waved her hand "No, no…" she giggled and started eating her strange but delicious fruit. Strange because it was something she knew it did not grow on earth, similar to a pear but with the sweetness and tenderness of a peach; she took her first bite and savored the delicate and sweet flavor. After a few minutes she realized something, she was happy, happy because she was having breakfast with her mother in peace, happy because she saw Endymion the night before; happy because her friends and guardians seemed to finally understand her feelings toward the terran prince, happy because Athamas was not there.

"It is a lovely morning" she said softly; the queen looked at her daughter and smiled with contempt and admiration, her daughter had become a beautiful lady what her mother would have said a muse. She remembered the time when she was born; since she opened her eyes Serenity knew she was a special girl, her jewel, her star. She watched closely her expressions, her poise and her elegance, the way her hair flowed down like a silver cascade from her buns, the way her pale skin glowed under the soft light of the day, the way her kind eyes looked at her and how her smile and laughter could lit up a dull room.

Queen Serenity felt melancholy; her heart ached to live some of her best memories once again "If only you could see how beautiful she is Athan…you would probably feel the same excitement to see how beautiful our daughter is…" she thought, while placing her cup down. Her eyes burned, like they do when you feel they are about to tear; her throat became dry, it was the memory of her loving husband the one that made her feel vulnerable and sometimes alone.

Her mind drifted to the time when she found out about his affair with Nehelenia, in the time of his death and then way back to the time when they declared their eternal love in front of every being of this universe. Ares' words echoed in the back of her head, his thoughts about the general, the man she had to admit reminded her of Athan.

_Flashback_

_Young Serenity walked through the gardens holding her fiancé's hand, letting a soft sigh of contempt she turned to look at him and smiled; the man beside her gave her a warm smile "What?" he asked softly; Serenity blushed and turned her head away, her smiled widened "…Nothing"_

_The blonde man moved her face toward him and tilted his head "I know there is something, what is it?"_

_Serenity smiled and lowered her gaze "Nothing…I am just…so happy" she looked up at him with teary eyes "I've never been so happy in my life…this feeling makes me feel scared…"_

_Athan pushed her bangs aside, revealing her lunar symbol "Serenity…there is no reason of why you should feel scared…" Serenity pressed her lips together "I know…but, this much happiness…can it be true?"_

"_Of course it is true, we are getting married tomorrow, everybody will be there…" his voice was soft but serious "You are not going to be alone…even your best friend will be there, she is after all your maid of honor…"_

_Serenity smiled widely "I thought she was going to get married first"_

"_Why?" Athan asked curious._

"_Well…it is quite obvious, she is beautiful…and one of the most desired goddesses in this realm" Serenity said softly and started to walk ahead of him but only stopped a few seconds later when she felt his hand holding hers; she turned to look at him and frowned slightly "What?"_

"_You are too…" he said._

_Serenity blushed "Athan"_

"_Maybe Gaia has other plans dear…"_

_Serenity widened her eyes and looked away, yes she had, she was having a secret affair with a mortal. Athan encircled his arms around her waist and kissed the top of her head "You don't have to feel scared" the princess lowered her head and bit her lip in thought for a moment "Athan…"_

"_Yes dear?"_

"_Will you love me forever?"_

_Athan widened his eyes "Serenity?"_

_Serenity raised her head and looked at him "Will you love me forever?"_

_Athan smiled while caressing her cheek "Of course I will and I will make that clear tomorrow, in front of everybody. I will love you forever…" pulling her closer to him he let out a soft sigh "I will never hurt you, I will never do anything to harm you…"_

_o.o.o.o.o.o.o._

_Athan's blue eyes widened in shock "You…"_

_"Long time no see…" Nehelenia said softly._

_Serenity looked at her husband and then at the dark queen "What?"_

_Nehelenia turned to see the white queen and smiled "It's a shame you didn't send me an invitation to meet your dreadful daughter. After all we are family…and we keep things between family" Nehelenia turned to see Athan "Right Athan?"_

_Athan remained silent, Serenity looked at her husband "What does she mean Athan?"_

_Athan gave Nehelenia a dead glare, making her laugh "Yes, Athan…what do I mean?"_

_"What are you saying?" Serenity asked again._

_Athan remained silent, his eyes fixed on the dark queen who was enjoying the moment, turning to see the white queen she smiled "Did you ever wonder why Athan acted so cold sometimes towards you?"_

_Serenity's eyes widened "What?"_

_"Stop this Nehelenia!" Athan raised his voice._

_"I want you to suffer the same way I did…because of you" Nehelenia said to Athan with a cold voice "While your husband slept with you he was thinking of me…while your husband said he was at meetings he was with me"_

_Serenity gasped, her eyes went wide in shock "What are you saying?" she asked with a trembling voice._

_Nehelenia turned to look at the white queen and smiled "I am the woman who slept with your husband all this time…"_

_End of flashback_

Queen Serenity's eyes widened in panic and gasped softly, startling the princess "Mother?" she asked softly. The queen turned to look at her daughter "…No, it cannot be"

Serenity frowned "What exactly cannot be? Mother…are you alright? Did something happen?"

The queen stood up and shook her head in denial "No dear…" she turned to look at Luna and then back at her daughter "I just forgot to do something very important"

"Are you sure? Is there anything I can do to help you?" Serenity arched her brow, now every time she did that felt that she was starting to adopt some of Endymion's manners, like arching his brow that was a characteristic thing for him to do. The queen smiled and waved her hand in dismissal "No dear, everything is alright…I just forgot to do something, I am so sorry but I have to leave…is that alright if I leave you alone?"

Serenity shook her head and smiled "I will be alright Mother"

"I can keep her company Your Majesty"

Princess Serenity rolled her eyes at the sound of his voice. Queen Serenity smiled widely "Athamas…" she said softly.

Athamas walked in and bowed in respect "I will watch over the Princess if that is alright with you Your Majesty"

"Of course" Queen Serenity said nodding her head in approval and turned to look at her daughter, bending over to whisper in her ear she smiled "Be nice to him dear… please give him an opportunity he is trying his best" turning to look at Luna and Artemis, they immediately knew there was something important the queen needed to consult them.

As soon as the queen left them alone, Athamas took a sit next to Serenity and served himself a cup of tea "Has anyone told you, how beautiful you look every day?"

Serenity took a sip of her tea and let out a soft chuckle "Is that all you've got General? Silly little compliments?" she turned to look at him "When are you going to give up?"

Athamas frowned slightly and took a sip of his tea "Never, Princess…we are destined to be together"

"Is that what you think?" Serenity turned to the other side again, and took another sip of her tea "It takes more than just pretty words to really win a woman's heart"

The general chuckled and took a bite of fruit "Really?"

"Yes" Serenity said sternly.

"It worked with you…" the general turned to look at her, defiant. Serenity let out a soft chuckle "Why Athamas?" she asked softly, this time trying to see if there was a single trace of nobility in his heart something he could use very well "Why, even when you know I do not love you…are you still trying to pursue me?"

Athamas stood up and held her hand, pulling her up closer to him. He looked down into her eyes and stayed silent for a moment until his lips curved into a smile "You will, eventually"

"What?" Serenity frowned.

"You will"

"How can you be so positive about it?" the princess asked softly, she did not know exactly why she could not move why she was still standing still in front of him, looking into his eyes "He has lovely eyes…but they are not like Endymion's" she thought. She studied his face, and once again admitted he was not bad looking but his stare and his voice were always distant, cold and somehow arrogant.

Blinking a couple of times, she realized one thing: She could not fall for another man, she was too in love with her terran prince and not only because his exquisite appearance but because of his loyal and passionate heart. Athamas looked at her with desire and longing and put his hands on her shoulders, his fingers felt the softness of her skin and with that minuscule touch, his body started to react while his mind started to drift away into a field of lust.

Biting his lower lip, he bent down to try to kiss her, if Serenity had not been aware of who was the man with her and if she had not been so deeply in love with Endymion, she would have given to that kiss, noticing what he was trying to do she moved her face to the side startling the general.

"What…?" he trailed off.

Serenity lowered her gaze "I do not believe we are destined to be together" she said softly, almost like a whisper. Athamas frowned and started to fill his heart with anger, 'it was that ghost of a man again…clouding my plans' he thought.

The princess tried to move away but noticed his grip on her was stronger, looking up at him she frowned "Could you please let me go?"

"Who is he Serenity?"

"What?" Serenity tried to cover her surprise with arrogance, but with no avail "I do not know what you are talking about"

"Do not try…"

Serenity frowned and moved away from him "Just because I do not fall for your compliments and constant pursuing does not mean I am seeing somebody"

Athamas let out a sarcastic chuckle and crossed his arms "Ha, do you really think I am going to believe that? I am a soldier dear, my job is to investigate things…neither you or your guardians give the credit I deserve"

Serenity frowned "You are starting to lose your mind, think whatever you like…one way or another I won't back down…"

Athamas took a step closer to her and narrowed his eyes "Since when you are so defiant?"

Serenity remained silent, looking at him. Did she really want to be assaulted by him again? She had to be very careful, Athamas was a man and a soldier, and there was more than just one reason for him to be the commander of their army. The senshi weren't near since they knew she was going to have breakfast with the queen.

Athamas took a step closer, his face only inches away from hers; she could feel his respiration, the soft and warm air coming from his nose every time he took in her scent letting it out with a soft breath again "You just need to say yes…" he whispered in her ear, sending chills down her spine.

Serenity turned her face to the other side and felt her eyes fill with tears; his words haunted her thoughts and was actually starting to feel afraid of what he could do to her if she made a wrong move "You talk to me like if we were very close…" she turned to look at him "…And we are not"

Athamas frowned "We were once engaged"

"But not anymore" Serenity said softly.

The general let out a sultry chuckle "Whoever you are seeing, it cannot compete against me"

Serenity widened her eyes, her heart started to beat incredibly fast against her chest; there was no doubt this man could fight, she was well aware that he could kill in an instant and not just because he was a soldier but because of his bad temper. Turning her face to the side, she tried to avoid his gaze but could not help to feel his cold stare on her.

Moving closer to her, he caressed her cheek with his lips while his breath reached her right ear "The day for us to be together will come…I know it…"

Serenity closed her eyes, biting her lip she waited for him to step away from her, if she made a false move he could do something unexpected; Athamas ran his fingers through her side bangs and looked at her "You are incredibly beautiful…to have you in my arms is all I want…he is no match Princess, not even in bed"

She opened her eyes and turned to look at him "That is all you can think of?"

"That is the truth" Athamas said slowly.

"The truth…" Serenity trailed off, Athamas gave her a sensuous smile "Princess" he lowered his gaze, while his hands caressed her arms, his touch felt like sand paper against her soft skin and not because he had calloused hands, he was not the man she longed to see every day, Athamas was not the man she loved. He was only the memory of her first illusion, the ghost of a man she thought he was.

"You just need to say yes" he whispered looking at her once again, Serenity pursed her lips "Your truth is to only have me in your power and that is not love"

"Love…" Athamas laughed and threw his head back for a minute before looking at her again "Stop lying to yourself with that…Sailor Venus is filling your mind with nonsense…"

Serenity frowned, shaking her head in denial "How can you really think something like that?"

Athamas frowned "I only say what it is real"

"Haven't you ever loved in your life? Don't you have people you love? People you want to protect and keep safe?" Serenity asked confused; Athamas widened his eyes and moved away from her, taken back with her question, lowering his gaze he fell silent "Love does not exist" he said dryly, looking back at her "Love is the stupid way to say you can think for yourself…love is only an excuse to bed someone" turning his gaze back at her, he bit his lip for a moment, thinking if he had what she just mentioned, his mind started to wonder; did he really had anyone in his life he ever wanted to protect?

"Don't you have a family?" Serenity asked him softly, trying to be sympathetic with him. Athamas narrowed his eyes and turned to look at her "Once, but they decided to take another way very different from mine"

Serenity frowned "What do you mean?"

Athamas turned to look out of the tea room "They abandoned me as soon as they knew I wanted to join the Andromedian army" he turned to look at her and noticed her eyes held sadness "Don't look at me like that" he hissed.

"Why did they do that?" Serenity asked him again.

Athamas frowned and looked at his fisted hand "They thought I would never be a good soldier…but…" he turned to look at her again "I proved them wrong…and made them recognize their mistake" his voice went darker; Serenity noticed "What?" she asked confused.

Athamas' lips curved into a devilish smile, something she had never seen in him before. It showed something she would never imagined she would actually see from him and with this kind of conversation: Satisfaction. The general let out a soft chuckle and closed his hand tighter "I will only say that, I made them accept their mistake…but when they did, it was already too late"

"What do you mean?" Serenity asked softly and slightly scared, was this man capable of actually hurting his own family? Was this man trying to tell her something with this conversation? She could only feel her legs shaking uncontrollably and her heart beating fast, then a question that hung in the air for so long came up "Athamas…who, are you?"

Athamas chuckled and crossed his arms "I am…" his smiled faded and frowned "…The greatest soldier of all times, the Commander of this army…" he trailed off, his eyes fixed on hers "…and the one who you will marry one day"

Something was different in this conversation, it scared her. Athamas was not being violent but evil, the mysteriousness in his voice and his actions made her think that he was actually capable of doing the unthinkable, Athamas took a step forward trying to hold her again but again, Serenity took a step back, making him chuckle in response "Are you walking away from me Princess?"

"…Sometimes I feel like you are not the same man I met long ago"

Athamas smiled "This is what you made of me, a man that does not think in anything else but in you…"

"When I met you, you were not like this, why are you now?"

"Because I am starting to become impatient. I want you and I want you now" Athamas took another step forward, making her take another one back "When are you going to realize we are meant for each other?"

Serenity widened he eyes, Athamas smile "We are to repeat history…we are to repeat your parents story, call it love story if you want to"

The white princess lowered her head and closed her eyes, her parents…she thought, a feeling of melancholy threatened to cloud her heart but then, her mind started thinking about her terran prince and a feeling of warmth engulfed her chest with tremendous love "I do not want to repeat that history…"

Athamas widened his eyes "What?"

Serenity looked up at him "I do not want to repeat a love story that it isn't mine…"

"That is what everybody is expecting"

The princess shook her head "I will live my own love story, my special and unique love story…"

Athamas frowned "Be realistic"

"I am" Serenity said seriously "I am being realistic"

Athamas was starting to become frustrated and tightened his jaw; taking a long step he held Serenity's wrist "You will, once you marry me" he moved his face close to hers, making her impossible to break free from his grasp "Athamas…don't" she said scared.

"You are mine Serenity" he said darkly. The princess shook her head in denial "Let me go"

"I will be your King one day…remember it well" his lips were close to hers, making her feel helpless and desperate for a way out, she could not bear to know that she was about to kiss somebody else but Endymion, another man that on top of all scared her. His breath was cold, unlike Endymion's it did not made her heart speed up, or her knees to feel weak, her skin did not longed for his touch "Let me go Athamas…"

Athamas closed his eyes, with his arms around her was impossible for her to get away, this time he would kiss her no matter what. Serenity's eyes started to burn with tears, closing them she could almost feel that they were about to fall silently "Endymion…" she thought with deep sadness, feeling his lips very close to hers.

"General Athamas"

Athamas growled under his breath and opened his eyes, turning to look at the man standing at the entrance of the room "What…" he said very low.

Kilmakos fidgeted for a slight moment and licked his lips "There are some things that some soldiers want to discuss with you…"

Athamas clenched his jaw tighter and frowned, Serenity noticed there was tension between them but did not want to really figure it out, moving her arms free from his grasp, she turned on her heel and walked away without saying a single word to him. Kilmakos bowed his head in respect as soon as she passed next to him and then turned to look at the general once again "General?"

"Do you just realize what you've done?" Athamas growled.

"G-General?" Kilmakos repeated.

Athamas walked over to him and grabbed him by the collar "You useless piece of…" the soldier widened his eyes "Please, General…"

"I had her in my power and you had to come to screw it all! How stupid can you be?"

"But…this is important"

"This was more important!" the general gritted his teeth.

"The Queen went to Olympus…something is not right" Kilmakos said quietly.

"I already know that, stupid man" Athamas growled; Kilmakos coughed a little and looked at the general with eyes full of fright "She went to see the War God, again"

"What?" Athamas let go of him, his frown deepened "Is that what the soldiers want to know?" the soldier shook his head "No…" he turned to both sides "They want to know when to…you know, go...there, they are waiting for your signal"

Athamas narrowed his eyes "They will have to wait…until the Queen returns…I do not want to raise any suspects…" he turned, giving his back to the soldier "I just want to know, why is she going to talk to him, again..." he frowned deeply "Why?..." he whispered to himself.

O.o.o.o.o.O

"We have to make sure and be alert of everything" Ares said seriously turning to look at one of the men that served him in this matter concerning the security of Olympus and the Silver Millennium. A knock interrupted their meeting and soon after, the door opened revealing a maiden followed by "Serenity" Ares' eyes widened in shock.

Queen Serenity entered the room, followed by Luna and Artemis "There is something that started haunting my thoughts…" Ares raised his hand, motioning her to stop and turned to look at his right handed soldier "Leave us a moment" the soldier bowed in respect and left the room, closing the large doors behind him, making a strenuous sound. Ares turned to look at her advisors and at her "What is it?" he asked with concern and turned to look at Artemis "Has the enemy showed its face?"

Artemis shook his head in denial "No, God Ares…"

"I need you to tell me, if I am being lunatic…" Queen Serenity looked into Ares' eyes "I just came to realize something that was in the back of my mind…I just thought about it and it is driving me insane…"

"Serenity, what is it, you are scaring me as well" Ares walked close to her, the queen looked at him straight in the eye "I need you to please call Chronos…"

"Why?" Ares frowned.

"Because I tried to reach him but it seems he is…missing"

"He is not missing little flower, but you know it is practically a stroke of luck when you do get to find him" Ares said softly; the lunar queen bit her lip and held the lord of war's hands with desperation "I need to talk to you both, you are a High God you can call him…I know you can…please…I came here as a friend…and as a Goddess that needs to consult a matter with the Higher Gods…"

Ares looked at her with great worry and frowned, letting a soft sigh, he closed his eyes for a moment only to open them seconds later "Done…" he said, letting her hands go and walking over his desk "You are starting to worry me"

"It is not only you…"

"Your advisors will have to leave the room, I am one thing but Chronos is another different one…it is you as Goddess who asked for an audience, they cannot be present" Ares said softly and turned to look at them "It is nothing against you"

"We understand…" both mauians said, "It is alright…I allow them to be present" a deep voice filled the room, Queen Serenity turned behind her and saw a deep grey cloud appear, revealing the Lord of Time and Space as soon as it vanished "It has been a long time since I last saw you little flower"

"Chronos…" Queen Serenity said softly.

Chronos looked at her and gave her a sad smile "Your eyes are worried, your heart troubled…why?"

"You know many things…" she said, Chronos shook his head "Things that cannot be said…"

"Chronos…"

"Just like your dear friend…so impatient, curious…" Chronos chuckled and turned to look at her "Little flower, it is my duty to keep life a secret…destiny is taking its course, there are things that even I don't know. Time can be changed with just a flick of our wrists…"

"You were there…when Athan died" Serenity said; Ares frowned "Little flower, what does Athan has to do with all this?"

The lunar queen lowered her head and started remembering everything that happened that fateful day, the fight, the moment he stepped in to protect her and baby Serenity, the moment she stabbed him. The moment she sealed her away from the light "I never thought her words could be true…"

"What words?" Ares frowned; Chronos let out a soft sigh and walked over the lunar queen "You sealed her in the darkness of her own world…"

"Yes…but…" Queen Serenity trailed off and lowered her gaze "She…cursed Serenity"

_Flashback_

_Nehelenia looked at the sword on her abdomen and took it out, laughing she turned to look at Serenity "It's over…" she said._

_"No…it is not over" Serenity raised her hands and closed her eyes, before her a scepter appeared._

_Nehelenia's eyes widened "What are you doing?"_

_"What Mother should have done since the beginning…" Serenity started to summon the power of the Ginzuishou._

_"Sacred stone, bless me with your power and help me vanish the darkness form this place. In the name of the moon…you are punished!" Serenity threw a blast of white energy at Nehelenia._

_"NOOOOOOO!" the dark queen yelled._

_"GO BACK TO WHERE YOU BELONG…THE DARKNESS…" the mirror in front of Nehelenia started to move, the dark queen watched it with horror "NO…DON'T...NOOOO!"_

_The mirror started to suck like a black hole of the dark energy that was surrounding the room, the webs and finally Nehelenia's body "I CAN'T LIVE THERE! NOOOOO" she tried to send a blast of dark energy but the power of the sacred stone was too strong that started to fill the entire palace._

_"What is happening inside the Queen's chambers?" Artemis asked to the guards._

_"We can't go in!" the guards said after they pounded on the door._

_Inside the room, the white light started to fade; Luna came out from where she was hiding and made sure the princess was alright._

_Nehelenia tried to get out of the mirror, her hair was disheveled and her deep red blood soaked the front part of her dress. Her pale eyes watched with delight the scene before her and let out a chuckle._

_"You may have put me on a seal stronger than your mother's…she chuckled "But here is my present to you Queen of the White Moon" Serenity turned to look at the dark mirror in front of her with horror eyes._

_"Darkness will rise once again and death will chase the Princess's life. The heir of the White Moon shall meet darkness and will never get to wear the royal crown as Queen. That is my curse, that is my present for you… little cousin" Nehelenia said with a sultry voice before her figure vanished in the darkness inside the mirror._

_Serenity's pearled mirror soon cracked and fell into millions of little pieces impossible to get back. The white queen swallowed and tried to wipe the tears off her face, Nehelenia's words still echoing in her head._

End of flashback

"After that…Athan made me to promise him that I will always look after our daughter…by the time Artemis entered the room he was already dead…" Queen Serenity touched her face and noticed it was moist with tears. Chronos ran his arm around her shoulders "Little flower…"

"Maybe this is not an enemy perse…but just the curse taking its course…" the lunar queen whispered with fright in her voice. Ares shook his head and frowned, turning to look at Chronos "Is that what you are feeling?"

Chronos guided Serenity to a chair in front of Ares' desk and sat next to her on another chair "Serenity, we are not sure what or who is causing this disturbance…I won't deny it is strong…but we cannot be sure if it has to do with Nehelenia…"

"It is funny how I never went back in to that room…"

"Serenity?" Ares asked; Serenity raised her tear stained face and looked at him and then at Chronos "It is still closed, I never entered again…"

"Does your daughter knows about this?" the lord of war asked, the lunar queen shook her head in denial "No...how can I tell her that the place where her father died is the same place where I am trying to keep her safe…" Ares sighed and started to walk around the large room "Now more than ever, your Andromedian Commander needs to me more aware than before…"

Chronos frowned and looked up at him "You do not sound so convinced…" he said softly, Ares only shrugged his shoulders in response and turned to look at Artemis "Please, make sure to get all the information he gathers to see if there are some abnormalities…"

"Athamas is not a bad man" Serenity said.

"The Andromedian is the Commander of the army of one of the strongest Alliances in the universe…this is a matter of safety…not…liking" Ares said with dryness; walking over to the white clad man he narrowed his eyes "Do not lose sigh on him…" he whispered; Artemis nodded "Yes High God"

Serenity looked at Chronos and held his hands "What should I do Chronos…I do not know what to do…I am desperate…" she trailed off and lowered her gaze "If…something happens to Serenity..."

"We will do anything in our power to protect you…" Ares said softly; Queen Serenity bit her lower lip "I am so scared…" she whispered "That she might actually do something…even when she is trapped in darkness…"

Chronos let out a soft sigh and looked at her friend "Time it is always unexpected…"

Queen Serenity frowned and looked at him while drying her tears "What do you mean?"

The lord of time lowered his head worrying her "You know the truth…" she said wide eyed; "You know more than you tell us…" Chronos closed his eyes for a moment "I only know what you know…I only know what I need to know…" he opened them again and looked at her "She will do something great for you…"

Queen Serenity frowned "How can Nehelenia do something great? She only can do wrong and hurt anyone that crosses her path…"

"I am not speaking of Nehelenia little flower…" Chronos said, giving her a soft smile; Serenity shook her head in confusion "Then who…?"

"Even if she is not here, she still wonders how you are…like always, she will look after you…she will do something great for you…" Chronos repeated. Queen Serenity widened her eyes slightly "Gaia…"

Ares' attention was caught right away, her name still made his heart pound fast in his chest "Gaia?"

Chronos did not break eye contact with Serenity "Have you forgotten her?"

The lunar queen shook her head in denial "No…I would never forget about her, even when she is not here I still consider her my best friend…we lived so many things together and went through so much…" she stood up and started to walk around the room "She was there with me helping me with my studies…she was there when I met Athan…she…" she trailed off and looked down "She was at my wedding…we did so much together, had so much fun together…" she turned to look at Chronos "I could never forget all that, I could never forget her…my duties as Queen had to become first, for Serenity, for the Alliance and that is why I had to stop going to see her…she said goodbye…"

Chronos stood up and walked over to her, placing his hands on his shoulders "She keeps you very close to her heart, sleep tranquil little flower than even she will do whatever she can to protect you and your daughter"

Serenity widened her eyes "H-How does she know?"

"She does not need to know…she is your friend"

The lunar queen smiled sadly, lowering her gaze "I miss her terribly" and looked at Ares standing in front of her but only a few feet away from her "I know you do too"

Chronos let out a soft sigh "Her faith is already written…" Ares lowered his head while crossing his arms; Serenity bit her lower lip and shook her head "Hades will take advantage of her condition" she said dryly. The lord of time walked over to Ares and patted his shoulder "I know you still love her…"

Ares let out a soft sigh and shook his head "I lost over him…I lost her" he said with regret; Serenity turned to look at him and stood up, walking over to him "Maybe you can…"

Ares widened his eyes and let out a soft chuckle "She does not need a guardian anymore…she has a very good one" turning his back at them he walked around his desk and sat on his chair behind it, crossing his hands over his marble desk he narrowed his eyes "He is a living weapon…a match with him would be very interesting…"

Queen Serenity shook her head "I highly doubt Gaia would let her son be the assassin creature everybody here in Olympus thinks he is…" Ares raised his gaze and looked at the white queen "The man is a trained assassin little flower…just like Gaia once was trained under the same regimen…Gaia's son is a Polemarchos…"

"But he is not recognized as one" Serenity said slowly "Nobody wants to admit that Gaia is still the Goddess of Earth…they let her suffer, Metallia brought destruction to her life the moment she became Gaia brother's lover"

"No little flower, because remember…even when Gaia did nothing wrong…she broke a taboo, a very important rule from this realm…that is what condemned her unfairly. The son of Gaia is very well recognized as the warrior he is, but that does not take the fact that he is the product of the union between a mortal and a goddess..." Chronos said slowly, Serenity noticed worry and sadness in his deep voice "I know what you did…to save him…to save her…"

Chronos lowered his head and licked his upper lip "I will always love her as my little sister…she had gone through too much…"

"I wish I could see her…" Serenity said softly, her eyes started to fill with tears. It had been so many years now since she last saw her; too many suns and moons. Last time she saw her, was when she met her son, the boy with the mystical eyes and remembered the intensity they held, the way he looked at her while she held him in her arms.

And she remembered the time when that happened, four years before her own daughter was born. The time when she and Athan were having problems, when, all her friends were having their families and she was spending her nights alone wondering where her husband was and when was he going to come back home. The time, when he had an affair with her own cousin.

It was undeniable, the power she felt when she held him in her arms; his warmth was protective and his eyes held deep emotion in that time they held innocence and curiosity, passion, strength, now, she wondered what would it be like to look into those eyes and see what they held now, if they have changed, if they are the same prismatic and mystic eyes.

"It would be very interesting to see your army commander fight him…" Ares let out a soft chuckle "Gaia knows how to fight; she must have given her son the same training I gave her…"

"Your Commander…" Chronos narrowed his dark eyes and turned to look at the white queen "Is he informed about this?"

Queen Serenity frowned slightly "He is aware there is danger…he does not know about Nehelenia's curse…" she widened her lavender eyes "Should I…" she trailed off.

"No" Chronos said sternly "But as the strongest soldier of your army…he needs to be prepared, he needs to protect your kingdom…"

"He should protect Serenity…" the queen said "He needs to be Serenity's guardian…"

Ares frowned "The senshi are her guardians, soldiers under the protection of their planets…they are strong, and they are trained to protect her"

"But Athamas is another kind of soldier…Athamas is her guardian as well…" the queen said softly.

Chronos frowned and crossed his arms "That task cannot be taken by two opposite individuals"

Ares turned to look at Chronos and let him speak, his mind was starting to solve the words of the lord of time; as the accustomed he always spoke in riddles, it was his own way to lead towards the destined path of the stars. Queen Serenity frowned "What do you mean?"

Chronos arched his left brow slightly "Two opposites cannot do the same thing…"

"I do not understand" Serenity said; Ares' lips curved into a knowing smile "Your daughter is already protected" Queen Serenity turned to look at Chronos "Is that is what you are trying to tell me?"

"The time for everything to know will eventually come little flower, what you are questioning…what you want to know, what you need to see…it will come. All I can say is that, your daughter is well protected…" Chronos said slowly "The senshi are well prepared…"

The white queen walked over to the lord of time and looked up at him since he was a head taller than her "You know…you have always known…" she whispered, her eyes started to shine with tears "…You knew of Athan's plans, you knew his faith…you just acted surprised"

Chronos looked down at her sadly "Serenity, the power I possess it can be considered a curse…because yes, I do hold the keys of every door of every time…but not even I, am I allowed to know what happens behind them because if I try to look I could change the course of destiny and I cannot fight against it…nobody can"

"But you know everything…" Serenity said, with slight frustration in her voice "Don't tell me you know nothing now! You knew of Gaia's faith, you know what is going to happen to her! You know her son! You know how he is!"

"You do too" Chronos answered "…You do too little flower and you were with her even when you knew what would happen to her, you were with her when she was expelled from Olympus…and you know her son, you know how he is…" the tall dark man let out a soft sigh and went to sit on a chair, in front Ares' desk "Being the God of time, does not makes me a fortune teller…the time is constantly moving, its flow cannot be controlled and it is always changing…I knew what could happen to her because you know how close we always were…I knew of her affair with her mortal prince because her eyes said it all, her aura screamed it…" this time he turned to look at Ares "Even he knew she was in love…but he was too dumb to figure out it was no longer with him"

Ares frowned "Excuse me?"

Chronos arched his brow and shook his head and turned to look at Serenity again "You knew her faith…whatever else happened, it was because Metallia intervened…because of her hatred and jealousy…" he gave the lunar queen a sad smile "It is true I am very old…and that I do know things not the rest of you know but that does not mean I know it _all._ My job is to keep the gates of time safe and to let destiny do its work. You cannot fight against destiny"

Ares arched his brow "Well…" he trailed off interrupting the god's words. Serenity turned to look at him with a curious face "Ares?"

The blonde god pursed his lips and shrugged his shoulders "Just because you are _old_, you should know more things…"

Chronos widened his eyes and sweat dropped, Serenity blinked a couple of times "E-excuse me?" the dark god said perplexed; Ares let out a soft chuckle "You just admitted you are older than all of us…I have to admit that you look very good"

Chronos blushed and blinked a couple of times, still shocked by Ares' words. Queen Serenity tried to hold her laughter but she couldn't any longer and started chuckling; Chronos turned to look at her "Little flower…"

Queen Serenity wiped a tear from her eye and smiled "You look very nice"

Chronos smiled at her "Why…thank you"

The lunar queen turned to look at Ares and then back at Chronos "I am glad I can count on you…"

"Always…" Ares walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder "We won't deny there is something odd happening, something that if we are not careful can be dangerous…but, you are not alone"

Queen Serenity turned to look at Luna and Artemis and smiled softly "I know…" extending her hand out to Luna "There are more than just my advisors, they are my friends" Luna smiled.

"The Higher Gods will be arranging an audience to inform everybody about this situation, until then, this must be kept secret" Chronos said softly "I am telling you this, because of who you are…you are just not any ordinary Goddess"

Queen Serenity smiled "You make me feel so special"

"You are little flower, your mother must be very proud" Chronos caressed her cheek with the back of his hand "She always knew you were going to be a superb queen, this is why she decided to give the crown sooner than the expected"

"But I miss her terribly" Queen Serenity said softly, with sadness in her voice.

"I know…" Chronos whispered. Ares frowned and turned to look at the lunar queen "Have you heard anything from Nut?"

Serenity shook her head "No…since the moment she left the palace I haven't heard anything from her…" frowning slightly she tilted her head "Why?"

Ares bit his lower lip and let out a soft sigh "Because…if this vortex in time involves the blue planet, it must be of their concern…"

"We are not sure if this has to do with Earth Ares" Chronos said.

"The energy felt, comes from there…Earth whether we like it or not is part of our solar system…it is linked to us all…it may not be protected by the silver alliance but it is definitely part of this galaxy…many have tried to take control of it, without succeeding but this time…it can be quite different…" Ares said slowly.

"Earth is being watched by us" Serenity said softly.

Chronos widened his eyes "What?"

"I am watching over the blue planet"

"Serenity…you can't…" Chronos said.

"It is Gaia's planet…how can't I do that? How can you ask me not do it?" Serenity raised her voice slightly.

Ares ran a hand through his sandy blonde hair "We know little flower, but…it is against the law…you are protecting a planet that is not part of this alliance, alliance, the Higher Gods signed in approval because of that"

"Gaia is my friend; if I was the one in her situation she would have done the same thing for me…" Serenity said.

"I understand why you were so close…" Ares rubbed the bridge of his nose, startling her "Why?" she asked curious; Ares raised his head and looked at her "You too are incredibly stubborn"

Chronos let out a soft sigh "Be careful little flower…" he turned to look at Luna and Artemis "Did you know about this?"

"No" the queen answered "That was my decision alone…"

"What you are doing is very risky"

"Just like you say that she looks over me I will look over her always…I made her a promise"

Chronos smiled and caressed her cheek "You are too kind…too innocent…you have always been like this and your daughter is exactly the same…" turning on his heel he moved his hand and in a string of smoke his staff appeared "Listen to your advisors…and listen to Ares, prepare your Commander and don't let the longing from your heart taint your decisions…" smiling he nodded his head "See you soon, little flower…" in a swift move, he summoned his power and in a circle of dark smoke he disappeared.

Queen Serenity frowned, looking in the direction he was standing minutes prior his departure; Ares walked over to her and stood next to her "What did he mean?" she asked softly.

"He is like that, you know it…" he trailed off and turned to look at her "But he is right"

Queen Serenity widened her lavender eyes and turned to look at him "What?"

"Your heart…is tainted by the memory of your late husband…"

The lunar queen turned her head again away from his face "Athan has nothing to do with all this…"

"But of course he does…" Ares said softly, placing a hand over her shoulder "It is because of him you came here in the first place…" Serenity widened her eyes again "I came here because I am worried about my daughter"

"Yes…but also because, you do not want her to know the real reasons of why her father died…that curse was made because Nehelenia was hurt and angry…" Queen Serenity frowned and turned to look at him with cold eyes, Ares raised his hand "Before you kill me with your cold and unfamiliar gaze let me finish…"

The queen raised a brow "You are defending her…"

Ares shook his head "No dear, I am not. I am only telling you the truth like I always have…open your eyes Serenity, come to realize that he slept with her, he betrayed you…like it always happens in this realm, Athan was upset because he was hoping things were different, I do not know how or why he chose Nehelenia…maybe he did love you, the only thing I can think of is that he chose her because she resembled you a little…but at the same time, it was not you, but another lunarian…"

"You explanation sounds dirty…and cruel" Queen Serenity said, her eyes were starting to burn with tears. Ares nodded "I know…but, analyze this…Athan was a handsome man and King to one of the strongest if not the strongest kingdom in the galaxy…Nehelenia might have fallen in love with him, being a woman of solitude and obvious rivalry she felt betrayed…her dark and twisted character made her want revenge when he decided to continue his life with you…and when your daughter was born, that betrayal became hatred and that is why she did what she did…she wanted to kill you because he could not forget you, because after all he wanted to be with you and he gave his life for you…I won't deny that…but…he made you suffer as well, he made you cry, he made you wait for him until very late at night hoping that he might get around someday…" Ares turned to look at her "Serenity…you have never deserved any of what happened to you…but this life is cruel, this realm is cruel…look at what happened to Gaia…because she fell in love her life is now pending from a thin string…the fates are eager to cut her life string…"

This time she could not help it anymore and felt how her tears started falling from her eyes "I still love him…even when I know what he did…"

"Your hurt clouds your heart and your heart is a big influence in your decisions…" Ares said softly "You will open your eyes one day…I know it, because you are very just and fair…I just hope you can do it on time"

Queen Serenity looked at him "What do you want me to realize?"

"How life works" Ares kissed her hand and turned to look at Artemis "If there is assistance needed, don't hesitate and contact me"

"I have Athamas to assist us…" the queen said softly; Ares gave her a sad smile "Your heart…" he whispered "No dear, you have me…the army needs a leader, your Commander is lacking leadership right now…I do not know why"

"He has many things to do…"

Ares crossed his arms "Why do you defend him so much?"

"I want him to marry my daughter…I want him to protect her" Serenity said; Ares turned to look at Artemis "You want him to protect her?" he asked the lunar queen a little annoyed by her insistence with the andromedian.

"Yes" she answered the same way.

"Then ask him to do well his job" Ares said dryly.

"He does" Serenity said.

Ares shook his head "If he does it, then…" he turned to look at Artemis "Ask him for a full report of every movement he has done over the past few months…" Artemis nodded, the blonde soldier turned to look at Serenity again "I will analyze him personally…it is my job, after all"

Queen Serenity pursed her lips and shook her head "He is a good man…why can't you just see that?"

Ares smiled at her and caressed her cheek with his hand, looking at her like if they were still in their young years "…Little flower…because, unlike you, I hold a tainted heart…and I do not trust so easily" his words echoed in the large room, reaching the white queen's heart. It was true, even though Ares was though and was the lord of war his heart has been broken and never regained the strength and hope of feeling regenerated, alive and happy.

Her lavender eyes shined with tears again, her heart held a mist of realization; they both were hurt, they both were still in love with somebody who was no longer there, they both were broken hearted.


	88. Chapter 88

**A/N:** This story will be finished! Thank you for all your kind reviews, opinions and messages; it means the world to me. I really appreciate it. Enjoy this new chapter :)

_**I do not own sm, just this plot and some if the characters; thank you._

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter eighty eight**

* * *

Princess Serenity walked back to her chambers and closed the doors behind her. Leaning on them for a moment she breathed a couple of times trying to regain her tranquility. Things were starting to become more and more dangerous every time she was near the general. It was clearly that he wanted her, not just in a romantic way but in his bed; the desire in his eyes was completely different from the desire expressed in Endymion's prismatic blue eyes.

"How can I get away from you?" she whispered, her voice trembling with worry "Endymion…I want you to be here with me…" she lowered her head and felt her eyes fill with tears "I want to see you Endymion…I need to see you…" she whispered.

O.o.o.o.o.O

Endymion closed the door of the study and walked in; Kunzite turned to his side and widened his eyes when he realized it was him coming inside "Prince!" he stood up immediately from his chair. Zoicite walked over to Kunzite and made the same surprised expression "It's you!" Endymion looked at them and frowned and turned to look behind him and then back at them "Supposedly…unless I have an identical twin…or an usurper"

Zoicite shook his head "It is just that we were concerned…you left yesterday without saying a word and we did not know anything from you for the rest of the day…"

The prince let out a soft sigh and walked over his desk, sitting on his usual chair behind it he pursed his lips and crossed his hands over the oak table "I had to do some things Father asked me to do"

"Something we should be worrying about?" Kunzite frowned, taking his seat again. Endymion shook his head "No…" he sighed "I cannot lie to you…"

Nephrite walked into the room with Jadeite and stopped in their tracks with a face of surprise; Endymion arched his brow "Yes, it is me…Endymion"

The two soldiers opened their mouths to speak but no words could come out; the prince gave them a warm smile "As I was saying…I cannot lie to you" he waited for both men to take their respective seats before continuing talking "…I woke up yesterday with a high fever…I came here, burning and my Father noticed it"

"That is why you looked so pale…" Kunzite said.

Endymion nodded "He asked me to go to rest…so I did, I was feeling terrible but I am better now"

"It is the excessive amount of work…" Nephrite said.

"Yes…you work too damn much" Jadeite said as well.

"I have to, it is my job" Endymion said while looking the papers over the desk "Now, please update me with what has happened…"

"The King sent another troop to the southern point, near Point D. No more hurt people have been reported" Kunzite said, Zoicite turned to look at the prince "We ordered to evacuate the near areas…"

Endymion frowned "But I proposed that a long time ago, it was unsafe for the people who lived near to continue having a normal life in a place that is obviously dangerous"

"Yes, but the residents of that area were stubborn and did not want to listen, until past yesterday" Jadeite said, giving him his full report of the day "Here are the statistics and the movements that has been done recently"

Endymion extended his arm and grabbed the papers from the shitennou and started reading "Everything seems for what I am seeing that is going with normality" the blonde nodded "No problems have been reported, your plan of safety worked like a charm"

The prince chuckled startling the four men in front of him, as soon as he looked back at them he frowned slightly "What?"

"You're happy" Jadeite said.

"I am not happy, just relieved…this has been making me feel like I am not doing what I should be doing…" Endymion said slowly "I was trained to be a good soldier…a good prince…everybody expects me to do a good job"

Kunzite looked at the prince "You have something else…"

Endymion frowned "What?" and turned to look at two soldiers that came in to give him another stack of papers "Polemarchos…" they both said in unison and bowed their head in respect; Endymion nodded and grabbed the papers "Any news?"

"Everything seems to be under control for today"

"How are the guards at the gates doing? Have they reported anything unusual?"

"No, Your Highness"

"How are the cardinal points?"

"All secured Your Highness"

"That's what I like to hear" he signed the papers he revised quickly and gave them back to the soldier "Give this to General Leonidas, he is already aware of the changes I marked"

The soldier nodded "Yes Your Highness" they both bowed in respect and turned to look at the shitennou "Generals" and then turned on their heels and walked out of the study. Kunzite turned to look at the prince and arched his brow "You definitely have something else…"

"Of course, I am salubrious again" Endymion started reading the papers in his hands to begin signing them, Kunzite shook his head and crossed his arms "She came" he said softly, startling the prince. Immediately, Endymion raised his head and looked at the white haired man "What?"

"She came to see you…"

"What?" Zoicite widened his eyes, while looking at his comrade. Nephrite frowned and looked at both men Kunzite and then back at Endymion "But…her guardians, she is not allowed to come back again…"

"The little princess has found a way to escape from them again…she is cleverer than we all thought" Jadeite said in a playful manner. Zoicite turned to look at the prince "Is it true?"

The prince sighed and put his pen down on the inker again "How do you know?"

"She is the only one that puts you in a tremendously good mood" Jadeite said; Endymion looked at him, then at Kunzite "I really wish you could understand…" he said softly and looked down at his papers again.

Nephrite frowned slightly "You are not going to tell us anything else?"

"What do you want me to tell you that you don't know already?" Endymion said without taking his eyes away from the papers he was reading "You know my feelings for her, you know how much I care for her…you know that, as long as she comes I will continue seeing her…even if that is against you" he looked up "I just don't want to fight with you…I just hope you can understand it and accept it even if it goes against your will" he started signing the papers in his hands "Please, send these to the generals at the cardinal posts…" he looked at Kunzite and gave him the papers "Make sure these keep its confidentiality"

"Of course" Kunzite said softly.

"How…" Jadeite trailed off and leaned on his chair "Have you been taking Beryl's stay in the palace?"

The prince sighed and looked at them "I don't know"

"Have you seen her?" Zoicite asked curious, Endymion sighed and leaned on his chair "Yes…I have seen her a couple of times…"

"Why is she here?"

"I don't know…my grandmother and her insistency of thinking that I should marry and give her grandchildren…" Endymion rested his face on his hands "She insist in thinking Beryl is the woman I should marry"

"Beryl…Queen…" Jadeite bit his lower lip "That would be something…"

"Lady Charmindy would be here all the time…" Zoicite said and scratched his head. Endymion rubbed his face with his hands "There is definitely a certain attraction between us…"

"Certain?"

Endymion nodded. Kunzite crossed his arms "What do you mean with _certain_?"

Endymion sighed "Sexual"

Jadeite widened his eyes "You slept with her!"

Endymion widened his eyes "What?"

"What?" Kunzite asked.

"You slept with Beryl?" Jadeite asked shocked.

"No!" Endymion raised his voice.

"But you just said it!" Jadeite raised his hands in frustration, the prince ran a hand through his hair "I did not say that…I said, there was an attraction between Beryl and I"

"You mentioned sex" Nephrite said.

"But I never said I slept with her!" Endymion raised his voice "What is wrong with you?"

The four men stayed silent and wide eyed, Jadeite scratched the back of his head "We are men after all…" Endymion sweat dropped and lowered his head "You sure are something special…"

Kunzite arched his brow "Look who's talking…"

Endymion looked at him "What?"

"What are you going to do with her?" Kunzite asked again, Endymion sighed and looked away "I have already told her in many ways that I am not interested in her"

"How long is she staying?" Zoicite asked, Endymion shrugged his shoulders "I do not have a clue…she is under my grandmother's wing apparently"

"Her Majesty must not be very pleased with that" Nephrite said softly, leaning on his chair. Endymion raised his brows and let out a soft chuckle "My mother…she, well, let's say she is different"

"Would she like _her?__"_ Zoicite asked softly.

Endymion widened his blue eyes in surprise, the four men chuckled "We got you on that one…" Nephrite said softly, the prince blinked a couple of times and tried to find the right words to say but nothing crossed his mind. Would her mother actually approve his little bunny? What would she say about her if he met her, if she discovers Serenity's true identity, would she ask him to leave her? Only questions filled his mind instead of a straight answer.

"You will have to tell her eventually that you are interested in somebody else…" Kunzite said "How do you think she would react to the truth about her identity?"

"I…" Endymion trailed off "I don't know…"

"Have you ever considered introduce her to your mother?" Jadeite asked curious.

Endymion turned to look at him and nodded "I have…but…" he trailed off "I do not know how my mother would react to the fact that I am interested in somebody who is clearly forbidden by the laws of nature…"

"Do you really love her _that_ much?" Jadeite asked softly, Endymion let out a soft sigh and nodded "I thought I left that clear already"

"But, that, _that_ much? Would you really…fight for her like you say?"

"Yes"

"Even…if cost you your life?" Zoicite asked.

"Yes" Endymion rested his chin on his hands and lowered his gaze "When I am with her…I feel like I can be a better man, it is not a feeling of infatuation or caprice…it is something that soothes me, that makes me feel like a normal man"

Kunzite sighed "It seems that it does not matter how much we try to stop you both, she will continue finding her way to come to you…and you to be with her" he let out a soft chuckle "You two are too stubborn to realize the danger…"

Endymion knew that smile very well, it was defiant but at the same time sympathetic. Kunzite was being more his friend right now than his advisor, actually all of them. For the first time in a long while they were not trying to reason with him, but they were just listening and being the same men he met back at the training camp. His friends.

The white haired man leaned forward and rested his elbows on the desk "We do not approve your decision Your Highness…we still think it is insane and unconsidered, we still think it is dangerous for you both…and it is nothing against her, she is very lovely. It would be wonderful if she were one of us, so you could marry her…but she is from the heavens…you cannot marry a divine creature…" Kunzite sighed "If the Gods above us find out about this, they will come for your soul and who knows what they will do with it…"

Endymion sighed and leaned on the back of his chair, crossing his arms "…But…"

Kunzite widened his grey eyes, the prince knew him too well. After a few seconds, his features softened "…But we have never seen you this happy before…"

Jadeite blew his bangs "It is amazing how you can concentrate even when your heart is somewhere else…"

Kunzite turned to look at him; Endymion arched his brow "Huh? What does that has to do with this?"

Zoicite frowned and looked at the blonde soldier "You sure are something…"

Jadeite turned both sides and noticed everybody was giving him a strange look "Agh…now what?" the four men started laughing "Jadeite, just because you have a broken heart does not mean everybody will feel the same…" Nephrite patted his back; the blonde pursed his lips "I am not broken hearted, she…I…" he trailed off.

Endymion pursed his lips "She wasn't that pretty" he turned to look at Kunzite, who immediately understood what the prince was trying to do "Endymion is right…" he turned to look at Nephrite and gave him the same look, and did to Zoicite "Yes…she was more like a sack of rotten potatoes…useless" Zoicite said "She had no class whatsoever"

Jadeite raised his gaze "You really think she was not that pretty?"

Endymion scratched the back of his head "She…" he trailed off "…She looked like an elf"

Jadeite frowned "Like an elf, so now you are saying that I like elf looking women?"

The prince widened his eyes; Kunzite cleared his throat "What Endymion is trying to say is that you were doing her a favor"

"Exactly" the prince said.

"She did break my heart…she…"

"She was not worth it" Endymion said softly "She was just the ghost of a woman…someday you will find the one you have been waiting for all this time, you will see and when that happens…you will forget about this one that still haunts your mind"

Jadeite gave his prince a genuine smile and let out a soft sigh "Maybe I am not made for those kinds of things…you know? Love is a very complicated thing…"

"That woman was not love…" Zoicite sweat dropped; Jadeite sighed tiredly "Does it make any difference? I mean, look at Endymion…" Endymion widened his blue eyes "What about me?"

The blonde man turned to look at him "You are all distracted and suffering for a woman you cannot have…" Nephrite bit his lower lip "Jadeite…" he warned, the blonde turned to look at the dark man and shrugged his arms "Well, am I lying? When she does not come he starts acting like a madman…"

"…A madman" Endymion muttered and let out a soft chuckle "Alright…"

"But…you have to admit that he does not lose any concentration when he is working…" Nephrite said; the prince looked at him and arched his brow "Are you defending me Nephrite?"

Nephrite turned to look at him "Master…"

"It's alright…I appreciate it…" Endymion turned to look at the blonde soldier in front of him "You are right Jadeite, I lose my mind…but it is because I worry about her and I won't lie to you, I miss her but one thing is my relationship with her and other very different my duties as Prince. I under any circumstance can leave my job unattended by matters concerning my personal life" his voice was deep, rich but calm.

He was not angry, not even upset; after all the soldier was right he did become a madman anytime he did not see her for a long time, his mind starts to wonder if she is alright, if she is safe if she misses him the same way he misses her. It was not a new thing for him to tell his comrades and guardians the truth about his feelings, he had defended her from them in the past and he would continue doing it every time he can.

Kunzite sighed "What is going to happen now Endymion?" his voice lost all the playfulness and became more serious and with a hint of concern "Is this situation of constant arguing because of your relationship with her will continue forever?"

Endymion leaned on the back of his chair and let out a sigh "As I said it many times before…that is my personal life, if you cannot accept it then, yes, we will have to continue arguing about this matter…"

Kunzite sighed and stood up, running a hand through his hair "Why?..." he trailed off and turned to look at the prince "Why if you are so intelligent are you acting like an adolescent?"

Endymion stayed silent and only watched him become more and more frustrated. Kunzite frowned "You saw her guardians! They are against it as well, we are not the only ones…and if they are against it, then it is because it is really dangerous…very wrong…"

"It is because of them that she was able to come…"

"What?" the four men said wide eyed; Kunzite frowned "What are you saying?"

"That is what Serenity said"

"Are they out of their mind? Do you really believe her?" Kunzite frowned "Maybe that is a lie just to make you feel less guilty"

"Serenity is not one who can tell a lie…her eyes tells it all" Endymion said while continued signing the papers in his hands; Kunzite rubbed the bridge of his nose "You trust too much in her"

Endymion stopped and looked up at him "Of course I do"

"Why?" Kunzite asked with frustration "Why do you trust her so much? She comes from another world, from a place where they can actually manipulate everything to their convenience, they are gods!"

Endymion gave him a stern look; the white haired man walked over to the prince and rested his hands on the desk "You do not even believe in them, since I know you you have said that you do not trust them…that you did not believe in them…" the prince sighed "Kunzite…" he lowered his gaze for a moment and stayed silent, pushing himself away from the desk, he stood up and walked over to him "You are right, I do not trust the gods…I do not believe in their mercy towards us…but Serenity is not like them and you know it, I know you all do"

"Why do you trust her so much Master?" Kunzite asked softly.

Endymion gave the general a sympathetic look "Because I love her"

Kunzite looked at him and pressed his lips together "I have seen you with many women before…I know you slept with several, I saw you how you liked to flirt with them…until one day, something in you changed…I always knew you never loved any of them, I know it because we all experienced it…" he trailed off and rolled his grey eyes "Except for one who really fell in love with one of them…"

Jadeite frowned "Hey…"

Kunzite looked at Endymion again "We all did the same…we all were players, sometimes arrogant sometimes kind, like acid we only burned those bodies with our necessities more than doing it with a true sentiment…This is the first time in all my years of knowing you, that you show this loyalty…this passion for somebody…this…protective character over someone…I admire your courage…it is dangerous, yes, but if this is what you want…we will have to respect it"

Endymion widened his eyes "Are you?"

"We do not have another choice Master, we are your guardians…even when we do not agree this situation and puts your life at risk…you are right in one thing…it is your life and we as your friends and as your guardians we have to support you…we have to watch your back no matter what"

"You _have_ to?" Endymion arched his brow.

Kunzite let out a soft chuckle "Yes. We _have_ to….because you really are a pain in the butt when you want to be one…" the white haired man turned to look at his comrades and then back at him "We know your life is apart from your position as royal…you have never failed us as our High Prince, that is why we cannot fail you as your guardians"

"Kunzite is right Master…" Zoicite said softly "We have been friends, comrades for so long…that turning our backs in this particular matter that is clearly so important to you would be like betraying you…"

Endymion gave his shitennou a genuine smile "I really appreciate it"

"Of course…" Jadeite stood up "That does not mean we are not going to be alert every time we find out she is here…we still think she is a threat to you…after all, that romance of yours is like playing with fire"

"…But we know she means no harm" the four men looked at Nephrite who was looking outside the window, turning his face at them he pressed his lips together for a moment and shrugged his shoulders "The stars are still warning us for some kind of danger…but, when it comes to her, they show her sincere heart toward you, Prince"

Endymion let out a soft sigh "I appreciate it, although I am not sure if she will come again anytime soon…" he started looking the unrevised papers on the desk "Her guardians look over her at all times"

"But you just said it was her guardians the ones that let her come" Jadeite frowned; Nephrite crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes "They seem to be unsure just like us…"

"Unsure or not, we all have a very similar duty and is protect _our_ royals" Kunzite stood up and gave the prince another report from his jurisdiction "You need to sign this one in approval" Endymion looked up and took the piece of paper and gave it a quick read "I was quite surprised to know they let her come as well…knowing the character they all seem to have…" the prince printed his signature on the paper and put it aside, looking at his guardians again "You've seen it as well"

Kunzite crossed his arms and lowered his head "Like they could do something…"

Endymion looked at him "Eh?" Jadeite let out a soft laugh "Kunzite?" the white haired man shrugged his shoulders "They're women, it is not like they could do something"

The terran prince widened his blue eyes "Am I listening well?" Kunzite turned to look at him "Of course"

"You are being misogynist, that's stupid" Endymion stood up and walked over to him "Take those useless thoughts out of your mind…come one Kunzite you are much better than that"

The blonde soldier chuckled "Yes Kunzite….the misogynist one should be me not you"

Kunzite sighed "That is not what I meant, what I meant was that….we have a different training than them…they might have the protection from the planets or the gods but, we too can defend ourselves very well…"

"We are mortals Kunzite, remember that" Endymion patted his shoulder and started to walk away, toward the table where Leonidas pinned a large map; Kunzite bit his lower lip and closed his eyes "What if you could fight them? What if you could win?"

Endymion frowned and looked at him "What?"

Zoicite widened his blue green eyes and looked at Kunzite, amazed by his unusual exalted or more desperate behavior. It wasn't like him to be frustrated about these kinds of things. Being him the most strong willed and serious of them four and the one who always stopped them to say something about Endymion's nature "Kunzite…" he tried to warn him of what he was doing; but the white haired man was to frustrated to listen.

"What if you could win against them?" he asked Endymion again, startling him. Endymion frowned "I may have been well trained to fight and or kill but I highly doubt I could win a battle against them…"

"You said once that you felt like you could fight all of them and actually win…" Kunzite said again.

Endymion turned completely to look at his friend and general "Kunzite, what is wrong with you? Why are you asking me all this?"

"Did you or did you not say it?" Kunzite asked.

"I did" Endymion answered "But that does not mean I could actually win…"

"I am like this because I could not stand the way they talked to us…like if were inferior…" Kunzite said dryly. The terran prince arched one brow and crossed his arms "Are you still being molested by that? That happened weeks ago Kunzite"

"It doesn't matter" Kunzite said and looked at him "You know how much I hate being seen like an inferior being…like if we do not worth anything…" Endymion let out a breath, he did. He did know; knowing his past and the kind of life he had the least thing he liked to feel was to actually feel weak.

_Flashback_

_Young Endymion walked through the bushes toward the waterfall to wash the dirt and blood from a cut he got from one of the soldiers in training when he suddenly saw Kunzite sitting on one of the stones near the water. The prince thought it twice before deciding to take a step forward and appear next to the other soldier. _

_Kunzite did not notice him until he saw him crouching near the water "What are you doing here?" he asked dryly._

_Endymion turned to look at him and frowned "It is not of your business"_

_Kunzite's frown deepened when he noticed the large cut the prince had on his hand "You let go of your sword…" he muttered. Endymion arched his brow "How do you know?"_

"_By the cut on your hand" Kunzite answered and let out a soft sigh "Only weak men do that…"_

"_Here it goes again…" Endymion muttered and dig his hand in the cold water; Kunzite sighed and stood up, walking over to the prince he crouched next to him and grabbed his hand to take a look at the injury "For a man with the range you have and the ability to kill a person in a matter of seconds…this, is surprising"_

_Endymion widened his blue eyes "Are you giving me a compliment?"_

"_I am just stating the obvious" Kunzite frowned "Don't get to excited"_

_The prince hummed and looked at his hand "I made a false move and the other soldier moved his sword in the direction of my hand…" _

"_You shouldn't be making false moves…you should not be weak, if you are like Rumalos says 'our great soldier' then act like one…" Kunzite said dryly, but this time his voice did not held anger or despise but hurt and a hint of melancholy Endymion caught; frowning he looked at him, his hand was still in the water "Why are you so obsessed with weakness? You think a mistake is a synonym of weakness…why?"_

_Kunzite sighed and sat on a rock again, looking down he stayed silent for a few minutes deciding if it was a good idea to speak up his mind; sighing again he turned his head away "When you are weak, you are abandoned"_

_Endymion widened his blue eyes slightly "What?" he noticed Kunzite's trembling hands and realized his character, his stubbornness, his constant fighting against weakness was coming from something more personal than just because he hated everybody. The white haired soldier turned to look at the waterfall "When you are weak, you are not considered, noticed…you are not important" this time he turned to look at the prince "My father left that clear…"_

_Endymion frowned, taking his hand out of the water he shook off the excess of water and tied a cloth around the wound and secretly started to heal himself "Your father…"_

_Kunzite let out a soft breath "He abandoned my mother when I was not even born…" he looked up "She had to find her way to take care of my grandmother and myself…"_

"_You had nothing to do with his wrong decisions…"_

_Kunzite stood up and started kicking some pebbles toward the water "No…but he comes back whenever he wants to and my mother is always there with open arms…but he would always find his way to leave her again" Endymion noticed Kunzite frowned "I made myself a vow of never being like him…weak, useless…powerless" he turned to look at him "He and I had problems all the time, me argued, he treated me like if I was inferior….one day, I will go and take him out of that house and out her lives…"_

_Endymion walked over to him and stood next to him "Is that is what you really joined the army?"_

_Kunzite kept his gaze toward the water "I did it because I want to be somebody so I can prove him and everybody that I am not like him, that I am not his son" letting a soft sighed he lowered his head "Why am saying all this? And to you of all people…you have never suffered; you were born on a golden crib with privileges…"_

_Endymion let out a soft chuckle "I may have been born under many privileges like you say…but being who I am does not mean I am what you think I am…"_

"_I was the best candidate for being general…for being the commander of this army…but then, you came to ruin it all" Kunzite said dryly; the prince turned his face and looked at him "Whatever it is that I have is because I earned it. I came here not as Prince but as a person who wanted to change the course of his life…" Kunzite looked at him; Endymion let out a soft sigh "I too have my own reasons of being here…it is not my fault that in the process I was going to 'bother' you. If you are not Sergeant yet is because you are not giving your best…"_

"_You say it because you are already one…" Kunzite muttered and walked away "The golden boy…surpassed many good fighters and now holds a higher rank than me who was the best swordsman here…" turning over his shoulder he frowned again "If you are the promise of this army…then stop getting distracted…One thing is for sure…I won't be your loyal friend"_

_Endymion crossed his arms "Stop being stupid, open your eyes…we are at war. People are dying, I am not asking you to be my friend or to be my confident, I am only asking you to stop being rancorous and be a soldier. I am not your superior I am just a soldier who wants peace so I can go back home…I hate being at war, I hate to know that there are many people in danger…"_

_Kunzite let out a soft sigh and gritted his teeth "You and me will never be friends"_

"_I am not waiting for us to be friends, I am just waiting for you to realize where we are and what we are going through" Endymion said dryly "Open your eyes, if you hate being weak then stop being one" sighing tiredly he turned on his heel and started to walk away leaving a very upset and thoughtful Kunzite behind._

_End of flashback_

"They do not know the trials we had to overcome to be in the position we are now…" Kunzite muttered; Jadeite sighed and gritted his teeth "They talk like that because they are beings protected by the gods…they have powers…unlike us…"

Kunzite turned to look at Endymion "Does she treat you like an inferior being?"

Endymion shook his head "Strength is not measured by the power of your weapon…but from the courage you hold in your heart…" he let out a soft sigh "I know my limits Kunzite, although I am who I am…I am well aware that I am nothing more than a mortal; Serenity has never treated me differently but the contrary"

Kunzite was about to open his mouth again, the frustration was evident but before he could say something that would make the prince wonder why he was talking like that; Zoicite stood up "We have to keep our calm on this matter, we are not sure if they will let their Princess to come and see our Prince once again…considering the seriousness of the matter"

Nephrite closed his eyes "We are not going to stop protecting our Prince…"

"Of course not" Jadeite said and turned to look at the brown haired man "Have you seen anything new…you know, from the stars?"

Nephrite shook his head "They have been silent…but the star of Leo continues shining differently…"

Endymion lowered his head and let out a soft sigh "There are many under the protection of the same star…it has nothing to do with me" the four men turned to look at each other; Zoicite bit his lower lip and looked at the prince "Master, Nephrite knows what he is doing" Kunzite turned to look at the dark haired man who was already giving him a knowing look, then turned to look at the prince as well "He is the only one that can listen to what they have to say…"

The terran prince pursed his lips and looked down at the map on the table and grabbed a piece of chalk and started marking several areas "The stars…not say the issue has to do with me specifically…we are under some kind of threat, yes, but that does not mean I am involved in it. Let this matter at peace, I am a mortal human just like everyone else, yes, I am a royal…but my job is to keep everybody safe, being afraid is not an option for me, it has never been and it will never happen" his hand moved across the large map, gliding the off white chalk against it "These are the areas that have been regarded, its inhabitants have been removed and replaced over to this place" he made a small cross and looked at the shitennou "Point D continues releasing that same sulfur odor and smoke, but at least there are not people living near it"

"I'll go check the first squad" Jadeite stood up "Is there something else I should be investigate?"

Endymion shook his head "Tell General Iso to send the reports straight to Leonidas, I'll have a meeting with him later this afternoon"

Jadeite nodded "Alright"

"A meeting?" Kunzite frowned.

Endymion looked at him and placed the chalk aside; shaking the white powder off his hands he arched a brow "Yes…why?"

"I do not have my report complete, the southern squad hasn't returned yet" Kunzite said.

"Those reports are not going to be revised on that meeting. That is why I am going alone"

Kunzite arched his brow "You? By yourself?"

Endymion frowned "Eh…yes, me, by myself" the white haired man let out a loud sigh and started to stack some papers from the desk "Alright" he said dryly. The other three men frowned confused and just when Jadeite was about to say something, Endymion thought 'something sarcastic and inappropriate for the moment' and turned to look at him "I think General Iso is in his office right now revising the novelties…"

Jadeite widened his eyes and closed his mouth, Nephrite turned to look at the blonde and smiled; Zoicite nodded "Shall we all go?" Endymion nodded; Zoicite knew there was something wrong with Kunzite, he knew him well but even when they both knew from a longer time than he and Endymion, and surprisingly for him and the rest of the shitennou; Kunzite trusted him even when he once said he would never was to be his friend. The three men bowed their heads and left the study, leaving the prince and his right handed counselor alone. The prince patted his shoulder and frowned "What are you doing here in the first place?"

Kunzite frowned and shook his head "What?"

"It's the third Monday of the month…" Endymion said again while walking toward a chair and took a sit; he crossed his leg, resting his right ankle on his left knee "You know that, right?"

Kunzite sighed and went to sit on a chair in front of the prince and took the same position "I know…"

"You need to do something about it…why are you here and not there?"

Kunzite frowned and lowered his grey gaze "He came back…"

Endymion arched his brow and pursed his lips "And what are you going to do?"

"I can't go there…" Kunzite said quickly, looking at Endymion "I can't…"

"Why not?" Endymion frowned, crossing his arms.

"Because…" Kunzite trailed off.

"Kunzite…" Endymion moved forward "You need to do something about it, are you going to evade him for the rest of your life?"

"Endymion, I know that if I see him…I am going to want to kill him" Kunzite said softly "My mother loves the man…no matter how bastard he is…"

"But, I am sure she loves you more" Endymion said "Kunzite…I think it is worse for you both to live in this situation…the man is a bastard I agree with you but…"

"…But you don't really know how much" Kunzite interrupted him.

"I do" Endymion looked at him; startling the white haired man "I am a soldier…and, your friend. I already investigated him…the man is a bastard" Kunzite gritted his teeth "See?"

"What?" the prince arched his brow.

"Knowing that he is, what he is…I am sure that I will kill him as soon as I see his face"

"Does he even know what you do?" the prince asked; Kunzite shrugged his shoulders "He knew my plans were to join the army…she has probably already told him I work in the palace at your service"

Endymion sighed "You need to do something about this matter…otherwise, it will eat you alive"

Kunzite closed his eyes "It does, every time I know he is with her" he opened them again and look at the prince "You too…"

Endymion frowned "I too what?"

"Need to do something about it"

"About what?"

Kunzite crossed his arms "Your _love_ situation…Beryl is still here and it does not matter how many times you have said to her you are not interested, she will continue trying"

"And I will continue telling her I am not interested" Endymion said.

"Does the Princess know about her?"

"Yes…" Endymion answered softly; Kunzite frowned "Haven't you thought of the possibility of her having a male version of Beryl in her palace, pursuing her?"

The question hit a soft spot in Endymion's heart; his eyes went a little darker, more sapphire like Kunzite noticed; his brow did not arched like it normally does when he does not understand something or when he is just being sarcastic, it went not as higher as usual but still it was noticeable. He pressed his lips more than just one time, he noticed and ran his hand through his hair two times in a row; yes Kunzite thought 'he was starting to feel jealous'

"Well?" Kunzite asked.

Endymion frowned "She would never lie to me…"

"I am not saying she is lying…I am asking, that if you have thought of that possibility?" Kunzite asked with more softness this time. Endymion sighed "Serenity is precious, I do not have a doubt that many men have tried to pursue her…I do not know if a man like Beryl is staying at her palace but…I know that she would never lie to me…I am certain of her love"

"There could be one…" Kunzite widened his eyes slightly "You might have a rival and you don't even know!"

Endymion sweat dropped "Kunzite…"

"Oh…that would be…" Kunzite trailed off.

Endymion scratched the back of his head "Where are you trying to go?"

"Think about it…she is a jewel of woman…do you really think she is alone?" Kunzite bit his lower lip and stood up "You probably have hundreds of rivals…" Endymion growled and stood up "Yes, well…thank you for letting me know"

Kunzite started to chuckle; Endymion turned and gave him a deadly look "Funny enough?"

Kunzite gave the prince a wide smile "Quite…I find amusing how you haven't thought of that before…"

The prince ran a hand through his midnight hair again "What makes you think I haven't?"

"And still you want to be with her?"

"I trust her Kunzite" Endymion sighed; Kunzite widened his grey eyes "That much?"

"I trust her the same way she trusts me" Endymion looked outside the window "She would never lie to me…"

"I am not saying she would…I actually think she is very nice and innocent, incapable of doing something like that but…still, you have to think, she is the goddess of the moon an heir to a divine kingdom…she is not a woman from the court…not a duchess, nor a Lady, she is a Princess…a divine Princess" Kunzite said.

"…And I am just a mortal Prince" Endymion said softly, with a hint of sadness Kunzite noticed. It was cruel he thought, to make him feel the way he probably was making him feel; talking about weakness, the young prince tried to make him feel better and he was actually making him feel worse; walking over to him he patted his shoulder, he felt bad, he felt frustrated, because he could not break the promise he made to his queen "You are not just a mortal Prince…" he said softly.

Endymion turned to look at him "Ha, now you are trying to making me feel better after the blow you just gave me?"

Kunzite gave him a sympathetic smile "You are not just a normal Prince…" this time, he said it with more reassurance; Endymion arched his brow, again, like he normally does, a sign Kunzite interpreted as a good thing "…You are quite strange, not normal…"

Endymion blew his bangs and turned on his heel "I'm out of here…" he muttered.

Kunzite started to laugh "Oh come on! I'm being silly!"

Endymion waved his hand; Kunzite let out a soft laugh "Come on! Don't be mad!" the prince turned over his shoulder "You are not normal either…"

"I know" Kunzite smiled.

Endymion turned to look at him "Go and fix your problems…stop annoying me"

Kunzite laughed "Go and fix yours, then we talk"

"I don't have problems" the prince frowned.

"Sure you do….one of them has a name, and it has red hair" Kunzite crossed his arms; Endymion sighed and looked away, running a hand through his hair again "Argh…I hate this! Dammit!... I want this to be over…"

Kunzite arched a brow "There is only one way for that problem to end…"

Endymion looked at him and arched his brow too, Kunzite sighed "Marry her"

Endymion widened his eyes, and made a face like if he just tasted something incredibly acid "What? No!"

Kunzite shrugged his shoulders "What are you going to do then? How are you going to make that headache stop? You can't introduce your divine lover to your family, they will curse the heavens!" Endymion gave Kunzite a strange look; "Well…not literally curse the heavens but they will…let's say be surprised quite a bit"

Endymion sighed and lowered his head "I hate this…" his voice sounded tired. He was tired.

Kunzite pressed his lips together and patted Endymion's back "Come on…cheer up"

"Well yes…I do not have another choice…" the prince mumbled "I still have the meeting with Leonidas…"

"Hey…" Kunzite said softly "Nobody said having five different strategies working at the same time was an easy task…and you are doing it impressively"

Endymion gave his friend a sympathetic smile "…To ever think you said we would never be friends…"

Kunzite bit his lower lip "Well I was…" he trailed off.

"You were being stubborn…"

"Ha" Kunzite hissed "Like if you were the least stubborn of us all"

Endymion laughed softly "You are stealing my time! I have to get out of here…" the prince started to walk out of the study; followed by the shitennou who was laughing again "Yes, yes…go, run and hide little Prince" Endymion laughed and looked over his shoulder "Shut up, Kunzite"

O.o.o.o.o.O

Beryl was walking alone by the inner garden of the palace when she suddenly heard a very familiar deep voice; her heart started racing with excitement, looking up she blushed as soon as she saw Endymion walking with Kunzite. Her green eyes lit up with desire, too bad he was not alone this time "Where…is he going?" she said slowly to herself, as soon as he was out of her sight she tried to walk to the stairs to see if she could catch up with them but to her luck, she did manage to find him but he was already busy talking to other guards "At this rate…it is going to be impossible to talk with him again…" he leaned on a wall, hiding herself from them; sighing, she closed her green eyes and raised her head "What I should do…I can't take this anymore…" opening her eyes again, she bit her lower lip "Endymion…my love…"

Her eyes widened with realization, she still had a card under her sleeve; her lips curved into a smile and as soon as she could walk out of there without being noticed she went straight to the only place she could find the person she was now looking for.

With the help of several maids, she managed to get to the place she wanted to go and opened one of the doors startling the people inside, all the maids working inside turned to look at her and widened their eyes in shock "My Lady?" one of them asked surprised.

Beryl scanned the room quickly and then directed her gaze to the woman who dared to speak first "Is Megumi here?"

The woman who spoke first widened her eyes "M-Megumi?"

"Is she here?" Beryl asked demanding.

"She is not part of the kitchen staff My Lady…" the woman said softly. Beryl frowned slightly "Prince Endymion asked me personally to look for her; he needs of her assistance right away"

The women widened their eyes bigger than the first time "P-Prince Endymion?"

Beryl felt her heart beat faster in her chest, it was clear that she wanted the prince for her at this rate it did not matter at what cost, even if she had to lie or even if she had to steal. The maids turned to look at each other and then back at Beryl "As soon as we see her we will inform her My Lady or maybe we can look for Lady Aurea…she is the closest to His Highness"

"No…" Beryl widened her eyes "I just talked to him…and he told me that whatever I needed I just needed to look for her…"

"Perhaps His Highness is in a meeting and needs something from his chambers…" a young maid whispered to another who was looking at Beryl with surprised eyes "His chambers…" Beryl whispered "Yes…"

Megumi entered minutes after to the kitchen and stopped as soon as she saw Beryl standing inside, one of the older women turned to look at her and frowned slightly "There she is My Lady"

Beryl turned to look at the girl behind her "Megumi" she said softly.

Megumi widened her eyes in amazement, indeed, just like the prince have said she was beautiful and curvaceous; her long wavy hair fell like a cascade made of fire on her back, the tiara with an emerald on her forehead made her green eyes look bigger and greener; her skin was slightly pink and looked impeccable.

But, something was not right; Beryl was there in the kitchen and looking for her. She bowed in respect and nodded "Yes, My Lady"

Beryl felt like if she had found a missing piece of a puzzle, this young girl was the key to the prince's room and life, according to what Isma said, this was the girl the Prince confided "I have been told that you serve to Prince Endymion directly…I want to have a word with you"

Megumi stayed silent and followed the redhead outside the kitchen and into the hallway. Beryl gave her an authoritative smile "You probably know by now who am I"

Megumi looked at Beryl and nodded "You are Our Majesties' guest"

"Right" Beryl answered with the same smile "And of course…you probably know by now that I am Queen Narella's friend"

"No, My Lady" Megumi answered softly.

"Well, now you know…" Beryl said dryly.

Megumi bit her lower lip for a moment "My Lady, I believe I am not following…what do I have to do with it?"

"I have been told…" Beryl smiled again "That you serve Prince Endymion directly…"

And then, Endymion's words echoed in Megumi's mind "Does His Highness needs something?"

"No" Beryl said, her smiled faded a little "I am the one who needs help this time"

"I do not understand" Megumi said softly.

Beryl smiled widely and took of her emerald necklace "I only need to know…at what time I can find Prince Endymion in his room…and, where should I go…" her hand played with the heavy necklace, catching the light making it gleam proudly. Megumi widened her eyes "I beg your pardon My Lady?"

"You heard me…" Beryl said "I just want you to help me, so in the future I can help you…"

"My Lady…" Megumi looked at the necklace "I am not allowed to give any information concerning Prince Endymion"

Beryl took a step closer to the girl "I am your Queen's favorite…if you help me, I will compensate you very well my dear…very well…"

Megumi lowered her gaze, was this woman this capable of doing whatever she could in order to win the prince's heart by force, with dirty games and tricks. She closed her eyes for a moment and remembered the moment she talked to him, his sincere face and the sound of his voice when he said he needed to talk to a friend, he considered her his friend, and she could not betray him the way Beryl was asking her to. Shaking her head, she took a step back "I am so sorry My Lady…"

Beryl widened her eyes "What?"

"I cannot help you…I cannot do what you are asking me to do"

"What are you saying?" Beryl hissed.

"I cannot do what you are asking me to do…My Lady…I cannot fail my Prince"

"You do not want this?" Beryl raised the necklace in her hand "This necklace can free you from your poverty…and if you help me, I can turn you my personal assistant once I turn your Prince's wife"

Megumi felt her heart cringe with Beryl's words, for what she knew of the prince this woman was a gold digger, this woman in front of her only wanted what Endymion said repeatedly: His mother's crown and him…in her bed as a trophy. Shaking her head, she took another step back and lowered her head "I can't My Lady…" she raised her head "I am sorry"

Beryl's smile faded as soon as she heard the negative from the girl "Then I will not be considerate with you once I become Queen, you will be another maid sent to the streets"

Megumi felt her eyes fill with tears but fought with all her might to hold them in place; Beryl put back her necklace and let out a soft chuckle "Then, you better keep this conversation in between us if you do not want Queen Narella to cause a commotion…"

Megumi shook her head and lowered her gaze "No, My Lady"

Beryl clenched her jaw "It is really a pity you do not want to overpass your maid status…" looking away she noticed Aurea was coming their way, turning again to look at Megumi she frowned slightly "You will be sorry of the decision you just made…" turning on her heel she started to walk away, leaving Megumi behind.

Beryl hid behind a pillar and waited for Aurea to walk inside the kitchen and heard she was talking to Megumi "Dinner will be served an hour late due to the meeting the King and Prince will be attending in a few minutes, you have more time to finish your chores" Megumi nodded her head, Aurea gave her a sympathetic smile knowing Endymion had a very good impression of the young maid; Aurea nodded and walked into the kitchen to supervise the cook and know the complete menu for the night.

Megumi turned to the direction Beryl went and bit her lip "Please Holy Gods…do not let that woman be our future Queen" she whispered to herself.

Beryl walked down the hall and back to her room; closing the door behind her she lay on her bed and looked up to the ceiling, her time in the palace was running out and if she did not do anything to win the prince's heart this time then her golden ticket to be the next queen of the golden kingdom would be ruined.

All her plans and her dreams would be crushed, she rolled on to her side and took her tiara off, tossing it aside in a frustrated manner "What else can I do?" she asked to the silence and let out a sigh, her green eyes started to burn with tears at the thought of going back to the streets just like Charmindy threatened "No" she gasped and stood up "I cannot go back to the streets…" she whispered and walked over to her vanity; looking at her reflection a single tear rolled down her pale cheek "I am Lady Beryl…future Queen of the Golden Kingdom, Prince Endymion's future wife and eternal lover…" her voice went down a few decibels and repeated like a mantra while she started brushing her long fiery red.

"I am Lady Beryl…and nothing will stop me from getting what I want, and what I want right now, is you…Endymion"


	89. Chapter 89

**A/N: A chapter per week again, not bad. It seems I am regaining my time to post and write :) I'm looking forward your reviews, I hope you like it.**

****I do not own sm, just this plot and some of the characters. tk.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter eighty nine**

* * *

"Alright…what we need to do is to take that crew into this other point…the key of this matter is to change the groups of guardians so the enemy can be taken by surprise" one of the generals in charge of one of the squats sent to the outside skirts of the kingdoms said.

Endymion ran his hand through his hair for the fifth time in his time present in the meeting; King Eros scratched the back of his head and let out a soft sigh "Popholos, Endymion have showed me the strategies that should be taken from now on…"

The blonde general pursed his lips and turned to look at the Prince who was sitting on a chair with his leg crossed. Even though it was an important meeting, both, king and prince wanted to keep a little less formal the moment; a medium sized and round coffee table was set in the middle with stacked papers and several cups of coffee. The meeting had extended more than they imagined, it was already dark outside and it was starting to tire all men inside the study.

Endymion sighed from time to time just as his father with tiredness every time the general asked the same question several times. Both men were very alike, but one man had more patience than the other.

King Eros was known to be direct and to work in a very fast pace, everybody knew that whenever the king was going to present, answers were going to be needed as soon as possible. His character was not explosive, but strict and demanding while Endymion's was more tranquil, the same as strict but with more patience and discipline; but the prince's work was more detailed, studied and strategic and he liked to work on several things at the same time because of his ability to keep his calm and concentration on every matter and every task.

But there was something Endymion hated more than anything, and that was when somebody did not paid attention or not followed his directions. Eros was more permissive than the young and handsome prince, and the man who, by the way was the one who talked the most during the meeting was doing that; asking and alleging what the prince just said as soon as the meeting started.

"Where should these men go then My King?" the general asked, yes, again.

Endymion bit his lower lip and frowned, turning to look at Leonidas who already knew the prince's thoughts. He tried to fight the urge to laugh at the faces Endymion tried with all his might to dissimulate and instead of exploding, he did what he always did when he was feeling frustrated, cleared his throat and ran his hand through his hair.

King Eros rubbed his temples, something characteristic in him "Popholos, Endymion already explained that part"

"But what about the relocation of the inhabitants near the point D area? The general asked, again.

Leonidas turned to look at Eros and then at the prince who bent over to grab his cup of now cold coffee and took a sip before making a face of dislike. The brown haired general cleared his throat "Popholos, I believe all that information has been given by His Highness"

The blonde soldier widened his brown eyes slightly and looked at the prince who was looking at him back "I already gave that explanation"

"And is it already approved?" the general asked.

Endymion blinked a couple of times and turned to look at his father who had an expression of confusion "I already signed the papers"

"Oh…Alright Your Majesty…" he said softly and brought a finger to his chin in thought "I have one question…"

Endymion sighed and took another sip of his coffee. Eros shook his head "We should leave this for the next meeting. There are several things I need to talk with my son here…the rest of you are excused, thank you and have a good night"

All the seven generals stood up and bowed their heads in respect and left the study; as soon as the soft echo of the doors being closed was heard, Endymion let out a long sigh. Leonidas chuckled softly and turned to look at him "Annoyed?"

Endymion rested his head on the back of his chair and closed his eyes while he rubbed his temples "What happened to that man today?" he asked tiredly "I explained the same thing almost five times…and he still questioned about it"

Eros sighed and stood up "In what division is he?"

Endymion opened his eyes and looked at the papers on the coffee table "European…with Zoicite"

"How long has he been there?"

Endymion frowned "Probably way before I was assigned to be the Commander of the army…he was relocated from your own divisions to the ones of the shitennou"

Leonidas pursed his lips "He has always been distracted…"

Endymion turned to look at him and arched his brow "Yes, I know…but today was ridiculously distracted…" he looked at his cup of coffee and stick his tongue out "And on top of all I had to drink to this cold coffee…argh…"

Leonidas chuckled "You are addicted to coffee"

"It helps me concentrate" Endymion said "Or in this case…it kept me awake"

Eros finished signing some papers "I think everything was covered…putting aside all the interruptions and repetitions…" he turned to look at his son "Would you give them one final look?"

Endymion extended his hand out to him and sighed "Of course…I'll do it tonight"

Eros arched a brow "You are having dinner with us, right?"

The prince stacked the load of paperwork he was taking with him to work late hours in his room and tried to stand up "I…"

"Your mother would like to see you…" Eros said interrupting him.

"Suppose…" Endymion finished his sentence "And I want to see her, but I just do not want to see _her_…"

Eros sighed "Son, you have to deal with this situation whether you like it or not…at least do it until she is gone…I do not want to have any more discussions with your grandmother because of it"

"Just because she is pretty…" Endymion mumbled.

"What?" Eros arched his brow.

Endymion turned to look at his father "She likes her just because she is pretty…" she sighed and stood up taking the stack of papers with him "Do you really had to deal with this madness?"

"No…" Leonidas answered, making both men turn. Leonidas looked at Eros "He had to deal with a bigger headache named Charmindy"

Endymion sighed and raised both brows in agreement "Yes, well…you were lucky…you found mother"

Eros smiled "Let's say we both found each other"

The comment caught Endymion's attention, turning to look at him he narrowed his eyes with curiosity "How did you two met?"

King Eros looked at Leonidas who was giving him a knowing smile and then back at his son "One faithful day…when I was sick of hearing your grandmother's questioning of when I was going to marry and give them grandchildren…I escaped and went to the woods, and there she was…"

"Yes, but Queen Gaia has never been easy. She has her character" Leonidas said softly.

Endymion chuckled "Mother will always have a strong and special character…"

Eros smiled "Your mother is very special, a goddess, _my_ goddess" he walked over his son and patted his shoulder "…Deal with it, do it for her…"

"I am positive she does not want to keep having dinner while she is here" Endymion arched his brow.

Eros sighed and looked up "Your mother…" he trailed off making Endymion laugh "But she is _your_ goddess" the prince joked.

The king widened his eyes "You better not say anything…you are just like her"

Endymion laughed and shook his head "Did I have another choice?"

Eros chuckled and shook his head "No, you are stuck with our legacy for the rest of your life…"

Endymion smiled "I will go get refreshed…I feel like I am falling asleep…" he turned on his heel and started to walk out of the room "I will have these ready tomorrow afternoon" he looked over his shoulder "Is that alright?"

"Alright son" Eros said; Endymion opened the large door and closed it behind him. Leonidas looked at the door and then at Eros, sighing he patted his king and friend's back "His legacy…if he only knew…"

"There is no doubt he is a superior warrior…" Eros said softly and sighed "But it was Gaia's decision…and I have to support her"

"You two have done a marvelous work in raising him…" Leonidas said.

Eros smiled "Not only we raised him, but also you and Aurea…you have helped us all this time, I really appreciate it" Leonidas smiled and nodded his head "The moment he was born, our lives changed. Aurea, adores him like a son and so do I"

The king sighed "I cannot lie to you Leonidas…I am worried about him"

Leonidas frowned "Worried? About Endymion?"

Eros nodded. Leonidas gritted his teeth "Why?"

Eros sighed again "Because of who he is…I am worried, he does not have a clue of who he really is, what will happen once his mother and I leave this place? What if…_they_ decide to come and fight him?"

"He will fight back" Leonidas said softly.

"They are not human Leonidas…"

"He is not one either…" Leonidas said again.

Eros gritted his teeth "I just…" he trailed off "Every day she is becoming weaker…I can't stand to watch her sick…" Leonidas walked over to him and patted his shoulder "Hey…you have to be strong…"

Eros raised his face and looked at his friend "I love her too much to let her go…"

"You are not letting her go…" Leonidas said softly "Eros, you two share something in common and that is your devoted passion for each other…you two have a son, and what a son you have…he is incredibly skilled and intelligent, noble and with a honest heart, he is your legacy"

Leonidas walked over to the desk to put his own papers over it and turned to look at the king again "You found your way to be together, even after all the trials you overcame…she is your rightful wife and she is waiting for you upstairs"

Eros smiled "She is…"

Leonidas gave him a warm smile "Then what the hell are you still doing here? Go see her, pamper her…love her. Enjoy the moments you have together, enjoy your time together and stop worrying…"

Eros nodded "You sure are a good friend…"

"I sure am…I was the first to know of your affair with her" Leonidas crossed his arms.

Eros laughed "Yes and I remember when you told me she was a witch"

Leonidas bit his lower lip and looked away "I never imagined you were capable of make a goddess fall in love with you and not just any goddess…but the one of this planet! You sure like danger"

Eros lowered his gaze and chuckled "I will go and get ready for dinner…" he started walking and stopped, turning over his shoulder "You are joining us this time, right?"

Leonidas smiled "You know Aurea…not an easy cookie; she prefers to give you your private and family time"

Eros let out a soft laugh "Leonidas…our time stopped being private a long time ago"

Leonidas shrugged his shoulders and pursed his lips "True…but still…you need to enjoy the little time you have together"

Eros turned his head again and nodded "Yes, you are right…sleep tight my friend"

Leonidas smiled "I will see you in the morning" the general watched the king leave the study. He kind of understood his king's position and feelings, he thought about his own wife and how desperate and lost would feel if something ever happened to her; they had no children, even when they knew they could not have any family they tried many times to see if a miracle could happen but it did not, Aurea was his family and he was hers, they only had each other.

They both helped the king and queen take care of the gifted prince and became his godparents, they were all family but even when Aurea was the queen's closest friend and confident she still respected her and looked at her first as her queen and because of that, she tried to respect their time as family.

O.o.o.o.o.O

Beryl finished getting herself ready for dinner; Isma was finishing doing her hair while she sprayed some perfume behind her ears and on her very exposed chest "Do you get along with Megumi?"

The question startled the girl brushing the woman's red hair "I beg your pardon My Lady?"

Beryl pouted her lips and started to glide her vibrant red lipstick over them, once she was done she pressed them together and looked at the young maid through the mirror "You heard me, do you get along with her?"

Isma finished putting Beryl's emerald hair piece in place and stepped aside "We haven't had the opportunity to work together…I know she is a very serious girl, but that is it…"

The red haired woman frowned and stood up, her deep green dress contrasted with her pale skin but enhanced her red hair and green eyes, the scent of her perfume engulfed the entire room "Why did he chose her?"

Isma shrugged her shoulders "My Lady I do not know…Lady Aurea was the one to assign her that duty"

"I do not accept it" Beryl muttered and walked over to the windows, looking at the distance towards the prince's balcony "Once I become Queen…she will be fired"

Isma widened her eyes "What?" she whispered but Beryl heard and looked at her "She did not give me any information…she was rude…what else could expect from her, a simple maid with no aspirations…" she walked back to her vanity and sat "She does not think like you…"

"Like…me?" the maid trailed off "Did you talk to her My Lady?"

Beryl turned to look at her "Is it a fact, that the Prince and I will marry soon enough…I am the best candidate, favored by Queen Narella…I deserve to know more about him, of course I talked to her"

"Prince Endymion is very strict…" the young maid said "When it comes to his private life…he does not like for the rest to know what he does or where he goes"

"Prince Endymion…" Beryl looked at her reflection in the mirror, his name rolled from her tongue in a devilish and desirable tone "I can't wait to see him tonight…" she said softly. The young maid bit her lower lip and walked over the door as soon as she heard somebody knocking. Beryl could hear some whispering coming from that direction and frowned "Is something the matter?"

The young maid walked back to the room "No My Lady…only to inform you that dinner is soon to be served"

Beryl's lips curved into a smile "Exactly what I wanted to hear" standing up; she looked at her one last time in the mirror and walked toward the door, followed by the maid.

The dinner table was already set, candles were lit at the center of the long and fine table, and so an exquisite table cloth in a white color with golden embroidery gave a distinctive touch to the room. Fresh flowers were cut and put on tall crystal and ceramic vases to go along the decoration. It was a sign that the queen was going to join them for dinner.

Beryl entered there first and gasped at the beauty of the room, since she got there the first night she always was amazed by the elegance and uniqueness of the palace; turning both sides she looked at the prince's chair and could not help to smile. Just the thought of being near him excited her; this would be another attempt for her to win his heart.

Minutes later, three maids entered, letting Beryl know it was time for Queen Narella to come in, wearing an elegant burgundy dress [her usual and favorite color] with a golden broach at the center of her chest with the symbol of their kingdom.

"Your Majesty" Beryl bowed; Queen Narella gave the redhead a smile and nodded her head "You look lovely Beryl"

Beryl smiled "Thank you very much Your Grace, so as you"

"My grandson will be very impressed" the former queen said, winking an eye at her. Beryl blushed and lowered her gaze "Your Majesty…"

Narella chuckled and went to take her seat "Oh dear…I know my grandson, he may be very serious but, he is a man and has an exquisite taste…you will catch his eye"

Beryl widened her green eyes and looked at the former queen "You really think so Your Majesty?"

Narella smiled as she took her seat "Endymion might be a little hard to get, a little too strict but…he is a very kind man, once you get to know him…" she trailed off and bit her lower lip "That is a hard thing to achieve, but I trust you will win his trust"

Beryl blushed "Thank you Your Majesty"

Minutes later, King Eros walked in holding Queen Gaia's hand. As always, she looked regal and beautiful; Beryl admitted to herself how much she admired the terran queen. Her beauty was striking and so her poise and elegance; her voice was warm, slightly low but still sweet and delicate and even though she was rather petite, she had an intimidating character she was never afraid to show.

Gaia came wearing a beautiful turquoise gown made of chiffon, the fabric fell elegantly from one shoulder like a cascade on her other exposed shoulder was a golden broach with emeralds and sapphires catching the light of the chandelier. Her characteristic golden chain hung delicately from her neck with the golden stone gleaming proudly. Her hair was styled in a low loose bun with blue crystal pins; her makeup as always was classic and neutral.

Beryl gave them a low bow "Good evening Your Majesties"

Gaia looked at her while still held her husband's hand "Good evening Lady Beryl" letting go of Eros' hand she went to take her seat and turned to look at Aurea who was still next to her "Is he…" she was beginning to ask when the prince made his much awaited arrival. Wearing his simple military attire in navy blue and dark boots, this time he did not wore his cape, taking a little formality to the moment, since it was only dinner and nothing more he did not see wearing his formal attire was necessary "Forgive my delay…" he said as soon as he walked in.

Beryl immediately felt her heart started to pound in her chest "Your Highness" she said softly, catching his attention, looking at his mother first he went to give her a kiss on her hand and then turned to look at Beryl again "Good evening Beryl…" he said slowly.

The way he said her name made her feel unique. His exquisite voice wrapped each letter of her name making it sound like a poem or more like an invitation to experience a lustful moment. The prince knew well what he had to do; after all, there was a protocol he had to follow. Walking over to her, he bowed his head respectfully and pulled her chair so she could take a seat; Beryl blushed by his gesture being something he hadn't done before.

Queen Narella smiled at her grandson "Doesn't she look lovely?"

Endymion took his seat and placed his napkin on his lap in silence, Narella frowned slightly "Endymion…dear"

The prince shook his head and turned to look at her "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Narella looked at him "Are you not going to tell Beryl how lovely she looks?"

Gaia turned to look at Narella with daring eyes and when she was about to say something she felt Eros' hand on hers as a signal to stay calm. Endymion clenched his jaw a little; he hated when her grandmother did that. He knew well what her intentions were and also noticed Beryl's if not extravagant, very provocative gown since he walked in, even when he found her attractive he disliked to pretend, and pretend was what Narella was demanding him to do but he was not in the mood for an allegation, he was too tired to deal with those absurd problems; clearing his throat he looked at her and then at Beryl "Your right grandmother, Beryl looks lovely"

Beryl blushed at his comment and lowered her gaze while Queen Gaia only let out a sigh; Eros chuckled softly and turned to look at his wife "Dear…" he whispered.

The queen pursed her lips and took a sip of her glass of water. Queen Narella waved her hand giving the sign to start serving dinner, Aurea nodded and walked out of the dining room and sent the maids in with the large silver trays full of food. One of the maids started serving the first plate which was a small bowl of soup.

"It is so nice to have dinner with all the family" Queen Narella said happily before taking the first spoon of her soup "You are always so busy"

Endymion sweat dropped and turned to look at his grandmother and continued eating, Eros cleared his throat and after taking another sip of his wine he directed his blue gaze toward his mother "There has been quite a lot of thing to do Mother, you know it"

Narella frowned slightly "Well, but, you should always make some time to spend it with us, your family"

Gaia looked at her mother in law and then at Eros "Mater tua est usque ad…" [Your mother is going too far] Eros sighed and continued eating, Beryl looked at the royals in silence and then at the prince who did not raised his gaze through the conversation his father was having with his grandmother.

He looked absent, like if he was thinking in something or somebody else, she noticed he stopped eating and pushed the porcelain bowl aside and took several sips of his wine.

She heard how the former queen continued asking and saying indirect comments about their constant absences and she felt she had something to do with it. The former queen set her plate aside and waited for the salad to be served "I think that no matter how much work you have…you always have to find some time to share with the family…" she looked at the prince and arched her brow "You are not going to say anything Endymion?"

Endymion sighed and took his glass of wine "Non arbitror hoc loco de hac re et tempus loquendi" [I don't think this is the right place and the right time to talk about this matter] he turned to look at her "At all"

Queen Narella widened her hazel eyes "Endymion…"

"Est Lorem ipsum dolor sit super nos tueri tabula ..." [There is a guest on this table…there is a privacy we have to protect]

Beryl widened her eyes; she had never heard him speak in their mother tongue. Even though she was terran she did not spoke or understood it fluently, where she lived it was more common to speak in a less elaborated language. The way his voice modulated the words, so deep and rich captivated her, he seemed not to be talking to someone but if he was chanting the most elegant poetry. His voice always so collected and steady never raising a note. Queen Narella widened her eyes "Quid ais?" [What are you saying?]

"Pater optimus i facere possimus ... is ad tutelam regni nostri arbitrii est, quod debuimus, dimitte nobis est causa ullus problem..." [Father and I are doing the best we can to protect this kingdom, it is not our choice it is our duty, forgive us is this is causing any problems…] the prince said seriously "Tempus et locus non est loqui de ...quae ad te non ante dictum est, hospes est" [It is not the time or place to talk about this, you have said it before, she is our guest]

"Non est hospitis ulla iusta" [She is not just any guest] the former queen said.

Endymion frowned and looked at his grandmother with daring eyes; Gaia noticed her son's serious expression and knew her mother in law was going too far "Narella commodo" [Narella please]

The prince sighed and turned to look at Beryl who was looking back at him "This is not something that happens normally"

Beryl gave him a soft smile and nodded; was he being nice to her? He noticed her! She thought. The terran queen looked at her mother in law and continued eating "Are you enjoying your stay Beryl?" she asked while cutting a piece of fillet; Beryl widened her eyes and turned to see the queen "Very much Your Majesty, the palace is absolutely beautiful, there are no words to describe its perfection…"

Gaia gave her a slight smile and continued eating "Endymion dear, could you pass me the salt?" the prince did and Gaia started salting her meal "It holds too much beauty, I agree with you Beryl…"

Beryl blushed when heard the queen continued talking to her, it was probably the first time she held a conversation with her "My family said once this place held magic within its walls"

"Magic?" King Eros asked immediately.

Gaia widened her eyes slightly and chuckled trying to dismiss the comment "Well…maybe because it is a very peculiar place"

"That is why I appreciate and understand why His Highness is away most of the time…" she smiled and turned to look at him and then at Queen Narella who was taking a sip of her wine; smiling she put her glass down "Like always so thoughtful"

Beryl blushed "Thank you Your Grace"

Narella smiled and turned to look at her grandson "Endymion…"

Endymion raised his gaze at her but remained silent, "After dinner, you should take a walk with Beryl through the gardens…it is a lovely night outside"

Beryl blushed; Gaia sighed and took a drink of her wine. Endymion looked at his grandmother and placed his fork and knife down "I would love that but…there is something I must do…"

"Work" Narella said.

Endymion sighed and rubbed his temples. King Eros cleared his throat "Things have been hectic lately"

Endymion turned over to his side and asked one of the maids to bring him a cup of coffee "Black" he said softly; the maid turned and placed a cup in front of him and filled it with the black and hot liquid "Thank you" he said and took a sip.

The conversation went smoothly; again, the former queen established a conversation with the redhead girl while Endymion only listened from time to time. His thoughts like always started to drift into something or better said somebody else, sighing he looked down at his coffee like if in its reflection her face could appear "I wish you could be sitting here next to me…things would be very different" he thought.

O.o.o.o.o.o.O

Serenity leaned on the rail of her balcony looking at the night sky and let out a soft sigh "Endymion…I want to see you again…" she thought sadly "I miss you…"

"What are you thinking about Princess?"

Serenity widened her eyes and turned to find Mars standing near the balcony doors, walking toward the princess she smiled "I know what you are thinking about…" she pointed at the blue planet in the sky "Him"

Serenity blushed "You know the truth already Mars…" she sighed and leaned her back against the rail of her balcony "But I know I cannot go there again…"

Mars sighed "Princess…"

"I know Mars…I know it is because it is for my own safety…I understand"

Mars bit her lower lip and walked over to her "Maybe because I have never been _in_ love…but, are you really positive it is love what you feel for him?"

Serenity sighed "It is a feeling that makes you feel complete…cherished, protected, never alone…" she smiled "When I am with him I feel all those things…when I am with him Mars…I feel like I do not need anything else…I feel so much at peace, so…" she sighed "Protected…every time he holds me, I feel like nobody can do me harm…I feel so safe…so warm"

Mars looked at her princess and let out a soft breath "I am so sorry he has to be away…"

Serenity gave her guardian a sad smile "I love him so much Mars…" she turned to look at the blue planet again "I wonder what he is doing right now…"

"Did you ever felt the same way toward the General?"

Serenity turned to look at Mars "No…"

"No?"

Serenity shook her head "I admit I had feelings for him, but…it does not compare to what I feel now for Endymion…they are too…different"

"Different? Are they really too different?" Mars asked curious.

The princess nodded "They are complete opposites"

"But they both are soldiers…" Mars said.

"Athamas…" Serenity sighed "He is too desperate…unreadable, sometimes cold sometimes warm…he is handsome yes, he is prepared as well, I do not doubt his soldier skills but, he is ambitious…aggressive, that is the word, he is aggressive, he shows his authority that way…"

"And the terran prince?"

"Endymion shows his authority differently, I do not know how to describe it…he never raises his voice, he never yells, he is very meticulous with his work, organized…he has never shown ambition, he is passionate and loyal…" she looked at Mars and blushed "And on top of that…handsome"

Mars chuckled "I have that clear Princess"

Serenity rested her arms on the rail and sighed again "Why can't we have any contact with them? Why does it have to be this way?" her voice was soft, her icy blue eyes looked down to the gardens "That planet has a protector…it has to have one…why is not considered like the protectors of the rest of the planets of the galaxy?..."

Mars bit her lower lip "Princess…"

"Because there is a protector…am I correct?" Serenity turned to look at Mars.

The raven haired woman sighed this time "Princess we know little about the blue planet…if it has one or not, is a mystery…I, in my years as senshi have never heard that it has one…only that it has a monster, an assassin…a being you must never find, you must never know"

Serenity turned her face again and frowned "…If there is a monster living there, where is it? And how come they do not know about its existence? Not even Endymion knows about it..."

"You asked him?" Mars arched a brow in curiosity.

Serenity nodded "He said he have never heard anything concerning a monster…" she turned to look at Mars again "He is the commander of their army…he should know if there is one, but he doesn't; he even laughed about it"

"Maybe he hasn't had the chance to confront it" Mars said softly.

"He trained and studied…" the princess lowered her eyes "He has a peculiar way to tell stories, he knows so many things about his planet and about many other things…"

Mars smiled, she felt happy to know the princess confided her personal thoughts, hopes, dreams and fears. She was grateful to have the opportunity to protect her and also be her friend; tilting her head she blinked a couple of times "Like what?"

Serenity smiled softly "Well…he has explained me how his planet works, all the amazing phenomena and why it happens or what causes them" she blushed slightly "…And when he speaks in his native tongue…it is like listening to the most romantic prayer…he modules the sound of every word in a very clear and specific way…It is something I just love to hear, I could listen him talking like that all day and night…"

Mars let out a soft chuckle "You sure are too interested in him…it seems this prince of yours is a treasure"

"To me he is" Serenity smiled "…He is so educated, so polite…he is incredibly kind…that is why I do not understand how the gods cannot notice him, how mother has never heard of him…"

"Well My Princess…" Mars started to walk toward the princess and leaned on the rail of the balcony "Because he is not in the same level as us…" she raised her hands in defense as soon as she noticed how her princess was looking at her "And I am not saying it contemptuously… but because, it is the law of nature..." arching a brow again she crossed her arms "Is he really that kind? I mean, he is a soldier…one like Athamas or even a higher rank…he has to be authoritative, how can somebody with that kind of power can be so kind?"

"He is…" Serenity said "Maybe because you haven't listened him speak or seeing him being just who he is…" she sighed and turned to look at the blue planet again "He has a strong character yes, and everybody knows it for what I have seen he is very respected but…once you get to know him, he is a very simple man, noble, funny…kind"

Mars smiled softly and then, it turned into a slight frown. It was too sad to know the man her princess loved was the man she could not marry, never, ever. Her instinct told her this man was something else than just a mortal prince, she already discussed it with the other senshi; although she said he was the monster she could still be wrong. She remembered him, his poise and the way he spoke and most importantly to her the way he seemed to protect Princess Serenity.

The vivid memory of her premonition was latent in the back of her mind, she wasn't still sure if it was something that might happen but there was some kind of reason of why her father was investigating the matter "Strange energy flow…" she remembered her father once said, she wished with all her might that the threat could be controlled before a catastrophe happens; her thoughts wondered until she came to one conclusion; she knew where to send her Princess in case something happens.

"But the man…the strong being protecting her…" she thought "It had the force of a god, the skills of a warrior, the strength of a superior being…it cannot be the mortal prince…and if he is not the one of my dreams, then…who is it?"

Serenity turned and frowned "Mars?"

Mars widened her eyes and shook her head slightly "Y-Yes?"

"You spaced out…" Serenity said softly.

Mars chuckled "A little"

The princess stood straight and looked at her guardian "Is everything alright?"

"Of course Princess" Mars scratched the back of her head "Why?"

"Well…you suddenly fell very silent…" the princess said softly "And you have been a little distant lately"

Mars bit her lower lip and smiled after "No Princess, do not worry…everything is fine, I promise"

Serenity put a hand on her shoulder "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

Mars smiled "Thank you Princess"

Serenity smiled "Do not thank me…you may be my guardian, but you are also my friend and friends tell everything even the bad things" Mars' smile widened reassuring the princess her gratitude "The same goes to you My Princess"

Serenity nodded "Alright" her smiled faded shortly after and let out a soft sigh this time, catching Mars' attention because it was not a dreamy sigh nor a hopeful one but one with slight sadness and longing. The raven haired senshi bit her lip again and turned to the room and then back at the white princess "…Do you know…where to find him?"

Serenity gave Mars a puzzled look "Find who?"

Mars chuckled "Your charming Prince Endymion"

Serenity blushed and nodded; the raven haired senshi put her finger under her chin in thought "Do you know if he might be awake at this time of night?"

Serenity widened her eyes "…Mars?"

Mars looked at her princess "Do you?"

The white princess bit her nail absently "He usually works at night…"

"So he _is_ awake" Mars arched her brow slightly.

Serenity nodded "It is the most probable thing, yes"

Mars sighed and walked a few feet away from the princess, leaning herself forward on the rail giving her a larger glimpse of the gardens below them at a considerable high distance she lowered her gaze but her lips curved in a soft smile "Then go and make him company…"

Serenity widened her crystal blue eyes in shock "What?"

Mars looked over her shoulder, still with the same smile on her face "Go see him, pay him a surprise visit"

"But…" the princess trailed off, still startled. The raven haired guardian sighed softly "I know you are not supposed to go, but you talk so much about your dear Prince that I feel like I already know him as much as you do…" she let out a soft chuckle when she watched her princess go red again "But, this might be the last time you go there by yourself"

Serenity felt her heart beat incredibly fast "But…Ve…"

"This time, it will be our secret Princess…Venus is my leader and I am disobeying her, even though she is the senshi of love, she wants to protect you and so do I, but I think this night is a good night…a safe night, take advantage of it and go see him"

"I promise I will come back" Serenity said softly.

Mars smiled "I know you will, I trust your Prince to send you back home to us"

Serenity walked over to her and encircled her arms around her in a tight hug "Thank you so much Mars…thank you…" she breathed "This means so much to me…" Mars closed her eyes and smiled "Do not thank me, you may be my Princess but you are also my friend and friends to everything they can to help each other, even, when it's a devilry"

Serenity parted from the hug and tilted her head while smiling "The same goes to you my dearest Mars"

Mars smiled "Go now, before it gets too late"

Serenity winked an eye at her, summoning her power she disappeared in a flash of silver leaving the senshi of war and passion all by herself in the balcony, raising her gaze at the blue planet in front of her she let out a soft sigh and smiled sadly "Even if it's just one night…be with the one you love, be careful, my Princess"

O.o.o.o.o.o.O

"Well…dinner was delicious" Queen Narella said while wiping the corners of her lips with the silk napkin. Queen Gaia nodded and turned to look at Aurea who entered the room again "Could you send some water to my room?" Aurea nodded and turned to look at the king "Anything else that you might need Your Majesty?"

Eros smiled at his friend's wife "Water is fine Aurea, thank you…" he moved closer to the maid "Could you walk her to our chambers? I will be there shortly"

Aurea nodded and turned to look at Gaia who was about to stand up; Endymion stood first than her and helped her immediately; the queen smiled at her son and patted his cheek "Thank you dear"

Endymion smiled at her, the only and peculiar way he did to her "Rest, take your medicines…" he kissed her hand lovingly "…And I will see you in the morning"

Gaia smiled at her son "Do not work until very late, please"

Endymion sighed and shrugged his shoulders "I cannot promise you that, but, I will try"

Queen Gaia smiled but as soon as she broke eye contact with her soon to directed it toward her mother in law and Beryl that warm and serene smile faded, leaving only one with pure compromise "If you excuse me, I will go to my chambers…it was a…" she cleared her throat "…Lovely dinner, I hoped you liked it Beryl"

Beryl smiled and the queen and stood up immediately "I did Your Majesty, thank you very much and have a pleasant night"

"Bona noctem" Gaia said and gave her mother in law one last glance before leaving the room, followed by Aurea; once they were in the hallway Aurea gritted her teeth "What was that all about?"

Gaia sighed and continued walking "Narella did it again…"

Aurea frowned "What did she do again?"

The terran queen arched a brow and turned to look at her friend "If you were there with us having dinner like you should, you would have seen the little scene she made…again"

Aurea frowned "Scene?"

Gaia shook her head "She puts too much pressure on Endymion to be with Beryl…and like always, he replies to her bickering…"

Aurea let out a soft chuckle "What else did you expect him to do?" she helped the queen walk up the long staircase toward her chambers "Be careful and slowly" she said softly; Gaia sighed and nodded "I know Aurea…but, this is happening almost every night he has dinner with us…the more she does it, the more he prefers to stay away and that is more days without seeing him…it is also exhausting for Eros and me…"

Aurea sighed "Why does she like her that much?"

Gaia arched her brow "I do not know…she may be polite…but, she is just like Charmindy but instead of being scandalous she is being too…" she trailed off and growled "I do not know…false"

Aurea chuckled and opened the door of the room for Gaia "I have the feeling that your husband will talk to her…"

Gaia sighed and sat on her bed "Yes, again" she started taking her earrings off and put them aside on the bed "I just wish my son could find the woman that can actually love him for who he is not just what he is…a woman that can love him sincerely"

Aurea placed the wooden tray with a silver pitcher with water "Time for your pills"

Gaia rolled her eyes and took the medicines, putting them on her mouth and swallowed them with a sip of water "I'm tired of this…"

"You know it is for your own good…" she put the tray on her night stand next to the king sized bed "…And about Endymion…that is something that is up to him, he will have to choose somebody eventually…"

Gaia took the crystal hairpiece off letting her chocolate brown hair fall loosely "I know…" Aurea sat next to the queen and helped her take her necklace off and smiled "You never thought of anyone…a girl you would like for him? Another girl from the court maybe?"

Gaia sighed and shook her head "I am a terrible mother Aurea…I do not like any court girl for him…"

Aurea laughed and stood up, taking all her queen's jewelry to the vanity "That doesn't make you a terrible mother…"

Gaia smiled "Thank you Aurea…"

"That makes you a horrible mother"

The terran queen sweat dropped and frowned "Aurea!"

"You said it first!" the maid turned to look at Gaia, who lowered her gaze "But I don't mean to be rude…and I do not say it because I don't like any of the girls but…"

Aurea arched her brow and crossed her arms "But?"

Gaia sighed and looked at her friend "I just do not think they are suitable for him…"

The maid sighed this time and took her seat next to her queen again "Then who is?" Gaia lowered her gaze again, Aurea pressed her lips together for a moment "Right…somebody from up above…" she turned to look at Gaia "You know that is not possible"

Gaia sighed again "I know"

Aurea arched her brow "…You wanted it this way"

Gaia turned to look at her friend "I know"

"So…you will just have to deal with the decision he makes"

"You are my friend..." Gaia sweat dropped "You are supposed to make me feel better"

Aurea shook her head "I am your friend yes, but what I am supposed to do is to tell you the truth…not just something you want or expect to hear"

Gaia rubbed the bridge of her nose "Aurea…"

"You wanted it to be this way" she stood up and walked around the room "You deprived him from knowing the truth, from knowing his true nature…now; you will have to deal with the consequences…"

"I did it for his sake Aurea, how many times do I have to tell you that?" the queen looked at her with a frown on her delicate face. Aurea gritted her teeth and waved her hand "Bah! You could have told him, what if he finds out the truth? You seem to continue underestimating your son…he is smart, you know?"

"I know he is smart"

"Incredibly smart" Aurea said again.

"I know…" Gaia said tiredly.

"I along with almost every person in this palace, including your husband have kept the truth from him…you even made Obelix to do it! You made a priest lie to his own protector!" she raised her arms in frustration "Gaia…I just do not want to think how is he going to feel if he learns everything…he will never, ever, forgive us"

"Endymion is not a rancorous person" Gaia said in her defense.

Aurea walked over to her queen "Endymion has been living a lie; nobody likes to live a lie…"

"He is not living a lie"

"Does he know who his grandparents are?"

Gaia widened her eyes and remained silent. Aurea frowned "Does he know what happened to them? Does he know who you really are? What happened between you and your family? What happened once you fell in love with his father? Does he know he is a miracle? A superior being? Does he know the real reason of why you are in the condition you are? All the things you and Eros had to go through to be together? The true origin of Elysion and the Golden Kingdom?"

Gaia lowered her head and shook it softly "Why would I have to tell him his grandparents doesn't love him? Why would I have to tell him that his grandfather came to kill him? Why would I have to tell him…that the Higher Gods banned us from their Alliance?" she raised her face, her green eyes filled with tears "How do you think he might feel to know that? That he belongs to a place where he cannot go?"

Aurea sighed sadly "You should have taken the risk…he is a grown man now, you might still have a chance for him to understand everything…he is very reasonable…he will understand…"

Gaia shook her head "I can't Aurea…"

Area growled "Why not Gaia?"

"I cannot…hurt him!" Gaia raised her voice "I can't…" her tears started falling uncontrollably "Endymion has gone through so much…I cannot hurt him…I cannot tell him my past, I cannot tell him the truth about my family…I rather him to keep just the good memories of his late grandfather and the good memories of his childhood…I tried to give him a normal life even when he was born on a golden crib…"

Aurea sat next to her queen again and lowered her gaze "Do you know why I do this?"

Gaia shook her head "I do not know anymore…you have done it so many times, that I do not know anymore…"

Aurea sighed sadly and closed her eyes "Because I would have given everything in my power to have had the blessing of having a son like Endymion…"

Gaia turned to look at Aurea "Aurea…"

Aurea opened her brown eyes and shone with tears "I would have loved to have a son with that passion and loyalty toward me…"

"Endymion is not only my son, but yours as well…he loves you the same way he loves me" Gaia said softly but her words were interrupted by Aurea's shaking head "No Gaia…you will never compare the love he has for you to the love he has for me"

"You raised him as well" Gaia said and frowned "How can you even tell me that! It's absurd!"

"Have you ever noticed closely how he looks at you? He adores you beyond the unimaginable…he looks at you like if he was still five years old. He loves me yes; he has proven to me that in too many way too many times…but, you…you are his treasure. You are his mother; he went to the army to become a soldier so he could protect you, what better reason do you want to realize how much he cares for you?"

"Aurea…"

"That is why it hurts me so much to have to keep such an important thing from him, like his true nature. Because I love him like if he were my son as well…because of how good of a son he is" her trembling lips said it all, she was shaken by the situation. Gaia did what she could only do at a moment like that; moving away from her place on the bed she encircled her arms around her in a tight hug and rested her face on her friend's shoulder "I'm so sorry" she whispered.

Aurea hugged her queen and friend back "No…I should not question your reasons…but…it is just that I do not want him to get hurt…"

"Hey…" Gaia looked at Aurea "We, as his mother_s_our duty is to protect him…even when he says he is here to protect us, you and I know it is inevitable for us to try to protect him from any harm…" Aurea nodded, Gaia lowered her gaze for a moment and then looked at her again "…And what makes me feel alright, is to know that he will continue having a mother once my time in this realm ends…"

Aurea widened her eyes "Gaia!"

Gaia gave her friend a sad smile "It is the truth Aurea…I will leave this place one day and my son, will need a mother at his side to support him, love him and protect him. I will do it from my resting place, but here, in this realm, I know you are the one that will take my place as his mother" she gave her a warm smile "Aurea, he has said countless of times how much he loves you, how much you mean to him and how grateful he feels to have a person like you in his life, he is well aware of all the things you have done for him all these years and he is well aware that you are like his second mother"

Aurea gave her a smile and nodded "I will look after him always. I swear"

Gaia returned the smile and wiped her tears with the back of her hand "Now…you will have to help me choose the perfect girl for him, we want grandchildren, don't we?"

Aurea chuckled "Yes we do, but wouldn't that be the same thing Queen Narella is doing now?"

Gaia sweat dropped and scratched the back of her head "Right…" Aurea chuckled and encircled her friend's shoulder with her arm. It didn't matter all the arguments they had, all the sad and happy moments, she and her friend had a motive and that was to look after their prince, a motive with many many others is what have strengthened their friendship over the years and for that, both, were incredibly grateful.


	90. Chapter 90

**A/N**_: Hello. I have received messages concerning the amount of time i will take to post new chapters, if i am going to return to my old schedule or if i am going to leave it abandoned. No; I won't leave this story unfinished. About the time, I do not know...I am trying to best to post as fast as I can...I have to say that, many things and people have crossed my way [in a good sense i think] I try every night to take the time to continue writing more chapters; I acttually don't know how longer this second season will be...but I have the feeling that it is almost time to begin announcing the season finale. I am loving this journey so much, I love my story...I love my characters and the way the plot is developing...I know it is a long story but I warned you guys lol; think of it as a soap opera...or as a tv series hahaha. I hope you enjoy this chapter and i will be waiting for your reviews 'kay? I love to read what you think :) Enjoy!_

_"[ ]" means thoughts [there will be lots of them in the near future]_

_I do not own sm, just this plot and some of the chaacters, thank you._

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter ninety**

* * *

Back at the dining room, silence fell and nobody wanted to say a word concerning anything, the prince put his cup down once he finished his coffee; Queen Narella smiled at Beryl "Now it is a good time to have a small walk before going to bed…Endymion" she turned to look at her grandson.

The prince sighed, Beryl noticed and turned to look at the older queen "Your Majesty, it is alright…maybe…"

"It's alright Beryl, I walk with you for a moment" Endymion wiped the right side of his mouth with the silk napkin and put it on the table. Beryl blushed and nodded, standing up as soon as he did from his chair; the prince held her hand for a moment to help her to fully stand up and give her the time to arrange the small tail of her gown "After you" Endymion said slowly and turned to look at his father as if saying good night.

Eros nodded in understanding and waited for him and Beryl leave the dining room. Shaking the spoon on his coffee to let it cool down he took a sip and lowered his gaze; Queen Narella was doing the same thing but instead of drinking coffee was drinking hot tea "Well, tonight was interesting" she said slowly.

Eros stopped moving his spoon abruptly "When are you finally going to stop?"

Narella widened her eyes "Eros?"

Eros raised his gaze and looked at his mother "Does Endymion really need this kind of discussions?"

Narella sighed and crossed her hands on the table "Eros, you know Endymion needs to get married"

The terran king arched his brow "According to whom? You?"

Narella frowned "The law"

Eros let out a sarcastic chuckle "The law…"

"Endymion is getting older…"

"He is only twenty five years of age!" Eros slightly raised his voice; Narella pursed her lips "At his age you were already married and Gaia was already expecting him"

"Many years have passed and you still think the same way…" Eros shook his head "…Don't you thank the exceptional work he does as Polemarchos? He is even a better Prince than I ever was and you are only thinking of a way of how to marry him? That is absurd"

Narella took a sip of her tea "It is understandable that as his father, you are taking his side…he probably already talked to you and Gaia…and yes, I do notice, he is an exceptional Prince but because he is the Prince of this Kingdom, he needs to fulfill his duty as one and bring a new heir to the throne, the legacy must continue and what better legacy than a son from him?"

Eros frowned "It is like we just went back twenty seven years"

"Eros…"

"Mother" Eros raised his hand "I am not taking any sides…"

"Your wife is" Narella took a sip of her tea "She is not helping me marry your son"

"Are you even listening to yourself? You are talking of Endymion like if he were just a piece of meat, a prize…he is your grandson for goodness sake!" Eros hissed.

Narella frowned "I love my grandson with all my heart but, just because of…" she trailed off and lowered her gaze for a moment and waited for the moment to continue talking; when she noticed there was nobody else around "Just because…he is who he is…does not mean he can skip the law…he is the High Prince of this kingdom and I am only seeing for his future…"

"You have seen many many times he does not like this girl…" Eros frowned.

"Beryl is a good candidate, the strongest to be honest…" Narella took another sip of her tea "She is polite, educated…comes from a good position and a good house and she is beautiful, what else can you ask for?"

"Gaia does not approve her" Eros said.

Narella sighed "Dear, I love my daughter in law but she does not like her just because she lives under Charmindy's roof"

"Haven't thought that it might be because of something else?" Eros arched his brow "Gaia is much more sensible than that"

Narella looked at him "I know she is but she needs to trust this girl more…" sighing she tilted her head "Dear, it would be lovely for him to have the same luck you had when you found Gaia, it was very difficult but you found a wonderful woman…but sadly my dear, the story cannot repeat itself…"

Eros sighed "At least respect Endymion's decision"

Narella frowned "Dear, Beryl is the best girl he can have…and I trust her completely"

The king stood up "Do you like to have arguments with him?"

"It is for his own good" Narella said.

"Being left alone with this matter is for his own good…Mother; you cannot force him to marry that girl"

"Once he gives her an opportunity he will fall in love with her, I know it" the older queen stood up and started to walk toward her son "Endymion is getting older, we are getting older…this kingdom needs an heir and he needs to be with somebody, he works all the time…"

Eros arched his brow "Mother…he works all the time because he has to work all the time…sometimes you are so difficult"

"I'm doing the best for him, I am doing all this because I love him, he is my grandson and I want the best for him, always" the mother queen walked pass her son and looked over her shoulder "He just needs to see what I see in her" turning again, she walked out of the room "I will see you tomorrow dear, good night"

Eros sighed and shook his head "Father…you had a nerve to marry her" turning to his side he saw Leonidas walking down the hall "I thought you were already asleep"

Leonidas stopped in his tracks and turned to look at his king "Um…I was on my way to but my wife is still with yours in your room"

Eros pressed his lips together for a moment "Probably giving her her medicines"

Leonidas chuckled "More like scolding her"

The king laughed and nodded "That sounds probable" he let out another soft sigh catching the general's attention "What happened?"

Eros chuckled and turned to look at his friend "My mother…happened"

"Did you have an argument?" Leonidas asked.

Eros rubbed the bridge of his nose "I always have an argument with her…you know that"

"What was it this time?"

"Endymion…" Eros said softly "She is insistent and wants him to marry this Beryl girl…"

Leonidas bit his lip "Ahh…I see, and what does Endymion say?"

Eros arched his brow and turned to look at him "Of course he does not want to get married…"

Leonidas nodded making a funny face "Of course…" he chuckled and continued walking "It is the last thing that crosses his mind right now, marrying" patting the king's shoulder he laughed softly "He reminds me of someone…"

Eros sweat dropped "I know what you are going to say…"

Leonidas shrugged his shoulders "When she wanted you to marry Charmindy…"

Eros sighed "Now the story is repeating but instead of Charmindy…is Beryl…"

Leonidas chuckled "Well, now Endymion only needs to find himself a goddess to marry, that way, the story would be repeated exactly the same…"

Eros chuckled "That would be too incredible to be true…"

"It would be something that will run in the family…" Leonidas said joking; Eros frowned slightly and turned to look at him "What do you mean?"

Leonidas smiled "The men of the Golden Kingdom have the charm to woo superior beings…" Eros laughed heartedly "Ah Leonidas…"

"What?" the general arched his brow.

Eros shook his head and looked at his friend again "That would be too much, don't you think?"

Leonidas shrugged his shoulders "Oh come on…give your son some credit, putting aside the fact that he is a good soldier, he is good looking…he knows how to charm"

Eros blew his bangs "Who knows…maybe he does end up marrying that girl…"

Leonidas stopped and crossed his arms "Do you really think so?"

Eros walked a few more steps before stopping and looked over his shoulder "You never know with Endymion…he is unreadable"

"He is a soldier after all" Leonidas said. Eros chuckled and rested his hand on the wooden rail of the stairs "Endymion…has always been very independent and private…he has always been unreadable, a rebel yes, but unreadable"

Leonidas chuckled, the king shook his head "The woman that gets to capture his heart will have to be a very smart girl to really follow his steps and way of thinking…he is not an easy person"

"We will just have to let him surprise us" Leonidas said and widened his eyes as soon as he saw his wife coming down the large staircase "She finally took her medicines"

Eros smiled at her "Is she already asleep?"

Aurea let out a sarcastic chuckle "Her? Asleep? No…" she smiled at her king while she let her husband hold her hand while continue walking down the last few steps "She is waiting for her husband"

"Say no more…the Queen has spoken" Eros smiled, turning to look at his friend and wife "I will see you tomorrow morning, thank you Aurea"

Aurea smiled and nodded while watching Eros walk up the stairs "He sure adores her…"

"The same way she adores him…" Leonidas said; Aurea sighed "They sure overcame so many trials together…" the general nodded and turned to look at his wife "We too"

Aurea blinked a couple of times "You say it because we were with them all the time?"

Leonidas rubbed his nose against Aurea's and shook his head "No…because you did not want to marry me…you were being difficult" Aurea smiled and chuckled "…You managed to win my heart" placing both hands on each side of his face she kissed his nose "…Thank you for being with me…even when I never could give you a baby"

Leonidas smiled "Aurea…I have everything all I ever wanted with you…"

"It never bothered you?" she asked softly.

The general shook his head in denial "Never…we were very lucky to have in our lives the opportunity to watch grow Endymion…"

Aurea lowered her gaze "But he is Gaia and Eros' son…not ours Leonidas…he will never look at us the same way he looks at them"

Leonidas smiled "Maybe you are right, maybe he does not sees us the same way he sees his parents…but, there is no doubt that he loves us, and I have to say that he loves you more than me" Aurea smiled "What?"

"He has said it many times before…he adores you; you are like a second mother to him and be sure that he is very grateful for everything you have done for him…and more because you are not afraid to tell him what you think"

Aurea chuckled and held his arm while walking towards their room, Leonidas opened the door for them "Why are you laughing?" Aurea walked into the room and smiled at him "You know that is never going to happen…"

O.o.o.o.o.o.O

"It's so beautiful here…"

"…"

"It looks like a dream…"

"…"

Beryl stopped in her tracks and turned to see the prince looking in the distance, his hands rested on the rail of the balcony-like corridor; the redhead tilted her head and bit her lip for a moment "Prince?"

Endymion frowned slightly but not looked at her direction "Have you been talking with my grandmother?"

Beryl widened her eyes "Prince…?"

Endymion turned this time and fixed his azure eyes on her "It's just a simple question Beryl…It's nothing from the other world, just answer me have you or have you not?"

Beryl licked her lips quickly, her teeth went against her soft lips from time to time in hesitation but decided to see if she could get out of the situation "Talk about what, My Prince?" she asked softly.

The prince's frown deepened "It would have been better if you just told me the truth…" he pushed himself slightly against the rail and sighed, startling Beryl "My Prince, I have no knowledge of what you are asking me…"

"Have you talked to my grandmother about my…" he trailed off and narrowed his eyes "…Situation"

Beryl stayed silent for a moment, she has many times since she got there but it was obvious that she could not tell him the truth or otherwise he would ignore her the rest of her staying there and that would be a complete loss "N-No My Prince…" she bit her lower lip "What…situation?"

Endymion sighed again and walked over to her "You know what situation Beryl…you think I do not know what your real intentions are at being at this place…" he looked down at her and arched his brow "I know my grandmother likes you…but I have said it many many times…but neither of you two seem to understand"

"My Prince…" Beryl tried to touch him but he moved away "I told you Beryl…that the more you push the more I would move away…" he walked around her, like a hunter watching its prey "I cannot look at you the way you want me to…why are you still insisting?"

Beryl pressed her lips together, her heart pounded fast inside her chest. Just the mere feeling of his warmth near her or the scent of his cologne made her go crazy, made her feel nervous, made her want him even more. Lowering her gaze she let a soft breath leave her body "Because…" she turned to look at him "…If you only gave me an opportunity, I know you would like me…I know you are attracted to me Your Highness…what is the purpose of continuing fighting what we obviously feel?"

Endymion lowered his head and smiled, baffling Beryl "I am amazed by the security you hold in your words…the confidence you have when you talk to me"

Beryl looked at him unsure, she didn't know if he was complimenting her or if he was taking his role as prince "My Prince?" she whispered.

He looked at her again "There must be some kind of attraction, you may be right and I have cleared that point many times before as well…we aren't lovers, we hardly are friends…"

His words fell like if they had weights over Beryl's shoulders, the man, just like Queen Narella said was a hard person to really get to know, more hardly was to befriend him and more it was to make him fall in love. Endymion sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose "I'm…sorry Beryl…" he opened his eyes and looked at her "I…this is wearing me out…"

"My Prince…that is not my intention…" she whispered "If you want me to leave…"

Endymion shook his head "It's not you Beryl…it's this entire situation the one that's wearing me out, I have too many things on my mind…I have told you…right now, my priority is the safety of this kingdom and the rest of the nation…"

Beryl nodded and lowered her gaze "I would like to be considered…when, that time comes…My Prince"

Endymion looked at her but could not feel any kind of sympathy at the moment for her, he had admitted to himself countless of times how attractive she but still, she was not the woman of his heart.

"You are asking for something I cannot assure you Beryl" he said softly.

"Just, My Prince…" she looked at him with pleading eyes "…I will be your humble follower…whatever you want me to be…" she moved closer to Endymion but he took a step back and lowered his head "I'm…so sorry Beryl…"

Beryl looked at him with the same pleading expression "My Prince…" she whispered; Endymion sighed and looked at her with sympathy this time "I don't want to make you feel bad…I hate to know that I might be a reason to make you feel bad…" he moved closer to her and put his index finger under her chin and lifted to meet his gaze "You will find the person you are looking for…I don't know when and I don't know how…but I know you will"

Her green eyes started to shine with what looked like tears, she fought the urge to let her lips tremble with sorrow "Why can't it be you My Prince?"

Endymion gave her a sad smile "I'm so sorry Beryl" he whispered.

"My Prince…" she said softly, her eyes could not hold the pain of being rejected by the man of her dreams, once again. Endymion did not broke eye contact with her but his lips were pressed together as if he was containing from saying something "It is very common to think that just because I am a royal… That I am the perfect man, but I have flaws, many of them…I am not perfect I may not be what you are looking for but my grandmother must have insisted so much…"

"No My Prince…Her Majesty has never insisted or forced me to talk to you…" Beryl said softly.

Endymion moved his hand away from her face, immediately she missed his warmth "You are very noble and kinder than I thought, you are much prettier when you are not surrounded by the pressure of your title…"

Beryl widened her green eyes in amazement "Prince…"

Endymion sighed "I'm sorry if I have made you feel bad…I know what my grandmother wants…she is quite stubborn…but, putting that aside, I hope you are enjoying your stay…"

Beryl gave him a soft smile "It would be much better if I get a chance to see you more My Prince…"

"…I am very difficult to find, my schedule is changing all the time…please, believe me when I say that it is not because I do not want to see you…but because I have duties and obligations that I must comply" Endymion said softly while offered his arm out to her which Beryl took immediately. He felt bad that she was being used, he didn't know if she was actually being used or not but that's how he felt towards her, he felt bad to know that his own grandmother was forcing her in a strange and unknown way to try to win his heart; he felt bad that she had to live with Charmindy who, for what he have heard was a strange and very difficult woman.

From what he felt from her it was nothing bad, instead everything he saw was a strained and lost heart. Her beauty covered many trials she possibly had in her life, her eyes held secrets she never dared to say twice, that she would probably never reveal to anyone, not even him. He did not loved her, he felt sorry to know he was one reason for the pain shown in her emerald eyes, the only thing he could do now was to try to make her feel better [a little bit] after everything he said.

All he could do now was to show his sympathy, understanding and his arm for a short walk in the gardens. Beryl felt like if she was walking over clouds, at last, she managed to hold the prince's arm. Something she was sure not just anyone could do, knowing the prince's though character.

Her eyes took in all the surroundings of the night and the way the pearly moon illuminated the path where they were going through; even though the prince did not say another word after he offered his arm out to her, she was either way excited and she could tell: she was more in love with the man.

The way her arm was intertwined with his made her feel secure, protected. Her lips curved into a soft smile and her cheeks blushed into a soft shade of pink; she was with the strongest man of earth, under his protection, for that moment she felt like nothing could bother her, worry her, nothing else mattered; but her dreamy time ended as soon as he moved her hand away softly "It's time for me to go" he said.

Beryl shook her head softly as if she was returning to reality, where all her demons and ghosts were waiting for her "My Prince?" she asked softly, dumbfounded.

Endymion gave her a very small smile, almost unnoticeable "It's late…and there are things I still need to get done"

Beryl felt how his warmth was leaving her; the prince frowned slightly "Is it alright if I leave you here? Or do you want me to call somebody to walk you to your room?"

Beryl shook her head and gave him a warm smile "It's alright My Prince…I can go by myself"

Endymion nodded and bowed his head a little "Sleep well Beryl…" he turned on his heel and started to walk on the opposite direction toward his chambers.

Beryl looked at him in the distance, she could still hear the soft sound his boots made against the marbled floors [long and strong footsteps] she thought "Good night, My Prince…My love…" she whispered, while a tear finally managed to fall from her eyes.

Endymion closed the door of his room behind him trying not to make too much noise. Not that it mattered but he wanted silence, he wanted peace. This whole situation with his grandmother and with Beryl was really tiring him; he disliked to have to argue with Narella every time they met, it was something unbearable for him.

Sighing, he walked straight to his room and closed the door behind him. Without paying too much attention to his surroundings he turned over his desk and saw the amount of papers he left there before dinner and sighed once again "So much work…so little time" he said tiredly.

A lantern was lit next to those papers along with what it seemed a kettle with a cup; his lips curved into a soft and very tired but grateful smile "Thank you Megumi" and walked over to his desk; immediately he served himself a cup of what it was now his favorite hot beverage; the steam danced from the top of the cup and in a small attempt to make himself more comfortable, he took his uniform jacket off, leaving his chest wearing only his white short sleeved undershirt.

He took a seat and sighed again before taking a sip of his coffee and began another round of work. He started reading a stack of papers he had on his left side while he absently took sips of his coffee. His eyes revised with care each and one of the paragraphs written on the papers, every detail, every comma and period; he was so concentrated in his work that he did not notice anything that might be happening at his surroundings; since his desk lead to the largest window, his back was toward the rest of the bedroom unaware of what or who might be around.

This time, his gut and heart failed or missed to notice an unexpected and very much loved visitor. He mumbled several words while he was reading in attempt to concentrate even more or maybe he was doing it absently, he no longer knew; he took the pen on his right side and signed one of the papers, while with his left hand took his mug for another sip of coffee; it was when he was about to put the cup down when he felt a pair of hands massaging his back. His first reaction was stiffen but immediately knew who those hands were, the feeling was undeniable and his lips immediately curved into a smile; his heart started to beat strong in his chest, yes, it was her he thought, that warm feeling was unmistakable, that sweet scent as well and of course, the soft giggle.

Music to his ears.

He felt her nose caress his ear while her soft giggles reached his heart. Endymion closed his eyes and leaned his head back; opening them again he met her pale blue ones and smiled. Serenity smiled back and looked at his eyes with adoration; letting herself get lost in its depth and mysticism "Good evening, my dear Prince" she whispered.

Endymion chuckled softly, like a little boy when he first sees a girl he liked; moving on his chair he looked at her with awe "This is a lovely surprise…" extending his arm, he took her hand into his and intertwined his fingers with hers "…Wonderful I must say"

Serenity smiled "I missed you"

Endymion smiled and pulled her close to him; his free arm encircled her waist while his other hand was still holding hers "Me too…" he said softly. Serenity ran a hand through his hair "You are not going to ask how is that I am here?"

The prince chuckled "Should I be asking?"

Serenity pursed her lips "Um…no, but you always do…"

Endymion smiled and pulled her closer to him, until she was finally sitting on his lap; his arms encircled around her waist while his face rested on her shoulder "Not this time. I am just glad you are here…" he kissed her bare shoulder, sending shivers down her spine.

Serenity smiled and kissed his forehead and looked into his eyes again "Something is wrong…right?"

Endymion smiled back at her and sighed "No, not really…" he looked at the papers in front of him "It is just that…I have so much work to do all the time…I'm tired, that's all"

Serenity looked at the large amount of papers over the desk and bit her lip "How inconsiderate I am…you are working and I am just interrupting you…if you want me to leave you…"

"What? Never!" he interrupted and looked at her "Never…ever leave me" he turned his eyes toward his desk again "I must admit that, I put myself this amount of work on purpose…" he managed to grab the pen once again and signed another paper; Serenity watched carefully how his hand glided through the paper to make his signature "Do you always have to put all that every time you sign?" she asked puzzled, making him chuckle "What do you mean?" he asked curious.

Serenity looked at the drying ink from his signature and pointed it "Prince Endymion of Earth"

Endymion chuckled again "Um…well, I have to since that is my name…"

Serenity turned to look at him and frowned "Your name isn't Prince, nether less the term of Earth"

The prince smiled and looked at her "Well it's not, but since I'm signing a parchment that will go to another part of the nation it must be signed like that…" he looked for another paper and showed it to her "Like this once…since it's something related to a local matter, it is only signed with my name, not my title"

Serenity took the piece of paper and studied his handwriting "Your writing is incredibly neat"

Endymion arched his brow "That is the way it should be dear…I suppose yours is the same way"

Serenity blushed and put the paper back over the desk "Let's just say…I don't get to sign any papers like you"

Endymion laughed softly "You sure are something" he frowned "What are you doing?"

"Trying to stand up so I can let you continue you work…I am probably too heavy" she said softly; making him chuckle and tighten his arms around her "…Yes, heavy as a feather. Stay here, work with me"

Serenity widened her eyes and looked at him "You really want me to work with you?"

The prince smiled at her "Of course"

The white princess' smile widened "What do you want me to do?"

Endymion kissed her arm "Help me read these papers over here and tell me the date of issue and the location"

Serenity took one of the documents and started reading "It says a new crew was sent to the European point under the command of His Royal Highness Prince Endymion and second in command, from the European division General Zoicite…" she smiled at the sound of his name "Your name sounds so…"

Endymion continued reading his own paper "…So?" he asked softly while starting to sign.

Serenity blushed "I don't know…elegant but strange at the same time…"

Endymion put the pen back on the inker and frowned in curiosity "Strange?"

Serenity smiled at him "I don't know…maybe because I only call you by your name…not your whole title"

The prince chuckled "My whole title it's quite long and boring…it should be His Royal Highness Prince Endymion of Earth, first in command of the Golden Kingdom Army of Elysion"

The white princess widened her blue eyes "Elysion…"

Endymion nodded "That is the true name of this Kingdom…or better said; this town"

Serenity tilted her head and looked at him "What does it mean?"

"What?" the prince held the princess tighter; Serenity smiled "Elysion…sounds ethereal"

Endymion smiled "Elysion means 'Land of dreams'…you were not wrong, it is ethereal"

Serenity widened her eyes slightly "Land of dreams…" she whispered "It is really pretty" her eyes landed on another paper he had in his hand "Are all these papers regarding any kind of protection plan?"

Endymion arched his brow in amazement "You know about it?"

Serenity blushed "Silly, of course I do…I learned it from you as a matter of fact"

The terran prince smiled and looked at the same paper "Well…not all of them, this one for example is stating an exportation plan…meaning that merchandise from other places from around the planet can come to Elysion without a problem"

The lunar princess widened her eyes in amazement "And you approve that as well?"

Endymion kissed her cheek softly "Let's say that since I am the first in command of the army, I am the king's advisor"

"You are so many things…" Serenity said softly with amazement, making the prince chuckle softly and arched his brow slightly "Why are you so surprised?"

Serenity sighed and looked down at the papers over the desk "The commander of our army doesn't do all that…"

Endymion frowned "Uh?"

Serenity turned to look at Endymion "He does not do all the things you do…"

The terran prince sighed "Maybe…because his duties are different than mine…maybe…" he trailed off, his blue eyes widened slightly and looked at her "Wait a minute…are we talking about the man you said that acted rude most of the time?"

Serenity widened her eyes "You remember?"

"Everything my dear… is that him?"

Serenity turned her face and nodded, Endymion frowned "Um...what does a soldier from the heavens do then?"

Serenity let out a sarcastic chuckle as soon as she heard his question; thinking of Athamas as a soldier from the heavens was too ironic because all he did was to cause discussions and problems instead of really protecting them, or maybe he did protected them but he was too abusive or better said to ambitious "He is supposed to protect our kingdom…" she said dryly.

Endymion sighed and put the pen on its inker "So he lives with you…" his voice dropped a few decibels. He started rubbing his right temple with his free hand; Serenity turned to look at him "Endymion?"

"Fantastic" he said dryly.

Serenity frowned a little "What?"

"Nothing…" the prince breathed "…It is most likely that his duties are different from mine, maybe that is why he does not need to sign anything or stay up until all work is done" his voice did not sounded with its usual warmth and elegance.

Serenity frowned "Endy?"

The handsome prince looked at her "Yes?"

"I love you"

Endymion blinked a couple of times not sure of how to react. The lunar princess caressed his face admiring his handsome face "Why are you acting so strange?"

"I am not" he responded, she still recognized that dryness in his voice "Yes you are…" she said softly "Why?"

"I am not acting strange" he said again.

Serenity tilted her head "Then why is your voice so low?"

Endymion frowned "What?"

"I can tell you are upset by the sound of your voice" the princess said. Endymion sighed in defeat "Heavenly soldiers don't stay up until late finishing work…I'm tired, that's all"

Serenity pushed his dark hair back "Is that all?" she asked softly.

Endymion widened his eyes; the princess smiled "Is it?"

The terran prince looked into her eyes and sighed "When did you learn to read me that well?"

Serenity's smile widened "Surprised?"

Endymion caressed her cheek "As a matter of fact yes, not even my mother knows me this well…" he looked at her, his gaze observed her pouty and pink lips and then looked into her eyes again but before he could say anything she interrupted him "I really wish you could be the commander of our army…"

The prince froze "What?"

Serenity blushed "You should be our commander…"

Endymion chuckled "Why?"

The lunar princess stood up and sighed "You would do things differently…"

Endymion looked at her and stayed on his seat, Serenity looked down at the papers on the desk "You are so dedicated without a trace of ambition"

"There should not be ambition in these kinds of things my dear" Endymion sighed and took his pen again before signing another set of papers "You are supposed to bring protection…not to take advantage"

Serenity looked at him "You are so noble…"

Endymion smiled "It's not about being noble dear but just being fair" he sighed and put some papers inside an envelope and closed it with a wax seal with the symbol of earth "If you have the power to do good, then why don't do it?" he looked at her "Don't you think that?"

"I could not agree more…" Serenity smiled "…But your eyes look tired"

Endymion's smile softened "I am…but I really don't care, you are here"

Serenity blushed slightly and turn on her heel "I should go…and let you work" before she could take a step Endymion took her hand and turned her over to him again; putting his hand on her waist while the other one caressed her delicate face, he closed distance between their faces, his breath reaching her skin; his lips almost touching hers "Stay…" he whispered.

Serenity didn't need much to realize the effect he had on her; she was addicted to his eyes, to his voice, to the way he spoke. With only one word he said she would feel how her knees went weak, the warmth of his breath against her skin made her feel bubbly sensations in her stomach, her heart raced and her lips longed to kiss his.

His hands rested on each side of her face, his eyes looked into hers and stayed silent, Endymion smiled and closed his eyes for a moment taking the moment in and keeping it close to his heart; Serenity looked at him but then could not resist the urge to encircle her delicate arms around his waist, roaming on his back in a lose circular motion.

Both stayed in silence, hugging each other. From time to time he would rock her to one side and the other softly and she would only smile at the feeling of protection and happiness; she closed her pale eyes and took in his scent forgetting everything that once troubled her during the day; the memory of Athamas' constant stalking disappeared, the sound of his voice, the brusque feeling of his cold grasp and the lust in his vacant eyes.

She smiled as soon as she felt his chin rested on the top of her head and stayed still for a moment before facing him up "You are too nice, too good…"

Endymion smiled warmly but his eyes could not mask the puzzlement of her words "Is that a bad thing?"

Serenity shook her head "No"

"Suus 'non ut bonus ... suus' iustus sum et ego in eo quod caritatem…" [It's not that I'm too good, it's just the fact that I'm in love…]

The lunar princess looked at him with puppy eyes making the prince laugh softly, sighing he rubbed his nose against hers softly. Serenity looked at him with wide eyes "…"

Endymion caressed her cheek and walked over his desk again "It's a secret" he winked an eye at her and sat on his chair.

Serenity frowned slightly "That is not fair!"

The prince chuckled and turned to look at her "What isn't?"

Serenity tilted her head "That! That thing you do…"

Endymion started to warm another piece of wax with his candle flame and waited for the red liquid to fall over the folded piece of paper and then pressed the seal against it. Chuckling he put the letter aside and turned to look at her "What do I do?"

"You enchant me with your strange words…" Serenity said softly, pouting her lips.

Endymion arched his brow "Strange words…" he responded the same way but he did not pout his lips, instead he chuckled; Serenity walked over to him and leaned on the desk while looking at him "What if you said something wrong?"

The prince widened his eyes and started laughing "Bunny…I could never say anything wrong about you. It was a compliment, alright?"

Serenity pouted her lips "Compliment?"

Endymion nodded "Still, it will remain secret" he winked his eye again at her. Serenity blushed and looked at the white cup next to him "Can I?" she asked after she took the cup. Endymion arched his brow "I am pretty sure you won't like it…"

Serenity looked at him puzzled "Why? Tea always tastes good…"

"That is not…" Endymion trailed off.

Serenity took a large sip of the coffee and squinted her eyes after she swallowed the dark liquid; Endymion sighed "…Tea" he finished.

Serenity poked out her tongue and made a face of disgust "What a horrible thing!"

Endymion looked at her and started laughing; Serenity frowned and shook her head "What it's so funny?"

"I told you you wouldn't like it…" he said between laughs.

Serenity's frown deepened "It tastes so horrible…what is that?"

Endymion put his cup away from her "Coffee"

"What?"

"Coffee"

"Why does it taste so awful?"

Endymion chuckled "Because it is black and unsweetened"

Serenity looked at him confused "And if it is black and unsweetened, why didn't you fix it?"

"Because Bunny, I like my coffee that way" Endymion smiled.

Serenity made a funny face "You really drink that thing?"

"Yes"

"Why?"

"Because, I like it and…" he turned to look at his load of work "It keeps me awake…it helps me concentrate" he turned to look at her again.

"But…" Serenity frowned "Not only is tastes awful…but it is cold"

Endymion chuckled "I know…it shouldn't be cold but…I forgot about it" he extended his arm and took her hand and pulled her close to him "If you want some tea I can bring you some…"

Serenity smiled at him "No..." she ran her hand through his hair "Don't leave"

Endymion pursed his lips "Are you thirsty?"

"No…I just wanted to drink something" Serenity said softly, while seating on his lap once again and looked at the cup of coffee as if it was an evil being, an enemy that needed to be annihilated. Endymion noticed her glare and chuckled "Want some coffee?"

Serenity gave him the same look she was giving the cup but before she could say anything he already poured some of the hot liquid on another cup "You know…I have a theory…" he started, putting a small and round porcelain cup of sugar and another with warm milk next to hers "…Coffee is the most noble drink, it can be strong, bitter…" he poured some milk lightening the dark colored liquid like magic; Serenity watched with awe "…But it depends on who drinks it…" he poured two tea spoons of sugar and stir it softly, making a soft sound "…Many people don't like coffee because they think it is too rough, but it can be very surprising…it can be relaxing and just because of its appearance they prefer not to give it a try…" he handed her the cup "…But once you do, you feel much better"

Serenity looked at the creamy colored liquid and then at him. Endymion smiled "Just give it a try…another one"

Serenity took a small sip of coffee and widened her eyes and then looked at him again with surprise "How…?"

"Did you like it?" he asked softly.

"Surprisingly…yes" she said with amazement.

He smiled "You are very much delicate, sweet…kind and that is why your coffee must be that way…"

Serenity blushed and took another sip of her coffee "How did you know I was going to like it this time?"

Endymion's smile widened "I too know you very well my dear"

Serenity smiled and then tilted her head "Then…if I am sweet then how come you drink your coffee that black and bitter?"

Endymion gave her a sad smile "Beautiful…I am not as sweet as you think I am…"

Serenity gave her a confused look "Of course you are!"

Endymion let out a soft sigh "No my dear…" he pushed her bangs aside "I'm just a man…with countless flaws"

Serenity tilted her and put her cup aside "You are more than you think…don't talk like that"

The prince sighed and ran a hand through his hair "I don't know anymore love…" he looked at her "Sometimes I feel there is something wrong with me…I…" he trailed off and waved his hand in dismissal "Never mind…" he held her hands and brought one to his lips "Your guardians are being very understanding…"

Serenity smiled "They know how much I love you…how much I miss you every day" she sighed "But, I am afraid that the next time I come to see you one of them will come with me…I hope you don't mind…"

Endymion frowned "No beautiful, not at all…I understand"

Serenity bit her lower lip and lowered her gaze "This is becoming more and more difficult…right?" her voice was soft as a whisper, if she wasn't looking down he would have swore she was about to cry. He put his hand under her chin and lifted her face, he looked into her icy blue eyes filled with tears "It is difficult love, I won't deny it…" he heard her sigh sadly "But…" he said, catching her full attention; he smiled "That does not mean we won't be able to be together one day"

Serenity blinked a couple of times "Endymion…"

Endymion gave her a sad smile "…We just need to believe it and be patient"

A tear started to roll from the princess' eyes, biting her lip she tried to divert her gaze away from him but she couldn't "I will talk to them…"

Endymion frowned "What?"

Serenity looked at him "I will talk to them…"

The terran prince looked at her puzzled "You will talk with whom?"

Serenity turned her face and looked outside the window and up to the skies "The gods…"

Endymion's frown deepened "Bunny…" he sighed and turned her face at him again "…Don't"

Serenity widened her eyes "What?"

The prince shook his head "You cannot risk your life that way…"

Serenity frowned and freed herself from his soft grasp "…Why not? It is not fair..." tears started to fall from her eyes "It is not fair Endymion…it's not fair!" she raised her voice "I…" she was interrupted as soon as he put his index finger on her lips "Serenity…I know it's not fair, I know it is very difficult…" he sighed and lowered his gaze "…But what else did you expect…?" he looked at her again "…Our love is forbidden, contact between earth and moon is forbidden…"

Serenity looked at him with sad eyes "…But I love you…" she whispered.

Endymion stood up and wiped her tears with the back of his hand "I amo te luna bunny" [I love you moon bunny] he gave her a sad smile "I won't give up on you"

"I won't give up on you either…" Serenity whispered "But…I miss you so much, I wish you could be there with me…" Endymion ran his arms around her and brought her close to his chest; his heartbeats calmed her down slowly; he could feel how she started to cry with more feeling and more desperation "Hey…" he whispered and looked down at her "…Come with me"

Serenity sniffed and gave him a puzzled look "What?"

Endymion smiled softly at her "I want to show you something"

"But…where are we going? You have work to do!" Serenity said.

Endymion shook his head "I can finish it later…" he walked over his bed and grabbed a thin dark blue blanket and then her hand and walked over the large windows and smiled softly "I haven't done this in years"

Serenity watched him take the locks off and opened them wide, letting the cold breeze come into the room instantly cooling her cheeks; Endymion walked with her outside to the balcony and turned to look at her. Serenity widened her eyes at the marvelous view. Tall trees, the village was seen in the distance, the small lights of the cottages and stores looked like little stars; a smile was drawn immediately in her lips "So pretty…"

Endymion smiled "If you think that's pretty…then, look up" he pointed to the skies and raised his head. Serenity did as she was told and widened her eyes bigger than before and gasped. The dark sky looked like velvet in many shades of black and very dense hues of blues; it looked like a painting with all the stars shining across it, gleaming like diamonds, the crescent moon hung like an ornament in the vast immensity of the night sky "Magical…"

Endymion nodded and sat on the floor; Serenity looked at him and followed sitting in front of him so she could lean her back on him; the prince covered them with the thin and soft blanket and looked up again. Serenity leaned her head back on his chest and looked at the moon "So calm…peaceful"

"Mhm…" he mumbled "I used to this when I was younger and stayed for hours…every time I was upset…I used to take a blanket and sit here while I watched the sky change colors"

"Upset?" Serenity asked softly; she felt Endymion sigh.

"Every time I heard my mother was delicate…the last time I was here was when I decided to go to train with the rest of the soldiers…I remember I talked to my father and came straight here to think and meditate…"

"There is more to know about the real reason why you went to train there isn't it?" she asked softly.

Endymion leaned his head back and stayed silent for a moment "Maybe…" he said.

Serenity frowned slightly "Endy…" she tried to turn her face.

Endymion bit his lower lip "…Life comes in many ways…sometimes unexpected and sometimes like a mystery…I feel like mine is one of those…" his voice was soft, and held a hint of sadness. Serenity turned to look at him and placed her hands on each side of his face "Maybe it is…but, you are the best in my life…" she whispered, closing the small gap between them in a soft and tender kiss.


	91. Chapter 91

**A/N: **_Here is goes another chapter, pretty waited I think. I personally liked it. Enjoy!_

**p.s. [ ] means thoughts. There will be lot of those in the future.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter ninety one**

* * *

"I finally found you"

Athamas raised his head and frowned "What?"

"I've been looking all over for you…" Artemis said sternly and took a sit in front of his desk "Where were you General?"

Athamas arched a brow "I don't think that is of your incumbency. My job does not only consist in staying here, I am much more than that"

Artemis sighed "Your job General, is to stay alert for everything that might happen"

The blonde general crossed his arms "And what do you think I am doing? Playing around?"

"Actually, yes" Artemis put some documents over the desk "These reports are not complete"

"What?" Athamas' frown deepened.

"The reports are incomplete General and that is something that should not be given to Her Majesty" Artemis said dryly. Athamas chuckled and looked at him defiantly "Just because you are advisor to the Queen does not mean you can talk to me however you like…"

Artemis let out a sarcastic chuckle "It is not me who is saying it Athamas…but God Ares"

Athamas widened his eyes "What?"

Artemis narrowed his eyes "He wants a full report of the last couple of months, so I hope you have it ready"

"Why does he want that?" the general asked half worried, half intrigued.

"We are not allowed to question his decisions…" Artemis stood up "I will come by for the report later this evening" turning on his heel he walked toward the door; "Artemis" Athamas stood up, making the white haired man turn. Athamas frowned "A report that extensive cannot be finished by this evening"

Artemis arched his brow "Of course not, that is something you should have done already; now, _that_ is your job" he turned on his heel and walked toward the door "By evening General" he waited for the doors to be opened and walked out.

As soon as the guards closed the doors again Athamas turned over and leaned his hands on the desk "…My job is much more complex than just obeying you all…" he muttered dryly "My job is to become King of this kingdom…and make Serenity mine"

O.o.o.o.O

"That should do it Your Highness"

Serenity looked at herself in the large mirror in front of her and smiled "Thank you very much"

The young maid bowed her head in respect and turned to the door as soon as it opened "Princess…" Venus called for her, followed by Mars and the rest of the girls. Mars let out a soft breath of relief [He sent her back home…] she thought.

Venus walked over her princess and smiled softly "Good day"

"Good day Venus" the lunar princess returned the greet "I was not expecting you at this time of the day…I just had breakfast with mother, Luna and Artemis…but my dress was somehow falling from the upper part and it was making me feel uncomfortable but here, maliko helped me right away"

Venus smiled "I would like to have a word with you Princess…"

The maid immediately took that as a sign to leave and bowed in respect, leaving the girls alone with their princess, as soon as she closed the bedroom doors Venus let out a soft sigh "It seems the day is perfect…and so the timing"

Serenity frowned "I do not understand…"

Jupiter chuckled softly "What Venus is trying to say Princess is that, you are visiting your Prince…"

Serenity widened her eyes, Venus cleared her throat "But…" she raised her index finger "…You are not going alone, one or two of us will go with you"

The lunar princess blinked a couple of times "I really can go by myself…nothing will happen to me…"

Venus sighed and crossed her arms "We talked about this Princess…it is very hard for me to do this as a matter of fact, I'm disobeying my Queen and the High Gods orders by letting you go…"

"We must be very careful Princess…this is a serious situation" Mercury said softly.

"More than serious, dangerous" Jupiter said.

"General Athamas will be busy for today so, that is something we must use to our advantage" Mars said softly; Serenity smiled at her as a sign of gratitude for what she had done the night before.

"But two of us have to stay…just in case" Venus said "Mars and Mercury will go with you this time"

Serenity turned to look at Mercury and smiled at her, then turned to look at Venus "How can I thank you?" she whispered. Venus sighed softly and gave her princess a soft smile "You need to be aware that this is only temporary…this cannot go on forever"

Serenity lowered her gaze "You cannot forbid love…"

"You cannot force it either Princess" Venus said softly.

"I am not forcing it…" Serenity looked at her "Endymion loves me as much as I love him…"

Venus looked at her sadly "Princess…"

Serenity shook her head "You cannot ask me to stop loving him…you cannot ask me to say goodbye to him when he is the man I want in my life…"

Venus walked over to her and put a hand over her shoulder "Princess…please, I am doing this so you can see him, but think of these visits as a soon to be farewell…"

Serenity's heart pounded fast in her chest "What…?"

Jupiter walked over to Venus and did the same "Venus…" she whispered, the blonde sighed and lowered her gaze "…Three hours, no more or less. Good luck" she said softly.

Mercury stood next to Mars and Serenity and waited for their princess to summon her energy to go to earth. Serenity closed her eyes and felt how they started to burn with unshed tears; Venus words of farewell stood clear in her mind and it hurt her, she could not say goodbye to him, she would never say goodbye to him, ever.

[Flashback]

_Endymion tightened his arms around her while they looked up to the night sky "Do stars look the same way from your home?"_

_Serenity snuggled in his arms and sighed with contempt "They look closer…like, if you could reach them…but they are so far far away" smiling, she held his hand and tried to intertwine her fingers with his "But the way they look from here is wonderful…like a blanket made of diamonds"_

_Endymion smiled softly and kissed the top of her head "…I'm so lucky"_

"_For what?" Serenity frowned slightly._

_Endymion kissed her again "Because I have the most wonderful and beautiful star in my arms…"_

_Serenity blushed and turned to look at him "Endymion…"_

_Endymion looked down at her with those intense blue eyes "You are my diamond, my precious star"_

_Serenity felt like if she was about to melt completely, the way his voice sounded when he was being romantic was priceless, the mere sound of his voice mentioning her name was beyond wonderful for her. Her crystal blue eyes started to shine with happy tears "…And you are mine, my handsome Prince"_

_Endymion closed the gap between them and kissed her softly on the lips, caressing hers with his, then her cheeks and then her ears "I love you…" he whispered._

_Serenity turned completely and ran her arms around his neck, looking at him straight in the eyes she kissed him fully on the lips "My love…I love you, Endymion" she whispered back._

[End of flashback]

Her heart knew the way and in an instant it began to react to her feelings and her longing to see him again; the moment she opened her eyes she recognized the greenery around. Mercury opened one eye and then the other one slowly like if she was afraid of what she might find. Mars on the other side was already reading the energy around them "There is no threat…but, I do have one question"

Serenity turned to look at her "What is it Mars?"

"How are we going to find that Prince of yours…" the raven haired woman asked; Mercury sighed "This might be harder than we thought…"

Serenity frowned "There must be a reason of why I am here…" she turned both sides "We are inside the palace grounds…"

"Right" a male voice interrupted them; the two senshi immediately took position. Serenity turned to look at the blonde man standing a few feet away from them "You are indeed, inside the palace grounds…"

"Jadeite…" Serenity breathed.

The blonde man nodded and let out a chuckle "You remember my name Princess" his smile soon faded and crossed his arms "You should not be here Princess…"

Serenity took a step forward "Please…"

"Princess" Mars said softly. Serenity turned to look at her friend and then at Jadeite "I haven't come to cause a fight…"

Jadeite smiled "…But to see my Prince"

Serenity blushed softly; Jadeite chuckled and let out a soft sigh "That would be lovely Princess but my Prince is in a meeting as we speak…I'm sorry" he turned to look at Mars "You can now stop looking at me like that"

Mars widened her amethyst eyes "What?"

Jadeite looked down at Serenity "He's been in the meeting for quite a long time now…I am not sure at what time he will be available"

"Shouldn't you be with him?" Mars snapped "I mean…if you are his _guardian_…you should there be with him"

Jadeite frowned "My Prince can take good care of himself…and there are meetings where only he is allowed to attend" he looked at the blue haired soldier and then at their princess "Princess…"

"Jadeite…"

The blonde was interrupted by his other blonde comrade "Zoicite…" Jadeite said softly; "I was looking for you…what…" he trailed off widening his eyes "Princess Serenity!" he said surprised. This time Mercury took a step forward, catching Zoicite's attention "…And you are not alone"

"Zoicite…" Serenity called him softly.

"Princess…why have you come? It is not safe for you to be here…"

Jadeite sighed "Not safe for you or our Master"

"I just want to see him…" Serenity said softly.

Jadeite turned to Zoicite "I just told her he is in a meeting"

Zoicite sighed "The meeting ended just minutes ago…he is in the study…alleging what happened in the meeting" he turned to Jadeite "How did you find them?"

Jadeite shrugged his shoulders "I was just passing by and found them here!"

Mars sighed "Men…"

Jadeite frowned "What about men?"

"You are so unreliable" Mars snapped "You think you know everything…but the truth is that you do not know anything"

"You came here only to insult us?" Jadeite asked with annoyance and sarcasm.

"What else? It is not like I came to see _you_…" Mars said dryly.

"And she is your guardian? You better be careful Princess…" Jadeite said.

Mars frowned "Why you little…"

"Mars…please" Serenity asked her raven haired friend to calm down.

"Is there any way for our Princess to see Your Prince?" Mercury asked softly.

Zoicite sighed "I remember clearly how you said you would never let your Princess come back here again…"

Mercury pressed her lips together "The heart knows nothing about reason…"

Zoicite widened his green eyes with surprise again by her straight and mature answer. The woman was enchanting he thought, delicate, like a "Ballerina" he said softly; startling the other blonde shitennou and the other three girls "What?" Mercury blinked a couple of times.

Zoicite gave her a faint smile "You look like a ballerina" Mercury blushed softly; Jadeite crossed his arms "I'm sorry Princess…"

Serenity's eyes started to shine with tears; lowering her gaze she tried to fight the urge to start crying.

Zoicite looked at her and then at Jadeite "Jadeite…" he said softly; making the blond man sighed "You are not supposed to be here…why are you here?"

Zoicite looked at Mercury "I thought you were very clear…you were even going to attack us because you want your Princess to stay away from this planet…why are you here?"

Mercury looked at the blonde man "It is better to find a solution than to try to run away from the problem…"

"Problem…" Zoicite muttered "We are only doing the same thing you are…protecting our Prince"

Serenity bit her lip "I will tell you the same thing I said to them…" she raised her face, her crystal blue eyes shone with tears "You will never understand it because you have never been in love…you may try to stop us but we will never give up…someday the sun will shine for us both…"

Jadeite sighed softly "…Love" he muttered, catching Zoicite's attention. The blonde shitennou lowered his gaze "Prince Endymion is in the study…"

Jadeite widened his eyes "Zoicite!"

Zoicite looked at Jadeite "The meeting ended not too long ago…" he turned to look at Serenity "I do not know how do you do it…how do you always seem to find a way to find us or to find him…I am no one to question you Goddess…but it seems that you did it again; you found our Prince"

Jadeite frowned and crossed his arms "I haven't thought of that before…" he said thoughtful and turned to look at Zoicite "Something tells me that you are suggesting something…"

Zoicite sighed and looked around before looking at the three women in front of him, especially Serenity "Princess our Prince is under too much stress right now so please, make it quick and be aware that he is not in the best of moods…"

Serenity widened her eyes "Did something happened?"

Jadeite frowned and sighed "This is Earth Princess, everything happens…"

Serenity looked at Jadeite and then at Zoicite "Something must have happened…" she whispered; Mars arched her brow "If your Prince is in the study then there will probably be more people with him…you are setting us a trap"

Zoicite looked at Mars "I will say it's a private audience with the Prince…"

"Why are you helping us so suddenly?" Mercury asked softly.

"We care for our Prince the same way you care for your Princess" Zoicite answered; Jadeite crossed his arms "So now that you know the situation Princess, do you still want to see him?"

"Yes" Serenity said.

Zoicite nodded and turned to Jadeite "Where are Kunzite and Nephrite?"

"They are attending the three kings and arranging the next meeting" Jadeite answered; Zoicite sighed "That should give us some time…" he turned to look at the three women "Right this way, Princess"

They walked through another hall that connected straight to the conference room and the study without the necessity of crossing the gardens and the main court; as soon as they reached the study doors, Zoicite raised his hand "The next appointment has arrived"

The guards tried to look at the women behind them but Jadeite also raised his hands "He is expecting them"

"Prince Endymion didn't said he had more appointments" one of the guards said.

Jadeite sighed "Oh come on Strathos…you know he doesn't mentions anything" he said in a low voice; he guard widened his eyes and stayed silent. Zoicite frowned "Who is in there?"

"Some of the guard from General Nephrite's division and the first squad of sergeants"

Zoicite bit his lower lip for a moment and wrote a note "Give him this. I cannot leave them alone" the guard nodded and walked inside the study, closing the door immediately only letting them hear the word "Prince…" suggesting he was asking for his permission to come in.

Serenity lowered her head for a moment, trying to hide her lunar symbol on her forehead and for a moment she thanked her friends to be wearing their gowns instead of their uniforms. She thought while she waited that if she had come here by herself it would have been easier for her to talk to him but things happened differently this time.

The guard came out again "He says he will be waiting in the conference room"

Jadeite widened his eyes and turned to look at Zoicite "He _hates_ to be interrupted…what did you write on that note?" he asked softly while they walked toward the conference room; Zoicite opened the door "That is was extremely urgent and important"

Both men moved aside to let Mars, Mercury and Serenity come inside; Zoicite closed the door behind them "He should be here any minute now"

"He is going to ask me why I am not doing my job…" Jadeite muttered.

Seconds later the door opened revealing a very serious, quite stressed Prince; he closed it immediately behind him and looked at his shitennou and frowned "You were the ones who asked for an audience with me? You could have just come in…" he said with slight annoyance.

"Well yes, we know that Master…but this time, we found somebody who needed to talk with you and this was the only way to get you out of the meeting" Zoicite said, moving aside letting him see Serenity standing there.

Endymion's eyes widened "Bunny…" he said softly, his voice immediately changed to a sweeter sound, Mars noticed.

Serenity walked over to him "I'm sorry to cause this commotion…"

Endymion rested his hands on her shoulders and frowned slightly "Did something happen Beautiful?"

"We came with her, Prince" Mars took a step forward. Endymion saw Mars and Mercury standing near the shitennou "I see" he responded slowly. Mercury stood next Mars "Prince…we understand you are busy, we apologize for coming here like this"

Endymion shook his head and looked down at Serenity "I will always have time for her"

Mars smiled softly to herself; she found his comment delightful and full of meaning and love.

Serenity smiled softly at him "But Zoicite and Jadeite…they said you were in a meeting and that you were…well, stressed"

Endymion chuckled softly "Bunny…I'm always in meetings and stressed, it's part of my job" he pushed her bangs aside "How are you?" he asked softly, remembering the night they spent before; Serenity smiled at him "Happy to see you"

Endymion smiled and kissed the top of her hand "Me too Beautiful"

Mars pressed her lips together, trying to dissimulate her smile of contempt. What she was seeing was something she never experienced before until they saw those two together [she's safe] she thought.

Mercury on the other side, looked around the large room with awe at the many shelves with books and large maps pinned on a wooden table, clearly they used to mark their territories; Zoicite caught her interest and smiled "This is where we receive our political guests, the meeting was here, that is why there are maps all around"

Mercury turned to look at him and nodded "It is very spacious…" she said, and regretted it as soon as those words escaped her lips [what did I just say?] She thought, kicking herself mentally "But of course, like any other room"

Zoicite arched a brow and chuckled "It is not a bad thing to be amazed by something alien to you, you know?"

Mercury blushed and lowered her gaze; Mars turned to look at them and frown slightly. Serenity ran her arms around Endymion and sighed with contempt "I wanted to see you…even if it was only for a little while" Endymion smiled "A little while it's better than never"

"I'm sorry I didn't come alone…" she trailed off "But…you know…"

Endymion put a finger on her lips "I know Bunny…I know and I understand…" he blushed softly "Although…I do not feel as free as usual to give you a kiss"

Serenity giggled "…Are you afraid of them?"

Endymion bit his lower lip and blew his bangs "Not that I am afraid of them…but, I can't kiss you the same way I do when we are alone; and it is also because it's a matter of respect"

Serenity blushed this time; Endymion smiled "But we will find our way"

Serenity noticed her guardians were talking with Endymion's shitennou and looked at her prince again, standing on her tip toes she closed the gap between them and kissed him fully on the lips; parting seconds later leaving a very shocked prince. Serenity giggled and tilted her head "Like that?"

Endymion chuckled and nodded "Like that"

Jadeite sighed and crossed his arms "We should give them some privacy…"

Mars frowned and turned to look at him "Are you insane?"

The blonde soldier looked at her and arched a brow; Mars' frown deepened "There is a reason why we came with our Princess all the way over here…"

Jadeite held his same expression "One thing is to protect your Princess; other very different is to spy on her…"

Mars widened her amethyst eyes in shock "S-Spy?"

Jadeite shrugged his shoulders "That is what you are doing…" narrowing his eyes "That is all women do after all…"

Mars gritted her teeth "What?"

Mercury turned to look at Mars "…But he is right about giving them some time…"

Zoicite let out a soft breath "You may think whatever you want of our Prince, but he would never hurt your Princess" Mercury looked at Mars "Mars?"

Mars sighed and turned to look at Zoicite "Where can we go without being unnoticed?"

Jadeite walked to the other side of the room and opened a door "Right this way…" the four of them walked toward the door that led to a small private garden; Mercury turned over "Princess?"

Serenity broke eye contact with Endymion and looked at Mercury; the blue haired senshi gave her a soft smile "Only for a little while…" Serenity nodded and returned the smile "Thank you" Mercury nodded and turned on her heel, leaving the couple alone.

"They are very kind guardians…" she whispered; Endymion smiled "They care for you, they worry about you"

Serenity smiled "I wasn't talking about mine…but yours"

Endymion widened his eyes; Serenity turned to look at her lover "They are very kind hearted men…and even though their wish is to keep you safe, they know our love is important for both of us and took all this trouble…"

Endymion smiled "Zoicite wrote me a note that said that I needed to be here immediately because it was a matter of great urgency and importance…" he chuckled and lowered his gaze "At first I got very upset because I was starting to feel frustrated at the meeting, but you…" he looked at her and caressed her face with the back of his hand "…Make all the frustration and worries go away with those beautiful eyes of yours…with that smile"

Serenity blushed but then frowned slightly "Are there problems?"

Endymion sighed and walked over one of the windows "…More than problems, concerns…" he looked outside and leaned a hand on the window frame "Point D is giving us all headaches…"

O.o.o.o.o.O

Mars sighed and leaned on the wall, crossing her arms she closed her eyes; Jadeite turned to look at her and frowned "Are you always like this?"

Mars pursed her lips "Like what?"

"Angry…" Jadeite said.

Mars frowned again "I'm not mad"

"I didn't say mad I said angry…" Jadeite crossed his arms; Mars' frown deepened "What do you care?"

"I don't…actually"

Mars went red with anger "Then why the hell are you asking?"

Jadeite sighed and stood in front of her "Because I cannot understand how a girl like you can have such a bad temper!"

"I should have burned you when I had the chance…"

Jadeite frowned "What?"

Mars opened her eyes and looked at him "You really do not have a clue of who we really are…"

The blonde blew his bangs "I actually do not give a damn"

Mars widened her eyes "What?"

Jadeite shrugged his shoulders "You heard me…"

"Why you…" Mars muttered.

"So you are immortal beings…or, divine…what about it? Why should I pay respect for someone who does not answer to our prayers?" Jadeite arched his brow.

Mars was caught off guard "…Not answer?"

"You divine beings believe that just because you hold some sort of power can do whatever you want with us mortals…" Jadeite said "Why should I pay respect for somebody who does not respect us back?"

Mars blinked a couple of times and closed her eyes for a moment again, trying to digest his raw but somehow true comment "…I am not who you should pray"

Jadeite turned to look at her "What?"

Mars opened her eyes "Our world…is different from yours" she raised her head and looked at him "It is true that we hold divine power but that is because we were chosen to have it…our duty is to protect our Princess nothing more, we are not who you should pray every night"

"Then who?" Jadeite asked startling her.

Mars widened her eyes slightly "What?"

"Then who we should send our prayers?"

Mars sighed and walked pass him "…I don't know, I highly doubt you should send your prayers to my Mother…or Father…" she looked at him again "Maybe you just need to pray to your own God…"

"We don't have a God" Jadeite said.

Mars frowned "Every planet has its own God…its protector, where is yours?"

Jadeite clenched his jaw "We have protected this planet all together…"

Mars widened her eyes "Only you?"

The blonde man turned around and sighed "Our Prince, he is our leader in battle the one who has kept us safe…"

Mars narrowed her eyes [What is he trying to say?] she thought. His words sounded heavy and like it held more to them; he referred his prince as the one that has given them the protection they all needed, like a protector, a sacred guardian; her eyes widened again maybe in realization, were her questions being answered, was the terran prince the missing piece of the story, was her princess' lover the guardian they all mention in Olympus?

"That is why you try to protect him…" she said softly, her features softened.

Jadeite sighed again "Prince Endymion can protect himself very well, but our duty is to be his advisors and yes, guardians just like you are…you can say that we lived many experiences that bound us together, more than just guardians we all are friends. He never treated us like if we were inferior to him, since we all met he acted like any other person…" he smiled "I won't say he does not have a strong character because I would be lying, he is difficult, sometimes cold and very strict but he has to be like that in order to fulfill his duty and that is to protect all this kingdom and our whole nation…he is the Prince of Earth after all and he has to take his role as such"

Mars looked at the soldier with awe, his respect and admiration towards his prince was admirable; she watched him smile "Your Princess has enchanted him with her heart; we do not doubt your Princess…but the whole situation…"

The image of the catastrophe in her dreams came to mind, her heart started to race quickly, her purple eyes widened and brought a hand up to her chest "…The situation…" she whispered, then looked at him "Do you have the same fear then?"

Jadeite remained silent and gave her a smile "We are not that different"

Mars felt attracted to that genuine smile; somehow the anger she felt towards him was no longer there, sure his character was sarcastic but deep inside he had the same desire of keeping his prince safe from any harm, returning the smile she gave him a nod "I believe we have one thing in common"

Jadeite sighed "Finally"

Mars smiled and lowered her gaze "You are prettier when you smile" Jadeite said, startling her. She raised her gaze and blushed softly "I beg your pardon?"

Jadeite smiled "You heard me"

Mars widened her eyes in astonishment; Jadeite took a step closer to her "You have the name of a planet…"

Mars blinked a couple of times "…Mars"

Jadeite smiled "Martis…" he nodded "My name is Jadeite, in case you do not want to call me bastard, mortal or anything else… you are more than welcome to use that name"

Mars blushed and for the very first time lowered her gaze in shame "…I didn't mean to disrespect you…is just that…well"

Jadeite chuckled "As long as you don't burn me into a crisp…it's alright"

O.o.o.o.O

Mercury looked at the distance and sighed, Zoicite took a seat on a bench near a tree. After they left both royals alone they also left Mars and Jadeite behind and continued walking a few feet away from them, Mercury did not realize she was alone with the blonde man until she came back from her own thoughts. Closing her eyes she let out a soft breath catching Zoicite's attention "Are you alright?"

Mercury closed her blue eyes "I want to thank you for what you did for my Princess today"

Zoicite widened his green eyes "You…want to thank me?"

Mercury turned to look at him, her blue hair played with the soft wind of the day making her look more enchanting and delicate than before [Beautiful] Zoicite thought; Mercury opened her eyes again "You searched for your Prince so he could meet my Princess…you went through all that trouble…"

Zoicite sighed and crossed his legs "...Why are you really here? I thought you said you were not going to let your Princess step a foot on this realm"

Mercury looked at him "We are not supposed to be here…but…" she trailed off and looked away "…We could not stand watch her being so sad all the time…she cares for your Prince very much"

"But it is dangerous and you know it" Zoicite said softly.

Mercury sighed and lowered her gaze; she remembered the time when they all discovered she was sneaking down to earth to see the prince, the time when Venus took her flowers and left her crying on the floor with desperation and she stayed to help her clean her face. The way she talked about him and her feelings towards him always stayed present in her mind "I may not have the power to see auras…but, you do not need much to know they are deeply in love…"

Zoicite looked at her "Mercury, right?"

Mercury widened her eyes "Y-Yes…"

Zoicite smiled "You seem like a very sweet girl, too honest"

"I only try to see what's best for my Princess" Mercury said "Don't you want the same thing for your Prince?"

Zoicite smiled again "My Prince already protects your Princess…that is quite obvious" she stood up from the bench "You seem to dislike us…why?"

Mercury shook her head "We do not dislike you…we just, want to protect our Princess…it is forbidden for us to have any contact with you"

"Then, if you are aware of it, I'll ask you again, what are you doing here?" Zoicite arched a brow; Mercury frowned slightly and stayed silent "You can't answer me ballerina?"

Mercury widened her eyes and looked at the blonde man "Ballerina?"

Zoicite smiled softly "You have the poise of a ballerina"

Mercury looked at him and chuckled "Do you say that to all the women you meet?...Probably"

Zoicite arched one brow "What do you mean?"

Mercury walked around and sighed "You tend to say pretty things to woo women…it is part of your nature"

Zoicite frowned "Part of our nature?"

"It is well known that men do that" Mercury said softly and sat on the bench this time; Zoicite hummed "Hm…so you think that your Princess has been wooed by my Prince?"

Mercury sighed and lowered her gaze "My Princess…" she trailed off "…She is in love with somebody she cannot be with, I am not saying that your Prince is a bad person but that relationship will have to end eventually…these meetings are only temporarily…they will have to say goodbye"

Zoicite turned to look at her "That is what you are doing here then…preparing their farewell"

"They cannot be together…" Mercury said softly.

Zoicite's gaze softened "Your eyes are concerned, troubled, like if you wish to happen something unexpected"

Mercury widened her eyes and looked at him; Zoicite walked over to her and crouched in front of her "Am I wrong?" he asked softly; the blue haired senshi blinked a couple of times "Why are you being so nice?"

"We are not monsters, we are just mortals; I don't have any reasons to be rude to you…" Zoicite said softly; Mercury blinked a couple of times more. The shitennou stood up and leaned on a tree "How is it…to be divine, to live on a magical world, to have eternal life?"

Mercury looked at him "It is the same I believe…we have duties, obligations…"

Zoicite smiled, looking up at the sky "I do not think so…you have all the time in your hands, unlike you, we hold our lives dear…it's our most sacred treasure, maybe that is why we live in a planet full of wonders, to enjoy it to the fullest and create our best memories"

"…Like the ocean" Mercury said softly.

Zoicite turned to look at her "Like the ocean, yes…your voice holds wonder, longing…have you ever seen the ocean?"

Mercury shook her head "No…I am the guardian of ice, my home planet is made of it…I feel the power of water but in a different way"

"Your name is the same as your home planet, can I ask you why?" Zoicite asked with wonder. Mercury looked at him and gave him a very faint smile "Because I was chosen to be a senshi, I am its protector"

"I see" Zoicite said softly; Mercury tilted her head "Your name is the same of a stone…"

Zoicite widened his eyes "How do you know?"

Mercury looked at him "I know many things about this planet"

Zoicite blinked a couple of times "So, that means that you _study_ us?"

"Don't you study us?" Mercury asked softly.

"Touché" Zoicite chuckled "We do…but for example, Prince Endymion knows more about you all than us…"

Mercury frowned slightly "Why?"

Zoicite kicked himself mentally [Maybe I am saying too much] he thought; scratching his nose he chuckled "Because he is our High Prince, he has to learn all those things…and because he was taught how to pray to you"

Mercury tilted her head "To us? He prays to us?"

Zoicite laughed softly "I am not sure about that…he knows how to do it but I am not so sure that he does it…he has his own reasons" he sighed "We all do…but, I guess our prayers are never heard"

Mercury frowned "…Never heard"

Zoicite gave her a sad smile "I think it has to do with the fact that we are a forgotten planet…maybe because we are mortals…"

Mercury looked at him with sad eyes and stood up, she kind of knew the reasons of why they were being ignored. They are not part of the Alliance the rest of the planets are; they are excluded by unknown reasons or maybe there are but they are kept secret. Mercury did not know how to feel, how to act or what to say to that matter, she could not deny the fact that she felt somehow guilty for it; like if everybody in this world asked for some mercy and they were only being ignored.

She remembered Serenity's words, how she constantly defended them before Venus and the rest of the girls, how she said they were not evil like they all thought; they were only human; was this really their only sin? Their only fault? She questioned to herself, was this the only reason of why they were being put aside? How cruel.

She walked over to the general and stood in front of him "Maybe they do not listen like you say, because maybe you are doing fine…" she said softly; trying to comfort the man.

Zoicite looked at her with wonder "Ballerina…" he whispered.

Mercury blushed and looked away "Maybe we should…" she trailed off; Zoicite widened his eyes and realized what he was doing [Zoicite, pleeeease!] He thought "Yes…before your friend roasts Jadeite to dust"

Mercury giggled in a knowing manner, she knew her friend very well and she knew she was capable of really burning to ashes any man that would make her mad.

O.o.o.o.O

"I wish there would be something I could do to help…"

Endymion looked at her and gave her a warm smile "Beautiful…it's alright, I'll find a way to prevent more damages. Fortunately, the disappearances have diminished considerably indicating we are doing something good"

Serenity smiled at him "Well, then I wish there could be something I could do to help _you_"

"Help me?" Endymion widened his eyes; he chuckled "Beautiful…you have done much more for me than you can imagine"

Serenity tilted her head "I have?"

Endymion encircled his arms around her and turned to look at their surroundings "They left us alone…which means you are completely mine" his voice fell a few decibels with passion; Serenity felt her knees go weak, she looked at him in the eyes and felt like she was about to be drawn into them; they turned into that shade of blue, that color that was only for her. Stepping on her tip toes, even when she wore high heels she could not reach him; Endymion lifted her in his arms and locked his lips with hers in a passionate kiss that lasted minutes; her hands roamed through his dark hair and rested on the back of his neck.

Endymion caressed her ears with his lips "I love you…I love you Serenity" he whispered.

Serenity opened her eyes and looked at him "I love you Endymion…" the terran prince closed his eyes and captured her lips once again in a sweet but passionate kiss; his lips bit hers with tenderness while his arms held her tighter; she could not help to moan a little, something Endymion knew it could drive him crazy.

They stayed like that for a couple of more minutes, enjoying themselves and the purity and passion of their love; she took in all his scent, his cologne impregnating her body, his warmth filling her heart with joy. Endymion could not stop kissing her, the sweet scent of her skin and the softness of her lips made him forget everything; he had so much love for her that there were times where he felt he wanted to give her more, protect her, keeping her with him forever.

His mind was starting to lose reason and his body started to react; his heart started to beat faster and when he felt he could completely lose his mind he finished the kiss, caressing her cheeks with his lips and smiled.

Serenity opened her eyes and looked at him; she could feel her heart on her throat like if it was about to come out of her body, her lips had a tingling sensation, something she knew was because of their long periods of time kissing and smiled "What?"

Endymion blushed and put her back down "And you say you wished you could do something to help me…"

Serenity chuckled "I only want you to be happy"

"But I am…" he smiled and pushed her bangs aside, revealing her lunar symbol "Whenever I am with you"

Serenity smiled and traced the line of his jaw with the tips of her fingers. They heard the back doors open indicating their respective guardians were back "Princess…" Mars said softly.

Serenity did not want to break eye contact with her lover and bit her lip knowing what it meant; Endymion winked his right eye at her assuring her that everything was alright. The lunar princess turned to look at her raven haired guardian and nodded, then turned to look at her prince again "I will come back…I promise"

Endymion smiled at her and nodded "I'll be waiting for you" he whispered and kissed her hand "I love you"

Serenity could not resist the urge to hug him and encircled her arms around his waist "I love you too…" she whispered back, parting away from him she walked over Jadeite and Zoicite "Thank you…" she said softly.

Both men bowed their heads in respect "Be careful Princess…" Zoicite said softly.

Mars smiled at Jadeite while Mercury smiled at Zoicite in gratitude and then looked at the terran prince "Thank you Prince" Mars said softly.

Endymion nodded "Be careful"

And with that, the three girls were gone in a flash of light; leaving the three men alone. Endymion sighed and ran a hand through his hair; Jadeite arched his brow "Is something the matter?"

"I have to return to the meeting" Endymion said and looked at them with eyes of gratitude "Thank you…"

Zoicite bit his lower lip "If Kunzite finds out about this he will surely get very upset"

Endymion let out a soft chuckle "He has to understand…one day" he turned on his heel and started to walk to toward the door. Jadeite sighed in relief when the prince seem to have forgotten about the report he was supposed to give him a couple of hours ago; Endymion stopped in his track and looked over his shoulder "Oh yes…Jadeite?"

Jadeite looked at his prince "Yes?"

"Where the hell is the report I asked you a while ago?"

Zoicite tried to hold his laughter and turned to look at his blonde comrade; Jadeite sweat dropped "Um…Prince"

Endymion arched his brow "Don't be lazy…do your work…" he said in a mix of playfulness and seriousness. Jadeite sighed and scratched the back of his head "Alright…alright…you will have your report by this afternoon"

"Hmm…" the prince started to walk again and left the room. Jadeite let out a soft breath "Geez…I thought that with the Princess' visit he would forget about it"

Zoicite narrowed his eyes "Jadeite…he is the middle of a meeting concerning security matters, how could he forget?"

Jadeite shrugged his shoulders "I don't know…I just thought"

Zoicite sighed "You sure are hopeless"


	92. Chapter 92

**A/N:** _While I was editing this chapter a while ago, I've come to realize that this is a good one...I personally loved it and I hope you will too. We are getting closer to the end of the season...I know I may not be posting as much as I did when I started writing but, at least it's good to read a new chapter once a week, right? Thank you so much for being so understanding, supportive and amazing. As always I'll be waiting for your reviews and I would like to thank to all those who started reading the story and marked it as a favorite, it really brightens up my day! :D_

_**I do not own sm, just this plot and some of the characters. Thank you._

_p.s don't forget [ ] means thoughts, 'kay?_

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter ninety two**

* * *

Beryl fidgeted in her seat, she looked at the nothingness of her room. She tapped her nails against the wooden of the side table while the other held the silky comforter tight.

The door opened and a woman walked in "So this is where you have been hiding"

Beryl turned wide eyed at the woman standing in the doorway; she turned contemptuously to the young maid and waved her hand "Leave" the maid nodded and left them alone, something Beryl wished she didn't have to do.

Charmindy walked in looking at her surroundings, her red gown contrasted with the paleness of her skin, her now ashy blonde hair was tied in a low bun; crossing her arms on her chest she gave a deadly glare at Beryl who diversed her eyes away from her. Charmindy stood a few feet away from her and frowned "Well? Are there any novelties?"

Beryl bit her lower lip "The Prince has been busy…he…"

"I knew it…" Charmindy's frown deepened "You are not capable of do anything right…"

"I have been trying! Charmindy…you just need to…"

"Silence!" Charmindy raised her voice; silencing her. She walked over to her "What could you possibly do to gain the Prince's attention? You have the body every man wants in their bed…can't you just lure him? He's a man!..." she narrowed her eyes "Every man wants to release their energy…that is why you are here after all"

Beryl tried to contain her tears "I am here…because I got an invitation from Queen Narella"

Charmindy laughed softly "And do you happen to know why the Mother Queen asked you to come?" she walked toward the large windows "…Because even she knows he needs a courtesan to please his needs" she turned over her shoulder "You are not doing anything…"

Beryl stood up and walked over to her, her perfectly manicured nail tapped the window "See that balcony over there? That's His Highness' chambers…" Charmindy arched one brow "So you know where he sleeps…"

Beryl placed her hand against the cold window "I have been talking to him as well…"

"Ha, talking to him is almost impossible…"

"But I have" Beryl said and lowered her gaze "…He knows I care for him…he knows I want him"

Charmindy let out a sarcastic chuckle "You care?"

"I love him…" Beryl said softly.

Charmindy laughed "But of course you do…he's the High Prince, sweet as a plum, handsome as only he can be…no man matches his attractiveness" she turned to look at Beryl "You are the key to this magnificence…"

Beryl widened her eyes "Magnificence…" she whispered, she looked at Charmindy "I am the Mother Queen's favorite...I am going to be Queen"

Charmindy raised her brow "You better be"

Beryl frowned slightly "Why do you care this much?"

Charmindy frowned and turned to look outside the window "Because…" she trailed off and clenched her jaw "I once was Narella's favorite too…I was going to marry the King but everything went down when our _Queen_ appeared…I was in love with him madly and all I wanted was him…but she stole it from me…" Beryl noticed a hint of hurt in her eyes; Charmindy swallowed "If you become Queen my chances to win his heart are bigger…Gaia is a sick burden, Eros needs a woman and I am going to be that woman…" she turned to look at Beryl "You must capture the Prince under your charm"

Beryl looked at Charmindy with surprise, she never imagined that under all those layers of anger and despair there was a woman in love. Charmindy was a woman in love; just like her "My chances were destroyed the moment she appeared on that ball…with her lovely face and her sparkling dress…he left me alone and went to her…I could not accept it, everybody was there…all the court from all the four kingdoms was there…I was not going to be humiliated…" her voice was starting to break with anger "…But still he went with her, he left me alone and married her…while I was sent away; everybody laughed at me, looked at me like I was nothing…a stranger, a nobody won over me…a witch"

Beryl widened her eyes "Witch?"

Charmindy turned to look at her "The woman you call Queen is a witch and enchanted Eros with her tricks…"

Beryl shook her head and took a couple of steps back "That is not possible…"

Charmindy narrowed her eyes "But once you turn Queen…and take the crown off her head, I will take my revenge…I will make her feel the embarrassment, the humiliations…the abandon I felt" her voice went dark, sending chills down Beryl's spine; the blonde woman grabbed her arm tightly "I do not know what or how…but you are going to lure the Prince"

Beryl looked at Charmindy with fright in her eyes; Charmindy frowned "Or otherwise…I will put you back on the streets, return you to your life as a whore…"

"No please…" Beryl shook her head "Please…"

Charmindy pushed her making her lose her balance and looked down at Beryl on the floor "Stop wasting time and do what you must do…" she crouched in front of her and grabbed her chin with her cold hand, her grip was strong, hurting her in the process "You little whore…are the most expensive thing I have ever invested my money…I polished you, made you a lady, gave you a title…imagine how it will be when you go back to the streets with nothing but only memories and desires of what could have happened if you have done your job right"

Beryl widened her green eyes, this time her tears could not hold any longer and started to fall; Charmindy gritted her teeth "Oh stop crying…your false tears won't work on me"

Beryl tried to moved her head denying her tears were of sadness; Charmindy narrowed her eyes and released her chin abruptly, standing up she let out a sarcastic and cold chuckle "And remember, I am a true Lady…you have never earned the right to call me by my first name. Unlike you, I have class, a status and I can bring you down in a matter of seconds"

Turning on her heel she started to walk toward the door, without turning back she opened it "So you better hurry and do what you came to do" she closed the door behind her, leaving Beryl alone and still lying on the floor.

Her tears rolled down her cheeks and onto the carpet; her hands started to tremble "I cannot go back to be who I was…I cannot go back to the streets…" she raised her face "I am a Lady…" she sniffed a couple of times and stood up slowly, walking to the window she looked to his balcony and rested her hands on the cold window "…I love you Endymion…I will win your heart, no matter what" she narrowed her green eyes "…No matter what"

O.o.o.o.O

Endymion was sitting on his usual place behind the desk on the study; the meeting finally ended and was enjoying his time alone. He was finishing signing some papers when his mind started to drift away; his pen started to roll through his fingers absently while his thoughts focused on only one person "…Serenity" he whispered.

As if her name was an invitation, Kunzite entered the study with a stern face, behind him Nephrite, Zoicite and Jadeite followed "I think we need to talk" the white haired man said slowly.

Endymion's thoughts were interrupted and frowned, he saw the men behind him and kind of recognized his faces, the prince sighed "Alright…if you insist"

Kunzite frowned "Are you still thinking it is an easy thing to do?"

Endymion's frown deepened "What?"

"For how much longer are you going to continue mocking the laws of nature?"

Endymion shook his head with confusion "What are you talking about?"

Kunzite narrowed his grey eyes "I'm talking about Princess Serenity"

"What about her?" he asked defiant.

"Endymion, she was here…she came here!" Kunzite raised his voice slightly. Endymion looked at both blondes and sighed "Ah…about that…" he stood up, Kunzite looked at him "Yes, _that_"

Endymion walked around his desk and leaned on it, crossing his arms "Do I really need to give you any explanations Kunzite?"

Kunzite gritted his teeth "Well…"

"Do I?"

"When are you going to understand?" Kunzite asked tiredly.

Endymion arched his brow "Kunzite…" he sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair "I'm extremely tired to have this discussion right now, it's late, the only thing I want to do right now is go to my room and sleep…I haven't slept in I don't know how many nights…"

"How can you be so careless about this subject? It is not a joke!" Kunzite asked frustrated.

Endymion blew his bangs "Jadeite…why did you have to tell him?"

Jadeite widened his green eyes "What! How do you know it was me?"

Endymion sweat dropped "Are you going to tell me it was Zoicite?"

Zoicite crossed his arms and looked at his blonde comrade; Nephrite scratched the back of his head "Since when you like to gossip like a girl?"

Jadeite sweat dropped "I do not like to gossip like a girl! Why do you all assume it was me it could have been Zoicite, he was there as well…"

Zoicite sighed and lowered his head "You only continue lying to yourself…"

Jadeite bit her lower lip "I am not lying to myself"

Zoicite looked at him "You sure are something…"

Kunzite sighed tiredly and brought a hand up to his forehead "Oh by all heavens…"

Jadeite crossed his arms "Kunzite asked where you were…"

Endymion arched his brow "And what does Serenity has to do with that? It was quite obvious to know where I was! This is your fault Jadeite, if you have done your report on time Kunzite would have never found you and asked you where I was so you would never had to give him that unnecessary answer…"

"It was too much information to gather! Come on!" Jadeite raised his hands in his defense.

Zoicite blew his bangs "We all did it…what happened to you is that you completely forgot"

Jadeite sweat dropped "Well…maybe only a little"

"You were probably thinking in that woman again" Zoicite said.

Nephrite narrowed his eyes "I thought you were over her Jadeite!"

Jadeite sighed "Agh…now you too?" he turned to look at Nephrite who was giving him a puzzled look. Kunzite sighed again and lowered his head "The point is…"

"And I had my report…" Jadeite interrupted him.

Endymion arched his brow "Yes, but not complete…that cost me all afternoon…thank you"

Kunzite stepped between the blonde and the dark haired prince and raised his hands "The point IS…" he turned to look at Jadeite and glared at him, turning again to look at Endymion he sighed "…For how much longer are you going to keep seeing her?"

Endymion sighed "Until we find a way to be together"

Kunzite frowned "Are you being serious?"

"Why shouldn't I?"

"This is a Goddess we are talking about, there is never going to be a way for you to be together!" Kunzite raised his hands in frustration; Endymion looked at him "You don't understand"

"No, of course I don't understand…Nephrite continuously reads the stars and yours is still showing danger, for how much longer are you going to continue risking your life that way?"

Endymion sighed "If her guardians are coming with her…is because they are being understanding, in a way…"

"What? Her…guardians? They were here?" Kunzite asked.

"Master…" Zoicite took a step closer "What they are doing is just giving you some time to say goodbye"

Endymion frowned, Zoicite sighed "One of them told me that…"

"Have you ever thought about Her Majesty, how is she going to feel with all this?" Kunzite asked; Endymion turned to look at him "Do not drag my mother into this, she has nothing to do with it"

"If something ever happens to you, it could kill her!" the general said.

Endymion felt a dagger cross his heart, lowering his gaze the ghost of the real reason why his mother was in that condition came to surface again "I affected her life since I was born, so do not come up with that" his voice went darker.

Kunzite widened his eyes slightly "What are you saying?"

Endymion sighed and walked to one of the windows and looked outside "…One of the reasons of why I joined the army was because I learned she was in that condition because of me…"

"Master…" Nephrite said softly.

"I found out right before I left this place, never wanting to turn back as the weak boy I know I was…I needed to protect her and the only way to do it was to become a soldier, better than anyone so she could feel safe…" Endymion said softly.

The four men looked at Endymion with wide eyes "You never told us that…" Kunzite said.

Endymion turned to look at Kunzite "I already hurt my mother, I have carried that burden with me all these years…and the only thing that makes me feel better, that makes me feel alive, a better person is the love I feel for Serenity and the love she gives me back…she makes me forget the kind of assassin I am…"

Kunzite widened his eyes "Endymion"

The prince turned to look at him and sighed "I know the kind of person I am…" he trailed off, closing his eyes; Nephrite bit his lower lip and turned to look at the others who had their heads down. Kunzite sighed and remained silent; at this point he did not know what else to say to him, so many times he wanted to confess the truth and tell him everything he knew, all of them knew but he could not fail to his queen's wishes. He swore his loyalty to her, the king, his kingdom and mostly his prince.

He looked away and walked over one of the windows of the study, looking outside, up to the night sky; the stars gleamed and hid behind a few clouds that threatened to pour some rain. His eyes searched for the moon and frowned as he watched it gleam, that silver light, tranquilizing, soothing, serene light that basked them like a sheer blanket; he frowned as he was trying to get some answers to his silent questioning; [Why her? Why him?] he thought.

Endymion lowered his gaze [Assasin…warrior…soldier…] he thought and looked up "I don't know anymore…" he whispered; catching the general's attention. Nephrite frowned "Did you say something Prince?"

Endymion shook his head and chuckled with tiredness "You will try countless of times…" he looked at Nephrite "You will read and wait for the star's answers many more times…but the only thing that will remain the same is the love I have for her"

Zoicite looked at him "Master…"

Endymion looked at Zoicite and then at Kunzite who was still looking through the window, sighing he ran a hand through his dark hair "I better go to sleep…"

Zoicite lowered his gaze "You do realize, these are the last times you are going to see each other…right?"

Kunzite frowned and turned to look back at them "What?"

Endymion looked at Zoicite but stayed silent. Zoicite looked back at his prince "Do you, Master?"

Kunzite widened his eyes slightly and waited for Endymion's reaction; to them he was surprisingly calm and serious, his eyes did not show any emotion, not anger, not desperation, nothing. For the very first time, his eyes were unexpressive.

"Master?" Nephrite asked.

"Prince?" it was Jadeite's turn.

"Endymion…" Kunzite called him, leaving his title and diplomacy aside. The prince blinked a couple of times, not looking at them; sighing he turned over to his desk and took some papers, to only turn on his heel and walk out of the room, leaving four men extremely surprised. As soon as they saw his disappear behind the door, they looked at each other.

"What…?" Nephrite trailed off.

"…The hell was that?" Jadeite finished his sentence.

"It hurts him…" they all turned at Nephrite, Jadeite arched his brow "What?"

"The situation is too much for him…he does not know how to handle the reality of things…"

"The fact that they are not going to continue their relationship?" Jadeite asked again; Nephrite shook his head "Zoicite just said it, that they are coming just to say goodbye…"

Zoicite sighed "That is what the Mercurian guardian said…"

Kunzite sighed tiredly and lowered his head "How long is this going to continue?"

"He is in love with her" Nephrite said.

"Love…" Kunzite muttered "Endymion does not know about that…" he frowned "He is our best soldier…our Polemarchos, trained to be great. Just like us, do you really think he knows the true meaning of love?"

"Do you know the true meaning of love?" Zoicite asked defensively; startling the white haired. Kunzite frowned "You are defending this madness?"

"I am just stating the obvious Kunzite" Zoicite said softly, just like he always spoke. Paused and calm; he has always been very studious, a man of few words, always listened the others before he could say something; frowning he turned to look at Kunzite "I thought we were going to respect his decisions…especially the one concerning Princess Serenity"

Kunzite widened his eyes and turned to look at the blonde man; Zoicite crossed his arms "You now remember then"

Jadeite blew his bangs "This is farewell anyways…we should just cope with the situation"

Nephrite narrowed his eyes "What you are saying is kind of reasonable…" he looked at Kunzite "If these visits are the beginning of an end…we should just…"

Kunzite lowered his gaze "It is not that I do not like her for him…I know we agreed to support him, but still…our loyalty oath…it's on top of our priorities…" he sighed and ran a hand through his white hair; Jadeite gritted his teeth "Dammit! It would have been so much easier to just be his friends and not his advisors…"

"Did they say something of coming back?" Kunzite looked at Zoicite; the blonde shook his head "Not that I can recall…"

Kunzite sighed again "We will just have to stay alert…you never know with them…" the general walked toward the window and fixed his gaze on the moon; frowning he bit his lower lip for a moment "I just hope that ethereal Goddess won't bring our Prince down to misery…"

Nephrite looked at him "Kunzite…" he whispered.

Endymion leaned on one of the pillars near the study for a moment in silence; a wave of confusion and desperation started to fill his chest and threatened to fill his mind. Looking down at the papers in his hand, he narrowed his eyes "More work…endless work…" he sighed and looked up again; he walked toward the rail of the mezzanine that gave a large view of the inner garden of the palace.

It wasn't his general's insistency in breaking his relationship with the lunar princess, it wasn't even the large amount of work he had to solve every day, or the lack of sleep, no, he could handle all of those things but except for one thing and that was, the guilt he still carried in his mind and heart.

Endymion lowered his head and sighed, closing his eyes he repeated that night all over again in his mind as if he was that little boy once again listening to his mother and nana's conversation behind the door. Biting his lower lip for a moment, he tightened the grip on the rail and let out a soft breath "Mother…" he whispered and opened his eyes.

O.o.o.o.o.o.O

Gaia was laying on her bed and sighed while closing her eyes; Aurea walked in with a silver tray with water and her medicines but before she could say something the terran queen sighed "Not today Aurea…" she whispered.

Aurea frowned and placed the tray aside "What do you mean with not today?"

Gaia opened her green eyes and looked at the distance with slight sadness "…I do not want to take those pills today…"

"You know you have to. That is something out of the question" Aurea sat on the bed and began picking the pills from their respective little jars; at the sound of the water being poured into a glass the queen moved her head and frowned "Respect that decision of mine"

Aurea looked at Gaia "Are you even listening to what you are saying?"

"Yes"

"What is wrong with you today?" Aurea asked softly; she could not disguise her worry this time. Gaia diverted her gaze from her friend and looked away; her green eyes shone with melancholy "…I have become dependent to those pills…"

"Those pills help you feel better" Aurea said softly.

Gaia sighed "Did I…make a mistake?"

Aurea frowned "What?"

The queen looked at Aurea "Everything I have done…"

"Why are you asking me that?" Aurea widened her brown eyes slightly "Are you…?" she trailed off "Regretting the decisions you have made over the past years? Are you regretting being here with us?"

Gaia looked at her sadly and tired. Aurea looked at her queen with hurt in her eyes "You are…" she turned her face away from her queen's and stood up "…Are you wishing to be one of them once again?"

Gaia tilted her head "Aurea…"

"Are…you?" she asked softly, giving her back to Gaia. The terran queen lowered her head "Any of those things…"

Aurea turned to look at her "What?"

Gaia sat in her bed slowly "I am not regretting anything…of those things" she looked up at Aurea "Maybe I am still one of them like you say all the time; but that does not mean that I prefer being up there in the heavens…although…I wished at least one last time to be there; not to remember who I was, but to plead to them to leave us be…"

"Gaia…" Aurea whispered.

"All those disappearances; those deaths…" Gaia frowned; closing her eyes her grip on the covers tightened "I know it has something to do with them…" she opened her eyes and started to shine with tears "…Endymion; he has been working every day and every night trying to protect us from all danger…trying to protect me…_me_…who I just, put him in danger since he was born"

Aurea frowned and sat next to her "You haven't put him in danger at any time Gaia…"

Gaia felt dizzy and lay on the bed again; worrying Aurea "Why are you talking like this?"

"Maybe I should have told him about me…about my past and who he really is…" the queen whispered sadly "Maybe that way…Father would have come to meet him; Mother would have come and see we are not worthless…" Aurea saw a tear roll down her cheek; Gaia sniffed "They would have been so proud of him…" she looked at Aurea "He has become a better warrior than I ever was…"

Aurea looked at her sadly "Maybe you can still tell him…"

Gaia rested her head on the pillow once again "…Maybe it is too late…"

"What is?"

Gaia widened her green eyes and so Aurea and turned to look at the door "E-Endymion" Gaia whispered; the prince looked at his mother lying on the bed and pursed his lips then turned to look at Aurea "Is something wrong?"

Aurea stayed silent for a moment and then sighed "Your mother…you know how she is…"

"What is that too late to tell me?" Endymion arched his brow.

Gaia widened her eyes "I…" she trailed off; Aurea turned to look at her friend and knew she could not tell her son the truth, in a part she was right, it was a way to protect him. Maybe if she was his mother she would have taken the same decision in order to keep her child safe. She sighed "Your mother is reluctant in taking her medicines once again…"

Gaia looked at her friend with a surprised expression; it was something new to hear her lie and more when it came about something that important "She does not want you to know she hasn't been taking her medicines…but I think it is better for you to know"

Endymion sighed and crossed his arms "Mother…"

Gaia looked at her son and then at Aurea; who winked an eye at her, then directed her gaze back at her son "They…taste…bad" she said softly.

Endymion looked at her and stayed silent; Aurea felt this was a moment that her queen might need. It was very rare to see the prince at that time of the night in his mother's chambers [they both need each other right now] she thought and stood up "I'll bring you some tea" she patted her queen's leg. Gaia gave her a thankful smile and nodded "Thank you" her voice was soft but it held a strong sense of gratitude for what she just did; Aurea understood and winked her eyes again and walked out of the room leaving the two royals alone.

Endymion sat on a chair across her mother's bed, near the hearth and crossed his leg "Why mother?"

Gaia looked at him and frowned slightly "Why what?" she asked softly.

"Why do you want to stop taking your medicines?"

"They taste bad…"

Endymion lowered his head and shook it softly "Stop lying…to me"

Gaia widened her green eyes in shock; she could feel her heart beat in an incredible speed. Every beat was stronger than the last one and she could feel how they went up to her throat "They do taste bad…"

"Matrem satis!" [Enough Mother!] he said dryly, raising his voice a little.

"Endymion…" Gaia said softly.

"Est adipiscing elit frustratin for ... non vides hoc esse invito te ad patrem meum et ad mores ut servo vos puteus?" [It is an everyday story…can't you see it is frustrating for my Father and I to see you be so reluctant toward the way to keep you well?]

Gaia looked at him, he still not raised his head and as his mother knew something was wrong with him "Ut quid mihi loqueris?" [Why are you talking to me like that?]

"Am i…putas bonum militia?" [Do you think…I am a good soldier?]

It was something common for them to speak in their mother tongue; when he was little Gaia tried her best to teach him how to speak it properly and with perfection and clarity. She also knew that there was another reason for him to speak in Latin and that happened any time he felt frustrated, upset or even angry; somehow he felt that the best way to express his true feeling was when he spoke that way and by his posture and the way he hung his head down, hiding his expressive eyes under his dark hair.

"Why are you asking me that?"

"Do you, Mother?" he asked again.

Gaia tried to sit on the bed "You are the best soldier"

Endymion sighed and shook his head "Am I a good son?"

Gaia tilted her head "You are the best son anyone could have"

"Good sons don't hurt their mothers…" Endymion muttered.

Gaia frowned "What?"

Endymion raised his head and looked at her; his eyes were stormy and clouded by…[guilt?] she thought. "The shadow of your condition will always haunt me…" he looked away and stood up; walking toward the balcony doors, he noticed they were closed and leaned his hands on them "…I have been trying to protect you all this time but still…the guilt does not leave my mind"

Gaia finally sat on the bed "You are not guilty of anything Endymion" she lowered her gaze "…My health problems are caused by other things…"

"What are those other things?"

Gaia widened her eyes "What?"

Endymion looked over his shoulder "What are those other things?"

"Why are you…"

"…Because I cannot understand why do you do not want to take care of yourself!" Endymion raised his voice and lowered his gaze "Every day I hear you don't want to take your medicines…I'm always worried about you and I work very hard to keep everybody safe, but mostly you…and you are giving up! I am acting like this, because I cannot stand to know that you are slowly giving up! And it's my fault you are like this…it's my fault…and there is nothing I can do to take that back…"

Gaia lowered her gaze and fought the urge to start crying [It is not you my dear…it's our own family] she thought; she could feel her tears started to fall silently "Why is that guilty feeling following you around? Why is that sentiment haunting you, when I already told you you have nothing to do with it?"

Endymion looked at her; Gaia tilted her head "Endymion…one day…" she trailed off and took a moment to think what she was about to say "One day, you will know everything"

The prince frowned "Everything? What do you mean by everything?"

Gaia looked up at him again "You have questions that I cannot answer; but, there will be one day when you will know everything you want to know"

"Why are there so many secrets?" Endymion asked softly and turned to look outside again "There are secrets everywhere…and little answers…"

Gaia lowered her gaze "I am not giving up dear"

Endymion widened his eyes and turned to look at her "Then what are you doing?"

The terran queen sighed and looked at him "I am just fighting against them, call it stubbornness, call it reluctance…"

The prince sweat dropped "Why am I so much like you?"

Gaia arched a brow "What do you mean?"

"You fight against a couple of pills and I fight against nature…" Endymion said softly.

"Nature?"

Endymion sighed and nodded "The laws of nature…"

Gaia frowned slightly "What do you mean?"

Endymion walked to his mother and sat next to her on the bed; taking her hand he patted it softly "Let's just say I have a belief…that not everybody shares with me but I am too stubborn to do otherwise"

"Is it about your battling strategies?" Gaia asked softly.

Endymion sighed again "You can call it that way" he turned to look at her "I am so tired…"

Gaia looked at him and she noticed indeed his great amount of tiredness; his eyes didn't have the same gleam or enthusiasm, his hair was disheveled and she could imagine how many times he ran his hand through it in the day. His voice even though he had a deep tone, it sounded heavy. She brought a hand to his hair and combed it with her delicate fingers "You need to sleep"

Endymion let out a soft chuckle and looked at her "You need to take your medicines so I can sleep tranquil"

Gaia blushed and arched her brow "You need to clean your conscious and leave all that negative thoughts behind. Once you do that, you will sleep tranquil"

Endymion let out a soft laugh "I know when I will be able to sleep fully at peace and tranquil"

Gaia tilted her head "Oh? you do? And when is it going to be?"

The prince gave her a soft smile "One day, you will know everything"

The terran queen arched her brow; Endymion chuckled and grabbed the small jars containing her pills and placed two of each on her hand "Please…"

Gaia sighed and looked at her son "If I take them will you tell me your secret?"

Endymion chuckled and lay on the bed next to his mother and looked up to the ceiling, a smile was drawn on his handsome face "My secret…my secret is beautiful"

Gaia blinked a couple of times and turned to take the glass of water Aurea had left for her on her nightstand; once she swallowed them her green eyes widened in realization "You have fallen for Beryl…" she gasped.

Endymion was too busy thinking in Serenity that he completely let pass his mother's comment; Gaia looked at him wide eyed "I thought you didn't like her…"

"Eh?" Endymion moved his head and looked at her "What are you talking about?"

"Beryl"

What about her?"

Gaia sighed and sweat dropped "You like Beryl"

Endymion frowned "What!"

"She is you beautiful secret"

Endymion widened his eyes "What? No!..."

Gaia narrowed her eyes "Endymion"

"She's not!" the prince looked at his mother "Mother, speaking of…Beryl; how long is she going to stay here?"

Gaia sighed and ran a hand through her son's hair "Oh dear, I don't know anymore…it is very hard to know with your grandmother; once an idea gets into her head, there is no human power to make her desist"

Endymion rolled his eyes "Tell me about it…"

"You should talk to her…" Gaia said softly.

The prince sighed "You just said it Mother, she won't desist until she achieves what she wants…" he turned to look at her "Was she like that when you were going to marry Father?"

Gaia bit her lower lip "She wanted your father to marry Charmindy…"

Endymion frowned "Then…how did you managed to…"

Gaia laughed softly "Make her desist? I did nothing…Charmindy did it to herself…"

Endymion arched his brow "You never really…told me how you two managed to be together; you said once that you came from a far land away from the court…wasn't that…difficult? Considering the fact that my grandmother only wants people from the court or with a good title to marry her descendants"

Gaia stayed silent for a moment and then lowered her gaze; her fingers started to comb his hair again but this time in a very motherly way, like she did when he was a little boy "Well…yes, it was. Not because I did not was of your grandmother's liking but because Charmindy's hand was already arranged. But, one night…on a ball, probably the one when they were going to announce their engagement…I managed to be there to see your father; she saw me and well…she went ballistic and showed her true colors surprising everyone in the party…that is when, everything for her fell down and Narella reconsidered the situation; accepting me"

Endymion looked at his mother "You are telling me…that, you and Father had a secret affair behind Charmindy's back?"

Gaia widened her green eyes and blushed; lowering her gaze she nodded "Their marriage was already arranged but…we met and fell in love"

"That means you had to overcome many obstacles" the prince said softly.

"Maybe…" Gaia answered and sighed softly "The court did not know who I was…to them I was just a girl with no title, no education, no grace or whatsoever. I was a stranger"

Endymion sat on the bed and looked at her "In the end…you found your way to be together"

Gaia smiled at him and caressed his face with her hand "That's right dear"

The prince blew his bangs in relief, startling the queen "What?" she asked; Endymion looked at her and widened his eyes dramatically "I could have been Charmindy's child if Father and she were married"

Gaia gasped and hit him softly on his arm with her hand "Don't say that! You were meant to be my son!"

Endymion chuckled "Imagine how I would be if Charmindy was my mother"

Gaia closed her eyes and pointed her nose to the ceiling "A very spoiled man…"

Endymion widened his eyes and laughed; Gaia looked at him "Have you fallen for Beryl, Endymion?"

The question made the prince stop laughing almost immediately and looked at his mother "Why are you asking me that?"

"You have then…" Gaia said softly.

Endymion sighed "Why are you asking me that?"

Gaia sighed this time "You suddenly wanted to know how did your father and I managed to be together; you asked for how long was she going to stay here…your voice had some longing…"

Endymion frowned "I asked you, because I barely know things about you Mother. That's why"

Gaia widened her eyes in shock; his words hit a soft spot in her heart. Endymion arched his brow "I know you are my mother…but, who were you before me, before Father…that is a mystery not even Obelix can tell me"

Gaia was taken by surprise "My past is not important dear…"

"To me it is" Endymion looked at her "You are my mother, the one who gave me life, knowing about your life is important to me…knowing who your family were, where did you come from. You, Gaia the woman not Gaia the Queen of Earth"

Gaia bit her lower lip softly; Endymion ran a hand through his dark hair "I have told you many times and my grandmother that I am not interested in her; sure, she is the woman my grandmother wants me to marry…but she is not the kind of women I would love to have by my side"

"Then who is?" Gaia asked softly.

Endymion looked at her "That is a very apart topic from the one we are currently talking about"

Gaia sighed "Dear, what do you want me to tell you? If I was poor? No, I wasn't but I was not rich either; if I had a real title…well, no, not exactly. Did I have a family? I did…but they all left…"

"They left?" the prince asked confused.

Gaia lowered her gaze for a moment, thinking in a way to justify her life, her past life. How could she tell him the truth at this rate? This time, it was not a matter of protection but one of fear; she was afraid of his reaction, she was afraid that he might not want to talk to her again once he learns the truth about him and about her, about the entire kingdom and almost everything involving their home planet.

"They…" she trailed off "…Had to follow the Gods wishes…" she looked at him "They had to fulfill their destiny away from me"

"What you are saying is that…they're dead" Endymion said.

Gaia grabbed his hand "What I am saying is that…my real life started, when I met your father and I had you"

The prince lowered his head and gritted his teeth "You are a mystery Mother…sometimes, you are just more than a mystery to me, but a secret, a living secret…" he raised his head and looked at her "…You promised to lift that weight off your shoulders and give it to me, you promised you would never keep anything from me…and still, I know you do"

"Endymion…" Gaia whispered.

"What is it that you are so afraid of?" the prince asked softly.

Gaia widened her eyes "I am just afraid of losing you"

Endymion frowned "Losing me?"

Gaia lowered her gaze and felt the tears started to fill her eyes "Endymion…" her grip on his hand tightened "I…"

"Here you are"

Gaia and Endymion turned and saw Eros standing in the doorway "I was looking all over for you…never imagined you would be here"

Endymion frowned slightly "Is there anything wrong?"

"Your grandmother wanted to know where you were" Eros sighed and walked into the room and hung his cape on the rack beside his side of the bed; Endymion rolled his eyes "She probably wanted me to be with Beryl…"

Eros raised his brows knowingly and sat on the other side of the bed "Probably, yes"

"Do you know how much longer is she going to stay?" Endymion asked with slight annoyance. Eros sighed "No son…that is not up to me really but your grandmother…she is the one that wants her here" the king tilted his head "It sure is something to see you here at this time…not that I mind, it's been years since you came at night time…right dear?" he turned to look at his wife and caressed her hand with his.

Gaia looked at her son who was returning the look "Yes…it's been quite a while" she said softly. Eros noticed there was something weird between them "Is something the matter?"

"Mother is not taking her medicines…" Endymion said without taking his eyes off his mother; Gaia looked at him back; Eros frowned and sighed "Again dear?"

"The problem is that she stopped taking them for I do not know how long" Endymion said again.

Eros turned to look at his wife "What?"

Gaia sighed and broke eye contact with Endymion "I just want to prove them that I can be alright without taking them"

"We've talked about this before dear" Eros said.

Endymion crossed his arms "Make her understand…" he stood up and arched his brow "She keeps things for herself and does not let us help her"

Gaia felt the stone thrown at her and lowered her gaze, she felt bad to have to hide things from her son. When she was about to say something; she noticed he bent down and kissed her on the forehead and stepped back "Bonam noctem Mater" he said slowly and turned to look at his father "Bonam noctem…"

Eros nodded "Bonam noctem philos"

Endymion turned on his heel and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. The prince leaned on it for a moment and took a deep breath "When is the time going to be right for everything?" he asked to the nothingness of the hallway; the soft light of the candles dimly illuminated the long corridor; a romantic battle between shadows and light flickered because of the movement of the small flames.

Lowering his head he sighed "She's a secret…and so am I" he started walking away from the door, toward his chambers in silence.

Inside the bedroom Eros took off his jacket and tossed it aside, walking over the walk in closet he started changing clothes. Gaia stayed on the bed, she, already being in her night gown did not found necessary walk after her husband to ask him if he was upset when she knew he was.

The king walk back to the room wearing his pajamas and sat on the bed "Why Gaia?"

The queen lowered her gaze "Love…"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Eros…"

Eros looked at her "Do you really want to leave our side, my side? Am I making you unhappy?"

Gaia widened her eyes "Eros!...how can you ask me that when you know it is not true!"

"Then why Gaia, why are you not taking your medicines?" the king asked with great concern; the queen sighed and lowered her gaze "I am reluctant to realize I am not the same woman you married years ago…"

Eros frowned "What? Of course you are!"

Gaia shook her head and tears started to fall from her hazel eyes "No Eros…I am not, I was reluctant to believe it but…it hit me while I was talking with Endymion about us…" she sniffed and wiped the tears off her face with her hands "He asked me who I was before he was born…before we were together"

"You were the same woman you are now" Eros said softly.

"Am I?" Gaia asked and shook her head "I was a strong woman…I was independent, I helped you in everything I could…now I am only a burden"

"Stop talking like that" Eros said dryly "…What happened, really?"

Gaia widened her eyes "What?"

"What was really happening before I walked in?"

The terran queen lowered her gaze; the king put his hand under her chin and lifted her face "You are giving me an answer with that gesture…what happened?"

"Endymion asked me who I was before I met you; if I had any relatives...he carries the guilt of my condition…"

Eros widened his eyes "What?"

Gaia nodded "He thinks I am like this because of him…and that has haunted his mind all these years. I am hurting my son Eros…and I do not want that…" she lowered her gaze "I was going to tell him the truth…but, something I do not know what made me stop…fear, perhaps"

Eros frowned "Fear of what?"

Gaia looked at him "Of losing him…"

"Endymion is not rancorous" Eros said; Gaia bit her lower lip "…The reality of things might change his life, his beliefs forever…"

"Are you going to tell him then?" the king asked.

Gaia lowered her head "I can't…even if I want to…I do not want to lose him…" she felt Eros' hand caressing her arm, looking at him she sniffed softly "You may think I am a terrible mother…"

Eros sighed "No love, you are just being a mother protecting her son…that's all. Time has passed; Endymion is not a little boy anymore, he is a man. His perception of things, his beliefs, his character might change you are right…but, I believe in our son, he has done a superb work as Polemarchos. I am very proud of him; we raised a son with values… I highly doubt you are going to lose him, but, you need to evaluate things…if you decide to continue keeping the truth secret I will respect it but if you decide to tell him everything, be sure I am going to be here by your side…I am his father, I need to be present. I too lived all the obstacles with you and learned to overcome them with you"

Gaia looked at him and brought a hand up to his face "You will always be my prince charming"

Eros chuckled and placed his hand on top of hers "I am far from being that prince you once knew"

Gaia smiled "You look the same to me"

Eros kissed her hand "I'm getting old my love…" Gaia gave him a sad smile "We both are…" she said softly; Eros looked at her "Are you afraid?"

Gaia tilted her head "Of what?"

"One day I will be very old…with too many wrinkles and gray hair…" Eros said softly; Gaia smiled "I will look the same one day my love…but, to me, you will always be my prince charming…" she looked at him "I only have one petition to make…"

Eros kissed his hand again "What is that?"

"Once I am gone…will you look for me?" she asked softly; Eros nodded "My soul will search for yours to live together in eternity" Gaia's eyes started to shine with new tears "Eros…" she whispered, the king moved closer to her and ran his arms around her, bringing her closer to him "We will always be together my beautiful Dea…" he kissed the top of her head "My Dea della Terra…"


	93. Chapter 93

**A/N:** _Hi there, I know, it's tuesday...but i fell sick [boo hoo] yeah, horrible headaches, ear pain, muscular pain...you know, the whole flu package. But I'm very happy and excited to post this new chapter for you, I know many of you waited this moment to come...I know I may becoming a little slower in my writing but there are some changes in the plot that I must consider...[don't worry, nothing too extreme...] so I hope [I really hope] for this season to be finished before the year ends...but if it's not...then, you will be stuck with me until it's done! lol [it's just some kind of motivation of mine to keep writing as much as i can...and whenever i have the time]. I want to say thank you [i know thanksgiving already passed but hey! it is never too late to be grateful] anyways... thank you for reviewing, thank you for taking the time [even when you don't have internet connection and you have to go miles away to a cafe to send me a message, or when you do not have a computer and write from your phone or ipod...or when you have been incredibly busy and haven't had the time to read the story but still, in a moment of peace you update and review...] thank you, to you, for taking the time to be worried when is it going to be posted a new chapter, thank you to you, for being inspired to write a poem or a new story on your own. Thank you, for being a reader of this story._

_Have a nice day/night and enjoy this chapter._

**[ remember this means thoughts, 'kay? ]**

_I do not own sm, just this plot and some of the characters._

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter ninety three**

* * *

Queen Narella was in the living room having her usual cup of tea of every afternoon. Sighing she put her cup down as soon as she saw a maid walk into the room; the girl bowed in respect and step aside "Lady Beryl is here Your Majesty"

Narella raised her gaze and nodded "Thank you" she said softly and waited for the girl to leave Beryl and her alone. Beryl walked in wearing a navy blue gown; her red hair was tied in a low ponytail, her usual emerald tiara hung proudly over her forehead, intensifying her green eyes "Good morning Your Majesty" she bowed in respect.

The mother queen looked at her and gave her a sad smile "Good morning dear, please, have a seat…"

Beryl blinked a couple of times and walked toward the sofa in front of the one where the queen was sitting on "I want to talk to you dear" Narella said softly, making Beryl feel nervous. Beryl took a seat and brought her hands together in her lap "Yes, My Queen?"

Narella looked at her "Would you like to have some tea?"

Beryl looked at the porcelain tea pot and the extra cup on the coffee table, her stomach might have said yes but her heart was telling her there was something else "I'm alright My Queen"

Narella put her own cup down and sighed "Dear…I have wished you could have seen my grandson more often…but, with all the amount of work he has every day it was practically impossible…"

Beryl bit her lower lip "It is alright Your Grace, I…" she trailed off.

"Dear…" Narella said softly, looking at her "I love your company very much, I do but, I think you should go back to Charmindy…"

Beryl widened her green eyes "Y-Your Majesty?"

"The poor has been lonely all this time…you are her only company and it is not fair to keep you here keeping me company when you could be with her" Queen Narella said "I saw her the other night when she came to visit you..."

"You did Your Majesty?"

"Oh yes…poor thing, she told me she misses you greatly; I felt terrible!" Narella took another sip of her tea "Although I enjoy your company…I think it would be better if you go home"

Beryl felt all her chances in winning Endymion's heart were over; being in the palace was her golden ticket to his heart and she did not manage to even catch his attention with anything she offered him, not even with her looks. She could not go back to Charmindy, she would probably send her to the streets; panic started to curled up in her mind and anxiety on her chest.

"Your Majesty…" Beryl tried to persuade the queen.

"You are still going to be my favorite for my grandson…I will consider you in every event that we might have so you can try to talk to him" Queen Narella said "I think you are a wonderful girl for him, you are exactly what he needs…but, it is too unfair to have you here while he spends almost all day working…"

"That is really not a problem for me My Queen…I…" she trailed off "I enjoy your company very much" Beryl said softly.

"I know dear, and I enjoy yours…but I think, it is a good time for you to go home. Please, do not think I am doing this because I do not like you to be here but I think it is for the best right now" Narella said.

Beryl had no other choice but to agree but inside her chest her heart was pounding fast and strong. She could not believe her battle was over, [No] she thought [It cannot be over], she lowered her gaze and try to hold her tears in place, no, she couldn't show the queen she was feeling desperate to stay there. No, all her chances of being the next princess, all her treats went back at her.

Queen Narella tilted her head "Beryl…is something wrong?"

Beryl raised her head and looked at the queen "No Your Majesty, it's alright. I understand"

Narella gave her a warm smile "You can leave tomorrow morning so you can have enough time to arrange and pack your belongings"

Beryl felt like her dreams were crashing down; she wanted nothing more than to be with the terran prince, her eyes widened as soon as she remembered what she said to Megumi [Maybe she told him something…] "Did…His Highness complained, Your Majesty?" she asked with fear.

Narella frowned and put her cup down again "Endymion?" she let out a soft chuckle "No, of course not. I'm sure he found your visit very pleasant but unfortunately, he has too much work right now…I want you to be present when he is not working, when he can give you his full attention, you deserve it dear"

Beryl felt a mix of lost and win in her heart. The queen was helping her in achieve her main goal, she did like her. She widened her eyes when she realized it [She likes me…she thinks I am worthy of him] she thought.

The former queen tilted her head while putting her cup down again "I hope you can understand…"

Beryl lowered her gaze for a moment and bit her lip in thought. If she was about to go back 'home' she had to be aware that she would go back to the insults and constant demands from the blonde woman; her eyes started to burn with fresh tears [No…] she thought. Queen Narella looked at her "Dear?"

Beryl shook her head slightly coming out of her own thoughts "Yes My Queen?"

"Endymion…will have to come around one day, right now he might be quite rebellious with all this committing situation; although he is ready to finally settle down he is still against it but one day he will have to realize that an heir is needed to continue this dynasty" Narella said softly, making Beryl blush "An…heir?"

Narella smiled "I can't wait to have a little one running down the corridors once again…" sighing she grabbed her cup and took another sip "Yes, it may sound very shallow but, this is how royalty works my dear…an heir is needed to continue with the legacy of their ancestors; like my son is following his late father's; Endymion will follow my son's legacy one day…that is why he needs to start thinking in having a family soon…"

Beryl widened her green eyes and blinked a couple of times; her mind started to drift into a fantasy of her own where she was walking down the aisle in a tight wedding gown; she imagined the prince smiling in 'that' particular way she wished he could smile at her; then, her fantasy drifted to a moment where she could see a very large belly on her indicating she was already expecting their child. Everything seemed perfect, wonderful like it should be, yes, Beryl's desire of being queen was becoming stronger; her desire of being Endymion's woman was even more.

The queen brought her back from her fantasy thoughts when she cleared her throat "I already arranged your departure for tomorrow early"

Beryl blinked a couple of times and lowered her gaze "It is also sad that I did not get to talk with Her Majesty more often…I would have loved that"

Narella sighed softly "Gaia is a very private woman, she likes to have time for herself; although she supports my son's decisions and is very aware of every movement made she prefers to stay apart from all the social gatherings" she lowered her gaze for a moment and bit her lip softly, she felt melancholy for what she was about to say "…Her health is delicate"

Beryl tilted her head "Is Her Majesty ill, Your Grace?"

Narella pressed her lips together and looked up at the woman wearing blue, fighting the urge to cry she gave her a false smile "No, no…never mind" licking her lips she stood up and walked over a window "Your assigned maid will help you pack your belongings dear"

Narella had a soft spot for Gaia; even though the petite and delicate queen had a strong character, she was dear to the mother queen. It wasn't only because of the fact of who she really is, but for the loyalty she always showed toward them and the love she always gave to her son. She fought against her own kind and protected them with the last breath of power she had in her body; she had become her daughter and had treated her like that since the moment Eros brought her to the palace.

She remembered when she met her, the way her pitch black hair fell graciously down her back, the way her eyes changed from green to golden, a beautiful palette of hazels [Just like Endymion's eyes they showed emotion] she thought. They had their arguments and discussions but just like any daughter would have with her mother; although they not shared the same thoughts all the time she was aware of how good she was and how she has been a better queen that she ever was in her years as the crowned queen of their kingdom. Gaia was graceful, educated and beautiful; she had to admit that it was hard to find a woman with all her qualities.

Narella turned to look at Beryl and for an instant wondered if she was the right woman for Endymion, her grandson and the vivid image of Gaia. Sure, the prince had things from his father, maybe the height, his nose maybe, his attractiveness but he sure had his mother's temper and determination; the motivation for always be good at something, sure, her grandson was incredibly handsome but also had something more that went beyond his good looks or his well toned body or all the charms every woman seek in a man; he was beautiful. He had beauty and poise, there was no doubt that he had royal and divine blood in his veins and she couldn't be more proud; then, the queen's words fell into place, Endymion needed a woman who could be his match in everything, a woman that could keep up with him considering the fact that he was not just a mortal prince, but a warrior prince.

The former queen analyzed Beryl for a moment, she was very beautiful, her white skin contrasted beautifully against her fierce red hair; her green eyes were framed by not too long but very full dark lashes and her lips were always nicely painted in red.

It had to be her, the queen thought. She had to be realistic; even when she knew her grandson was much more than just a mortal she had to admit that not in a thousand years Endymion would be able to take his rightful place where his mother once belonged. Of all the court women she was the most attractive, the one that could definitely be on his side; she pictured every event with her as a princess and thought she would look well and fit perfectly in their family.

Beryl tilted her head "Is something the matter Your Grace?"

Narella smiled and shook her head "No dear, everything is just fine"

O.o.o.o.o.O

Endymion walked outside already prepared for the everyday routine. Kunzite joined him minutes later alongside Nephrite; while the prince was walking in silence toward one of the sections of the palace, near the watching boots Nephrite frowned and turned to look at Kunzite who already was looking at Endymion.

"What?" the prince asked.

Kunzite blew his bangs softly "You are incredibly silent this morning"

The sound of their boots against the gravel was the only thing heard for a couple of minutes; Endymion turned to look at Kunzite "There is nothing much to say Kunzite"

"Is His Highness upset this morning?" Nephrite asked.

Endymion stopped in his tracks "As a matter of fact…" he trailed off while he looked at the dark haired man; Kunzite frowned "As a matter of fact what?"

Endymion sighed "Never mind"

"No, tell us…" Kunzite said.

"Well yes if you must know" the prince said it dryly "I thought you said you were going to be supportive and I saw nothing of that"

Kunzite looked at the prince, Nephrite gritted his teeth "Ah…I see; it is about…" he looked both sides and then at his prince again _"…__Her_"

"Prince, we talked about this" Kunzite said, crossing his arms "I thought I made myself clear…"

Endymion arched his brow "And what I dislike the most is how you treat me like if I was a little boy"

Kunzite frowned "Because, sometimes you act like one…" he sighed and looked away "Yes…I said we were going to be supportive but I just can't…" he trailed off and stayed silent for a moment "…Leave my duties as your advisor and guardian behind"

"This is starting to become a little old…" Endymion rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Yes and it could become ancient if you continue this crazy relationship" Kunzite said.

Endymion was about to retort his comment when a soldier came near them "Prince" he bowed in respect "Generals…good day"

Endymion turned to look at the soldier "What is it?"

"A small group of delinquents was caught near the palace grounds with a considerable amount of valuable pieces"

The prince crossed his arms "Alright, so, the guards already caught them…you know where they should be sent"

The soldier nodded "Yes, but, the thing is that…one of them fell dead mysteriously"

Kunzite arched his brow "Dead?"

Nephrite frowned "And what about the others?"

"They're fine, but…they do not have a clue of why their comrade died so suddenly"

"Maybe something he ate…" Endymion said absently; the soldier bit his lower lip "The guards who caught them asked them where they were before coming near the village and one of them said they were staying near point D"

Endymion widened his eyes slightly "Could it be…" he started walking in a faster pace, startling both shitennou "What?" asked Nephrite. Endymion turned to look at the soldier "Prepare the horses, we will leave at once"

"Yes, Prince"

"What?" Nephrite asked again with more insistency.

Endymion turned to look at the dark haired man "What if the mysterious disease from point D is coming closer to us? I have to investigate the surroundings…"

Kunzite frowned "Should I call Zoicite and Jadeite?"

The prince shook his head "No, let them stay here, I need them to supervise the other gates and some things concerning their jurisdiction but I want you to come with me"

"Certainly" Kunzite said; minutes later the soldier followed by several more with their respective horses appeared; Endymion was the first one to step on his horse and rode toward the entrance gates. Kunzite and Nephrite were next, quickly leaving the palace grounds.

"Where is Endymion going?" Nephrite asked the white haired man from his horse; Kunzite turned to look at him "Only he knows…"

Endymion felt worry, was this decoy energy starting to invade the surroundings? He tried to get as fast as he could to the place [not sure of why] he felt it was the place where those men were caught. Sometimes if not all the time, the soldiers were amazed by his precision in knowing the exact places where they should go; another reason they had to admire him.

Something made him stop but stayed on his horse; moving slowly he closed his eyes and touched the trunk of a tree [Talk to me…tell me if you are afraid] he thought.

Kunzite stopped first and watched the prince "Endymion…" he whispered; Nephrite stopped next to him "He is…" he trailed off. Kunzite nodded "He is using his inner power"

The soldiers that came along with them stopped a few feet away from the shitennou "Is His Highness alright?" one of them asked with great worry; Kunzite turned to look at him and nodded "He's fine"

Nephrite frowned "Something happened here…"

Kunzite frowned next "What do you mean?"

The brown haired man shook his head with confusion "I'm not sure…I cannot have the same certainty Endymion has…but I can sense a different energy…"

Endymion opened his blue eyes and changed color, to an ultramarine shade and turned to look at the shitennou "There is no disease…the surroundings are safe"

Nephrite narrowed his eyes "Then how come he died suddenly?"

"He died suddenly because somebody killed him suddenly" the prince answered.

Kunzite frowned "Somebody…" he gritted his teeth "So now we must look for that somebody…we will find that person soon"

Endymion arched his brow "I can tell it is the same being who has threatened so many lives already taking them as trophies" he sighed "That one that still keeps getting away"

"I thought that situation was behind us" Kunzite muttered; Endymion shook his head "Apparently it was only taking a rest" he shook his head giving the soldiers an alert to head back to the palace when he felt a tug in his chest; his blue eyes widened.

The soldiers started going back as they were told, leaving the three men alone; Kunzite was the first to notice there was something going on "Endymion?"

Endymion turned to look at them and shook his head "Go on ahead…"

"What?" Nephrite asked.

The prince started riding away from them as fast as he could leaving the two men startled and confused "What the hell is going on?" Kunzite muttered when it hit him "Could it be…?" he whispered.

"What?" Nephrite asked again.

Kunzite turned to look at him "Let's go after him…"

Endymion rode as fast as he could, his heart beat faster on his chest and he almost felt like if it was going to leave his body. His blue eyes searched for a clue or a hint in every tree, every rock, everything that might be near…he stopped a few feet away from the lake and stepped down of his horse and turned around, sighing he ran a hand through his hair, turned again and widened his eyes.

Serenity was standing a few feet away from him with a smile of her face "Hi…"

Endymion smiled widely and walked over to her; placing his hands on both sides of her face he bent over and kissed her softly on the lips "…Hi" he whispered before frowning and taking his sword off his belt as an automatic instinct.

Serenity widened her crystal blue eyes and put her hands on his chest "It's alright my love…I haven't come alone"

Endymion saw Jupiter standing next to a blonde he remembered as "Venus…" Serenity said as soon as she saw her taking the belt off her waist "Is that how you are welcoming us?" she asked sarcastically.

Being a dairy and normal thing for Endymion, he chuckled with the same amount of sarcasm "I think it is an automatic response…" he said softly and put his sword back on its cover.

Venus looked at him and smirked "That means you are a guardian…"

Endymion arched his brow "What is that supposed to mean?"

"That you are dangerous"

Serenity widened her eyes and turned to look at her blonde friend "Venus…" Jupiter walked over to the blonde and stood next to her "Good day" she said softly but defensive.

Endymion was about to say something when Kunzite appeared with Nephrite "Just as I thought…" he said; Venus widened her eyes as soon as he saw him on his horse "You…" she muttered.

Kunzite arched a brow "Where you expecting someone else?" his voice was sarcastic.

"Anything else but you of course" the blonde hissed.

Serenity put a hand on her face to cover her shame; Jupiter looked at Nephrite who was on another horse next to the white haired man "Why are you here?" she asked.

"For the same reasons you are…" Nephrite said and looked at Serenity "Princess…" he greeted and bowed his head in respect; something Jupiter noticed and somehow liked. She did not had the power Mars or Venus had concerning seeing auras and feeling energies but she did had a sense of protection over her princess and friend and to her surprise she did not felt anything threatening from the prince or the men on their horses. Just the fact that one of them paid respect for her princess was enough for her although, the obvious friction between Venus and Kunzite was something all of them had to deal at the moment.

Jupiter put a hand on Venus' shoulder and shook her head "You need to calm down…"

Venus sighed and nodded; turning to look at Endymion she arched one brow "You know why we are here, right?"

Serenity looked at her prince and walked over to him and soon held his hand, intertwining her fingers with his. Endymion narrowed his eyes a little and then nodded "You are here to look after her"

Venus started to noticed that same aura again [Breathtaking] she thought; that same golden light engulfing them like a soft and warm blanket, where did it came from or better said, from whom, she did not know with certainty but it was something worthy to look at.

"And so you two can finally say good bye to each other"

Serenity widened her eyes softly while looking at her guardian; Endymion gave the blonde an almost unnoticeable smile "That is what I've been told…" he said slowly "…But with all due respect, one thing is what you want and the other very different is what _we_want…I am not saying good bye to Serenity…not now, not in a thousand years, not ever"

Venus clenched her jaw a little bit "Aren't you afraid of what might happen to you?"

"No…" Endymion answered and looked down at Serenity "I do care of what might happen to her…but, I think she has more chances to continue her life than I do if we are caught; but I am not afraid…"

"Hopeless love…"

Venus widened her eyes and turned to look at Kunzite who stepped down of his horse and walked over to them "What did you just say?" she asked.

"We have tried to talk to him…we have tried to stop him…" Kunzite trailed off and turned to look at Endymion for a second and then back at Venus "…But, we cannot stop him. He is not a child anymore…he has never been dependant but the contrary"

Endymion closed his eyes and frowned "Kunzite…I do not see where this is helping me?"

Kunzite arched his brow "He is the one taking the risk, we are in the same position you are…we do not want our Master to be hurt, to be killed because that would unchain many unfortunate events"

"Then why are you here?" Venus asked dryly.

"For the same reason you are. You threaten my Prince and I will threaten you" Kunzite said slowly, startling her. They locked their gazes and stayed defying themselves in silence for a few minutes; Nephrite sighed and lowered his gaze for a minute while Jupiter turned to look at Serenity who was looking at Endymion with sad eyes "I'm sorry…" she whispered.

Endymion gave her a soft smile and combed her bangs to the side with his fingers, allowing her lunar symbol on her forehead glow softly against the soft light of the sun "Don't worry…it's alright"

Jupiter looked at the way they looked into each other and felt melancholy; the same way Mercury told her she felt when they saw them together. She did not need much power to know they were in love, and even though Jupiter was not a woman considered to be loved she believed in it when her body and soul were already given to her duty as senshi "Princess" she called her softly, making her turn "Now is the time for you to have a private moment…"

Serenity widened her eyes "Jupiter…"

"Then there will be no time and we will have to leave…" the amazon said. Nephrite raised his gaze and looked at Jupiter then at the princess "Your guardian is right Princess…" he sighed and looked at Kunzite and Venus who were already arguing again "Those two…they do not seem to get along too well, so, this is the perfect time for you to be alone for a moment"

Endymion nodded "Thank you Nephrite"

The brown haired man nodded and gave the princess a soft but sincere smile; both, Jupiter and Nephrite watched the couple step away from them toward the lake. Jupiter sighed and crossed her arms "Why are you so nice to my Princess?"

Nephrite frowned and turned to look at her "Because she has always been nice to me…" he smiled at Jupiter "I have nothing against her, I think she is a terrific being. She makes my Master happy"

"But Venus is right…he should be afraid of what could happen to him"

"My Prince does not know fear…" Nephrite said softly and looked to the distance "He has seen and lived so many things that fear is not an option for him…or for any of us"

Jupiter frowned "What do you mean?"

Nephrite smiled knowingly "My Prince is a soldier, he knows how to fight. But with that comes many traits, to be the soldier he is now he had to deal with many obstacles and trials…being afraid is not something he has to have in his life as an option" he turned to look at Kunzite who was still arguing with the blonde guardian and sighed "I believe those two will stay like that for a while longer…they seem to have no end"

Jupiter looked at Venus and then back at Nephrite and chuckled "I do not know why they dislike each other so much…"

Nephrite shrugged his shoulders "Maybe they are too much alike"

Jupiter chuckled "Yes, maybe they are…"

The shitennou smiled "Maybe we should wait for our respective royals in another place where we don't hear too much bickering"

Jupiter smiled "That sounds reasonable…" she walked first and sat on the grass near the lake and watched at her princess talking with her prince "They…sure get along" she whispered; while bringing her knees to her chin and hugged them. Nephrite smiled "They get along too well…your Princess has done miracles with our Prince I must confess"

Jupiter widened her eyes "What do you mean?"

"My Prince is very reserved…cold sometimes when it comes to things concerning love" he chuckled "Well, at least he was like that before knowing her…when he sees her it is like his day has been revived…"

Jupiter smiled "The same happens to her…she is always thinking about him"

Nephrite chuckled and turned to look at her "What about you? If I may ask…"

Jupiter blushed and widened her eyes "What about me?"

"Do you have a special someone waiting for you up there?" the general asked softly and in a friendly manner. Jupiter blinked several times and looked at the tranquil water of the lake "No…" she said softly "Not exactly"

Nephrite frowned "How come?"

Jupiter lowered her gaze "I…am not supposed to find love. I am a senshi…a chosen guardian to protect my Princess from any harm and the inhabitants from Jupiter as well…we are not supposed to fall in love"

Nephrite looked at her and analyzed her profile. She did look different from the other guardians, she was taller and seemed to be stronger; her voice was slightly deeper as well but still held the sweetness and delicacy of a woman. Her chestnut hair was tied up in a high ponytail he noticed and the delicate and sparkling earrings "Roses…" he said softly, startling her.

Jupiter turned to look at him "What?"

"Your…earrings" he pointed at them "They're roses…"

The amazon smiled and touched her left ear "Yes…well, a special specimen of roses grows on my home planet but I've heard that the ones that grows here are more beautiful"

Nephrite smiled "Yes, you are right. They're quite exquisite" he turned his face and looked at the lake "Your star…Sagittarius looks after you"

Jupiter widened her eyes "What?"

The brown haired general nodded "I can feel the power of that star protecting you…"

Jupiter looked at him "H-How…do…?" she trailed off with amazement.

"…Do I know about it?" Nephrite finished her sentence and kept looking at the lake "…I can read the stars…they…talk to me" this time he looked at her "Since I saw you the first time, I knew your star was Sagittarius"

Jupiter looked at him with amazement "They chose you…" she blinked for a couple of times "The stars are very special when it comes to that…they do not speak to just anyone" she frowned "Is that why you are not as defensive as your comrades when it comes to my Princess? Have they said anything referring to her?"

Nephrite thanked her interest "None of us are defensive toward her; we like her…we would love to see her by our Prince's side but we have a duty to fulfill as well…"

Jupiter looked at him carefully; he was an attractive man, very much. His long chocolate hair fell in waves down to his shoulders and his green eyes only held honesty and truth, she did not felt threatened by him but the contrary he was actually…[Nice] she thought.

On the other side far away from Jupiter and Nephrite and ever farther from Endymion and Serenity was Venus still arguing with Kunzite "I cannot believe you are one of the Prince's guardians…"

Kunzite crossed his arms "…And I wonder how Princess Serenity has to deal with you…you are a headache"

"A headache?"

Kunzite looked at her "Yes…all you do is say nonsense…but you know what? All I hear is blah blah blah!"

Venus frowned "It is such a waste of time to talk with you…you are an impossible person!"

"Look who is talking"

"What?"

Kunzite sighed and looked at her "…Are you always like this? Do you always complain?"

Venus looked at him and stayed silent; the first breath of silence between them since they two arrived. She did not understood how or why she disliked him so much, when he was obviously [Handsome], she widened her eyes [Venus, what are you thinking?] she sighed and looked down "You do not seem to understand my position. I have a duty to fulfill" she sighed again and closed this eyes "Is this really what I deserve?" she whispered.

Kunzite looked at her "I do too…and I do not complain about everything…"

Venus widened her eyes "I do not"

"Yes you do, you are doing it right now _you__don__'__t__seem__to__understand__my__position,__I__have__a__duty__to__fulfill__…__is__this__really__what__I__deserve?__" _

Venus looked up "I..did not…"

"I heard you" Kunzite arched his brow "Are you always worried? why?"

"That is not of your concern"

"You are right, it is not…but, even when you don't believe me…I tend to like your Princess and for the kind of person she is, it must be very hard to deal with you, considering that you are upset most of the time" Kunzite took a step back; his words fell into place in Venus' mind. Maybe he was right, she was upset most of the time but it wasn't because she was unhappy it was more because she was always worried, worried about Serenity.

"I am worried about her…that is all, she is my Princess, aren't you worried about your own Prince?" she asked defensively. Kunzite took another step back and shrugged his shoulders "My Prince knows how to take care of himself quite well"

"How can you say that?" Venus asked softly, confused "He is your Master…you should look after him"

"And I do…but in a very different way and I know you could too…all you need is to trust her the same way I trust him" Kunzite said, his voice was softer, more amicable.

Venus frowned "You make no sense"

Kunzite let out a soft chuckle "Take a look around you…she is not next to you…"

Venus did what he asked her to do and widened her eyes in panic "Princess?" she followed the white haired man's finger pointing at them "You see? When she is here…she does need to be guarded by you…because she is already being guarded by him…take that weight off your shoulders, protecting your loved ones should not be a burden…sure, we are not completely happy with this situation and sure, we are afraid of what might happen if they are caught but we cannot deny their feelings…even though I argue with him very much, he defends her…he will always defend her…you look after her in her home, she is safe when she is here…none of us dislike her but the contrary"

Venus looked at him and let out a sigh of slight relief, to know she was not in danger when she was around any of them made her feel more at ease. She looked at them smiling, laughing and holding hands, a random kiss on the cheek or a peck on their lips was seen from time to time; they were happy, they were safe in their own world.

"Venus is the planet of love…am I correct?"

Kunzite's question brought her back from her thoughts "Excuse me?"

"Venus, your name…is the planet of love…right?"

"How do you know about that?" she asked.

Kunzite rolled his eyes "We went to school…"

Venus looked at him and blinked a couple of times "Well…yes…" she said softly.

"Then you should know if their love is real or not…"

Venus pressed her lips together and looked away "I am not going to tell you that"

Kunzite let out a soft chuckle "I was not asking you to tell me" he started walking away from her "Is it true what the other guardians told to one of my comrades? Is she going to say goodbye to him?"

Venus looked at him "It is for the best…"

Kunzite turned and looked at her "Did she agree?"

Venus shook her head "You once said you were in the same position as us…then you must understand"

Kunzite turned fully to look at her "Did she agree?"

"No. But she must understand" Venus said softly.

"Stop carrying a burden that has no point at all"

Venus frowned "Are you always this…liberal?"

Kunzite widened his eyes "No…but I thought I was the one with too many things on my mind…" he shrugged his shoulders and sighed "…I understand the danger of the situation…I just hope she does not suffer too much"

Venus widened her eyes "As I said…it is for the best…"

Kunzite noticed her face of surprise "What?"

"Do you really care what could happen to her?"

"She is nice…she makes him happy…"

Venus tilted her head and looked at him in silence; Kunzite started to feel strange "What?" he asked again, not sure of why he asked. Venus gave him a small smile "Thank you"

Kunzite arched his brow "For what?"

"For looking after her"

The white haired man sighed "I am not the one who looks after her,_he_, is the one that looks after her"

Venus arched an eyebrow "But you like her"

"I said…she is nice" Kunzite crossed his arms "Geez…women there are the same as the women here…I thought there was a slight difference"

Venus frowned "What is that supposed to mean?"

"You ask too much, or better said you suppose things too much…why can't you just let them happen?" Kunzite asked.

"When you are assigned to do something, when you are a guardian…and when you have to fulfill a duty there is not time to just let things happen" Venus said.

Her comment made sense to him; Kunzite was actually surprised to be telling all the things he was telling to this [Beautiful] woman in front of him. His philosophy was far from being liberal, open minded and carefree but the complete opposite; he was a man of rules, a man who thought that rules were created to be followed not to be broken, a man with a strict discipline and here he was doing the opposite of that [Why?] he didn't know, it was something that surprisingly for him was caused by her.

He smiled and lowered his head "I honestly do not know why am I telling you all that…I should be feeling the same way you do…but, there is something in you that makes me want to be this way…"

Venus widened her eyes and felt her cheeks blush a little bit [Is he giving me a compliment?]

Kunzite sighed and looked at her "We did not start with the right foot…I am not offering any kind of friendship, do not expect more courtesy than the one I am giving you right now, but at least what we can do is to offer us a peace offering…just for their sake"

Venus blinked a couple of times "…For their sake?"

"And for ours too…it is exhausting to be arguing for hours" he said again and extended his hand "My name is Kunzite…first in command of the shitennou" Venus took it and shook it "Venus…leader of the inner senshi" both widened their eyes as soon as they felt some kind of spark running through their touch; Venus was the one to move her hand away from his and looked away. Her heart started beating incredibly fast, a feeling she had never felt in her life before.

Kunzite looked down at his hand and then back at her and studied her profile; putting aside her constant bickering and arguing, her tense and constant behavior he had to admit that her beauty was undeniable. Her long blonde hair fell graciously down her back, a part of that luscious hair was tied with a red ribbon letting the rest cover her back freely; her skin was pale and flawless and her eyes showed all the emotions she held deep inside her heart, that particular baby blue that it was hard to see in this realm.

"Venus…I was taught that Venus was another name for the Goddess of Beauty, Aphrodite" Kunzite said softly, trying to start a new and lighter conversation. It wasn't like him to do that, but, he felt like he needed to do so.

Venus looked at him "Yes, Aphrodite is my mother. She lives in Venus…that is why I carry that name"

Kunzite widened his grey eyes. Something she noticed since the time she met him; so rare and so mysterious, she knew that if she looked too much into them she could get drown in his strong and deep stare. The man was gorgeous she noticed as well; his skin had a darker hue comparing to the one of the rest of the shitennou and even the prince who had a slight golden tan. He was darker and that made his particular and unique white hair and grey eyes stand out even more.

His voice was incredibly deep, deeper than the prince's voice and it seemed he had a strong and inflexible character something that caught her attention without even know why. Taller than her, well toned and with the charm of an Adonis; she caught herself admiring the mortal soldier and blushed.

Kunzite looked at her "Are you really her daughter?"

Venus nodded "Yes…my father is Adonis, my mother Aphrodite"

The white haired man ran a hand through his hair and let out a soft chuckle, startling her "What?" she asked.

Kunzite shook his head "It is so strange to hear that…" he sat on a log that was on the ground and looked down "…To meet someone who happens to be familiar with the gods…"

Venus tilted her head "…How much do you know about us?"

Kunzite looked at her "Everything that is needed to be known…I do not know all the prayers and chants because I was not taught by a priest, but…since we are little, we learn of your existence"

Venus blew her bangs and looked away "I hope you learned good things about us…"

Kunzite let out a soft chuckle "One thing is what we are taught and another very different is what we come to realize with time…"

"What do you mean?"

"How does the immortal world works? Why have you forgotten about us?"

Venus widened her eyes "What are you saying? What you are asking me is inappropriate" Kunzite raised his hands in defense and turned again showing his back at her "How many more times are you going to come here?" his voice was soft.

The blonde senshi bit her lower lip and looked away again "I do not know…I still need to talk to her…"

"Talk to her about what?"

"How impossible this relationship is"

Kunzite looked over his shoulder "Doesn't she know that already?"

"She does, but…she's blinded by the love she professes"

"…Isn't there another way?"

Venus widened her eyes "What?"

Kunzite turned to look at her "Isn't there…another way?"

"For what?"

"For them…to be together"

Venus tried to hold her laughter but she could not, laughing a little she noticed his face stiffened. He was being serious "You are not being serious…" she looked at the distant couple and then back at him "…Are you being serious? He…" she trailed off "It doesn't matter how much training he has had in the past, how a great soldier or warrior he is, he is a mortal. A mortal can never be with a superior being…it is not that I do not like him, but he is inferior to her…she is too much for him…he…"

"Enough!" Kunzite raised his voice, silencing her. He looked at her, his eyes held anger, his blood felt like if it was boiling in his veins; if only she knew the reality of things, if only this woman knew the truth she would be asking for forgiveness for all the things she have said about his prince. Endymion was his prince, yes, but he was more his friend; even if he weren't a being like them, he deserves respect and she was not giving him any "You know nothing…you think, that just because you are up there know much more than us…you better watch your words if you do not want to regret them later"

Venus frowned "Are you threatening me?"

Kunzite arched his brow "I am educating you. With what right you talk about us, about him in that despiteful way? One day…I beg for that day to come, where all of you eat your words and ask for forgiveness"

The blonde's hand rested on her chain, Kunzite noticed it "Are you going to attack me now?"

"You have no right to talk to me like that"

"The same goes to you" Kunzite said dryly.

Venus looked at him coldly "This time is over" she tried to walk over to the couple but Kunzite stepped in the middle "What are you doing?"

"My prince will know when it's time"

Venus glared at him "If it was for your Prince, she would stay here forever…and that is not going to happen, now step out of my way"

"Is that how you are being trained? With no education whatsoever, with no mercy…with nothing on your soul, is that what you really are, soulless beings with supernatural powers?" Kunzite asked with anger.

"What about you? Don't tell me you have never killed a human being" she asked defiantly.

"I have…but I have mercy when I need to have it…I do not deny things when they happen; unlike you I like my life, I enjoy what I do and never complain of my duties as shitennou"

His comment left her silent. His words had a meaning and it hit her; maybe it was the fact the too much responsibility laid over her shoulders, maybe, she was too afraid of what the gods or better said Queen Serenity might do to her if she committed some mistake. She felt herself between a sword and a wall, in one side was Serenity her friend, her princess; her confident and on the other was her duty as guardian and senshi.

Since she was a little girl her mother and other people from the venusian court expected the very best of her, no failings, no hesitations, just a work perfectly done. Of course, being the daughter of the goddess of beauty was a plus, she had to treat every matter with elegance and eloquence something, she found tiring most of the time.

She loved her princess with all her heart, she was her best friend she could assure that and her current situation was too hurtful for her to witness; the man of her life was not meant to be hers; it is a love that will never be approved. It was not that she did not approved the love she felt for her prince but the frustration of being a defender of love and not being able to do something about it, that was the reason of why she was so upset most of the time because it didn't matter how much she thought about a solution, it always ended in the same point.

Her princess and the terran prince were not to be together. It was a fight against nature and if it was, then why destiny had to be so cruel?


	94. Chapter 94

**A/N: Surprises, surprises are coming our way yay! like a x-mas present :) I hope you like this chapter as much as I do...I know I always say the same thing but, I am surprised by how much I am liking what I am writing... :) have a nice week! Enjoy!**

****I do not own sm just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter ninety four**

* * *

Athamas walked around the study trying to find another way to catch the princess' attention and of course a way to divert Ares' insistency in revising all the movements made in the past few months. Artemis has been monitoring every movement since the last meeting the queen had with the god of war and he had to admit, it was something he did not like.

He closed his eyes for a moment while he ran a hand through his hair, thinking of a way or better said an excuse for everything he has done in order to accomplish his own ambitions [It is my future the one I am securing…] he thought. Sighing for the third time; he opened his eyes and showed nothing else but worry and anger "Stupid mauian…you had to come along…" he walked over to the window and looked outside "I will find a way to get rid of you…"

And then, it happened again.

Echoes in his head, like if his conscious was trying revive everything he has done in the past, everything he did to get where he was standing now [No…] he put his hands on his head and closed his eyes.

"_All the lives you took…all the embarrassment you caused to your people…do you really are capable of getting what you want?"_

"_She kept waiting for you in Andromeda…everything for the little white princess…"_

"_Kill the monster…kill the monster so you will get full control…"_

The whispering did not ceased, it went on and on like a loop in his mind. Athamas continued walking around the study trying to diminish the sound, trying to concentrate into what would be his next move.

His next move. He opened his eyes [What is the next move?] his lips curved in a smile "To kill…and conquest…that is my next move" he chuckled and turned over again, facing the large window in front of him "…My time to be King is coming near…" his pupils dilated with excitement "…I only have to make the Princess mine…I have waited too long…now it's time to take charge of the situation…"

"What?" he asked to the empty room "What about them?" he turned and frowned "No…They are not considered….this is my triumph! Mine! Not theirs!"

Minutes after; Kilmakos opened the door and closed it quickly behind him "Commander?"

"No…" Athamas whispered "They will continue being sorry…I already made that clear…"

Kilmakos frowned and called him again but got no response so decided to walk closer to him; this time he could hear his whispering and started to feel worried "Master?"

Athamas widened his green eyes and shook his head "No…" he whispered.

Kilmakos' frown deepened and finally stood next to the general and touched his shoulder "General Athamas?" Athamas shook his head softly and came back from his thoughts; frowning he turned to look at the short soldier next to him "Don't you know how to knock?"

Kilmakos widened his eyes "I-I did…General…"

"What do you want?" Athamas growled and went to sit on his chair. The soldier looked down and took a moment to respond; Athamas clenched his jaw and arched his brow "Do you think I have all the time in the world? I asked you a question!"

Kilmakos raised his head up and looked at the general in front of him "Everything seems to be ready again"

"Change of plans…" Athamas said dryly; Kilmakos frowned "Master?"

"Artemis is watching us close…we cannot make any false moves…Ares is revising all the movements we have done over the past months" Athamas looked at the soldier "Have anything relevant to tell me?"

Kilmakos licked his lips "Master…"

"Another failure…" Athamas said dryly.

"Master…let me explain"

Athamas stood up and walked over to him "What are you going to explain to me, how incompetent you are? How a useless soldier you are? I am getting tired with your negatives…"

"Master but…" Kilmakos was starting to justify himself when Athamas grabbed him by the collar of his uniform "I cannot believe that after all these months…after all this time you still can't find a single trace of information about who's Serenity seeing?"

The soldier looked at Athamas with fright in his eyes "Princess Serenity has been with her senshi all the time General…I haven't found anything yet…but please Master…give me some time…"

"Time?" Athamas growled and threw him against the floor "Time is all I have been giving you! Who the hell do you think I am? Do you think I am going to be waiting for you forever?"

Kilmakos looked at a very angry general and tried to stand up but Athamas stopped him and pushed him against the floor with his foot once again "Your time is running out…"

"I do not understand…" Kilmakos said confused and scared; Athamas walked to the window and looked outside "If I get one more failure from you…I will get rid of you, as simple as that…"

Kilmakos widened his eyes "W-What?"

"I do not want useless souls being part of my plans…" he turned to look at him, his eyes were vacant and inexpressive "I do not need to be King to get rid of you" he walked over to him and crouched "I always knew you were worthless, useless…" he gritted his teeth "What a shame…"

Kilmakos widened his eyes "We started as equals…you joined the andromedian army at the same time I did…we are the same Athamas…have you forgotten I gave you a helping anytime you needed help?"

Athamas chuckled "Ah…but we are not the same Kilmakos, we may have started at the same time…but the quality of a soldier does not relies of how many times you helped others but in the strength…in the ambition one has to fulfill their duties" he looked at the brown haired man in front of him and laughed "Look at me now Kilmakos, I am your superior…and your future King…and you…you are nothing else but a soldier…I have kept you with me because I had faith in you…I thought that maybe you would prove the courage you always claimed to have…but, after so many failures…" Athamas looked away "It is a shame…I thought you were up to take my place"

Kilmakos widened his eyes "Athamas…"

Athamas turned to look at him "This is your last chance…if I get a negative…start bidding farewell to your family" he stood up and turned to look outside the window again and said nothing more. Kilmakos managed to stand up and looked at the soldier that Athamas once were and walked out of the study; he walked startled, surprised for what he heard from him; he could not take it any longer and leaned on a pillar and took several breaths.

He tried to understand why Athamas was acting that way or when did he turn into the man he was now, what he remembered from him was a kind man, a gentle soldier, a little stubborn, ambitious as well but he was not a bad man. He remembered when they were friends back then and when he helped him train and become the swordsman he was nowadays; lowering his gaze he let out a soft breath, he was still in shock, his heart was filled with sadness and fright, he was scared for what he could do not only to him but to himself, he was no longer Athamas, he was some kind of a monster.

A monster that took over his mind, his ambition was leading him to a dangerous path, he wanted to be king and he did not matter the cost or who he should get rid of to get there. Athamas threatened his life and his honor, something he worked really hard on to get; sighing he thought of the woman he had back in Andromeda, the woman who he wanted to spend the rest of his life, he thought about his family and then he thought about himself. One thing was his life but other very different was his family and for their sake he had to bring news to the general as soon as he could.

"To keep my family safe…I have to discover the Princess secret…" he muttered.

O.o.o.o.o.o.O

Jupiter turned to look at Nephrite and gave him a smile "You are not like I thought you were…"

Nephrite widened his eyes "What do you mean?"

The amazon looked down and then turned to look at Venus who was still talking to Kunzite "They seem to have stopped arguing…" Nephrite frowned and turned to look at them "Apparently"

The soldier in green stood up and brushed the grass off her evergreen dress; Nephrite looked at her "What did you mean by what you just said?"

Jupiter looked down and smiled softly "I thought you were…brusque people"

Nephrite arched his brow "Brusque?"

Jupiter sighed and looked away "I know what you are going to say…how can I be calling you brusque when I am obviously brusquer than you all…"

Nephrite frowned "I believe I am not following…"

Jupiter looked at him "It is quite obvious…" she let out a sad chuckle "My physique says it all" Nephrite chuckled, startling her "What is it so funny?"

Nephrite continued laughing, Jupiter frowned "I asked you a question…" the brown haired general opened his green eyes and looked at her "Why you of course"

"Me?"

"Yes…"

Jupiter's frown deepened "Where is the funny in me?"

Nephrite gave her a sincere smile "With all due respect, I do not see anything wrong with your physique"

Jupiter widened her deep green eyes "You have to be joking"

"Why is it so hard for you to believe my words?" Nephrite arched his brow "Believe me when I say that there is nothing abnormal about you…only the fact that you are actually from Jupiter, you have some sort of a powerful energy and are related to gods…"

His comment was somehow funny to Jupiter and started laughing softly. Her hand covered her rosy lips with grace, something he had never seen in a woman before; the sound of her laugh was enchanting to him and the sound of her voice, warm but exquisitely feminine, like a soft breeze "What?" he asked her softly.

Jupiter stopped laughing and looked at him "Are you afraid that I am related to gods?"

Nephrite smiled and crossed his arms "No, not really"

"No?" Jupiter asked curious; Nephrite shook his head "Should I be afraid?"

The amazon girl smiled and shook her head "No…unless, you hurt my Princess" Nephrite smiled "I would never hurt her, neither my Prince or any of my comrades…she is very much respected and appreciated it is the situation what makes us be the way we are"

Jupiter nodded and looked down "I understand…" she blushed softly "Thank you by the way…"

Nephrite tilted his head "For what?"

Jupiter looked away "No one ever have told me I did not look like a female version of Hercules"

Nephrite frowned "Because you don't, why do you say that?"

Jupiter smiled sadly and lowered her gaze "If I weren't a chosen guardian I would have not found anyone who wished to be with me"

Nephrite arched his brow softly "Why do you say that? That is insane"

Jupiter chuckled "It's fine really…I am used to be who I am…"

"You make it sound like if you were some sort of a monster and all I see is a very beautiful lady" Nephrite said softly startling Jupiter "Excuse me?"

"You are a very pretty lady and I am sure I am not the only one that thinks that" Nephrite smiled "They are probably intimidated by your beauty"

Jupiter blushed "Nobody has ever said something to me like that before…"

"Well, it is the truth…" Nephrite looked away "I do not see the point in lying…and I do not consider myself a liar"

Jupiter smiled and turned to look at the lake "…Thank you" Nephrite smiled but did not turned to look at her "I only state something that's true" his comment made Jupiter smile, it was the first time a man complimented her appearance without mentioning her height or strength probably in her life.

At the distance, Kunzite sighed again and crossed his arms "Don't tell me I hurt your feelings…"

Venus turned to look at him "This is nonsense…" she frowned "How dare you to talk to me like that when I am obviously your superior" as soon as those words left her lips she regret it, she noticed how his body stiffened and how he looked at her differently. She has said the worst thing a man, or at least this man could hear.

"Are you suggesting I am weak?"

Venus arched her brow and turned away, trying to dismiss her comment "You can think whatever you want"

Kunzite frowned "You are saying it then…" he turned to leave, Venus noticed "Now where are you going?"

"It is time for you to leave"

"You are not going to tell me when I should leave" Venus retorted, making Kunzite stop and turned to look at her "Listen to me…" he walked over to her but still kept his distance "I have listened to your complaining, bad temper and strange change of behavior…it is clear for me how insane you are, I do not have anything against your Princess but you, _you_ are something really different and twisted…you, are crazy"

Venus widened her eyes "What!"

"You heard me" Kunzite said dryly.

Venus looked at him with astonishment "Aren't you afraid of what I might do to you?"

Kunzite's frown deepened "I am a big boy, I can take care of myself…and you" he looked up and down "…May be blessed by the gods but that doesn't stop you from being a woman and all woman are like that…indecisive, confusing…"

"You do not even know what you are talking about" Venus muttered.

"Look around you! Everybody left, because they can't stand listening to you…" Kunzite said.

Venus frowned, her right hand searched for her chain around her waist "I will teach you a lesson…" she grabbed her chain and raised it in the air "Venus…!"

Kunzite frowned and moved quicker, standing behind her and encircled her waist with his right arm startling her "Let me go!"

The man with white hair was not sure what he was doing exactly, it was like if his body was taking control over himself and he was only obeying absently. In a swift move he turned her so he could look down at her and then did the unthinkable.

Venus looked at him dumbfounded and confused, not sure of what to do next; her mind screamed for attention but her body was heavy and could not make any move. She had to admit that the man's grey eyes were sucking her into its mysticism and enigmatic depth; she frowned as if it was going to be of any help but the next thing she realized, was that her hand holding her chain was no longer up ready to throw it against him. She did not notice because she was too in shock and in trance of the passionate kiss she was receiving from the man in front of her.

Kunzite could not resist himself, it was something that pulled him closer to her until he closed the gap between them and locked his lips with hers in a short but passionate kiss; he opened his eyes and parted and looked at her not really sure of what to say.

Venus on the other side was in shock; it took her several minutes to come back to reality and realize where she was and what did just happen. Her blue eyes widened "What…?" she trailed off; Kunzite looked at her "That will teach you"

Venus frowned "Why you…" she growled.

Kunzite turned on his heel and started walking toward the royal couple hoping nobody saw them in their passionate and probably most bittersweet moment of their lives. He was not sure about her, of what she might be feeling right now but at least for him it was like drinking a glass of the sweetest wine and then a sip of hot black coffee.

Venus pressed her lips together and went to look for Jupiter and the other general who, apparently were having a nice talk with the man "Jupiter!" she called out loud, catching the amazon's attention.

Jupiter turned and widened her green eyes as soon as she watched Venus coming their way "I believe it is time…" she said softly, standing up "Yes Venus?"

"We must go" Venus said quickly.

Jupiter narrowed her eyes a little "Princess Serenity is…"

"I'll go call her in a minute" Venus interrupted again "We should go…no, we _must_ go" she turned on her heel and walked towards the couple's direction leaving a very startled and confused Jupiter "Wait, Venus!" she turned to look at Nephrite who was already standing next to her "It's alright…let's go" he said to her; Jupiter nodded and started walking quickly after Venus.

Endymion smiled and caressed Serenity's cheek with the back of his hand; the white princess giggled softly and closed her eyes. The terran prince was moving closer to her, closing the gap between them with all the intention to capture her lips with his in a sweet and tender kiss. He was about to close his deep blue eyes when he suddenly felt a third person standing near them; arching his brow he saw Kunzite standing behind Serenity and widened his eyes "What the hell?" he said softly, startling Serenity who opened one eye first and then the other "Endy?" she asked softly when he heard him say a phrase she was sure she had never heard him say before.

She looked at Endymion and saw his face expression, the prince was confused about something; turning she looked at the man behind her and jumped a little bit. There was definitely something different about him, he was, smiling for some odd reason.

"Master…" Kunzite said.

Endymion frowned "Kunzite?"

"I think…"

"Princess, let's go!" Venus interrupted him.

Serenity widened her eyes and looked at a very _very_ anxious Venus "What…?" she managed to say.

Venus stood next to Kunzite and somehow the picture did not look right. Endymion frowned and crossed his arms while Serenity tried to understand and tilted her head "…Are you…?"

"We're fine!" Venus and Kunzite answered at the same time.

Endymion arched his brow "Did something happen?"

"No!" they answered at the same time again.

Endymion and Serenity widened their eyes; Serenity held her prince's hand and squeezed it slightly hard. She then saw Jupiter coming their way followed by Nephrite; unlike Venus, Jupiter was calm and relaxed like if she had the most tranquil and enjoyable moment in a very long time.

Nephrite stood next to Kunzite and shrugged his shoulders as soon as he saw Endymion scratch the back of his head in confusion. The chestnut haired man turned to look at Kunzite and frowned, then saw at the blonde guardian next to him and blew his bangs [They had another fight…] he thought and turned to look at his prince once again "Master, what he is trying to say is that it is their time to leave"

Serenity bit her lower lip "Is it?"

Venus fidgeted and hesitated to answer "Yes!, yes!…that is exactly right, it is our time to leave this place, to leave, we must leave…because, we do not live here, yes…"

The white princess widened her eyes and turned to look at a very confused Endymion "It's alright dear…" he said softly as soon as he looked down at her; caressing her cheek again he winked an eye at her "You and I have something pending…"

Serenity blushed and smiled; nodding she stood on her tip toes showing for the very first time she was not afraid of showing her love to him and gave him a peck on the lips "You and me always have something pending"

Endymion smiled and kissed her hand "Always"

Venus sighed; she had to admit that she like their complicity. The way they talked to each other as besides of being in love they were best friends, it was really a shame for her to be the one breaking their encounter but [Ah!] she remembered her surprising and unexpected kiss from the man standing next to her; biting her lip for a moment she cleared her throat "It's time Princess"

Serenity turned to look at Venus with sad eyes "Venus…"

Endymion put a hand on her shoulder "It's alright…remember what we always say" when he talked to her in that sweet and soft tone he always made her feel better [We will find our way…] she thought.

Jupiter turned to look at Nephrite and gave him a soft smile "Nice meeting you" she said softly. Nephrite bowed his head in respect and returned the smile "Likewise Lady Jupiter"

The amazon widened her green eyes at the sound of her name coming from him. She had to admit it, her heart was beating in a way she never thought it could. Venus on the other side, ignoring Kunzite completely stood in between Endymion and him "Prince…" she looked at him "…You better enjoy these moments because they might not repeat again…"

Serenity widened her eyes "What?"

Venus turned to look at her "We talked about this already Princess…"

Serenity shook her head "No…"

Jupiter bit her lower lip and turned to look at Endymion and noticed the hint of sadness in his eyes; looking at Serenity she bit her lip "Princess…" she said softly.

Venus looked at Endymion again "I know you understand…I want to believe that you understand"

Endymion crossed his arms "I understand but that is not what I want"

"What you want is not of our concern Prince…my duty is to protect my Princess" Venus narrowed her eyes.

"And my desire is to love her and protect her…" Endymion said.

"That is my job" Venus said softly and turned to look at Serenity "Princess…we have to go"

Serenity looked at Venus and then at Endymion with pleading eyes; Endymion nodded in reassurance that it was alright, taking a few steps back he called for his horse. Serenity watched him in the distance and put a hand on her chest letting him know she loved him and that she carried his love with her; closing her eyes she let herself go and vanished in a flash of silver sparks; Venus and Jupiter followed minutes later leaving the three men alone.

Endymion stepped on his horse; Nephrite did the same while Kunzite stayed still; holding his horse's reins looking at the nothing. The prince frowned "What happened?"

Kunzite shook his head "Nothing…"

The prince arched one brow "You can't fool me…" Kunzite looked up at Endymion and ran a hand through his white hair and growled "The woman is insufferable"

Nephrite pursed his lips "I think they're not as bad as we think…"

Kunzite turned to look at the brown haired man "Are you being serious?"

"Well I did not talk to the guardian in orange gown but…" Nephrite shrugged his shoulders.

"She is insufferable!" Kunzite raised his voice, interrupting him and turned to look at the prince, trying to diverse the conversation "We should get back to the palace, Zoicite and Jadeite are probably expecting us with some news…"

Endymion sighed "Let's go back to the palace…"

O.o.o.o.o.o.O

Mars and Mercury were in Serenity's chambers waiting for the girls to come back from earth. Mercury was sitting near the window reading a book while Mars paced back and forth in the living room.

The blue haired senshi did not raised her gaze from the pages of her book but knew perfectly well what Mars' state was "They will be back soon"

Mars stopped and turned to look at Mercury and frowned "What?"

This time, Mercury raised her face and met Mars' worried one, giving her smile she tilted her head "I know you are worried about them, but they will be back soon…"

Mars slightly widened her eyes "How…"

Mercury chuckled softly, her hand covered her mouth "I may not have the power you have Mars…but I can feel the tension and worry in the air"

Mars frowned "You may not have my power but you have other rather stronger"

Mercury widened her eyes "Oh?"

Mars arched her brow "You are incredibly rational and smart" she broke into soft giggles loosening the tension in the room; Mercury blinked a couple of times and started giggling "That is what I have heard…"

Mars sighed and sat next to the bluenette, her hands rested on her lap "I don't know…I am just worried, Venus has never been on earth or Jupiter, besides the time when we found out that our Princess was sneaking down to the blue planet…"

Mercury sighed softly and closed her book "I see…" Mars turned to look at her; Mercury smiled "You are worried about what Venus might say or do…perhaps you are afraid that she might change her mind and prohibit her to see him again; but, that Mars will eventually happen…that is the purpose of these meetings after all…"

Mars looked down "I know...but, it is just that…Princess Serenity is so happy every time she sees him…that…"

Mercury rested a hand on her bare shoulder "This is surprising…"

Mars widened her eyes "What?"

Mercury smiled "You…defending love…that is Venus' job…"

Mars bit her lower lip and stood up "I am not a defender of love…I am just stating something obvious…something we all see" she walked around the room and crossed her arms "Perhaps I am not understanding Venus' position, she is being more strict than any of us…we do not know why but it should be the other way around, considering how Venus really is…"

Mercury looked at Mars "How Venus really is?"

Mars sighed and looked at her "You know, she normally is a bubbly person, happy…playful and funny but since she found out about our Princess' situation, she changed…she is angry most of the time…"

"Maybe she has never been so worried…" Mercury stood up "Remember she confessed feeling like she failed to our Queen and to our Princess as a friend and as a guardian…"

Mars lowered her amethyst gaze "I think we all failed our Queen…" she said softly "…Because we wanted to also be friends to our Princess…" she sighed in frustration "That is what upsets me!"

Mercury widened her eyes "What is that?"

"There is only one option, one way in this realm…either be or not to be, to chose one thing or nothing at all! We are not meant to be Princess Serenity's friends but only her guardians…what we are doing is being her friends and we are not allowed to do that…"

Mercury blinked a couple of times "There is…nothing wrong with being her friends…we have always been her friends…since the beginning"

"No, no Mercury…" Mars raised her hands "We haven't…we were assigned to fulfill a duty and that is only to protect her and to be able to be close to her, we must be nice, friendly…but we were never meant to cross that fine line…"

"But our Princess never denied us her friendship…" Mercury said softly

"She will never deny us anything because she is too kind, too lovable…to innocent and sweet" Mars said "I think I finally understand Venus…she wants to be our Princess friend but her duty is forbidding her to do so…" she lowered her gaze in defeat "In the end…we were affected by the injustice of this realm as well…"

"What are you saying Mars?" Mercury raised her voice softly, something very unusual in her and walked over to Mars; resting her hands on her shoulders she looked at her with great sadness "What injustice are you talking about?"

Mars raised her gaze "All gods in this realm have their own secrets and suffering…I have experienced it that myself with my father…we have longevity in our lives, we have power…but we must follow rules, we always have to choose something in order to achieve something else…things just don't happen by surprise in this world…unlike on earth, we do not believe in luck, we do not believe in spontaneity…we know there is faith, we know there is a destiny that someday catches up with us…but our lives are not unexpected, we do not get to choose what we really want, we only follow orders and we remain alone…that is why Venus feels this way, because she feels alone and wants to break the shell of being only one leader of a group of soldiers, she wants to be more than just a senshi…I know you too, I know Jupiter does as well…"

Mercury looked at her with amusement "Mars…" she whispered.

Mars bit her lip and sighed "…It really breaks my heart to see our Princess so in love and be the one to have to separate her from the one she desires to be with…"

"But we must protect her…" Mercury said softly.

"Because it is our duty…" Mars said, again. Mercury looked at her "Yes…because it is our duty…" finally, Mars' words started to fall into place in Mercury's mind. Finally her frustration started to have a point and reason; they were not Princess Serenity's friends, they wanted to with all their hearts but in the end they were her guardians, only her guardians.

They stayed silent for several minutes when suddenly in a flash of silver, golden and green the three women appeared one after another. Princess Serenity smiled softly at the two women standing there in the living room as a greeting "Were you here all this time?"

Mercury nodded "Yes, Princess…"

Venus remained silent, while Jupiter smiled and sat on a chair across the living room. Mars arched her brow "How did it go?"

The blonde looked at Mars and shook her head, while Jupiter chuckled softly "It was actually very different from what I expected it to be…"

Mercury frowned "What do you mean?"

Jupiter looked at Mercury "Well, for instance, I thought the Prince's guardians were a nuisance…and surprisingly, they are not"

Mars and Mercury widened their eyes "You saw…" Mars asked, "…Them?" Mercury finished the sentence. Venus shook her head and rubbed her temples "The Prince was not alone" she went to serve herself a glass of water; Mars frowned slightly when she noticed there was something different and strange from her blonde leader.

Mercury sat again on the couch next to the window and grabbed her book "But everything went well then?"

"Yes" Jupiter said and smiled to herself "Everything went fine"

Venus finished her glass of water and served herself another one; Mars watched her closely from her seat across the room but remained silent and continued listening to the rest of the girls.

Serenity smiled and sat next to Mercury "It was a lovely afternoon"

Jupiter smiled and tilted her head "Of course it was…you were with the man you like" Serenity blushed and lowered her gaze, Mercury turned to look at her princess "Even…when it is only for a couple of hours…" Serenity smiled at her.

Mars continued watching Venus from her seat; it was something very rare on the blonde to be that silent and serious, sure she has been quite serious lately but not like this. Finally the blonde finished her second glass of water and put it down "Dinner will be served shortly…Princess you need to be ready"

Serenity looked at her blonde guardian "It is still one hour away, it's alright"

"I think you should take a rest then..." Venus turned to look at her, dissimulating her strange and uncommon behavior "…It has been a long day, you should rest for a little while before the maids come in to help you get ready"

"But I am not tired…" Serenity said softly.

"At least try…" Venus interrupted her "…Your Highness"

Serenity frowned slightly "I'll try…"

Venus tried to smile but nothing came out, instead she nodded "There are some things I need to revise…if that is alright with you Princess…"

Serenity looked at her confused "Uh…yes, of course"

"I will see you before dinner" she bowed her head in respect and walked out of the room, closing the door quickly behind her. Mars frowned at her strange behavior and excused immediately from her princess as well and went after Venus; she went straight to her room and opened the door without notice and closed it behind her "Venus…" she called.

Venus looked at herself in the mirror and touched her lips with her finger tips, closing her eyes she remembered the feeling and the smell of his cologne; her lips curved into a slight smile [Why did you do that?] she thought.

"Venus" she heard in the distance and opened her eyes, coming from her reverie. The strange feeling in her chest started to haunt her again; sighing she walked out of her bathroom "Mars…"

Mars was leaning on one of the pillars of her bed with her arms crossed, her amethyst eyes looking for some kind of an answer "What happened Venus?"

Venus widened her eyes [She sure is sharp] "What?"

Mars sighed "What really happened down there?"

Venus sighed and sat on a chair next to her vanity "What makes you think something happened?"

"You are acting strange…"

Venus turned her head and looked away "Nothing needs to happen to make me feel or make me act strange…" she turned to look at Mars again "Just with accompanying our Princess to Earth to see a mortal being is enough to make me feel unease"

"Is that all?" Mars asked softly.

Venus let out a sarcastic chuckle "Should there be more to tell?"

Mars narrowed her eyes for a moment and then let out a soft but long sigh, catching Venus' attention "Is something the matter?"

Mars shook her head "No…maybe I have the same feeling you do"

"You feel unease?" Venus arched her brow.

"No, I feel like I am betraying her…" Mars looked at the blonde leader with sadness "We are giving our Princess a taste of glory to soon be taking it all away from her again"

"It is something that must be done" Venus said softly, while walking over to her; she sat on a chair next to her and gave her a sad but calm look "I know you think I do not care for her feelings, maybe because I am acting too strict…but, in reality this hurts me as well"

Mars looked at Venus "I know it hurts you…but the others don't understand"

Venus lowered her gaze and smiled sadly "They don't need to understand…they just need to continue fulfilling their duty as guardians" she sighed "If I did not care for Her Highness, then I would not had to go through all the trouble of seeing those mortals…"

Mars arched her brow "You know…they are not that bad; the Prince for what I have heard of him and for what I've seen is a very educated person…"

Venus blinked for a couple of minutes "I was not talking about the Prince, that man has the qualities of a god but with the life of a mortal" she blew her bangs "I was talking about his guardians…"

Mars widened her eyes "What about them?"

"What do you mean what about them? They are annoying...perturbing, better said" Venus frowned "They actually think they can fight against us"

Mars blinked a couple of times confused and the memory of the blonde soldier that talked to her [Jadeite] she thought, came to her mind. At first she was in the same position as Venus, the man was insufferable and incredibly sarcastic, something she thought she mastered very well until she met him.

At first she wanted to burn him to a crisp but after he talked to her and could see a glimpse of his true persona she could understand they were on the same boat "Do not under estimate them"

"Are you defending them?" Venus widened her eyes.

"Who did you talk to?" Mars asked.

"I do not know…" Venus frowned "…I did not ask him his name, not that I care…" she looked away "It was the man that challenged me the first time we went to earth…"

"The leader of them then…"

Venus arched her brow "How do you know that?"

Mars sighed "Jadeite told me…"

"Jadeite? You know their names?" Venus asked surprised.

"He introduced himself, but that is not the point. The point is that if we are interacting with them the most proper thing to do is to at least know their names…" Mars said.

Venus blew her bangs "I do not have the slightest interest to continue interacting with them…or at least with the same man"

"Why do you hate him so much?"

"I do not hate him, I just…" Venus trailed off "…He gets on my nerves"

Mars pursed her lips "Can't you at least get along with the man? I mean, he is the leader of them, next time when we go there it will be much easier for the Prince and our Princess to meet"

"What? Wait, let's go a few words back" Venus frowned while twirling her fingers like if she was rewinding a tape "Get along with the man? Next time we go back there?"

Mars widened her eyes "What, are you suggesting that we should stay mad all the time when we are around them?"

"I am not suggesting anything, because we are not going back there" Venus said.

"What?" Mars stood up.

Venus looked up at her "Why do you look so surprised? We talked about this and you agreed!"

"No, no no no no…no!" Mars raised her index finger "How…no, have you ever thought about how Princess Serenity will feel?"

"Of course I have!" Venus frowned "But I never, _we_ never said these meetings were going to be forever…this is a great risk…argh…" she stood up and looked at Mars in the eyes "What we are doing is enough to be sent to Tartarus for the rest of our lives…we are breaking a law, _we_, guardians…are breaking a law and committing treason"

Mars looked at Venus "But she didn't even say good bye to him…"

Venus' could not hold the coldness in her eyes "She will never want to say good bye to him…"

"This is going to place us right where we started when we found out about her relationship with the mortal Prince" Mars said "She will go depressed, she won't eat again and won't talk to us…then, Her Majesty will notice this time and what are we going to say? Oh, the thing is Your Majesty that your daughter here, escaped from under our watch and went to Earth, yes, Earth…the forbidden planet and fell in love with a man…but, not just _any_ man but the Prince! Ha ha…Oops!"

Venus sighed in frustration and walked over to one of the windows of her room "Are you saying then, that I made a wrong decision?"

"What I am saying is that you are letting your apparent disgust for that man take a very hasty decision" Mars said softly "At least give her two more visits before she really has to say good bye"

Venus widened her eyes and laughed "You really have lost your marbles…"

"What?" Mars frowned.

"Two more visits? Not one is dangerous enough for you so you ask for two!" Venus laughed again "Are you out of your mind?"

Mars looked at her "We went this far now that a proper goodbye is not too much to ask…"

"Why are you defending them so much? Defend that relationship? You of all are the one who do not believe in love, who dislike men and who…" she stopped as soon as she saw Mars' stern face "…I'm sorry"

Mars frowned and crossed his arms "That is alright, what else were you going to say?"

Venus shook her head and leaned against the large window "It is too surprising for me to hear you take my role as a defender of love"

"I am not a defender of love" Mars said "Do not mistake things…" she raised her index finger "I know why you are like this and I understand…you, are going against your principles"

Venus widened her blue eyes; Mars sighed "When General Athamas made his great appearance in Princess Serenity's life you were the first to analyze him and to encourage her to talk to him…you supported her in everything you could, you were doing what you do best, believe in love and encourage her to believe in it too. You tried too hard when she realized she did not want to be with him; true, he put her aside and on hold…ignored her completely…but still, you continue trying…"

Venus continued looking at Mars; Mars took a step closer "…The terran Prince was more subtle, he did not appeared as abruptly in the picture until we all discovered the Princess' affair. You were the first one to find out about it and the first one to go down to Earth to see who this man was…you went there hoping that what you were going to analyze and witness was only lust or maybe caprice but to your surprise you found something else…you saw something meaningful, strong and we cannot deny it, beautiful. At this, you froze and panicked, you did not know what to do and the only way was to react this way, to get angry"

Venus looked at Mars and sighed "I just…did not expect to see what I saw…"

"You feel like you failed in your duty as senshi of love…but in reality you didn't because you are not denying their love" Mars said.

"No, but I am separating them…" Venus said dryly and sighed, sitting on a chair she brought her hands close to her face "It is the first time I am going against love…"

"You have a reason for that" Mars said.

Venus lowered her gaze and remained silent, while Mars let out a soft sigh and went to sit next to her blonde leader "We never imagined how hard this could be…"

Venus widened her eyes and looked at her friend; Mars let out a sad chuckle and leaned her back on the chair "We were too innocent to think that we could be her friends and also guardians, but the truth is that we cannot be both…we have to obey our superiors and continue fulfilling our duty" Mars turned to look at Venus and gave her a sad smile "That is why you are so angry…am I or am I not correct?"

Venus lowered her gaze for a moment; giving Mars the chance to chuckle softly "I knew it…you are too sweet; too idealistic that this is actually tearing you apart"

"You make it sound like if you did not like her…like you are mocking me" Venus muttered; sighing she looked at the raven haired senshi "You should be the leader, not me…I never really understood why Queen Serenity chose me…"

Mars chuckled; startling Venus "What is so funny?" she asked with slight annoyance. Mars turned to look at her, a smile was still on her face, a knowing and understanding smile "You were chosen leader because you have the heart to be…look at you now! Even when you are feeling incredibly sad for what's happening, you are being strong and keeping your promise…"

"I am doing it; because it is my obligation…wouldn't you do the same if you were in my shoes?" Venus frowned "With that character of yours…"

"Hey!" Mars snapped.

"…Wouldn't you do the same?" Venus continued. Mars sighed and crossed her arms; lowering her head for a moment in thought "No…I don't think I could"

Venus widened her eyes "What?"

"I do not think I could" Mars looked at Venus again "I may have a defiant character…but I would never be able to take the stand you are taking in this situation…"

"Mars…"

"I may think men are unreliable…yes" Mars stood up and started to walk around the room; her red gown contrasted beautifully against her alabaster skin "…But that does not mean I hate them; remember I have a father and I love him to death…just like you or any other girl, I would love to find somebody with whom I could share everything…" she looked at Venus "But you…even when you are the daughter of the Goddess of Love…you are very conscious of our position; that we are not destined to join our lives with anyone else…you take your job very serious while some of us only see the surface of it all..."

Venus looked at Mars with awe; Mars gave her another smile "That is why, you were chose to be our leader…because even when you have the kindest heart you know your place in this realm and you take charge of it and remind us who we are and why are we here…" Venus blinked a couple of times "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because from time to time…you need to remember who you are so you, can remind us who we are" Mars looked at her and shrugged her shoulders "We would love to see our Princess happy with the man she wants, but this realm is never fair…we must do what we were ordered to do, even if it breaks our heart" she walked over to Venus and put a hand on her shoulder "You are not doing anything wrong…nobody is actually, but it's the rules the ones that makes us look like we are failing our Princess"

Venus nodded and patted Mars' hand "Thank you…"

Mars let out a deep breath "Always glad to be helpful…" she gave the blonde a soft smile "Someday, I will need you to remind me the place where I belong" she winked an eye at her. Venus sighed and returned the smile; nodding her head she patted her friend's hand "You should get ready for dinner…"

"Ah…" Mars widened her eyes a little "Because we have to be with Princess Serenity"

"That and because, the general will be there"

Mars frowned "To the Queen that has never been a problem"

"But to us it is a little" Venus said softly, startling Mars "Why?"

Venus stood up, putting aside her thoughts about the kiss she received from the mortal soldier; she turned to look at a very puzzled Mars "I am sensing something from him…"

"You always have…" Mars said.

Venus nodded "And so do you…but this time is different"

Mars frowned "Is it something we should be worried about?"

Venus bit her lower lip "Any change is to be considered and be taken care of…we have to be careful"

Mars nodded "I was actually not considering joining for dinner…you know Queen Serenity likes to spend some quality time with the Princess"

Venus arched one brow "True, but still…I would like us to be near, in case anything happens"

Mars nodded again "Alright…" she started walking towards the door "…With that being said, I will go and get ready"

Venus looked at her; Mars was about to leave when she looked over her shoulder "You are doing a good job, Sailor Venus" smiling, she began walking again and exited the room leaving the blonde beauty alone. Her thoughts, as if they were on automatic, returned to her previous encounter with the mortal soldier; her fingers traced the line of her lips and closed her eyes, remembering the exact time when he bent and trapped her lips with his.

A mix of excitement and concern troubled her and made her open her eyes quickly. She thought about him, remembering his intense gaze and his deep voice; there was something in him that was being somehow attractive to her.

"Maybe his determination?" she said out loud and frowned "…The man is as arrogant as only he can be" she bit her lower lip and walked over her dresser and began picking a clean gown; nothing too elegant, but still that let everybody know that she was after all, a venusian.

While she pushed the gowns aside with her hands while she searched for the right one to wear that evening, the afternoon played in her mind all over again, like a scene of a novel. She tried to remember every detail and word; something she was not quite sure of why she was so interested in knowing but she did. Sighing in frustration she sat on the pale gold ottoman in the middle of her walk in closet and lowered her gaze "Why can't your arrogance and…disrespectful manners won't leave my mind? Why am I thinking of you like if you were somebody important to me?..." she asked to herself "Why do I even care?"

"…Why do I even care…" she widened her eyes and raised her head. Flashbacks of her words came to her mind, one after another and with them guilt came along "Maybe he was acting that way because it was me provoking him…" she shook her head and frowned "No! Venus, please get yourself together!" standing up she picked a dress not really caring if she liked it for the occasion or not and began her beauty regimen, but still her thoughts were with him until she realized something that was not part of her plan; widening her eyes she gasped softly in surprise and horror.

She was smiling.

"Why?" she whispered.

Because she liked him.


	95. Chapter 95

**A/N: Hi, I hope you all like this chapter. As always, thank you so much for reviewing, it means a lot and i love to read from you :)**

**[ ] - don't forget, it means thoughts.**

**I do not own sm, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter ninety five**

* * *

Princess Serenity walked down the hall in silence, followed by her four inner guardians. As soon as they got near the dining room doors the guards bowed their heads in respect and opened them for them. Venus took a step and placed a hand on her princess' shoulder "Princess we will be waiting on the living room across the hall"

Serenity frowned "You won't be joining us for dinner?"

Mars gave her a small smile "We believe it is better if we leave you a private time with Her Majesty"

Serenity looked at the girls and nodded "Alright…" Venus took a step back and waited for the princess to come in. The guards closed the doors leaving the four guardians alone on the hall. Jupiter blew her bangs "What now?"

Mercury let out a soft chuckle; Jupiter's mixture of soft and though character was quite funny to her "I suppose we will go and have some dinner on our own"

The four girls started to walk towards the kitchen "We are going to miss all the gossip" Jupiter said again, showing this time her feminine side. Venus turned to look at her and shook her head "Hearing you talking about gossip is a new thing…"

Jupiter sweat dropped "Like you did not like to gossip…"

Mars frowned and opened the kitchen door "Why are you so interested on what might happen there? The Queen is the only one present and probably Luna and Artemis"

Mercury sat on a tall chair on the bar "Well, it is no surprise that the General will be there of course"

"Hmm…" Mars took her seat next to Mercury "He is supposed to be working…for what I heard"

Venus took her bowl of soup and blew at her spoon softly, then turned to look at Mars "How do you know?"

Mars shrugged her shoulders "I mean…because of his job…" she took a sip of her water "When I think about it, he should be doing the same things…you know…"

Mercury widened her blue eyes and turned to look at Mars, then at the maids that came in and out constantly. They liked to have dinner on the kitchen because it was the only place where they can be just like anybody else in the palace; they were just girls having dinner, breakfast or lunch.

"Mars…"

Mars frowned at Mercury "I'm sorry I am just…I do not know, being myself"

"You do not trust the man, we get it" Jupiter said and turned to look at her "But, who do you really trust, right?"

Venus widened her blue eyes and turned to look at Jupiter "That was harsh…"

"I'm sorry…" Jupiter bit her lower lip and looked at Mars "I…" she trailed off; Mars chuckled and took a sip of her wine "That is alright…you know me too well, I do not trust men…be grateful that I trust you girls…"

Mercury turned to look at their blonde leader "You have been awfully quiet Venus…is something the matter?"

Venus blinked a couple of times and looked at Mercury "Ah…no, no, everything is alright"

"Hm…did something happen today?" Mercury asked again, like always with a very powdery voice. Venus almost choked with her soup and shook her head "No…nothing happened"

Mars looked at her blonde leader being a little more like herself and chuckled "See what you caused Mercury? Our darling Venus is chocking again with her food"

Venus sweat dropped "You make it sound like if I always do it"

Mars shrugged her shoulders in a teasing manner and smiled "Maybe you do…" Venus looked at her and smiled, she knew she was doing it because she wanted to make her feel better; she felt accompanied even when they shared a mission and they dreamt of many other things; they knew they have one another and they had their support no matter what. Jupiter put her empty bowl aside and rested her chin on her hand "Hm…"

Mercury turned to look at the amazon "What is it?"

"I was just thinking…you know…about _them_…" Jupiter said softly. The three other girls widened their eyes in surprise and turned to look at Jupiter; Mars frowned "You are thinking about…"

"They were polite. They are polite after all…I thought they were savages" Jupiter shrugged her shoulders "Uneducated beings…and to my surprise, they are not"

Venus blushed and looked down at her empty bowl. Mercury smiled "I was surprised by that as well…" she took a sip of her water "They are very well educated" she blushed when she remembered Zoicite calling her 'ballerina'. Venus let out a soft chuckle "Don't tell me you have been surprised by them…right Mars?" Venus widened her eyes "Mars?"

Mars sighed "I admire the courage they have…even when their lives are ephemeral, they hold too much passion for their lives…" she turned to look at Venus "Their sense of responsibility and loyalty is admirable"

Venus arched her brow "Are you defending them?"

"I am always stating something that is true…" Mars shrugged her shoulders "We should give them some credit, they are doing our same job…and they have more difficulties than us"

"Hmm…" Venus hummed.

Jupiter turned to look at Venus "You are like this because all the time we were there, you were arguing with that man" Mars and Mercury turned to look at Venus; the blonde frowned "What? The man is insufferable…what did you want me to do, stay still and silent?"

"You could have just listened to him…maybe he did not want to fight" Jupiter said softly and took a sip of her water. Venus rolled her blue eyes "Right, since you were entranced by the other man's talk…you did not hear the nonsense this other man was saying…"

Mars turned to look at Jupiter "Entranced?"

"He was nice…" Jupiter said softly and shrugged her shoulders "…And polite, he never treated me like if I were an intruder, he respected me and that is fundamental"

"Fundamental? For what?" Mars asked.

Jupiter blushed; Venus smiled widely "You like him!" Jupiter widened her evergreen eyes "What?"

Venus blinked a couple of times, her smile was still on her face "You like the man…"

Mars widened her eyes and so did Mercury "You do?" asked the bluenette; Jupiter bit her lower lip and lowered her gaze "It is not like something is going to happen, I just felt comfortable talking to him, he was respectful and never said anything threatening about the Princess or us"

Mercury sighed "Now that you mention that…none of them are against our Princess" Venus looked down and frowned and agreed in silence.

"But still, that romance will have to end" Venus' voice became dry, once again. Her smile faded and her eyes held that guilt that was now characteristic in her. Mars noticed her change of voice and demeanor and sighed sadly "Venus…"

Venus turned to look at the girls "The Princess needs to think about her responsibilities as well, the people living on the moon, her kingdom…she is the future queen of this empire…"

The girls stayed silent for a moment, Jupiter frowned "Venus, are you saying that Princess Serenity should marry the General?"

Mercury widened her eyes "But she does not love him"

Venus closed her eyes and stood up "This is not about love anymore…this is about duty. We have a duty and so does she…she needs to end that romance as soon as possible"

"She will never do that" Jupiter said again and stood up "Did you not see her just moments ago? She adores him!"

Venus looked at Jupiter and then at each girl "She will have to end it"

"And what if she does not?" Mars asked, this time with great concern. Venus turned to look at her "I will have to do something about it"

O.o.o.o.o.O

"How was your day dear?" Queen Serenity asked while she took a sip of her wine. Serenity smiled at her mother, she wished she could tell her the truth and tell her about Endymion and all the things they talk about, how much she has learned from him and how much she would like to be considered to join forces and become the leader of their army.

All the emotion she felt in her heart when she thought about him and her mind pronounced his name; every time she remembered those intense blue eyes of his and the sweet and sensual sound of his voice. She let out a soft sigh and tilted her head "It was fine"

The queen smiled at her daughter "Is there is something you would like to talk about?"

Serenity widened her pale blue eyes and bit her lower lip "Something?"

"Yes…" the queen looked at her; Serenity took a sip of her wine "Like…what?"

The queen shrugged her shoulders with elegance "Oh, I do not know…something that might have happened today…" she smiled sadly at her daughter "Dear…" she extended her arm to reach Serenity's hand and patted it "I know I haven't been much around to talk…but it is just that I have been incredibly busy with the matters concerning the Alliance…"

Serenity looked at her hand and then at her mother and gave her an understanding smile "Mother, I understand…I always have"

"Yes dear but, we used to have more time for ourselves…and lately…" she trailed off and rubbed the bridge of her nose; Serenity's eyes widened a little when she remembered that gesture very well [Endymion…]

"Mother is fine" the princess said again "Running a kingdom is not an easy task…it requires too much discipline and patience"

Queen Serenity smiled with admiration at her daughter's comment "That is something very true dear and very mature, where have you been learning all those connotations?"

Serenity smiled "Mama…"

"Forgive my tardiness Your Majesty" a male voice interrupted the princess and as soon as she knew who's this voice was, her smile faded as quickly as it was first shown. Athamas bowed in respect and looked at the queen and then his eyes rested on the princess "Princess…as always, a pleasure" he walked over to her and kissed her hand. Serenity looked away and nodded "What…are you…?"

"He is having dinner with us dear of course" Queen Serenity smiled "He has been working so much"

"Really…" Serenity said dryly.

Athamas sat across from Serenity on the long dining table, next to Artemis who was next to Luna and waited for his dinner to be served. The general looked at her and smiled "There has been so much to do"

"Really…" Serenity said again.

Athamas arched a brow "Yes"

Serenity faked a smile and rested her chin on her hands "Mother, I would like to be present in every meeting from now on…" the queen looked at her daughter startled and chuckled "Dear, you know that is not necessary…"

"Yes it is Mother" Serenity turned to look at the queen "I am the Princess and I need to be as informed as you are" she then turned to look at Athamas "I must be informed of every matter concerning the safety of this kingdom"

Athamas looked at the princess "Excuse me, Princess?"

Artemis watched the scene with admiration, the princess was actually asking the man in front of her about his duties as soldier and that was something too exquisite and refreshing to witness. Luna turned to look at the queen and then at the princess again.

"I would like to know the strategies you are using in order to keep our kingdom safe"

Athamas chuckled "Strategies?"

Serenity took a bite of her food, this time never taking her eyes off the blonde general "Yes, strategies"

"Those are confidential matters Princess, with all due respect and…" he turned to look at the queen "…Yours Your Majesty" he turned to look at Serenity once again "I do not think you might understand the movements and decisions that must be made or that have been done…it is quite complicated…only trained soldiers know how to handle this kind of situations"

Serenity arched her brow "You think…I do not might understand?" she wiped the sides of her lips with her silk napkin and put it back on her lap "General, which strategy are you taking when it comes to the protection of this kingdom, is it random or is it there a marked plan?"

Athamas widened his eyes in surprise "Wha…"

Serenity took a sip of her wine "…And tell me… Is this plan of your counts with a backup plan? You know, in case something happens, one must be prepared and be aware of the cautions and measures to be taken…"

Queen Serenity widened her eyes as well in surprise while Artemis could not hide his wonder and admiration. Serenity looked at the general "Do you have all the reports from all the focused points of security checked day by day?"

Athamas frowned "How…"

"…Do I know that?" Serenity asked "…Please General, this is basic knowledge, this is something you learn on you first day of training" she looked at Athamas with a certain security that was not only startling him but the rest of the people in the room.

"Every report and every command made by every soldier, sergeant and general must be analyzed, supervised, approved and signed by the first in command of the army…in this case, you General" Serenity said and took a sip of her wine "If everything is filed and classified then there should not be any problem…"

Artemis smiled proudly and looked down to continue eating; Luna looked at her princess with wonder while the queen could not hide the expression of marvel on her face "Serenity…how do you know all that?"

Serenity smiled at her mother "I am aware of the duties of a soldier Mother…I know the Commander must also assist to every meeting and present the proposals of new security strategies" the queen blinked a couple of times "That is…"

"…Correct" Artemis finished the queen's sentence and turned to look at Serenity "What Her Highness is pointing out is correct"

Serenity smiled; Queen Serenity smiled proudly "Dear, how do you know all that? That is something you only learn in the army and when you are deeply involved in these matters"

The princess smiled both, thankful and proudly [Endymion taught me Mother…he is the one that has been teaching me] "…I have been studying and, as Princess of this kingdom I want to be more involved"

"You already are…by knowing all this…" Queen Serenity said amazed "This is wonderful, amazing…"

"And an idealistic way of thinking" Athamas said and turned to look at the queen "With all due respect Your Majesty, the protocol Princess Serenity is portraying is an idealistic way of fighting"

Serenity looked at Athamas "It is not idealistic"

"Your Majesty…it is like if our Princess wants to be a soldier and that cannot be done, she is our future Queen"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Serenity frowned "It is not idealistic; it is the proper way to work! You cannot condition security by instilling fear! You need to be well aware of your possibilities but also your limitations so you can exactly know where you stand and what will be the next move in order to keep everyone safe! Where is the idealism in that?"

Queen Serenity widened her eyes; she was aware that she was in the middle of a heated discussion but all she cared right now was at the passion Serenity showed in her eyes, she was talking with such security and poise, it was like if she knew the language of the warriors, she recognized that passion and that same way of speaking. She spoke like a warrior, a well trained warrior; her eyes widened a little bit more when she realized it: She spoke like Gaia.

"Serenity…" the queen said.

Serenity turned to look at her mother "Yes?"

"Who…taught you all that?" she asked softly; Luna and Artemis turned to look at the queen who only noticed the wonder and longing in her voice.

Serenity widened her eyes "I…"

"You speak the language of warriors…you speak like a warrior…"

"I just say…what I think it is logical to do in a matter of security" Serenity said [Mother, if you only knew all this is something I heard from the man I love…if you only knew Endymion…he is the one who has taught me everything…]

"It is…so mature" the queen said softly.

Athamas frowned "Not all strategies work the same…" he took a sip of his wine "And it is not an easy task to pick the correct soldiers for every matter, you do not solve problems by writing reports and signing papers, you need more than that"

Serenity took a deep breath "You are right General, it is not an easy task but it is something that must be done…" suddenly all she felt every time she watched Endymion working until very late, the way he continued looking for solutions, the way he dedicated all his time to his duty as warrior came to her mind, she remembered how many times he was stressed, worried, angry, mortified and still, continued looking for a solution, fighting for a better tomorrow and even with all that, he did it with passion. He was fully committed to his duties; he makes his title count every day and even with all that amount of work, he had time for her, he reserved a special time just for her and that was priceless and very much appreciated.

Athamas fell silent, the princess had won this round; what he could not understand is where did she learn everything she just said. True, the queen was right, she was speaking like a warrior [Who is behind all this?] he let out a soft chuckle "That's right, it is not the first time you want to be involved in these matters…" he looked at her "You said so before, when you said you wanted to learn how to fight"

Serenity looked at him "I know how to fight"

Athamas widened his eyes "What?"

The princess turned to look at her mother and then at the man in front of her; a smile was formed on her face when she remembered Endymion teaching her how to fight with his own sword "When you want to protect something or someone, you do it with your heart not only with a weapon…"

"Serenity, dear…" the queen interrupted this time, noticing the conversation was becoming more serious "Athamas knows what he is doing, he is after all our Commander we must respect his decisions…"

Serenity turned to look at her mother "Mother…"

"We talked about this, I do not want you to get too much involved in that world…your duties are others" Queen Serenity said softly but making herself clear. The princess looked at her mother with a hint of frustration, in the end she was defending him; Serenity turned to look at Athamas and remembered something that her mind seemed to forget with everything that has happened. Athamas was up to something, se remember that day clearly when he was talking to Kilmakos about running the course of their plan; since then, her reliance on him started to diminish until he showed his true colors with her once she broke the engagement.

Athamas held a winning look on his face, it didn't matter how much she tried he would always find his way to be the winner of every round, this time she might have won several battles but in the end, her mother intervened and defended him, again.

She looked down at her plate and started playing with her food, her appetite was gone. How could her mother be on his side when it was clearer than water than he was up to something strange, she sighed and pushed her plate to the side and grabbed her glass of wine and took several sips; she wished with all her might to be able to tell not only her mother but the universe that she was in love with Endymion, so everybody could see the reality of things, that he, even a mortal could do so much more than the man who claimed himself to be the next great warrior.

Athamas exchanged glances with her from time to time, he knew there was something off with her, his plans on getting her back were not exactly going the way he was expecting; he needed an alibi so he could secure his position on the lunar kingdom and then position himself as rightful king of the moon and of the silver alliance. He could not wait to exchange thoughts and war plans with the rest of the gods, just the mere thought of being able to meet the higher gods is extraordinaire for him, he wanted that, he wanted recognition, power, a high status as warrior and of course her, he wanted, her.

The rest of the evening passed slowly and for a moment Serenity wished something happened so Athamas could leave the table, the queen and the rest finished eating a moment ago and they were on their usual after dinner conversation. The princess sighed from time to time hoping that the man in front of her could just disappear from her life; she thought about how would Endymion will leave him in case they meet and fight, she wanted so much to be with him right now, to talk to him, to laugh with him, to share more time together and dream of a life together.

One of the soldiers interrupted their talk and needed a word with Athamas, the blonde general turned to look at the queen and bowed in respect excusing himself for the rest of the evening.

Serenity sighed in relief and took the final sip of her wine "Dear" her mother brought her back from her thoughts; her lavender eyes held curiosity and wonder "It is not necessary to discuss with the General"

Serenity frowned slightly "I am only clarifying something he did not know about me; he thought I was not aware of anything that happens around here, it's insulting"

Queen Serenity looked at her daughter and frowned "Dear, why don't you just give him another chance?"

"What?" Serenity asked and turned to look at Luna and Artemis "Do you agree with my mother?" Luna widened her burgundy eyes and bit her lower lip; the queen arched her brow "Serenity…"

"Mother, why do you want me to give him another chance? Why are you so insistent?"

The queen sighed "Because he is the right man for you…"

Serenity felt her heart breaking "He is not" she said with a dry voice.

"He is well prepared, educated…" Queen Serenity said "He has been with us for almost a year…you two were engaged"

"Exactly Mother, we _were_…" Serenity said looking at her.

The lunar queen looked at her daughter, she noticed a hint of anger and desperation in her eyes something, she never saw on her daughter "Serenity, why are you acting this way?"

"I am not acting in any way…I just want you to please understand that I do not want that man in my life…" Serenity said defiant. The queen frowned "Can't you just see Serenity? He is madly in love with you!"

"That is not love! He is not in love with me…he is in love with the idea of become a king!"

"Stop this nonsense!" the queen raised her voice, her hand hit the table startling her daughter. Queen Serenity never raised her voice or at least not at her daughter, Serenity widened her eyes and felt how they were starting to fill with tears.

Luna and Artemis did not know where to hide, when they decided to stand up the queen frowned "You do not need to go anywhere…you are part of this family…"

Luna pressed her lips together "Perhaps it is best if we give you some privacy…"

"No Luna, Mother is right…" Serenity sighed and stood up; resting her hands on the table "You are part of our small family…" she raised her face and looked at them "Besides, there is no need to hide my lack of sentiment towards that man…"

Queen Serenity frowned "Why do you speak of him like if he were our enemy? He is our Head Commander!"

"Because you are trying, you have tried so many times to make me love him…when I do not really want to…I do not care for him…" Serenity licked her lips in frustration. The queen frowned "Serenity, there is great danger coming our way…he is the one who can protect you in these times of danger, if you just give him a chance…"

"I do not want to Mother, I do not want _him_! I do not love _him_!" Serenity raised her voice in frustration; her tears started to treat to fall.

The queen widened her eyes and frowned again "Then who do you want?"

Serenity gasped softly and widened her eyes "Mother…"

"Who, do you want?" the queen asked again "You are saying you do not want Athamas…then _who_ do you want?"

The princess looked away and closed her eyes "I…"

"You have met many princes and soldiers from all around the universe and nobody is ever good enough for you! Athamas is the most reliable, prepared and capable man to be with you…"

Serenity turned to look at her mother "I want somebody else…"

Luna, Artemis and Queen Serenity widened their eyes in shock "Who do you want?" the queen asked again and walked over to her daughter who was already crying in frustration; she put her hands on her shoulders and looked at her in the eyes "Serenity, are you in love with somebody else? Is that it?"

[Flashback Venus' voice: _Aren__'__t __you __worried __of __what __the __High __Gods __might __do __to __him __if __they __find __out __about __that __romance __of __yours?__They __will __rip __the __soul __out __of __his __body __and __send __it __to __Tartarus__…__they __will __kill __him __and __they __can __harm __your __mother __as __well__…__they __can __harm __all __of __us__…__]_

Serenity looked at her mother and continued crying silently, the queen sighed and lowered her gaze "Can't you see? I am doing the best for you? Why do you think I insist so much with the General?" she lowered her gaze "He reminds me of your father…"

Serenity's eyes widened "What?"

The queen looked at her daughter once again "He comes from the same place your father did…he is a soldier just like he was…"

Serenity frowned "How can _he_ be like my father?" she shook her head "Mother, you do not know him…"

"It is because I know him that I am sure and certain that he is the man that should be with you" Queen Serenity said.

Serenity lowered her gaze "Mother is this is how you got married?"

The queen widened her eyes "What?"

"Did you marry with my father just because my grandmother told you he was her best pick, because she was certain he was the right man for you?"

The queen frowned "I married your father because I loved him…"

Serenity shrugged her shoulders "Then there is your answer Mother…I cannot marry Athamas because I do not love him"

"How can you love him when you haven't given him the chance to win your heart?" the queen asked; holding her daughter's hand she looked at her sadly "You need to open your eyes dear and realize that he is the man that destiny has brought you…"

"Destiny…" Serenity mumbled, the image of Endymion came to her mind, the way they met, the way they shared their thoughts, the way they kissed; it was not Athamas the man destiny brought to her it was Endymion but because she wanted to protect him, she could not tell her mother the truth.

The queen sighed "Serenity, whoever you are thinking of…the ideal man you want…is right in front of you…what you just need is to open your eyes"

Serenity frowned "Is he really the man you always wanted me to share my life with?"

Queen Serenity widened her eyes "What…?"

"Is he the man you imagined for me?" this time, Serenity asked it with sadness in her voice, more like disappointment. Queen Serenity lowered her gaze and walked back to her seat, resting her hands on the back of her chair she sighed, no, he was not the first man she had in mind for her daughter it was somebody completely different, somebody she was sure he was stronger but things did not happen the way many expected "He is the right man for you now…"

Serenity looked down and sighed "Well, I suppose you will just have to keep trying then…because I am not getting engaged any time soon"

"Serenity…" the queen said.

Serenity turned on her heel and walked out of the dining room without excusing herself, leaving her mother with a look of worry. Luna cleared her throat and shook her head at the maid that was about to walk in to the dining room to clean up the table; Queen Serenity sat on her chair and sighed, looking at her hands over the silky table cloth "Did I hear just right?"

Luna widened her eyes and sat next to the lavender haired queen "Your Majesty?"

"Did…I hear just right?" the queen asked with a soft voice; Artemis looked at Luna and then at the queen "She does not like the General Your Majesty…"

The queen let out a soft sigh, Luna served the queen a cup of boiling water and poured a few flower leaves "This will make you feel better Your Majesty…" she pushed the cup in front of the queen; Queen Serenity lowered her gaze and looked at her reflection on the water that soon changed to a light golden color from the petals of the flower "She has someone else in mind…"

Artemis frowned "Your Majesty?"

"That is not certain Your Majesty…" Luna said softly.

"It is…otherwise she should not have reacted the way she did…she holds somebody close to her heart…" the queen said softly; Artemis took a seat next to Luna "But Princess Serenity has never left the palace…how could she…?" he trailed off.

"No…" Luna shook her head "She just does not like the General…but, that is only maybe because she is afraid of taking that important step…"

"The way she said how she did not love him…made me think that she might be interested in somebody else…" the queen said. Artemis sighed softly and stood up, walking to one of the windows he looked outside "Your Majesty…with all due respect, why did you never introduce Her Highness the man you had in mind at first?"

Queen Serenity widened her lavender eyes and looked at the white haired man "What?"

Artemis turned to look at her "You told us one time that you had somebody else in mind for Princess Serenity, other than General Athamas"

The queen gave her advisor a sad smile "Yes I did…" she sighed and looked down "…But that is not possible…"

"Why not Your Majesty?" Luna asked softly "Is it because he is not capable of protecting her? He is no better than the General?"

"No…" the queen said softly, looking at her steaming tea "…This person is very capable…but it is not possible, because of his nature, duties and power…"

Artemis frowned "Power?"

The queen raised her voice "Yes Artemis, this person is a trained warrior…his destiny is different from what I and many of us have wished"

"Are you suggesting this 'person' is a strong being?" Artemis asked with wonder.

Queen Serenity looked at Artemis "_Very_, strong"

Artemis' frown deepened and walked back to stand near the queen "Then…why don't we call this warrior to help us with the enemy?"

The lunar queen gave her advisor a sad smile "This warrior is meant to be far away from us…that is all I can say…"

"I do not understand…" Artemis said "If this warrior is on our side, how can he be meant to be away from all of us? Is he…dangerous?"

Queen Serenity sighed and stood up, patting Luna's shoulder she walked over to Artemis "He is not, but the power he possesses it is…"

Artemis widened his eyes "How…"

"A power so strong that could destroy an entire galaxy and all its surroundings in a blink of an eye…" the queen said, startling both, Artemis and Luna, looking down she smiled sadly "My daughter will have to accept the General one day…I know he is a good man for her…and a good soldier"

Artemis pursed his lips and looked away "About being a good soldier…" he walked away, startling the queen "What, is something the matter?"

Artemis crossed his arms and turned to look at the queen "Princess Serenity was correct in everything she said concerning the matters a Commander should do, I do not know who might be teaching her or where did she learn what she knows but, she is entirely right. In this case, the General should be present in every meeting and he should have a report for every movement done since he took charge of the lunar army…something he hasn't done quite very well"

"Are you saying he has not been doing his job correctly?" the queen asked confused.

"He has done much Your Majesty, just not following the proper protocol" Artemis said "God Ares has requested several things, one of them being the reports from the last few months…"

"Ares is watching him then…" the queen said.

"High God Ares is taking the task to supervise the General's work"

The queen sighed, she was not entirely happy to know that her friend did not trust her judgment but she was too busy thinking about her daughter's strange and erratic behavior from moments ago. She knew that look of desperation very well and that sense of longing for something but she also wanted with all her heart for her to understand her position as mother.

The way she said how she did not love him still echoed in her mind, she thought about who might have cause a good impression on her to really make her lose interest in Athamas, she thought about all the people that have come to the palace for a business meeting with her and none of them could really make any sense or they were too old or too busy or too difficult to see outside the political environment.

[I want somebody else…] Serenity's voice echoed in the queen's mind "Somebody else…" she whispered.

Artemis stopped talking "Your Majesty?"

"She said she wanted somebody else…" the queen turned to look at both advisors; Luna took a step forward "Your Majesty she may have referred to just anybody else rather than the General…she did not specifically said she wanted to be with somebody in particular…"

Artemis nodded "Yes, Luna is right Your Majesty…she just said she did not want to be with him…"

"Why can't she see what I see?" the queen sighed tiredly.

"A man like His Majesty?" Luna asked softly.

"A man that loves her…" the queen said.

Artemis licked his upper lip "Emm…Your Majesty, love is a very complicated sentiment and it is very easy to get confused by its many variants…"

The queen frowned "Such as?"

Artemis counted with his fingers as he stated his point "Such as, caprice…envy or even lust…"

"Are you saying that General Athamas feels any of those things for my daughter?"

Artemis shook his head "What I am saying Your Majesty is that maybe…it is not their time, maybe they need to get to know each other better before really making a decision, it may not be dislike what Her Highness feels towards him but only confusion…"

Queen Serenity sighed again "I know what you may be thinking…" she looked away "…That I am trying to repeat my story with Athan thru my daughter and the General…" she looked at Luna and then at Artemis "I do not want it to be exactly the same…I just want her to experience what true love is, that man looks at her with eyes of love…" she lowered her gaze "He looks at her the same way Athan used to look at me…"

"You miss him, don't you Your Majesty?" Luna asked softly.

"I do Luna…very much" the queen looked up "Sometimes…I feel like it is all a dream, that soon I will wake up and find him sleeping next to me on the bed, that one day he will come back from his business meetings and receive me with a lovable smile…" her voice started to quiver "…We had rough times but…he loved me as much as I loved him…I still love him…with all my heart" she sighed "That is why I want Serenity to realize this man has feelings for her…"

"Maybe she only needs some time to analyze things…" Luna said softly "She will come to her senses very soon, you will see Your Majesty"

Queen Serenity lowered her gaze and nodded "You said Ares was revising all the reports done in the past months…" she looked at Artemis; the white haired man nodded "Yes Your Majesty…"

The queen sighed and walked over to one of the windows in the room "Then that only means one thing…"

"What is it Your Majesty?" Luna asked.

"There is danger coming our way…" Queen Serenity said softly, placing her hand on the glass window "If Ares is analyzing strategies and movements then it is because there is still danger threatening us…"

"We haven't found anything yet concerning this matter Your Majesty" Artemis said.

"But we will continue searching for a cause and a responsible" Queen Serenity said.

Luna frowned "Queen Serenity…do you really think the one behind all this is Nehelenia?"

Queen Serenity sighed and lowered her head "I do not know anymore Luna…I think it is her because of the curse she cast on Serenity when she was a baby…" she walked back to her seat and smiled at the cup of tea Luna made for her "I think I will talk to my daughter…"

"I think you should leave her alone for the night Your Majesty…" Luna said softly "Maybe if you give her some time on her own…"

The queen lowered her gaze "That is the problem Luna, I have given her too much time on her own…I feel that all these problems and political matters have taken too much time I used to give to her, we used to talk about so many things and now…I spend most of my days working…"

"I think Her Highness understands Your Majesty" Luna said softly.

Queen Serenity looked at her advisors and put a hand on Luna's shoulder "I do not know what would I do without you"

Luna smiled at her queen, Artemis stood next to Luna "Your Majesty I will do everything I can to try to watch the General's movements and strategies"

Queen Serenity smiled at Artemis "I trust the General Artemis and I trust you as well…"

Artemis pressed his lips together as soon as he heard she trusted the soldier neither he or Ares didn't; there was something odd about the man, he was too secure of things like he knew what was happening, his reports lacked information and yet there was not a single trace he could find to accuse him with the queen.

"I know what you may be thinking…How can I trust him so much?" Queen Serenity said softly, startling Artemis; she smiled "Ares has put you too many ideas in your head…he does not like him much because he thinks he has followed too many of Athan's steps and the majority of his ideals and I do not see why is that so badly? Athan started the Silver Millennium with me, he did all the negotiations with me…I only see that Athamas wants to achieve the same things my husband did in his time…and that is why I admire him so much and that is why I want him for my daughter"

Artemis looked at his queen and all he could do was nod, the lunar queen sighed and looked at both mauians "I'll go see if Serenity is alright and then go to bed…"

Luna took a step forward "Do you need anything else Your Majesty, perhaps a cup of tea so you can sleep tranquil?"

The queen smiled at her and looked at Artemis who was looking at Luna with eyes full of sentiment, something she recognized very well: Love.

She felt happy to know there was love blooming again in the palace. It has been so long since that word really had a meaning and really had an existence in this place. Love, was the reason of so many wars and despairs, tragedies and discussions, how could something so beautiful could be so double sided? [In this realm…anything can turn into a tragedy…] she thought.

"You look tired Luna…"

Luna smiled "Only a little Your Majesty but it is alright…"

"Artemis…" Queen Serenity turned to look at the man in front of her; Artemis nodded "Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Why don't you take Luna to her room…it is late and you should rest"

Luna widened her burgundy eyes "Your Majesty it's alright…I can go by myself…Artemis must have so many things to do…"

Artemis turned to look at the black haired woman next to him "It is not a problem for me to walk with you…"

Luna blushed slightly "That is alright…"

Queen Serenity chuckled "You two are very lovely" she nodded her head and turned to leave, looking over her shoulder she smiled "Good night"

Both advisors bowed their heads in respect "Good night, Queen Serenity"

The queen walked out of the dining room leaving Luna and Artemis alone; there was something about Luna that made him feel nervous, made him feel different. In all his time being advisor to the queen and all his time knowing her, he always had a soft spot for her, he, with time admitted to himself that he had feelings for her, very strong feelings but she did not seem to share the same feelings for him.

Luna was always very private about her life and feelings, even though she was king and loyal she did not like to talk much about herself. He remembered the time when they lived in Mau, he remembered seeing her from afar between all the multitude; Artemis was good looking and back at home many wanted to marry him because of his status and his looks but still, he did not want any of them.

Luna turned to the table and picked the cup she served the queen "I think I'll take this to the kitchen…"

"Luna…"

Luna stopped in her tracks but did not look back at him "Yes, Artemis?"

Artemis licked his lips and lowered his head, he admitted he was nervous because he was not sure of what to say "Do you want me to accompany you?"

Luna frowned and looked over her shoulder at him "Where?"

Artemis looked at her "To the kitchen"

Luna arched her brow and turned "Why would you want to go to the kitchen with me?"

Artemis widened his eyes "Well…because, Her Majesty wanted me to…"

"He wanted you to go to the kitchen with me…" Luna tilted her head "Funny, I never heard her say that" she turned to leave again; Artemis frowned "Am I really that annoying to you?"

Luna stopped in her tracks again and turned "What?"

"Am I really that annoying to you?" Artemis asked again "You barely cross words with me…and I am starting to wonder why"

"You wonder why?" You really wonder why?" Luna asked.

"Yes"

Luna walked over to Artemis "Because, we are not the same Artemis…it is not I do not think you are a nice person…but…admit it, you are from a different world than me"

Artemis frowned "What you are saying is not making any sense…we come from the same planet"

Luna sighed "Look, you are from a well respected House from Mau while I am not…I was a commoner, you think I do not know how you are?"

"Since when that is an important thing to you?" Artemis asked and took the cup from her hands and put it back down on the table "Luna, we have known each other for so many years…"

Luna looked at Artemis wide eyed, his blue eyes looked at her with intensity, like if they were saying more than his words "I know that…but…" she looked away.

"You want to be left alone…" Artemis took a step back, startling Luna "Artemis?"

"That is alright, I understand…" Artemis lowered his gaze "I…" he trailed off. Luna tried to hold his arm, she was starting to regret what she just said; it was not typical of her to really care about the status of people, back in Mau yes she was an ordinary girl who happened to be lucky in her search for something good in life, she knew of Artemis back at home and she had to admit that he was attractive to her, her heart beat every time she watched him walk by but he never noticed her, she was in many meetings and when she applied for the position to come and serve the Queen at the Moon Kingdom as her maid, she was surprised to know that she was not going to be her maid but her advisor.

And then it was when he started noticing her, he noticed her the moment she stepped up one step and somehow it hurt her; little did she know that Artemis on the other hand noticed her from a long time ago, he was always captivated by her simplicity and exotic beauty; her raven hair and her deep burgundy eyes.

He was present the moment she was chosen by nobody else but the lunar queen to be her advisor, and to his surprise and joy he was finally going to meet her, but since they met, there has been a wall of shyness from both of them that hadn't let them cross to the other side and begin something more than just a work relationship.

But here he was again, trying to prove to her that he cared and once again he was beaten down. This was something that any man liked to experience, and for a moment he tried to understand Athamas "I…" he cleared his throat "I better go and finish what I was doing before dinner…"

"Artemis…" Luna said softly.

Artemis looked at her and licked his lips "I will see you tomorrow then, sleep well" he turned on his heel and left the room; leaving Luna feeling bad for what she just did and it was something she actually did not want to do because she liked the man, but her fear and complexes were more powerful than her true feelings toward him.

"I'm so sorry Artemis…"

Artemis walked out of the room and leaned on the closed doors behind him, sighing softly he looked down and waited for his mind to clear up a little. Running a hand through his white hair he was interrupted by a very sweet but serious voice he knew well.

"A penny for your thoughts?"

Artemis turned to his side and widened his eyes "Sailor Venus…"

Venus stood a few feet away from the man in white and tilted her head "What are you doing there?"

Artemis pursed his lips "I…" he sighed "…Nothing, I was on my way to the study…" he looked at her "Is there anything I can do for you Sailor Venus?"

Venus was taken aback by his tone of voice, it was cold and distant. Sure, she knew Artemis was not the most effusive person in the galaxy but still, she knew there was something strange going on "N-No…not really"

"I thought you were with Her Highness" he said, startling her.

Venus bit her lower lip "Y-Yes…I was on my way to her chambers…I thought she was still here but one of the girls told me she saw her walking towards her room"

"You do that…" Artemis said, moving himself away from the doors where he was leaning on; Venus frowned "Did something happened Artemis?" Artemis stopped in his tracks and turned to look at the venusian guardian "You know much about love, don't you Sailor Venus?"

Venus widened her eyes "L-Love?"

Artemis walked over to her and looked her straight in the eyes "Yes, as the senshi of love…you should know much about it or am I wrong?"

Venus bit her lower lip and wondered why was he asking her about love, her mind drifted to think that maybe the princess said something concerning her love for the terran prince and that is why she left earlier to her room and without even telling them "I do not know…what you…want to know about love…" she looked down "Love, is a very unexpected feeling you never know how is it going to treat you…"

"Unexpected…" Artemis said and let out a soft chuckle "Unexpected is the right word to describe it…"

Venus looked at him curious "Did something happen with Princess Serenity?"

Artemis sighed and looked down at her "No, I don't think so…she had a disagreement with General Athamas, that is all"

Venus widened her eyes "D-Disagreement? What do you mean?"

Artemis gave the blonde a faint smile "You are very curious Sailor Venus…"

"I thought we agreed you would only call me by my name" Venus frowned; Artemis chuckled softly "True, I'm sorry…I am used to address everybody by their titles…we cannot deny the fact that you are a sailor senshi…"

"But I am also a girl…" Venus said sadly "…Sometimes I feel everybody forgets that"

The man in white tilted his head "Why is your mind troubled…Venus?" Venus looked up at him wide eyed "What?"

"I can see it your eyes…you are worried about something" Artemis said.

Venus lowered her gaze "N-No…I am not"

Artemis sighed "It is alright if you do not want to tell me…" he started walking, "Wait…" Venus called him, making him stop in his tracks; Artemis looked over her shoulder "Yes?"

"Do you need to talk to somebody?"

Artemis arched his brow in surprise "Talk…?" he asked softly "I'm alright Sailor Venus…"

Venus pursed her lips "Venus…"

"…Venus" Artemis repeated and gave her a small smile "I am alright…what makes you think I am not?"

"…I can see it in your eyes" Venus said, startling him.

Artemis sighed and turned to look at her "Maybe I am only a little tired…" Venus looked at him and walked over to him "Artemis…"

"Yes?"

"…Tell me the truth"

"About…?"

Venus bit her lower lip and looked away for a moment, and then back at him "Is danger still coming our way?"

Artemis stayed silent for a minute and then nodded; Venus frowned "Did you find anything concerning the shadows in the sun?"

Artemis put a hand on the senshi's shoulder "Nothing…we still do not know who the enemy might be, we only have our guessing but it is confidential…I'm sorry"

Venus nodded and lowered her gaze "I understand…"

"But…" he said, making her look up at him "…I am working on that, we all are…General Athamas is already searching for a possible enemy that might be the one threatening us"

Venus sighed "Yes…the General…"

Artemis frowned "Is something wrong?"

"No…" Venus shook her head "Just, well…you probably know the General has a 'peculiar' character…"

Artemis smiled knowingly "So you are aware of that…"

"Is there a way to ignore the fact that he can be a complete idiot when he wants to?" Venus rolled her eyes "But, he is our Commander…that is something I cannot appeal no matter how much I would like to sometimes…"

Artemis chuckled "We have no other choice but to respect Our Majestie's wishes…there is a reason of why he is who he is…just, be patient Sai…" he trailed off when he saw Venus looking at him with a frown, he chuckled "…Venus"

Venus smiled "That is more likely…"

Artemis nodded "You better go with Princess Serenity…"

Venus nodded "I'm on my way…" she started walking when she suddenly stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him over her shoulder "…I'm glad I made you smile"

Artemis widened his eyes "Ah?"

Venus shrugged her shoulders "You take your job too seriously…I know I may not be in disposition to say this but…you need to loosen up a little bit, whatever is troubling you…it will be solved" she winked an eye at him and continued walking. Artemis looked at her and smiled warmly, sometimes he did not understand her, one day she just decided to talk to him out of nowhere and that continued being something strange and rather adorable.

The girl seemed to have problems on her own or situations that are wearing her out but even still, she took the time to talk to him and make him smile…and for that, he was grateful.


	96. Chapter 96

**A/N: Hi. There are some things I would like to mention before you go and read this chapter. First, I want to thank you all of you who have reviewed since day one, it means a lot to me. Second, I know, many of you might be feeling kinda tired of being reading a story where the plot is taking forever...I know it is, but this is why I warned you since day one that this was going to be a major long story [why?] I do not know why I am just writing what I am feeling is the best for the story I am sorry if any of you are tired of reading so many chapters, one after another, after another, after another with little action, that is not my intention but I am trying my best.**

**Another thing I want to share with you is that, since my job schedule will be kind of long I won't be able to post on weekdays so I'm switching the usual Monday or Tuesday's postings to Saturday...and I guess that's it. I hope you like this chapter...enjoy. **

**Merry Christmas everybody, thank you so much for staying loyal to the story. Big hugs to you all.**

****I do not own sm, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter ninety six**

* * *

Queen Serenity walked down the hall and stood in front of Serenity's door, she looked at it uncertain of what to do next. Confused for what happened and still confused and worried for the reaction she had at dinner; her hand rested on the door handle not sure is she should push down the small button or not.

Venus turned around the corner and stopped surprised to see the queen standing there alone, she took a couple of steps and stopped "Your Majesty?"

The queen widened her lavender eyes and turned on her side, looking at the girl in her pale orange gown. She admired the girl's simplicity and great beauty, she did was the true image of a soldier defender of love; smiling softly she let go of the door handle and sighed softly "Good evening Venus…"

"Your Majesty, do you want to come in?"

Queen Serenity pursed her lips "I do not know…my heart tells me I should but my mind tells me not to"

"Your Majesty?" Venus frowned.

"Are the girls inside with my daughter?"

Venus nodded "Yes, Your Majesty, they should…"

Queen Serenity crossed her arms and let out a soft sigh "Venus…do you have a moment?"

"Certainly, Your Majesty…" Venus said, bowing her head "Do you want to go somewhere else?"

"No, here is fine…I do not think there is going to be somebody listening behind the walls…" she let out a soft chuckle, trying to enlighten the mood. What she did not know was that Kilmakos was actually listening behind a pillar, trying to find something about the princess [This should be quite interesting]

Venus nodded again "Is there something the matter Your Majesty?"

"Venus…" the queen trailed off for a little, then looked at her again "…Do you happen to know if there is something wrong with my daughter…if there is…something troubling her?"

Venus widened her blue eyes slightly, trying to dissimulate her shock; her right hand played with the silky fabric of her dress "Something troubling her? I do not understand…"

"Yes…" the queen took a step closer; Kilmakos narrowed his eyes, concentrating himself in trying to find some good information to deliver the general. Venus licked her lips waiting for the queen to continue talking; Queen Serenity tilted her head "…I want to know if she has ever told you if there is something troubling her…or distracting her? or maybe if there is somebody she is seeing?"

Venus widened her eyes "Y-Your Majesty?"

Kilmakos widened his eyes [Yes…yes!]

"She…has been acting different…" the queen said.

"Different?" Venus asked softly.

The queen nodded "Yes, I actually admire her sudden change…she is acting more mature and more centered but she…" she looked away "…I wonder if there is somebody behind it all"

Venus licked her lips again "Why…do you think that Your Majesty?"

The queen turned to look at her "Where did she learn battling lessons?" Venus widened her eyes and tried to find a quick answer for that, the queen looked away again "…She speaks with such security in her words, with so much…courage, I know how my daughter is, I know she is very passionate but I have never ever taught her anything concerning battling principals…"

"Oh…about that…" Venus giggled nervously "Well…um…she, um…" [Oh my…now what do I do?] "Mars…" she shrugged her shoulders "She…knows about those things and once day Princess Serenity asked about it and she…well, she explained it to her…"

The lunar queen arched her brow "Mars?"

"Yes Your Majesty…" Venus giggled again "…You know how curious Princess Serenity can be sometimes…"

Queen Serenity frowned slightly "That…makes sense…"

Venus smiled [Phew…]

"But still, she spoke like she knew exactly what a warrior should do, she knew battling strategies and obligations…something you only learn in an army training…" the queen said, she then turned to look at the blonde "Venus…please tell me something…"

"Yes, Your Majesty?" Venus tilted her head.

"Is my daughter interested in somebody? Is she seeing somebody?"

Kilmakos widened his eyes with great interest. Venus widened her eyes "Your Majesty?" she asked, this time unsure of how to react. The queen nodded "I need to know…"

[Your Majesty…Princess Serenity has a mortal lover…who happens to be the Prince of Earth…] "Um…no, Your Majesty…she is not" [My soul is going to burn in Tartarus…] Venus started to sweat cold.

"Are you positive?" the queen asked softly.

[No! I am such a liar!] "Yes, Your Majesty" Venus blinked a couple of times.

Kilmakos cursed under his breath [Still nothing…]

The queen sighed and lowered her gaze "I suppose I am imaging things then…"

Venus smiled "Would that be a problem Your Majesty?"

The queen widened her eyes "I…I am not sure…I suppose not but…still, it would be very surprising…of course, I would have to evaluate his status…as the protocol indicates…"

Venus pressed her lips together for a moment "I see…"

Kilmakos sighed.

Queen Serenity turned to look at the door again; Venus tilted her head "Do you want to speak to Princess Serenity Your Majesty? I can ask the girls to leave you alone for a moment…"

"No, it's alright Venus…" the queen sighed "I better go and have some rest…tomorrow will be a very busy day…"

Venus bowed in respect "Good night Your Majesty"

Queen Serenity smiled and walked over to the blonde, patting her shoulder "I am so happy you are my daughter's guardian…you have done such a good work protecting her…I am very grateful to have you here with us"

Those words felt like a bucket of freezing cold water to Venus, here she was, listening to the kind words of her queen; queen who she swore her loyalty and promised to look after her most important treasure: her daughter; her future queen. She didn't know how to react or how to take those words, she could take them in any way as sarcasm or real gratitude, she didn't care because it didn't matter, one way or another she was committing treason by lying to her queen and putting her princess in great danger.

"Thank you Venus…" the queen said softly and turned on her heel; Venus watched the queen walk away in silence [I'm so sorry…Queen]

She turned on and opened the door of the princess' room; walking in she closed it behind her and turned to look at Jupiter who was sitting on a chair in the living room "Is she asleep?" she asked; Jupiter shook her head and let out a soft sigh "She is slightly upset…"

Venus frowned "What happened?"

Jupiter shrugged her shoulders "She does not want to tell us…but, I think something happened over dinner"

Venus bit her lower lip and walked quickly inside the room; she saw Mercury sitting next to the princess while Mars had her arms crossed in front of them, this one turned and saw Venus standing in the doorway; the blonde gave the raven haired a puzzled look and Mars walked over to her "She is quite upset…"

"What happened?"

Mars pursed her lips "She does not want to say much…but I suppose it has something to do with Athamas since she wants to see the terran prince right away"

Venus widened her eyes "What?"

"Maybe we should…" Mars started to suggest but Venus frowned "No" she interrupted her "She is not going there, not alone" both women turned to look at the princess who was on the verge of tears, her delicate hands held the comforter of her bed tightly "I can't stand him!" she broke the silence and turned to look at Venus "I can't stand this anymore!" she stood up and turned to look at Venus "I want to see him…I need to see Endymion"

Venus frowned "Princess…"

Serenity looked at Venus, her eyes started to shine with tears "Venus…please, let me see him"

The blonde shook her head "Princess…you know you can't"

Serenity sighed and sat back on her bed; this time Jupiter walked in and stood next to Mars "Is she letting her go?" she whispered to her, Mars shook her head "No…"

"Sometimes I feel like I do not have the strength anymore…to carry on with this…" Serenity said softly "I need to tell my mother the truth about Endymion…"

"Princess…you can't do that, if you do you will put yourself in risk and you will put him as well…" Jupiter said; Venus frowned "Is that really what you want?"

Serenity widened her eyes, Venus looked at her with sad eyes "Is it? You want to put him in risk and everyone on Earth?"

Serenity shook her head and looked down "I just want to be with him…I just need to hear his voice…" closing her eyes she brought her hands to her head. Venus walked over to her "Princess…please don't do this more harder than already is…you cannot go there, at least not alone…"

Serenity opened her eyes and looked up at her "Then you come with me…"

Venus widened her eyes "What?"

"Come with me…" Serenity repeated "…Please…I need to see him…I need to see Endymion…"

Venus frowned and looked at her with worry "Princess…"

Jupiter took a step closer "Princess…what happened this evening? You were fine before you went to have dinner…"

Serenity sighed, this time she could not hold her tears "…I cannot take this anymore…I cannot stand being away from him…" she said softly; her voice was full of sadness "…I miss him"

Mars looked at her princess sadly and walked over to her; Venus sighed and crouched in front of the Serenity "Princess…it's too dangerous for you to go at this time…"

"He is probably asleep by now…" Mercury suggested with delicacy "…Tomorrow will be a better day to think things and put them in a better perspective…"

Serenity shook her head "Endymion does not sleep…"

The four girls frowned "What do you mean?" Jupiter asked confused; Serenity raised her head "Endymion is awake…I know he is…he is always awake at this time"

"Princess it is incredibly late…please, I know you care for him very much but this is ridiculous! Why would he be awake at this time?" Venus asked; Mars lowered her gaze and bit her lips knowing what her princess meant. Serenity shook her head "He is working" she looked up at Venus "He stays up late because he is working…"

Venus frowned "I don't understand…"

Serenity sighed and looked out through the window and watched the blue planet in the distance "…He always works in his duties for the next day every night"

The four girls widened their eyes "…He does?" Jupiter asked with astonishment; Serenity nodded "You are as surprised as I was the first time I learned that from him…because that is something Athamas should do and I am sure he is peacefully asleep as we speak"

"Well…we are not sure about that but…" Mercury bit her lip "It is quite impressive to know how much the Prince works for his people…"

"Well there you have it Princess…he is working, why would you go at this time to bother him when you already know he is busy working?" Venus asked softly.

Serenity gave her a soft smile "Because I know how tired he probably is by now, I know how worried he might be right now…" Venus looked at her with wonder; Serenity lowered her gaze for a moment, her smile was still on her face "…And he always says he has time for me" she looked at Venus again "…And it is not like I go and interrupt him…I always help him, if I suggest something he listens to me and if I do not know something he always tells me the meaning of it…"

"I see…" Venus widened her eyes "…You have been learning from the Prince…"

Serenity frowned "What are you talking about?"

"Your knowledge concerning a warrior's discipline…"

Serenity widened her eyes "What…?" she trailed off; Venus sighed "Queen Serenity asked me minutes ago, who has been teaching you all those things concerning battling, strategies and discipline…" she turned to look at Mars "…I had to lie and say it was because of you…" Mars widened her eyes "Me! Why me?"

Venus bit her lip "Because you are the Lord of War's daughter…it sounded like the most logical thing to say…"

Serenity continued with her eyes wide in surprise; Venus turned to look at Serenity once again "You have been learning from him…your mother has noticed…"

"Why is it a bad thing to know how a warrior is trained?" Serenity asked confused.

"It is not a bad thing to know Princess, but…" Venus sighed and stood up, helping her princess in the process "…That is sacred knowledge; there is an oath every warrior has to make the moment they are honored with their titles…" Venus frowned.

Serenity bit her lower lip, Mercury walked closer to her "…Has Prince Endymion been teaching you, Your Highness?"

Serenity shook her head "He never talks about it, he never talks how he was trained, what he did or the oath he made…he does not want me to ever hold a sword to fight but he has never discriminated my wishes of learning how to defend myself…he has never considered my opinions useless and idealistic like Athamas does…"

"So if he has never taught you anything how do you know everything you said to Her Majesty?" Venus asked surprised, Serenity smiled "I've been learning from the best…" she sat on her bed "Endymion is the most disciplined person I have ever known, I have seen him work, I have seen the papers he signs…I have seen the way he prepares for the next day…"

"He trusts you that much?" Venus asked amazed. Serenity looked at Venus; Jupiter widened her eyes "…He does…"

Venus sat next to Serenity and looked at her "Princess, you cannot expose yourself that way…" she sighed "…I lied to Her Majesty in her own face do you have any idea of how that makes me feel?" Serenity looked at her with sad eyes "Venus…"

"I made a promise to her; that I would look after you…and instead of that I'm putting your life in danger…and I am lying to her…" Venus said "That makes me the worst guardian in history…"

"Princess…this is something delicate" Mercury said "…This no longer concerns just this kingdom but the one on Earth as well…it is not only his life the one in danger but the ones of every mortal being…he is the one that keeps them safe, imagine what would happen is their Prince dies?"

Serenity widened her eyes "…Dies…" she whispered.

"Please Princess…understand us" Venus said.

"Mercury is right Princess…" Jupiter took a step forward "Tomorrow we can think of something…but right now it is not a good idea if you go…"

"You saw him today…" Mars said softly.

"Maybe…maybe the Prince is already asleep…maybe he finished his work early Princess…" Mercury said softly "Or maybe he did not have as much work as you may think"

Serenity lowered her head; Venus put a hand on her shoulder "I really wish things could be easier for you Princess…but this love is impossible to be brought together…" she could feel Serenity's shoulders moving from her soft sobbing, she was crying because it did not mattered how much she told them and how much they all knew how much she loved him; they could not accept her relationship with him.

"Princess…"Mercury walked over to Serenity "Why don't you let us help you get changed…it is late and you need to rest"

Serenity looked at Mercury and nodded in silence; Mercury responded her with a soft smile "Tomorrow will be a better day…I promise"

[A better day will be the one when I learn Athamas has gone missing…] Serenity looked at Mercury and stood up; walking towards her clothier she took a soft pink gown and began undoing the ribbon on her back loosening her gown; the four girls went to help her too in silence. Serenity felt everything so mechanic, she was not even thinking in what they were doing or if they were actually saying something; her mind was on Endymion, nobody else but Endymion.

When she least expected, she was already wearing her night gown; Mercury loosened her buns leaving her long pale silver hair fall down her back; Venus began to brush it while Mars began to braid it. Serenity turned to look at the girls and gave them a soft smile "I really appreciate everything you do for me…but, I would like to be alone…"

Venus widened her eyes "Princess?"

Serenity looked at Venus and gave her another soft smile "Please?"

"Will you be alright Princess?" Mercury asked softly.

"Yes Mercury, I promise I will be alright, I'll be safe" Serenity said with security.

"I can stay here if you want me to Princess, I can stay in the living room…" Jupiter said.

Serenity shook her head "I would like to be alone…nothing will happen to me, there is no need for any of you to spend the night here"

"If you need anything, please…let us know Princess" Mars said softly; Serenity smiled at her "I will…I just, started to feel very tired…I think this day started to take its toll"

Venus put down the brush and looked down for a moment; Serenity felt the blonde's seriousness and put a hand over hers "I'll be alright Venus…I am just tired, I will see you in the morning, please, have some rest…" Venus nodded and looked at Serenity giving her a soft smile "I will see you in the morning, Princess"

The four girls nodded their heads and one by one started to leave her bedroom, until Mars was the only one left "Call us if you need anything…please"

Serenity gave her a reassured smile "I promise"

"Promise you will be alright; promise that I will see you in the morning…" Mars said softly.

Serenity looked at her, not really sure of what she meant, but her smile was still there and nodded "I promise"

With that, Mars nodded her head again and smiled "Sleep well Princess" turning on her heel she closed the bedroom door and then her chambers'. Serenity sighed softly and turned to look at herself in the mirror; her long hair framed her delicate oval shaped face, her bangs covered slightly her pale blue eyes; her right hand rested on her chest, feeling her heartbeats. She smiled and closed her eyes, while waited for a little while until she was sure:

They were not going back.

She opened her eyes and sighed "Nobody knows you like I do…nobody loves you like I do, my beloved Endymion" looking outside the window next to her vanity she smiled softly and stood up; walking over to her balcony doors she closed her eyes again and let herself be taken by the energy that always took her to him.

In between silver sparkles and tiny glittery stars she appeared in his bedroom; when her own light dissipated she noticed the fire in the hearth was weak, working only as a heater instead of giving enough light. She looked around the room and no, there was no sign of him, the candles he lit on his desk were out really startling her [I thought he would be here…]

She was about to go out of his bedroom towards the living room next to it when she noticed his cape on the rack and heard the sound of sheets, widening her eyes she turned over her shoulder and looked at where the bed was; walking over to it in silence, her eyes widened bigger when indeed, he was like her guardians said. Asleep.

Serenity sat next to him on the bed and watched him sleep; she ran her hand through his dark hair several times before he could notice there was somebody there with him, he opened his eyes and looked at Serenity looking down at him "Bunny…" he whispered and sat on the bed; Serenity put her hands on each side of his face and looked at him for a little while before closing the gap between them and kissed him softly.

Endymion wrapped her with his arms, while kissing her neck softly. His nose caressed her cheek and then looked at her "This is a surprise…"

Serenity smiled and pushed his bangs back "I know it is but I wanted to see you…" she caressed his face with her fingers while looking at his handsome face "…I needed to see you"

Endymion answered with a smile and kissed her fingertips once they touch his lips; Serenity tilted her head knowing there was something odd "…I'm sorry for coming at this time…I did not know you were already asleep, I thought you would be working…"

Endymion sighed and looked down "Me too…I should be working actually but I just…decided to do it tomorrow early" he looked at her "…And about you coming at this hour, you know you don't need to worry about that"

Serenity frowned "Endymion…is everything alright?"

Endymion gave her a faint smile "Yes, it is…why?"

"You are very…silent" Serenity said softly. The terran prince chuckled softly and scratched the back of his head "You make it sound like I am always talking too much…" he looked at her "Everything's fine…" he said in a more reassured tone. Serenity bit her lower lip "It does not look like you are fine…"

Endymion lowered his head for a moment "I may be getting a little sick that's all Beautiful…"

Serenity crossed her arms "You had a fight…"

Endymion widened his blue eyes "What?"

"…_You_, had a fight"

The prince sighed "No Bunny, I didn't…"

"And argument?"

Endymion arched his brow "Bunny…what makes you think there is something wrong with me?"

Serenity sighed "Because I know you…besides…you are a terrible, _terrible_liar"

Endymion looked at her and sighed; standing up he walked around the room while running his hands through his hair "I'm tired that's all…there is nothing wrong with being tired..."

Serenity looked at him and narrowed her eyes "Is that all?"

Endymion gave his back at her "…It has to be all" Serenity stood up and walked over to him "…Endy…" she stood in front of him "You are worrying me…what is the matter?" she widened her eyes as soon as she looked into his, they were the darkest blue she has even seen, he frowned "Bunny…there might be hard times coming our way…"

"Because of us? You mean because neither your guardians or mine wants us to be together? Is that it?" Serenity asked anxiously but the prince shook his head "No Bunny…" he sighed and looked outside the window "…Earth is talking, I do not think this has something to do with us…"

"I do not understand…" Serenity said softly.

Endymion turned to look at her "I might go to war again Bunny…"

Serenity widened her eyes "W-What?"

Endymion lowered his gaze "…It's my duty" he looked at her "If the time comes and it is necessary which I think it will, I will have to leave Elysion again"

Serenity shook her head "But I thought everything was under control…I thought…you said…you…" she trailed off, trying to find the right words to say "…You work every day and every night for the safety of this place…of this planet…who could possibly try to hurt you?"

"That is something I have to find out…" Endymion looked at her again "…I cannot help hearing the cries of this planet…something it hurting this planet…"

Serenity could not help to feel desperate "But…how are you going to fight an enemy you haven't faced yet? You need to have a plan! You need to study your strategies and prepare new ones with the information gotten from the soldiers investigating the enemy…you don't know who this enemy is…Endy…" she trailed off and widened her eyes in surprise "Why are you looking at me like that? Why are you smiling? This is serious!"

Endymion crossed his arms and titled his head, a smile crossed his handsome features "Listen to yourself…you speak like a true warrior…"

Serenity widened her eyes "I do not want anything happen to you…if something happens…I…" her eyes started to shine with tears "…I am no warrior Endymion, I am no warrior like you and I will never be…" she started crying this time and looked down "…If something happens…to…you…"

Endymion put his hands on her shoulders "Bunny…" she continued crying; "Bunny…" he called again.

"…Serenity, look at me" his voice deepened.

The lunar princess shook her head; Endymion sighed softly "Look at me, please…" something in his voice this time made her raise her head. Endymion's gaze softened and traced the line of her jaw with his fingers "Serenity…nothing is going to happen…" he looked down for a moment "…You may not believe that, but you really are a warrior…you fight for what it's right…" he looked at her "…You are my warrior and you have the heart of a fighter…and that is all that matters…"

"This is not about me…!" Serenity snapped, frustrated "…This is about what you are saying…what might happen…!"

"Beautiful…" Endymion sighed "…I said I _might_ go…it is not an affirmation, it is just a supposition, you are right, you cannot fight an unknown enemy but the wave of threats and mysterious deaths is attacking us again and this time with much more force…"

"When did you learn about this?" she asked; Endymion turned to look at his desk "The letter I received this afternoon after dinner…the report is alarming…"

Serenity started crying again "I could not stand being away from you…"

Endymion looked at her "Serenity…" he ran his arms around her "I promise to you…right now, right here…that I will find my way to return to you in case I will have to go…" Serenity curled her thin fingers on his white cotton t shirt, holding it to dear life "Promise, promise to me that you will return safe and sound…" she whispered.

Endymion pulled back a little so he could see her face "If I have to leave…I promise I will come back to you…" he caressed her face "Beautiful…we are not sure about it yet, it is only a wide sight of what it could be better in order to protect our nation…" he looked at her sadly "…I was trained for this after all…it is my duty…"

Serenity looked at him "…Trained" she whispered; his words falling into place hitting reality, her reality "I cannot see you as a trained man, you are much more than that…"

The prince gave her a soft smile "And I thank you so very much for that compliment but we both know what my duty is…I have to protect my family Bunny" the nickname lightened somehow the dense conversation "And I have to protect you"

"Me?" she widened her eyes; Endymion nodded "So you can always come to a safe and peaceful planet…" he gave her a secure smile "Bunny, while you are here with me…nothing will ever happen to you…nobody can touch you, nobody, nothing can harm you…trust me when I say, that you are safe with me"

Serenity smiled back "I know…" she lowered her gaze and blushed "…That is why I am here…" she looked up at him "Because I want to sleep here with you…"

Endymion didn't notice until now that she was wearing her night gown and that her hair was actually down, just like he liked it to be "…Your guardians doesn't know about your visit then…" Serenity shook her head in response.

"…Bunny" he said in a warning tone.

"I wanted to see you…I needed to see you…" she whispered; while looking into his face but she soon diverted her gaze from his "I…had an argument with my mother…" Endymion shook his head "Bunny…what did I tell you?"

"I know…" she sighed and looked at him "I know you said that I should not argue with her…but…I just had to give my point of view…"

Endymion walked over to his bed and took her with him "Sit" he said, shortly after she sat next to him "Point of view about what?" he asked softly. Serenity bit her lower lip "…About security, about…the codes a warrior must know, the proper protocol a soldier must follow…"

Endymion widened his eyes "Bunny…you are not supposed to say anything about it. There is a code that must be respected"

"Well, I did not know about that code…" she frowned and turned to look at him "Did you…is it true that you make a vow?"

Endymion nodded "I swore my life to protect this planet, I swore to my King and Queen to be of good service to the army and our nation…as soon as I started and finished my training I made a vow of discretion and loyalty"

Serenity bit her lower lip "I'm sorry…"

Endymion chuckled for the first time in the night "The things you know Beautiful…are things you only learn when you are in an army…I do not know if it's the same for the soldiers up there…but at least here it is that way…" he tapped her nose with his finger twice "You have to be careful"

Serenity sighed "I was very upset…"

"Why?"

Serenity sighed again "Because…I still think you should be our Commander…"

Endymion arched his brow "Ah…I see, you had another argument with _that_ soldier…" he sighed "But dear I do not see why you had to mention what you said…"

"He is not doing his job right!" she answered quickly "He thinks I am idealistic…and my mother did not say a word, instead she asked me where did I learned all that"

"And what did you say?"

"I said it was something that came from my heart" Serenity bit her lip "…And that it was something obvious…"

Endymion arched his brow "You got me with the 'something that came from my heart' part…obvious, well, it is obvious for a warrior…you talked about strategies and methods of organization…" he chuckled again "…Oh my dear Luna Bunny…it is not too obvious at all when you are not involved in these matters…"

"I had to teach him a lesson" she pouted her lips.

"You, my Princess…" he pulled her closer in a more playful manner "…Should have remained silent, and no…before you snap at me with some random comment, I am not defending _him_… or anyone for that matter, but as I said…I am only protecting…_you_" he touched her nose with his finger again "You need to be more careful, you don't know how he really works, like I said, maybe their way to train and fight is completely different from ours…remember, _we_are mortals, they are…another kind; _he_, is another kind"

Serenity crossed her arms "And still you are so much better than him…"

Endymion smiled "Is that so…?" he moved closer to her; making her blush "Yes…" she whispered, she was captured in that azure gaze of his, the prince rubbed his nose against hers one time and gave her another smile; Serenity studied his face for a moment in silence and parted a few inches away "…What is making you take that decision?"

The prince arched his brow and sighed "It is not made yet…I have to consult this with my father and the shitennou" he licked his lips "…When something is not working properly you have to look for a solution, right? It does not really matter what the strategy is as long as it works you have to follow the plan…" he looked at her with a more serious face "I have tried many things Bunny and this is not only risking my family but also the soldiers who, many of them have a family…"

Serenity lowered her gaze, her finger traced a random pattern on the dark comforter, her alabaster skin contrasted beautifully with the dark blue of the fabric, Endymion could not resist it any longer and ran his hand through her long silver blonde hair; her strands intertwining with his fingers giving him sensation of touching pure silk. It was something that completely mesmerized him, the way her hair felt, how shiny it looked and how long it was; it gave her a certain glow, it was like a long veil a mixture between luscious waves and straight hair, for him, seeing her in her most simple attire like her night gown was best than seeing her in her role as princess. It was the woman the one he loved not the idea of her being a true goddess.

Serenity closed her eyes for a moment and let herself get lost in the pleasant feeling of his hand playing with her hair; she smiled softly at the thought that nobody ever before complimented her hair so much like he did. She opened her eyes and watched him look at his fingers intertwine with the strands of her hair; like a little boy discovering something amazing.

These were the moments she missed greatly, the intimacy they shared when they were alone. The way he talked to her, the way they learned more about themselves when nobody else was around. Endymion was a totally different person when he was with her, a more unique, noble and incredibly sweet man opposite to his usual stoic and strict attitude when he played his role as prince. She knew she was taking a great risk at coming at this time more if her guardians knew she was going to sleep in his bed, again.

Endymion moved her bangs to the side and gave her a soft smile; Serenity blinked a couple of times and blushed "You know…"

"Eh?" Endymion stopped and looked at her; Serenity smiled "For a man who knows how to use a sword…you have incredibly soft hands…"

Endymion widened his blue eyes, Serenity chuckled "What? It's the truth!"

"Are my hands supposed to feel calloused? I don't understand…" Endymion narrowed his eyes; Serenity giggled "Well…yes if you must know!"

Endymion frowned "Why?"

Serenity took his hand and looked at it "I mean...maybe you are using the wrong hand…"

"Wrong…hand? Now I have a wrong hand?" Endymion arched his brow.

"Well…not wrong but, which one do you use the most?" Serenity frowned and looked at him; Endymion looked at her puzzled and tried to hold his laughter "…The one I use the most? Bunny…I use both hands very much…that's why they're hands dear…"

Serenity frowned "Yes…but which one is the one you use the most?"

Endymion bit his lower lip "You are asking me if I am a right or left handed I suppose…"

Serenity smiled and nodded; Endymion chuckled "I am both…"

As if his answer was not exactly what she was expecting to hear she frowned again making Endymion laugh "What?" Serenity pouted her lips "How can you be both?"

Endymion chuckled "I am right handed Bunny…but for example when I ride my horse I prefer using my left hand to control the reins, sometimes I write with my left hand…sometimes I eat with my left hand…but I am mostly right handed"

Serenity bit her lower lip "Then…" she took his hand again and caressed his palm then his fingers "…Wait…still, they're too soft"

Endymion laughed harder "Bunny…not because I have a sword means I have to have callous hands…I am not carrying the sword with my hands all day…I wash them constantly…I don't know why I have them like this…" the princess looked down at his hand [Athamas' hands are raspy…cold…] "Your hands are always so warm…" she whispered, making the prince smile "Yours are too…"

Serenity looked at him "…But yours are different, like…" she trailed off and looked down "…They have a special warmth that always makes me feel better and secure…I have never felt this before…" she looked up at him "Like the time you healed my bruised arm…"

Endymion looked at her puzzled "Nobody ever complimented my hands before…"

Serenity blushed and smiled at him "I highly doubt you spend your days holding people's hands…"

Endymion let out a soft breath "As a matter of fact…" he trailed off "…I shake too many hands countless of times a day…so that should count" Serenity smiled and looked down "Endymion…" she said softly "…If I lived with you would you let me be present in every meeting concerning the kingdom's wellness?"

Endymion frowned slightly "What do you mean Bunny?"

"Are you a person who would like to let your Queen assist in every political matter?" Serenity asked, looking at him. The prince was startled by her question but a handsome smile crossed his features "I would, yes…I do not see anything wrong with it but the contrary"

Serenity widened her eyes "Really?"

Endymion nodded "Of course"

"Do you think I am idealistic?" Serenity asked softly.

Endymion smiled softly at her "I think you are a person full of dreams…" he cleared his throat "But…" he intervened quickly before she could say anything "…That is not a bad thing, we all want the best for our kingdoms…isn't that idealistic already? Wishing well, safety and peace is an ideal that you must fight and do your best to achieve everyday so…yes, you are an idealistic person but so am I and everybody who is in charge to protect their land and people"

"Do you think it is stupid for me to want to be a fighter?" she asked softly.

Endymion chuckled softly and brushed her bangs with his hand "Bunny…I do not think it is stupid, but you don't need to become one…you see…" he trailed off and sighed; looking at her he smiled softly "…There are many things that are not nice to experience…there are some things that even made me feel scared or broke my heart…I still witness heartbreaking situations…it is something I do not wish for you…"

Serenity tilted her head, she sensed Endymion's mood change to a one of melancholy "Heartbreaking…like what?"

Endymion looked at her "…Like seeing families being torn by death…" he said slowly "…I have cried many times...because I have witnessed to many tragic scenes…"

Serenity's heart shrank at his words, maybe that explained many things about his character but still felt bad to know that he held too many tragic memories in his mind and too many scars in his heart; she felt her eyes burn with tears and did what her heart tell her to do at the moment, moving forward she encircled her arms around his neck and held him tight. Endymion at first was taken by surprise but then succumbed to her warmth, her sweet scent and her love; closing his eyes he rested his head on her shoulder and let out a soft breath.

He could tell she was worried, he somehow felt the anxiety her heart was holding and he had to admit that he was worried as much as her too. Even though he knew perfectly well how to handle these situations, how to be at war, how to kill and how to succeed in a battle his fear was that he won't be able to see her in quite a long time or better worse for him, to lose the battle against the enemy and never return at all.

He made a promise to her or better said a vow knowing the uncertainty of that will. It was something that killed him, that made him feel miserable and a liar. He opened his eyes and encircled his arms around her waist tightly; kissing her neck softly with butterfly kisses and he whispered in her ear "Meum in aeternum…" (Eternally mine…) "Non vos frigus Pulchra?" (Aren't you cold Beautiful?)

Serenity widened her eyes "I…do not have the slightlest clue of what you just said…" she felt Endymion's body jump with his warm chuckles, moving apart he looked at her with the most kind and soft gaze he ever gave to her; Serenity looked at him and tilted her head "But, I do recognize pulchra…it means beautiful"

Endymion smiled and nodded "Right"

"The other…I don't know…" Serenity blushed making Endymion chuckle once again "I asked if you weren't cold…"

Serenity bit her lower lip "Why?"

Endymion looked at her up and down "Because that gown of yours does not seems to warm you up much…and well, winter is around the corner…"

"Winter?" Serenity asked softly; Endymion nodded "Is the coldest station of the year, far from being what you knew of those warm summer days or cool spring afternoons…when we least expect it will start snowing…"

Serenity widened her eyes "Snowing…?"

Endymion smiled "You haven't seen snow before?" Serenity blinked a couple of times and shook her head; Endymion kissed her hand "You haven't seen rain either…" he smiled softly "…You will soon"

Serenity started to feel what Endymion predicted, she was starting to feel cold. True, her silky nightgown was far from being cozy and warm; her thin straps exposed her shoulders. She shook with goosebumps and smiled "I believe you are right…but since winter or summer does not exists on the moon I don't have to wear thick clothes…"

Endymion smiled and rubbed his hands, warming them, he rested them on her shoulders sharing his warmth with her "You don't need to wear thick clothes when you have me to warm you up…" he said softly; Serenity blushed. The terran prince stood up and pulled the covers back "Suus 'vicis ut nos nonnullus somnus premo" (It's time for us to snuggle and have some sleep)

Serenity widened her eyes "You…are trying to enchant me with your words…is there something you want to achieve?" she narrowed her pale blue eyes. Endymion widened his and laughed softly "Ignoce pulchra [I'm sorry beautiful]…I guess it's the habit…sorry" he scratched his nose and chuckled "…It's late for both of us"

Serenity smiled and stood up, walking over to him she traced his jaw line with her index finger "You know I love when you talk like that…"

Endymion blushed and watched her cover herself with the comforter; he followed and rested on his side looking at her "…And no, I am not trying to achieve anything…" he said softly. Serenity giggled "Are you sure about that?"

Endymion smiled "You love to challenge me…" he pulled her closer to him and kissed the top of her head holding her tight; she smiled and closed her eyes. If there was something she loved the most was to snuggle in his arms, the feeling of his toned chest and the rhythm of his steady heartbeats; his scent, the way his voice rumbles softly in his chest every time he talks, it was pure bliss for her. She never felt so safe and happy in her life, ever, until she slept with him for the very first time "Talk to me like that…"

Endymion smiled, his eyes were already closed "Vos can magis praesent II docere ita saepe responde mihi" (I have to teach you more often so you can actually answer me the same way) "Nemo umquam me sic sentire, sicut dilexi vos, felix…" (Nobody ever made me feel so loved and happy…) at the sound of his voice, Serenity smiled and sighed.

Endymion chuckled "Vos vere utor is…" (You really enjoy it) "…Ut autnem somno…" (…But we really have to sleep…) those last words sounded heavier, thicker and with exhaustion; Serenity opened her eyes and looked at her peaceful and very much asleep prince; she felt his breathing slower and become heavier, she felt happy to know that he was finally going to sleep deep and peacefully, something she knew he normally did not do.

Moving closer to him, she kissed his chest, where she knew his heart was beating and smiled "Bona nocte…my handsome Prince…" (Good night)


	97. Chapter 97

**A/N: I hope you all had a good happy new year celebration with all your loved ones. I know I said I was going to try to finish this story before the year ended but, I couldn't. With my new job I barely have time for myself, I had an accident as well so that had to do with my lack of writing and posting. **

**Well, here it is... I suposse it is the beggining of the end. Have a lovely weekend and I will see you very soon. Enjoy.**

***I do not own sm, just this plot and some of the characters.**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter ninety seven**

* * *

The sun started to filter from the widows; it was still cold but it was a day that promised sunshine and fluffy clouds. The once fire that was on the heart died a couple of hours later the prince and princess fell deeply asleep.

In a whirlwind of flower scents and a nice and peaceful sleep a knock was heard on the door, soft but strong enough to allow everybody know there was somebody behind it. At the first knock nothing really happened, on the second knock the noise started to cut in through the peaceful morning, it was not until the third knock came when Endymion opened his eyes "Wha…?" he trailed off, frowning immediately he covered his eyes with his right hand trying to adjust his eyes to the soft clear light in his room.

Megumi opened the door seconds later and as soon as she watched the prince still in his bed when he usually would be awake and getting ready "Prince!" she exclaimed softly in surprise "…I-I'm…" she blushed and bowed deep in respect "Please forgive my intermission…"

Endymion moved his hand away from his face and then it hit it [Serenity…] he widened his eyes and turned to his side to find the space where his princess was sleeping the night before empty […You must have gone very early…] he turned to look at Megumi again and ran a hand through his disheveled hair "It's alright Megumi…" he sighed and lay down on his bed again. Megumi bit her lower lip and hesitated for a moment "Your Highness is there anything you need? Do you wish to take your usual morning coffee here in your room or perhaps I can bring you your breakfast…?"

Endymion brought his hands to his face again "No…It's fine…I should be up by now…"

Megumi nodded and began picking the empty kettle and cups from his desk, along with the crystal water pitcher in silence when she heard him sigh again making her turn "Is everything alright My Prince?"

Endymion moved his hands away again and looked at the ceiling "I should be up by now…" he said, his voice was still raspy from his sleep.

Megumi stopped what she was doing and looked at the prince with a confused expression; Endymion let out a soft but unusual sad chuckle "I assume you are wondering why am I still here…"

The young maid lowered her head and shook it softly; Endymion scratched his head and continued looking at the ceiling "Dammit…I really should be up by now…but I just do not want to this time…"

Megumi tilted her head "Are you feeling sick Your Highness?"

"No…" he whispered, he turned to look at her this time "It's just that…I am trying to avoid what might happen today…it is very stupid actually because eventually I will have to leave this damn bed, get ready and show my face…"

Megumi bit her lower lip, something was wrong with him. He was usually a more active person rather than a man who spent his days sleeping and hiding from people or situations "I am so sorry to have intruded Your Highness…I will leave you by yourself and come back when you have already left" she turned on her heel when Endymion sat on the bed "You have caught me sleeping many times before Megumi…it is not a crime, you are not doing anything wrong…" he looked at her "…I consider you a friend…more than a maid"

Megumi widened her eyes "Your Highness?"

"You have listened to my complaints too many times before…" he smiled softly "…Aurea chose you to be the one at my service, to help me with whatever I needed and if she chose you is because she trusts you and if _she_ trusts you then I trust you too" he combed his bangs back with his fingers and let out a soft sigh "I have to get out of this bed…" he started to push his covers back and stood up; Megumi took a step forward "Lady Beryl is leaving today"

Endymion stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her half excited and half confused "I beg your pardon?"

Megumi nodded "Lady Beryl is leaving, today"

Endymion smiled widely "How do you know?"

"I heard it from one of the maids in the kitchen…she is finishing packing her belongings…" Megumi said softly and felt she could not hold the urge to smile at Endymion's face "Is this real? Is she really leaving?" he asked softly, blushing he looked away "I am sounding too cruel…"

Megumi giggled softly "Not at all Your Highness…"

Endymion smiled "Maybe my grandmother understood my point…" he shrugged his shoulders and walked over his closet to grab his clean clothes. Megumi smiled and started to make the prince's bed in silence; Endymion came out of his walking closet with a clean uniform and underwear, hidden under his shirt for the young maid to see he turned and hung the uniform on the rack nearby and sighed as he watched it closely "…All I ever wanted when I was a boy was to wear this uniform regardless of what it meant…"

Megumi turned to look at him and frowned slightly "Your Highness?"

Endymion kept his stare on the navy uniform for a moment and then turned to look at Megumi and let out a soft breath "…Aurea did not warn you about me, right?"

Megumi widened her eyes "Warn me Your Highness?"

Endymion smiled and scratched his head "…I tend to say too many stupid things…" he turned to look at his uniform and sighed, lowering his gaze [Serenity…] he turned on his heel and walked toward his bathroom and closed the door behind him. Megumi looked at the door and seconds later heard the water running "Your Highness…" she whispered sadly and turned to see the impeccable uniform hanging proudly on the rack.

O.o.o.o.o.O

In between several boxes and suitcases, Beryl looked at herself in the mirror, her green eyes held sadness and great desperation, it was her last day in the palace and she did not manage to make the prince fall in love with her "What did I do wrong?" she whispered with frustration.

"My Lady?" Isma's soft voice interrupted her thoughts.

"What do you want Isma?" Beryl asked dryly.

Isma walked in and bowed her head in respect. The young maid strangely felt something similar to what Beryl was feeling, maybe desperation or maybe frustration for the vacant promises the woman in green made to her several days ago. She thought of what was going to be of her once Beryl left the palace, she somehow imagined or better said visualized herself being the next Aurea being at the new queen's service but none of that happened, clearing her throat she looked at Beryl "My Lady everything is packed"

Beryl felt chills down her spine at the sound of those words, turning to look at her she frowned "I am the Queen's favorite…I will marry the Prince" she made it sound as she needed to convince the young maid from what she might be thinking "I am not a failure"

Isma widened her eyes "My Lady?"

"I am the future Queen of this Kingdom, mark my words!" Beryl stood up, lowering her gaze she felt them burn with tears "Prince Endymion likes me…I know he does…" the last part of her sentence became a whisper [He will love me…]

Isma blinked a couple of times "Do you need help with anything else?" Beryl looked at her and shook her head "…You said everything was packed, I suppose there is nothing else you can do for me…"

The young maid nodded "Breakfast will be served shortly; Queen Narella is expecting you at the dining room My Lady"

Beryl widened her green eyes and stood up immediately [This is my opportunity to try to convince her that I should stay…] she started walking towards the door; Isma took a step forward "My Lady, do you want me to ask the guards to carry your suitcases to the carriage?"

Beryl looked at the maid "…No, not yet" she turned on her heel and walked towards the dining room where the queen was already expecting her. The morning rays gave a very distinctive aura to the palace halls and corridors, fresh flowers decorated the tall crystal vases and you could listen to the bird's melodies echoing softly.

It was a chilly morning, a sign that winter had already arrived. In her attempt of liking the prince with her charms and notorious curvaceous body she forgot to pack something warm, that and that she never imagined winter would come so unexpectedly. She rubbed her arms constantly trying to warm herself as she continued walking to the dining room; when she finally arrived, she saw the mother queen preparing herself a cup of tea "Your Majesty" Beryl bowed in respect; Queen Narella raised her gaze and gave the redhead a warm smile "Good morning Beryl, how was your sleep?"

Beryl bit her lower lip and remembered the tragic scene of her laying on the floor crying her eyes out in desperation while throwing her dresses all around the room in a childish tantrum. Returning to her senses she cleared her throat and looked at the queen "It was fine Your Majesty, thank you for asking"

Queen Narella motioned the girl to sit down on her now usual chair and continued stirring her tea with her silver spoon "Coffee? Tea?" she asked softly; Beryl looked at the queen "Tea is alright…" one of the maids placed a porcelain cup in front of her and started pouring hot water on it, and placed a sache next to it; placing it inside the cup, she watched how the water began turn slightly golden yellow, indicating the herbs and flowers were infusing "It seems it is only going to be to two of us Your Majesty…" she chuckled softly, chuckles she had to pretend, chuckles she felt like acid running down her throat, this was her last day in the palace and she still haven't seen the prince.

Narella chuckled "It is still early…" she put her spoon down "…And my family lives in a constant rush"

Beryl tilted her head "Constant rush?"

Narella took a sip of her tea "You will see in a couple of minutes…" she smiled "This is a routine you haven't witnessed yet" As if her words were chants and prayers, King Eros walked into the room minutes after "Good morning Mother, Lady Beryl…"

Beryl looked at the king with respect and bowed her head deeply "Your Majesty, good morning…"

"How was your sleep son?"

Eros turned to look at the maid behind him "Coffee…" the maid bowed and did the same with Beryl; the king poured milk on the dark and hot liquid and took a sip "Well Mother, thank you"

Narella frowned slightly "Is Gaia joining us for breakfast?"

"She was finishing getting ready, she will come with Aurea" Eros said slowly; the maids walk in with their respective breakfast, Narella started picking her fruit with her fork "…And what about Endymion?"

Eros diverted his gaze from the papers he was reading to his mother at the other end of the table, letting a soft sigh, knowing where her question was going he put the papers aside as soon as the maid put his plate in front of him "You never know with Endymion…"

"Good morning" Gaia said softly as soon as she entered the room, Aurea walked with her holding her arm; Eros stopped eating and stood up immediately "Dear…" he pulled her chair for her to sit; Gaia turned to look at him and smiled "Thank you dear"

As always Gaia was looking regal and beautiful in a deep azure gown with long sleeves and a high v neck, her dark hair was styled in a french twist; her hazel eyes were beautifully enhanced with dark eyeliner while her lips this time had a pale and matte peachy tone.

The regal queen turned to look at Beryl who was sitting a couple of seats away from Narella "Good morning Beryl"

Beryl widened her green eyes and bowed her head "Good morning Her Majesty" Gaia arched her brow and turned to look at Aurea who was still next to her, Beryl noticed as the queen took a hold of her glass of orange juice the stunning wedding ring on her finger; the yellow diamond caught the light coming from the windows in the room creating small rainbow reflections on the ivory table cloth [Beautiful...] she watched with wonder the majestic piece of jewelry and wondered if Endymion will ever give his own wife something like that, she envisioned herself wearing that ring, specifically it was enchanting and screamed royalty, something Beryl was starting to crave and desire with all her might.

Gaia unaware of Beryl's eyes on her jewelry turned to look at her husband and rested her hand over his "Is Endymion joining us today?"

Eros pursed his lips "I'm not sure dear, you never know with him…he probably had some things to do first…"

Minutes after the king justified his son, Endymion made his great and much awaited appearance "Sorry for the delay…good morning" he bent down and kissed his mother on the cheek, then walked over his grandmother and kissed the top of her hand "What took you so long dear?" Narella asked. Endymion's cologne reached Beryl's nose and worked its magic on her; like a spell she sniffed softly the manly scent and licked her lips.

Endymion turned and looked at her "Good morning Beryl" he went to sit in his usual chair across from her; Beryl blushed and bowed her head "G-Good morning Your Highness"

When the maid was about to bring the first course of his breakfast, the prince shook his head "It's alright…I'll only have coffee"

Beryl looked at him and felt her cheeks flush, he looked so handsome in his navy uniform, his cape always giving a distinctive touch of elegance and authority, his dark hair only accentuated his deep blue eyes and his slightly tanned skin, he took a sip or two of his coffee and stood up again startling everybody in the room "Endymion?" Narella arched her brow; the prince turned to look at her "It's late grandmother…at least for me"

"Late for what?" she asked again.

"I have some pendants to do…" Endymion said while putting his cup of coffee down; Narella frowned "But you can't leave…have some breakfast with us, you need to eat!" Endymion kissed her grandmother's hand again and his mother's cheek "I'm sorry grandmother…"

"Beryl is leaving today…let's join her in her last day with us" Narella said softly; her words were like cold daggers in Beryl's chest [Last day…]

Endymion tried with all his might the urge to smile but instead cleared his throat; Queen Gaia widened her hazel eyes and turned to look at Narella and then at Beryl "Is It true?" she asked; Beryl nodded.

"Prince…" one of the guards called for him, interrupting the moment; Endymion turned to look at him and noticed the man held an envelope in his hand "I was asked to give you this…"

"What is it?" Queen Narella asked with annoyance.

Eros turned to look at his son with hesitation while Endymion took the letter from the guard "Thank you…"

Gaia frowned, sensing there was something odd; she noticed Eros acting strange since last night when he went to their chambers to sleep; his usual playful and charming character was nothing but seriousness, she suspected something was happening but her suspicious were confirmed as soon as she watched Endymion read the letter he had in his hands. His face showed no emotion, his eyes rummaged through the words written in the piece of paper and in the same way he read it he folded the piece of paper and gave it to his father.

"Is something the matter?" Gaia asked with concern.

Eros pursed his lips and pressed the letter against the table "It's work dear…"

Queen Narella frowned "This is the only moment we have as family and you two are working?"

Endymion sighed and turned to look at Beryl "I have to leave…I hope you don't mind" Beryl shook her head, puzzled for what was happening "No Your Highness…"

"I hope you have a safe trip home and I hope you found your stay here pleasant" his voice was low but it held some air of courtesy; he turned on his heel and started to walk out of the dining room.

"Is it something wrong?" Gaia asked Eros with insistency.

Eros turned to look at Gaia "We should take this conversation someplace else…"

Gaia lowered her gaze and pursed her lips before turning to look at Narella and Beryl "Please, excuse us…" she stood up "Like my son said Beryl…I hope you had a pleasant stay"

Beryl nodded "Certainly, Your Majesty"

The king and queen walked out of the dining room, leaving the mother queen and the young woman alone. Narella sighed and turned to look at Beryl "I asked the guard to put your belongings in the carriage; you may leave when you wish…"

Beryl felt panic; she did not have a chance to fight for her stay "Your Majesty?"

"I'm so sorry Beryl…unexpected events always happen in this place" Narella said softly "Please, do not think I am rushing you to leave…you know you are always welcome to visit us again" she stood up "You are a lovely girl" patting her shoulder she smiled "Excuse me…" she walked out of the room, leaving her alone.

Beryl lowered her gaze and closed her eyes [I can't go back…]

"My Lady?"

Beryl looked at Isma standing in the door; the young maid bowed her head "I am here to walk you to the entrance, all your things are in the carriage ready to take you home"

Beryl bit her lower lip and threw her napkin on the table "Of course…" she stood up and walked over to the maid.

O.o.o.o.o.O

Gaia followed Eros to a private living room; the one where they used to reunite for every holiday and play with baby Endymion many years ago "Eros…"

Eros stopped in his tracks and lowered his head, sighing he ran a hand through his hair "It is nothing else but work"

Gaia crossed her arms "Eros…do you think I am stupid?"

Eros widened his blue eyes "I never said that!"

"Then please tell me what is happening…" Gaia walked over to him and held his hands "I beg you…please tell me"

Eros looked down at their hands, he could feel hers shaking and thought of all the hurt he may cause on her if he told her the truth; Gaia frowned "It has something to do with my son…" she trailed off and stepped back, Eros widened his eyes and looked at her "Gaia…"

"It has something to do with him…I can feel it" Gaia's voice began to quiver but fought the urge to cry "Tell me the truth Eros"

"Gaia this is delicate…and we are not sure of it yet"

Gaia frowned "I am the Queen of this empire, your Queen! And the mother of that man we expose everyday to too many trials…" she extended her arm, pointing at the door "I have gone through so much with you over the years and I deserve to know the truth about everything!" she raised her voice with desperation.

Eros looked at her "There is a threat…the disease that is killing people has returned with much more force…and we also received a threatening letter from a secret sect that we think is behind the decoy that has been spreading all around the nation…"

Gaia looked at her husband with horror "Decoy…a disease?" she shook her head and looked away with gleaming eyes "What are you saying…"

"War is approaching us dear…again" Eros said slowly "And…as King I must send the Commander to fight"

Gaia turned with horror in her eyes "No!" she raised her voice "No! You will not send him!" she shook her head in desperation "No!" Eros walked over to her and tried to calm her down "Gaia…this is something that must be done…you know that"

"You are putting the life of our son in danger…" Gaia frowned "You are doing it again!" she turned and gave her back on him "How could you keep this from me? When did you get that letter?"

"Yesterday…" Eros said.

Gaia narrowed her eyes and turned to look at him "And when were you going to tell me? You think I do not know my son, you think I do not know you?"

Eros shook his head "Gaia I did not want to worry you…Endymion does not want you to be worried…he asked me not to tell you"

Gaia widened her eyes, tears started to fall "…Do you know what would happen if Hades ever has his soul?"

Eros frowned "Gaia…"

"Do you?" Gaia raised her voice with desperation "He will send it to Tartarus, along with my brother's!"

Eros narrowed his eyes "Your…brother's?"

Gaia turned and closed her eyes; Eros put his hands on her shoulders "You have a brother in Tartarus and you never mentioned it before?" Gaia walked around the room "I never mentioned him before because I haven't seen him since he was sent to Tartarus…and that happened when I was still a little girl…"

"Tartarus…" Eros widened his eyes "Isn't that…Hell?"

Gaia looked over her shoulder "…Yes"

"What…how…?" Eros shook his head; Gaia lowered her gaze "It was a very long time ago…he…" she trailed off as she thought about him "He is my older brother…a legendary soldier feared by many, respected by many others…he was a Polemarchos and the rightful protector of this planet…"

Eros widened his eyes "But you…" he trailed off.

"I was destined to be Earth's guardian but not in the time I became the Goddess of Earth…" she looked at her husband "My brother was trained by Zeus and the rest of the High Gods because of the caliber he had for fighting, he trained alongside Ares…" she sat on the couch and let out a sot sigh "We were close…and I looked up to him, he was so strong and regal…he had my mother's eyes and my father's intelligence…but…ambition started to cloud his mind and a desire for power began to intrude his heart and judgment, killing many soldiers and gods in his way…"

Eros's eyes became wider "He…killed…gods?"

Gaia looked at him "He found Metallia in his way and they became an inseparable couple, using her power for witchcraft…he felt the need to destroy everything in his way in order to obtain the thing that would give him an ultimate power. Something he was not chosen to have…my grandfather's stone, the Golden Crystal" she looked away "He was not chosen to be the carrier and its protector…and that ignited his anger and hatred towards everybody in Olympus…when he learned I was the chosen soldier to carry the crystal he went ballistic and asked me to join his side and promised me a new era…but I was too little and I was too scared to see what my brother had become…I plead for him to reconsider but it was already too late, he was already possessed and grew evil and darkness in him…he was no longer the caring brother I knew, he no longer had blue eyes…it had turned pitch black and held no emotion…he challenged my father and fought him leaving him injured, he threatened my mother's life and when he was about kill me…Chronos came to my rescue; Ares fought him and Zeus put a seal on him…sending him to the underworld where Hades would seal him in Tartarus and look after him for the rest of eternity. On that horrific prison, there are demons guarding the gates and many tormented souls around it…it is the most awful place you can ever imagine…" Gaia lowered her gaze "…That is when I was chosen to be the next soldier who was going to protect Earth and the sacred Crystal…I became senshi and was sent to train with Ares; he became my mentor and my friend and gave me the same training Zeus gave to my brother and to him…so, I turned into the first goddess to become a Polemarchos…because of the force the crystal has…and the immense energy this planet holds…"

Eros could not believe what he was listening, he shook his head and finally some pieces fell into place "Metallia…isn't she…?" he trailed off; Gaia nodded "The woman I fought when I was expecting Endymion; my brother's mistress or at least she thought she was…when my brother was sent to Tartarus, she managed to escape before she could be sent there as well and swore to take revenge so she could free him and continue with their desire to become the rightful owners of the universe…" she stood up and looked at her husband "That is why the gods are against Endymion…because he, has the same strength my brother once had…he is a Polemarchos and the Protector of the Golden Crystal…he has the power my brother desired…"

Eros frowned "That is why…you wanted to hide all this from him…that is why…the gods fought you…that is why they were so upset that you decided to leave their realm"

Gaia began crying again "…I do not want Endymion to know the kind of dynasty he has…my family is dark and tragic…and have denied us…all I wanted for our son is to have a normal life…if Endymion is exposed, he will draw attention…" she lowered her head "Hades is sure my son is like my brother…he considers him a threat and wants to seal him alongside…his uncle" she began walking again, hugging herself "His name is prohibited and became a taboo because he has been the only soldier who has dared to kill his own kind…"

Eros shook his head "A soldier who could kill gods…" he widened his eyes "…If Endymion holds more power than him…then…"

Gaia nodded "He could fight a high god and actually kill him…" she turned to look at her husband "But Endymion is noble…he does not hold darkness in his heart; we raised him to be fair, to be honest…" she shook her head "Please Eros… Do not let him go to war…" she felt her husband's arms around her, holding her tight "My love, we are still not sure if it is going to be necessary…I am still working on it and so is he, we will try to find an alternative and formulate a strategy to attack from here…but, in case he has to go…it is something we cannot forbid him to do…after all, he is a warrior…he has it in his blood, he comes from a dynasty made of strong warriors…"

Gaia closed her eyes and let her emotions take full control over her "I am so sorry for not telling you about him before…"

Eros shook his head "It's alright dear…although I wished you could have just tell me…you know me…why didn't you tell me about him?"

"I was scared that you might think I was dangerous…" she looked up at him and put her hands on his face "And I love you so much…I was afraid that you might…leave me…"

Eros gave his wife a soft smile, while kissing her hand "Love…we overcame too many trials…" he took her hands and looked at her straight in the eyes "Gaia…" he kissed her hands "When we were on the altar I made a vow to you…I swore you loyalty, comprehension, patience and eternal love…no matter what…knowing all this helps me understand you but I ask you, to please try to understand me…to understand our son…he is unaware of his true nature, he had the same training you had yes, Obelix taught him how to pray, how to channel all the power of the crystal hidden inside his body…but he is unaware of all this…"

"Until we know for sure what is happening…we will make a decision…" Eros said softly "…You are now aware of all this…" he smiled sadly "We are all trying to protect each other in our own way…it's funny in a way…how we all try to keep secrets from us with the only purpose of protecting each other…"

Gaia looked down "I want you to please tell me of whatever is happening…please Eros…"

Eros nodded "I do not want to hurt you…I do not want to worry you…"

"I will be more worried if I know at the very last minute when my son is already leaving this kingdom…" Gaia looked at him with determination "You are not hurting me dear…you would never hurt me I know that for sure…" she reached his face with her hand and caressed his cheek "…You would never hurt me"

The doors opened revealing a very confused and quite upset queen; Narella walked in in a fast pace and stood in front of her daughter in law "I thought we talked about this"

Gaia frowned "About what?"

Narella looked at her "You were going to try to talk to your son and understand the importance of continuing this dynasty…"

"Mother, now it's not the time…" Eros said looking at her; Narella kept her eyes on Gaia "From the very beginning I have supported you, encouraged you…What are you doing Gaia?"

Gaia frowned "Narella…what are you saying? Why are you reproaching me all of a sudden?"

"You know what I am saying…"

Gaia sighed "Is this because of Beryl?"

Eros rolled his eyes "Mother please! This cannot be serious!"

Narella turned to look at her son this time "She is the girl that better matches him and you are doing the impossible to push her away!"

"Pushing her away in what form Narella? Please enlighten me because I am really confused" Gaia retorted; Narella frowned and looked at her "You do not like her just because she lives with Charmindy…"

Gaia widened her eyes; Eros stepped in between her mother and wife "Is this the only thing you have in your mind all day and night? You do not know for sure if this girl is his match…just because you like her…"

"History won't repeat itself Eros!" Narella raised her voice "…And if it does we all are going to be doomed"

Gaia widened her eyes and gasped.

"Mother!" Eros roared.

Narella lowered her gaze, realizing what she had just said. Gaia bit her lower lip and lowered her head "You think I brought disgrace to this place then…"

"Is it a question?" Narella asked softly.

"More like a statement" Gaia responded, dryly.

Narella shook her head "That is not what I meant…"

"Then what Narella?" Gaia frowned "That you wished your son could just have married a woman from the court, or better said Charmindy? That you wished you had another grandson?"

Narella shook her head again "No! I love my grandson! With all my heart and soul! And it is because of him why I am doing this, because I want him to be happy and settled"

"Endymion is happy and settled Mother…" Eros said "He is not fooling around; he is protecting this kingdom" the king let out a sigh "There are more important things right now in Endymion's life than Beryl Mother…with all due respect"

"Like what?" Narella challenged her son.

"Like war Mother, like war…" Eros said dryly, startling the mother queen. Narella widened her eyes "War? Again? Who…what? Why?" the older queen turned to look at Gaia "Dear…"

Gaia sighed with deep sadness "Do you think I am feeling alright knowing that my son…my only son might go to war again?"

"Why didn't you tell me about this before?"

Eros turned to his mother "Because Endymion received a letter just last night"

Narella lowered her gaze "This is why you al left the room in a rush…" she then looked at her daughter in law "…I'm so sorry my dear…"

Gaia shook her head and placed a curl behind Narella's ear "…We are mothers; we tend to be like this…"

"No…" Narella shook her head "I am sorry for what I said to you…" she put her hands on each side of Gaia's face "You have brought to this family nothing but pure joy…since the moment I met you I knew there was something special about you…always so noble, educated, polite and enchanting…" the mother queen gave the actual queen a warm smile "Your parents should be proud of this beauty they have for daughter…"

Gaia widened her eyes and felt her heart skip a beat at the mention of her parents; Narella knew this was a very soft spot in her daughter's in law heart "We have had difficult times…but, that does not mean we cannot overcome them" she smiled "Every time I look into those pretty green eyes of yours, it is like time hasn't passed…I still see that girl who gave up everything she had for us…"

"You are my family" Gaia said softly.

"You had yours but you preferred us knowing that we could never give you what you had up there…" Narella pointed the ceiling with her index finger.

"I have here what I always wanted and for that I am grateful and happy" Gaia said softly "It is alright what you said about me, yes I put everybody in danger…I accept my fault"

Narella shook her head "That is water under the bridge" looking down she gave herself a couple of minutes to digest what she was been told and then turned to look at his son "We will have to be careful…"

"Yes, we have" Eros said.

Narella pursed her lips and walked around the room "I was just thinking moments ago…about the winter ball"

Gaia widened her eyes and so did Eros "The winter ball?" both said in unison; Eros shook his head "Mother…you cannot be possibly serious…"

Narella turned to look at her son and daughter in law "Of course I am serious"

Gaia let go of her husband's arm and walked up to Narella "I do not think it is the best thing to do…this situation is extremely delicate…we cannot possibly think of planning a ball at this time…"

"It is a perfect excuse to distract the attention from the problems happening…people need to have fun, to think in something else and so do you…this ball has been planned for generations it is part of our tradition" Narella said; Gaia sighed and turned to look at her husband who had a hand on his chin "What you are saying…makes some sense Mother"

"Eros?" Gaia asked with surprise; Eros smiled at his petite wife "Dear, Mother is right, this ball has been part of our tradition for years…and it is a perfect way to move the attention away from these matters…It may sound insane but if you think about it…her proposition is not that wrong…"

Gaia lowered her gaze for a moment and let out another sigh; turning to look at her mother in law she pursed her lips "When are you planning having this ball?"

"Winter will be here soon, I think that three weeks from now is the perfect timing" Narella said softly; Gaia frowned and turned to look at Eros "Endymion will never agree to do this…"

"He will have to understand" Eros said.

Gaia shook her head "I am not talking about Endymion our son but Endymion the Commander of our Army…he will not approve this…"

Eros sighed "He will have to understand. I will talk to him later today about it"

"He is going to get upset" Gaia muttered; Eros arched one brow "Upset how?"

"Endymion is very meticulous when it comes to his work and duties; do you really think a soldier in charge of the security and safety of this entire planet and mostly this kingdom will agree to throw a ball in the middle of a challenging situation?" Gaia crossed her arms "One way or another…convincing him will be a challenge, besides he hates balls Eros…"

"He will have to agree to throw this one" Eros said slowly "…He will have to see the purpose of this"

Gaia sighed and sat on the couch and started coughing softly catching Eros and Narella's attention "I'm alright…" Gaia raised her hand; Narella walked to her "Dear, do you need a glass of water?"

Gaia shook her head "I'm alright Narella…I just need to sit for a little while"

"Why don't you go to our chambers and have some rest my dear?" Eros asked softly, crouching in front of her. Gaia frowned and looked at her husband in the eyes "I am tired of being there…I'll wait for Aurea to come"

Eros kissed her hand "I will call for her and then go to do some things…but before I leave, promise me you will be fine" Gaia smiled and nodded "I promise"

"Promise you will take your medicines when you have to…" Eros said again.

Gaia arched one brow "What is that supposed to mean?"

Eros cleared his throat "You know what it is supposed to mean dear"

Gaia blinked a couple of times making Eros arch one brow "Gaia? Promise me?"

Gaia sighed "I promise…"

Eros smiled and kissed her hand again "I love you…" the terran queen caressed her husband's cheek with her hand and smiled "I love you too…"

Narella watched her son so deep in love with her, his eyes held the same spark even after all these years, they held the same emotion and excitement from when he was young. The same look he had when he first introduced her to her and Odell; she smiled "I will leave you two alone…" she walked out of the room. Eros turned to look at his wife and patted her hands "I will talk to him…"

Gaia placed a hand on top of his "Eros please, try to find a way for him to stay…" she whispered hopeful; the king sighed and pressed his lips together "I will do everything in my power to do that, alright my love?" the terran queen nodded. Eros smiled at her "I love you…" he stood up and kissed his wife on the forehead "…See you at dinner love"

Gaia nodded and smiled at him "…Well, it would be nice if you could see me earlier…you know…" she trailed off and shrugged her shoulders "…In case you have some free time to spare…" her tone was playful and sweet; Eros laughed "…You know that every time I have some free time I go and see you"

The terran queen chuckled and scratched her nose delicately "My two favorite men are too busy nowadays…"

Eros gave his wife a sad smile, knowing how she might be feeling. When they got married they spent too much time together, since she was more involved in every political matter she worked alongside him all the time; everything changed when she became pregnant because she had to think and take care for two. When Endymion was born, he took charge of everything as King; she was marveled by the miracle she held in her arms, but then with time and as a law of nature, Endymion grew and soon had to leave their side to begin his life as soldier. The king took her hand and brought it up to his lips "…I know my love and I am sorry…"

Gaia looked up at him "Don't be dear, I understand…"

Eros kissed her hand again "I have to go…" Gaia nodded "See you at dinner love…" Eros smiled at began walking, leaving the room. Gaia looked at her surroundings and sighed; turning towards the door she saw Aurea standing there "Is everything alright?"

Gaia sighed "Not really…"

Aurea widened her eyes "What happened?" she walked to her and sat next to her on the couch; Gaia turned to look at her and bit her lower lip "Take me with Obelix Aurea…please"

"You are scaring me" Aurea said softly.

Gaia patted her friend's hand "I am worried too Aurea…I need to talk to Obelix, please, take me there…"

Aurea nodded and stood up and helped Gaia stand up and walked with her in silence all the way to the praying temple. Gaia's silence was worrying Aurea too much, normally, she would talk about what happened in breakfast, about her mother in law's irreverent ideas and wishes, about her husband or make a sarcastic comment about her health; her thoughts seemed to be elsewhere as her eyes searched for the temple's stairs. Once they were there, Gaia called for the high priest who, minutes later came from the praying room "Little Princess!" he said wide eyed and walked quickly to kiss her hand "This is..."

"…A surprise?" Gaia asked softly.

Obelix nodded "It is, actually"

Gaia looked at him "I needed to get out of my room for once…I was going insane…"

Aurea turned to look at her queen "But it has been very cold these days and your health was not in the best condition either…it was for your own good" Obelix let out a soft chuckle as she saw the queen roll her eyes in slight annoyance. The priest held his queen's hands and look into her eyes "What can I do for you Little Princess?"

Gaia looked at him and sighed "I need to talk to you…I need to hear your words of wisdom…to pray for some peace in my heart"

Obelix held Gaia's hand and looked at Aurea who shook her head in confusion as an answer, turning to look at his queen again he went to sit to one of the benches and allowed her to sit next to him "Tell me Little Princess…why are you so troubled?"

Aurea stood still and looked at Gaia who bit her lower lip for a moment; turning to look at the priest she held his hands "I told Eros the truth about my brother…" Obelix widened his eyes "I thought you did not want anybody to learn about him…"

Aurea frowned "Why is there so much secret around him…?"

Obelix pressed his lips together and let out a soft sigh "Because of who he is Aurea…" he looked at Gaia "He…is banned from our mouths…he should not be mentioned"

Aurea's frown deepened "I do not understand…" she sat next to Gaia "You mentioned him before…"

Gaia look at the fountain in front of them "I mentioned I had a brother to you…yes, but, Obelix is right…I shouldn't even think of mention him…" she turned to look at her this time "…My brother is evil Aurea"

Aurea widened her eyes "What?"

Gaia lowered her gaze "My linage holds a very tragic past…I come from a family of pure warriors…warriors with strong power" she looked at her with sadness "That is another reason why I did not want Endymion to know the truth about him…"

Aurea frowned again "…But…is he…?"

"He is sealed in darkness…" Obelix said "And his name was banned in Olympus…his name in not to be mentioned never, _ever_"

"Oh my…" Aurea put a hand on her chest; Gaia looked at her "I never mentioned him because of that and because…it is…not a nice thing to tell about me and my family…"

"Why…did you bring him up until now Little Princess? Why did you confess that to your husband?...he knows…everything?" Obelix asked; Gaia nodded "I told him the truth…what happened…"

"And how did he take it?"

Gaia lowered her gaze "He was shocked at first...confused but then understood my reasons…" she sighed "I mentioned him because…" she made a pause and closed her eyes; Aurea frowned and so did Obelix "Little Princess?"

"I just learned that Endymion might go to war again…" she opened her eyes and stood up "I went ballistic and tried to make Eros understand why I did not want him to let him go to fight…I mentioned what Hades would do to my son in case he…dies…" her voice started quivering.

Aurea widened her eyes and gasped "No…Endymion no…"

Obelix stood up "Little Princess…"

"I told him that if my son ceases to exist…Hades will take his soul with my brother in Tartarus…" Gaia looked at the priest with teary eyes "My son cannot ever go there…ever" she sniffed a couple of times and looked away "Then he asked what did I meant and I had to tell him everything…"

"Why is he going to war? Is it settled and agreed?" the priest asked with worry; Gaia shook her head "Endymion just learned about this yesterday and so did Eros…"

"Why is there a new war rising? Against who this time?" Obelix asked.

Gaia lowered her gaze "Eros says there is danger coming our way…the number of deaths and disappearances are increasing…"

"How is Endymion doing?" Obelix asked.

Gaia widened her eyes "What?"

"Endymion is this planet's protector…if there is something wrong with this planet, if Earth is in danger or being intoxicated by something he should be resenting it…" the priest said "Have you noticed anything strange in him?"

"He suffers headaches…but, my son barely sleeps so that might be a good reason for that…" Gaia said; Aurea brought her hands together.

Obelix sighed "Helios and I have been sensing a strong energy…something we could not really describe, it is something sultry and began praying for the safety of our protector because we must be realistic Little Princess, if something is threatening this planet he is going to be the one to resent it..."

Gaia sat again on the bench next to Aurea and began crying "Why Obelix…why is this happening? Why can't they leave us alone? Why they can't leave him alone…he has not done anything to them…" Obelix crouched in front of her "Little Princess…His nature will always be envied… we do not know who is causing all these problems but be sure that we are praying for his safety…" he rested his hands on top of hers "If this continues…he will have to know the truth"

Aurea widened her eyes; Gaia closed hers and lowered her head "And I have failed as a mother…all my efforts to protect him will be in vain…"

"Maybe this is something written in the book of destiny…" Obelix said "To make him take the place that rightfully belongs to him…"

Gaia opened her eyes but still kept her head down "…I cannot reach Chronos anymore, I cannot see Serenity or Ares…to ask for their help…"

Obelix sighed and closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them again "Maybe it is his time to take your place up there…"

Gaia raised her head "My place…?"

The priest nodded "He is after all a divine being Little Princess…the chosen warrior of this planet. He is your predecessor"

"Are you really going to tell him the truth?" Aurea asked with worry in her voice; this time she was not so sure that telling him the truth now was the best idea. Gaia shook her head "How am I going to tell him?"

Obelix looked her in the eyes "Time will give you that answer…"

"I'm scared Obelix…this fright is different from others…I am worried about my son…about all of us…I cannot sense anything anymore…"

Obelix patted her hands "But he does…he is strong and prepared…he is well trained, he knows how to channel his energy…"

Gaia started crying in silence, her tears started to fall slowly down her cheek "…The only thing I feel is how my time is running out…I am fading away slowly…"

"Don't say that!" Aurea said with frustration, startling both priest and queen. Aurea stood up and wiped the tears off her eyes "Do not ever say that again! You are not fading away! You have to be strong…we all have to be strong for whatever might happen, we are Endymion's support if we are weak he will be worried and being worried is not an option for him right now…"

Gaia widened her eyes "Aurea…"

"We must be hopeful and believe in our Protector…we must!" Aurea said determinant, giving the queen the confidence she needed; she stood up and held her friend's hands, Aurea looked into her eyes "We do not know yet what is happening…he might not even have to go to war; they are still looking for another strategies, they are soldiers, you are one as well you now all this by heart! Maybe this is only a false alarm…"

Gaia's tears continued falling "I am scared Aurea…"

"I am too…but we must stay strong, for him" Aurea said.

Obelix stood up "Aurea is right Little Princess…we must stay strong. This is another challenge our Prince has to overcome" Gaia brought a hand to her pendant and closed her eyes [Please…Serenity…help us…]

Obelix closed his eyes [A time of revolution is near…our Guardian is about to face a strong destiny that might change the course of history…forever…In the name of the Gods…please, I ask for your protection…] he opened his eyes [Let it be a false alarm…please Gods…have mercy on us…]

Gaia turned to look at Obelix and held his hand, the look in her eyes held worry and mortification. Even when she wanted to believe in Aurea's words something in her heart as a mother told her that there was something stronger threatening to end with peace; she felt in the air the chilly feeling of a new war approaching something, she was not very sure she could survive this time. She felt her heart go weaker, her energy was starting to drain slowly from her body, her time in this planet was starting to run towards the end, she could feel Hades' presence near at night.

It did not matter how much she have been trying to fake being alright when in reality the medicines given to her were no longer working, just like the gods said, she was starting to feel vulnerable and weak [My dearest…I do not know how much longer I am going to be here…]

Obelix felt Gaia's absence and a wave of sadness started to invade his body; his eyes started to fill with tears and he could not help encircling his arms around her; Gaia immediately hugged him back "…We are not letting you go…Little Princess…" he whispered "…I cannot let you go…"

Gaia closed her eyes and began crying again "…I love you Obelix…thank you for being with me after all this time…"

Aurea could not help cry, she was too scared of what could happen, she was not prepared to let her friend and queen leave them forever. Gaia opened her eyes and extended her hand out to her "You too…come here" Aurea bit her lip and hugged her friend tight "I love you Gaia…"

O.o.o.o.o.O

The echoes of laughter filled the darkness all around. The sound of muscles coil and the ground cracking slowly made its way to the surface "The time is near…" {sultry laughter}

"I will become victorious this time…" A pair of yellow eyes gleamed in the darkness, while her long nails scratched the walls around her "…I will take everything that belongs to me…and once I do, there will be nothing that is going to stop me…" {sultry laughter}


	98. Chapter 98

**A/N:** _Good evening everybody; you might been wondering what happened to me this last few days I have been missing (well, the story) well, as i mentioned before I had an accident, I have a problem with my hands a little souvenir I got from my days as an art student; then, I fell from the stairs of my house hurting (badly) my knees (I tripped with a stupid carpet and fell on my knees...it felt like a zillion of thunderbolts through my body not really sure how to explain it. To top it all, I got sick...so sick I had to stay in bed for a few days (and had to go to work in that condition, which leads me to my final reason why I have been so absent) although i love my new job it is very time absorbent, i got out kind of late leaving me with a few hours to continue writing (I am writing still...)_

_Well, leaving my chaotic personal life aside; I do want to say something. There is a very good reason of why I haven't post recently and that is because I have been spending all the free time I get to continue writing, my intentions are to finish the season and post it continuously later on. I do want to finish the season and I am doing my best, that is why I am saving all the chapters so I can post them non stop until the very end of the season...see? It is not because I have forgotten or just dismissed it, it is because I want you to read it without interruptions :)_

_I hope you like this chapter. Maybe for some it is still going very slow but trust me, we are walking towards the season finale. Have a great weekend and I hope you keep what I said in mind, do not think I gave up on the story. _

_Take care,_

_**I do not own sm, just this plot and some of the characters. Thank you._

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter ninety eight**

* * *

The sound of footsteps against the wooden floor and the voices of men filled the study; the constant murmurs from across the room joined the worried conversation of all the men present. This time it was a more hectic morning than any other in many years, a sign that made everybody understand that this was a delicate situation.

The shitennou were silent working on the long table that was used for meetings while sergeants and generals were on the other side discussing measures to be taken as quickly as possible. Jadeite turned to look at one of the men speaking out in frustration and stood up while Zoicite caught by the action watched how his fellow comrade tried to calm the older man down and then turned to look at Kunzite who had his eyes fixed on the documents spread on the table in front of him.

"Those papers won't tell you more than what you already know…"

Kunzite widened his grey eyes and looked up at the blonde general, running a hand through his white hair he let out a loud sigh "I wish they could…"

"These are inconsistent threats… we do not know who is sending these…we do not know who is doing such an atrocious thing…" Nephrite said while rubbing his face "It is very frustrating"

"Have you spoken to Endymion?" Zoicite asked softly; Kunzite shook his head "No…I haven't seen him since yesterday afternoon"

Zoicite lowered his green eyes and sighed; minutes later Jadeite joined them again "They're frustrated…" his voice did not held any of his usual dose of sarcasm or playfulness, this time he was being serious "I think everyone in this room is frustrated…"

"Imagine how Endymion might be feeling…" Zoicite said.

Jadeite sighed "…This makes no sense, everything should be under control, my reports here say everything is under control…why are so many people missing?" he rubbed his face "…Endymion's protection plan is impeccable I do not understand…"

Kunzite looked at Nephrite who was sitting across him on the table with a serious but evident worried face "Have you consulted anything related to this to them?"

Nephrite nodded and pressed his lips together; Jadeite arched his brow "Well?" the brown haired man stacked his papers and put them aside "There is something threatening all of us…I cannot fully understand what it is…but the stars show me blood, anger and destruction…" he trailed off and looked down.

Kunzite frowned "…But there is something else, am I correct?" Nephrite stayed silent; Kunzite's low voice startled the general "Right?"

Nephrite raised his gaze and looked at him "But all of this...falls on the star of Leo…"

"The star of Leo…" Zoicite repeated in whispers; Jadeite frowned "The star of Leo is the star of the sun…"

"…And Endymion's" Kunzite muttered getting all three men attention "…This is something that has to do with him, right Nephrite?"

Nephrite looked at Kunzite "It might be"

Kunzite sighed and lowered his gaze; Jadeite gritted his teeth "This might have something to do with the lunar Princess?"

"To what I have seen in the stars…this is something ancient, something old...with it I understand it might be something to do with the past…if the lunar Princess would be the reason of all this madness then she should have appear but anything concerning her appeared…"

"The past…" Kunzite muttered and frowned.

"Endymion is not the only one born under the protection of the sun…so, not necessarily can be related to him" Zoicite said trying to prove a point. Jadeite widened his green eyes "…Could it be?"

"What?" Nephrite asked. Jadeite licked his lips and looked at Nephrite with wide eyes "…The…"

"Good morning Your Majesty" the multitude said in unison, startling the four shitennou. Turning to their side they stood up as soon as they saw the king walk in and close the door behind him. Zoicite frowned and looked around the room "Endymion didn't come with him" he whispered.

Kunzite frowned "…Where could he be?"

"Maybe something happened…" Zoicite said slowly "We should…"

"No…we were already being informed about it…" Kunzite said and saw the king walk towards them "Good morning" Eros said; the four men bowed their heads in respect "Your Majesty" they said in unison, Kunzite being the first to look at the king in front of him "Nothing seemed to have change Your Majesty…the reports are remaining the same without novelties"

Eros sighed and pursed his lips "I see…" he looked away. Zoicite looked at the king with a worried expression "Your Majesty…is war definite?" Eros turned to look at the blonde man "…If the enemy continues threatening the lives of the people of this nation, then I will have to send my best soldiers to fight against them…"

"But we still haven't found the responsible for all these atrocities…how are we going to fight them if we do not know who they are, Your Majesty?" Nephrite asked with great concern.

"That is something we will have to solve quickly" King Eros said determinant; minutes later the doors of the study opened again letting pass the prince who was quickly immersed in several questions the men were asking him. Endymion ran a hand through his hair and walked with one of the sergeants who had doubts concerning a traced plan over one of the maps pinned on one table "This is the most severed area Your Highness"

Endymion traced with his fingers the tainted zone marked with chalk and pursed his lips. He was confused and worried; this was something he had to solve as quickly as possible because otherwise he would have to leave for a long period of time for war. He looked closely the marked areas, and tried to formulate a plan "Move this troop to this side of the coast and replace this one from the southern point"

"The Southern King will want an explanation" one of the generals said; Endymion looked at him "We have no time to explain…I will talk to him later, but we have to act fast" the men looked at the king standing behind his son and bowed their head in respect.

"Son…" King Eros said, making the prince look at him. Eros sighed and fisted his hands "It is spreading like a disease…"

Endymion pressed his lips together and looked away "I know and I do not want to think that I am running out of strategies or ideas to solve this issue…I am literally starting to lose my mind…"

"Everything seems to be under control, every strong cardinal point is protected and guarded…I do not understand" Kunzite said frustrated, King Eros lowered his gaze for a moment and looked at the white haired soldier "We are dealing with a disease…with a faceless enemy"

Endymion nodded "I just changed the course of the security plan…now, we must not try to do something extremely stupid like exposing ourselves in any kind…" he looked at his father "Especially Mother, she cannot be exposed to any kind of threat"

Jadeite widened his green eyes and looked at Nephrite; the king sighed and pressed his lips together. His son's wishes were about to crash against the floor as soon as he talks about the ball his mother was starting to plan.

While the sergeants and the rest of the generals alleged the many issues they have been facing over the past weeks about the new threat they were fighting against, the prince signed several documents approving the change of course in the matters of security of Elysion. King Eros attended some matters with the kings of the western and eastern point while the shitennou assisted Endymion in everything he needed which was a large amount of work. The sound of loud voices made the situation even more stressful and the day was starting to become chaotic.

At the other side of the palace, Queen Narella walked towards the main court where she knew Beryl would be there still. Her face held a sheer gleam of happiness, just like a little child happy to know Christmas was approaching; and there she was just like she knew she would be, Beryl was sitting on a bench near the entrance fountain looking at the smithy doors that led to the fabulous garden; she found her rubbing her hands against her arms as a way to warm herself up from the chilly morning breeze "There you are dear" she greeted.

Beryl widened her green eyes and turned to see the queen standing next to her, standing up immediately she bowed her head "Your Majesty…what…"

"I knew I was still going to be able to find you here…I'm glad" Narella exposed and smiled, Beryl blinked a couple of times and felt hopeful, this could be the moment she was waiting since she sat there, the time where the queen would reconsider her parting and ask her to stay more days with them "Yes, Your Majesty?" she asked expectant; her heart felt like a stick crashing against a drum, on and on one beat stronger than the last one. The queen smiled widely and tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear "You probably know about our winter ball"

Beryl widened her eyes, she did. She did heard about it and even yearned to be able to be present. She remembered herself standing outside the tall gates of the palace looking at the carriages arriving with the most elegant people from all around the world to see, meet and greet the royals of Earth. She heard from the people she had known in her life that the ball thrown in the winter was the most spectacular party of the year and that it was a must to assist in case you were invited. Not that the party was exclusive, everybody from Elysion and the four cardinal points were welcomed but, only the court could be close the royal family.

But Beryl was too poor to even wear a decent dress to cover her body; she was too poor to even think about going to a festivity when she had to take care of herself, when she had to work for her own food. Her past was dark and cold but now she had an opportunity, the opportunity to be the next Queen of Earth and she was not going to let the prince or the crown go away from her.

Nodding, she gave the older queen a smile "I have Your Majesty but never had the opportunity to attend"

Queen Narella chuckled "Well, you will now…I think this is the perfect opportunity to talk and share some quality time with my grandson"

Beryl widened her eyes and imaged herself dancing across the ballroom with the prince, she could feel already the jealousy and envy of every woman in the court watching her glide elegantly while she turned with the music "There is nothing more I would like Your Majesty than to spend some time with His Highness"

Narella smiled "It is settled then, I hope to see you and Charmindy three weeks from now for the ball. We will send you an invitation" she turned on her heel startling the redhead; she thought the queen looked for her to also ask her to stay more days with them but that did not happen "Have a good day, Your Majesty"

Narella turned "You too Beryl, I will see you soon…and I hope you stay with us was pleasant"

"Very much Your Majesty…I could not be any more grateful…" Beryl smiled and took a few steps forward "…I could stay here forever, this place is beautiful…and I enjoyed being your company Your Majesty…" she bowed. Queen Narella smiled at her and turned, walking to her she put her hands on Beryl's shoulders "You are too sweet…and kind, the heart of a queen…I wish my grandson could see beyond his work and look at you"

Beryl widened her eyes "Your Majesty…I am most honored" she bowed her head.

"I am only saying what I see…I do not see a tainted heart…" Narella sighed "Dear I know what crosses your mind, I am not a fool…you wish to get Endymion's full attention, so as every girl in this court and the ones from around the whole nation…but, you have something that I cannot really describe that makes me think you are the right one for him…" the queen quirked her brow elegantly "My grandson needs to be with a prepared lady, smart, educated, fine, delicate…one that can catch up with his rhythm and perspective…"

"Do you think I can be that woman Your Majesty?" Beryl dared to ask, her voice was like a whisper. Queen Narella smirked and let out a chuckle "Dear, no woman can match my grandson…it will be practically impossible to find the perfect match for him but you, you are the closest to that ideal of a woman"

Beryl widened her eyes "His Highness cannot be that special Your Majesty?"

Queen Narella smiled knowingly "You are not talking to a Queen right now but a grandmother…speaking about her grandson who she adores…of course he is that special. Putting aside his title…there is no one like him"

Beryl kicked herself mentally for her comment and bowed in respect. Narella turned to leave "Please, send my greetings to Charmindy, I am sure she is expecting you with excitement"

Beryl smiled but almost cried inside, knowing that it was something untrue. Nodding, she watched the queen walk away with the only hope of coming to the winter ball and this time to finally stay.

"Lady Beryl, the carriage is ready for your departure" one of the guards said interrupting her thoughts; the redhead nodded and turned back to take another glance of the majestic entrance and then walked to the carriage who was about to take her to her home full of torment and lies.

O.o.o.o.o.O

"The plan is being successful General"

"…Finally" Athamas smirked at the man before him in the study "How much control do we have now?"

"As we speak, we managed to spread fear on Earth…mortals are unstable and worried, soon, chaos will fall upon them" the soldier said, making the blonde general smile "Excellent. It is very good to finally hear interesting news" he stood up and walked towards the large window and looked outside "Now all I need is to convince the Princess to marry me and everything will be like it should be" he chuckled deviously.

Artemis opened the door minutes after and walked in "There is something I need to talk to you about"

Athamas rolled his eyes and turned to look at him, frowning with annoyance, he crossed his arms "Don't you know how to knock? As the Queen's advisor you should have some manners…"

Artemis chuckled with sarcasm and saw a soldier standing there "Leave us" the mauian said dryly. Athamas frowned deeper "Only I can give him permission to leave this room, it is my territory"

Artemis quirked his brow "You really are confident Andromedian…"

Athamas pursed his lips "What is that supposed to mean?"

"You know what it means soldier"

"General. Commander if you may…" Athamas walked and looked at the soldier next to him "Leave us…" the soldier nodded and left the room immediately, as soon as he closed the door Artemis sighed and shook his head "Instilling fear is not a proper way to lead an army…Princess Serenity is right about that"

Athamas frowned "You better watch your words…remember your place and remember mine"

Artemis chuckled "Yours? General…" he shook his head "Your place is the same a soldier has in this realm…nothing less nothing more, we are at the same level…nothing less…nothing more, you need to get down of that cloud of yours and begin to do your job properly" he threw the stack of papers he had in his hands.

Athamas growled "How dare you to speak to me this way?"

"Remember your position General, you may be the leader of this Army…but you still are a soldier who has to follow our laws…this is not Andromeda, this is the Moon and you have to respect it by doing your job as it should be done" Artemis said with a dry voice.

Athamas looked at the papers scattered over his desk with a mix of fear and anger, what was this man doing he wondered "What are those?"

"Your reports" Artemis said slowly "Incomplete by the way"

"Those are finished, those are complete!" Athamas raised his voice.

Artemis frowned, his blue eyes studied his face "Do you really are that cynical?"

Athamas widened his eyes "What?"

"Cut the act General…" Artemis narrowed his eyes "I know you are up to something"

Athamas could not hold his laughter and threw his head back, the sound of his constant, fluent and deep laughter echoed in the room, looking at the man in white in front of him, he wiped a tear from the corner of his eye "You have lost your mind"

Artemis remained silent and serious "The Queen will eventually find out about your true nature"

"You have no proof of my true nature because I have no true nature, I am what I am mauian and that is all you need to know" Athamas cleared his throat and walked around his desk, resting his hands on the back of his chair he chuckled and shook his head "Queen Serenity chose me to be who I am, I am the leader of this army…you are nothing but an advisor, I could cut your head at this precise moment…you should be scared"

"As soon as Ares learns about this, your golden days will be over Andromedian" Artemis said dryly and took a few steps forward, starting to make Athamas insecure and uncomfortable "Ares?"

"What is it with all you Andromedians that have this thirst for power? Artemis frowned and leaned on the desk, never taking his eyes off the general's "You are too confident, with me General you can show your true colors…and I can be very honest when I say that I applaud Princess Serenity to have said what she said to you the other night over dinner" he smirked, something, the mauian did not do too often "She might know something about you that none of us haven't discovered yet…"

Athamas was caught off guard, Artemis was too sharp. He had to think about a way to get rid of him because now that he analyzed the situation and his plans, this man was a threat to him and his future. This man, had the power of convincement and the queen trusted him with all her might "You better keep your words to yourself" he threatened.

"You underestimate Princess Serenity General, I truly think that there is something she knows about you…something that made her take that abrupt decision of calling off the engagement" Artemis said slowly "She does not want to be near you…I can see it in her eyes"

Athamas chuckled "If you are so sure about that, then why don't you tell that to the Queen?"

Artemis narrowed his eyes "I need to find that myself first, you, are up to something…my senses tell me that"

The blonde general laughed again "Are all mauians this corny?" he looked down at the papers and started to pile them up "Are you the one trying to convince Ares to read all my reports?"

Artemis moved away from the desk "I am not doing anything General, you are doing it yourself. You are too blind to see all the tails you are leaving behind your dirty work" and there it was, a different look in Athamas' eyes. Something Artemis recognized as fear.

"I have nothing to hide" Athamas said dryly.

"Sure…" Artemis answered with sarcasm "I need the missing reports and the agreements concerning the expansion of the alliance for tonight"

"You are too confident right now mauian and I do not know why…but one day…when I marry Princess Serenity that smirk on your face will disappear"

Artemis sighed "I highly doubt you will marry her…at this rate, you are only sinking your reputation"

"Queen Serenity does not think that way. She asked me to be here because she knows the quality of a soldier I am, she has said it before that I am the right man for her…the one that can really protect her" Athamas said with a hint of anger; Artemis chuckled "You are very far from being that man General, true, you are a good soldier I won't deny that but…you are not a Polemarchos. Princess Serenity needs a warrior by her side not a soldier…and that warrior exists, he is out there waiting for his moment to come and take your place"

His words felt like daggers on Athamas' pride, his features stiffened in anger "I will become a Polemarchos…I am the next great warrior this realm will ever see and the man to be by the Princess' side"

Artemis sighed "You keep telling yourself that" he started to take the papers from the general's desk but this time Athamas put his hands on top of the parchments "What the hell do you think you are doing?"

"Taking the reports with me" Artemis looked at him.

"Those reports are mine" Athamas said dryly; Artemis arched his brow "No, _these_ reports are _this_ kingdom's property. This kingdom is ruled by Queen Serenity so technically these reports are hers and I am her advisor in matters of security and that is why I am taking them with me"

Athamas frowned and gave Artemis a dead glare "You are walking on very thin ice…" he moved away, still his eyes fixed on the man in white "When I become King you will be the first to leave this place"

Artemis quirked a brow and put the papers under his arm securing them but could not help let out a sarcastic chuckle "_If_…that happens General, _if_ that happens" he looked at Athamas "You want to follow King Athan's steps…but you are too far away from being like him…"

Athamas clenched his jaw, his pride was being demolished by the man in front of him and the worst thing for him was to stay there, listen to him and not being able to actually do something "Mark my words…I will become King and once I do, there is nothing that will save you from leaving this place…" Athamas pulled away from the desk and crossed his arms "I will wipe that smirk off your face very, _very_ soon"

Artemis looked at him and frowned "Are you threatening me General?"

Athamas lowered his head slightly but his eyes were still on Artemis "I am foretelling your future"

Artemis sighed and chuckled "I do not know why…but I have the feeling that your commanding days are soon to be over…Do you really think God Ares will let pass any wrong doing? You do not deserve the chair you sit on everyday"

"ENOUGH!" Athamas walked from behind his desk over to Artemis and tried to grab his collar like he usually did to soldiers when he was frustrated but Artemis took a step back "What the hell are you trying to do? By telling me all this…by threatening me and challenging me! WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" he raised his voice.

Artemis frowned "You do not have to pretend to be someone you are not. Show your true colors Athamas! I am Queen Serenity's advisor and I might not be trained liked you to fight with a sword but I have my own way of fighting…there is a reason of why I am in the position I am, do not underestimate me…I challenge you because I can, because I know someday, somebody with much more experience and knowledge a warrior who really knows how to lead an army will come and sweep off your place from right under your nose and there is nothing you are going to be able to do…"

Athamas laughed, but his anger could not be hidden "There is no better warrior than me…please, who can take this place? No one…the Silver Millennium's army is one of the strongest of the galaxy if not the universe! There is no better warrior than me to lead it!"

Artemis looked at Athamas "We _will_ see…" he laughed, this time with more impetus "You really put yourself above the great warriors of our time…" he shook his head and turned on his heel "I am really surprised General…no wonder why Sailor Venus does not have a god impression of you…"

Athamas frowned "What?"

"And that is really your first obstacle…because, Sailor Venus is the inner senshi's leader and, the one who has the power to see a pure or tainted heart. Remember, she is the senshi of love…she probably knows your true nature as well…Your chances on wining are null General…the sooner you give up, the better it will be and of course, the less damage you will cause to your reputation and what to say about that pride of yours…" Artemis turned over his shoulder "I want those missing reports by midnight so you better start looking for them…" turning he walked straight to the door and closed it behind him, leaving a very angry man alone.

Athamas clenched his teeth together and walked back over his desk again and served himself a glass of scotch; drinking quickly the strong liquid he flinched and shut his eyes for a moment letting all his anger take possession of his body; opening them he growled and threw the glass against the wall breaking it into tiny pieces; his breathing became thicker and quicker and all his eyes could express was hatred and thirst for revenge "When I become King…I am not going to send you away…I am going to kill you mauian…I am going to _kill_ you"

On the hall Artemis stopped abruptly and took several deep breaths trying to regain his composure; he was not sure where did he get the words he spit out to the general in there, he was not even sure of why he mentioned a new man coming to take his place when he certainly knew there were not any candidates for that position, he widened his eyes, but he said it; he told the man what he thought about him, his suspicions and made him feel nervous.

He had to risk himself by telling him several things that weren't true, for instance, the reports although they lacked some information they were complete, yet, he lied about not having all of them to see if there was something the man was hiding and apparently he is; second, he expressed his desire to be king and the need to follow their late king's footsteps and third and most important, he was not to be trusted.

As the queen's advisor he had to find a way to expose his true nature, what he saw in that room was something no one has ever witnessed yet, Athamas is up to something and she had to know what, by Ares' orders and by his need to protect the kingdom and queen he served with loyalty.

"I have to do something…before he betroths Princess Serenity…" he whispered to himself.

"Artemis!"

The white haired man widened his blue eyes and turned to see a very surprised Venus a few feet away from him; he swallowed and cleared his throat "Venus…" he frowned slightly. The blonde senshi looked adorable in her pale orange dress; her hair was in her usual style with a golden barrette holding her half ponytail "Are you alright?"

"It is quite unusual to see you walking through these halls Sai… Venus" Artemis shook his head, making the blonde chuckle "Why is it so hard for you to call me by my name?"

Artemis sighed lightly "Maybe because I am used to follow a protocol…it is the first time I am allowed to call a senshi by their first name. It is still a foreign feeling to me…"

Venus smiled "I see…"

"You never answered, what are you doing down these halls?" Artemis said, trying to change the course of their conversation; the blonde pressed her lips together "I was hoping to find something more about the visions Mars are having…"

Artemis frowned "They're continuing?" Venus nodded "I was hoping…the…" she trailed off and sighed "…General might have some kind of information that could help us…"

"He has none…" Artemis arched his brow "I just confirmed it"

Venus pursed her lips and looked away "Why am I not surprised?"

Artemis frowned "Venus…" he walked over to Venus "…You do not trust the General that much…am I correct?"

Venus widened her blue eyes slightly "Am I that obvious?" she chuckled half serious and half with sarcasm, but they died as soon as she noticed the seriousness of his face; lowering her gaze for a moment he looked at him again "He is a difficult man…the girls think so too…and we both had a disagreement, he, tried to mock my title as senshi of love and I found that very…inappropriate"

"Do you think he is the right man for Her Highness?"

Venus widened her eyes "Athamas?"

Artemis nodded. Venus blinked a couple of times and looked away "I thought he was…at first…now…I am not so sure…"

"Is Her Highness interested in him?" Artemis narrowed his eyes with slight worry, thinking of what he said to the man a few minutes ago, he was going to be dammed if the princess was indeed considering marrying him. Venus pressed her lips together, the general was far from being the man her princess loved, cared and wanted in her life but she could not reveal that information to him, Artemis was the advisor and he could tell the queen and everything would turn into a disaster.

"Princess Serenity has other interests at the moment, the General is not one of them right now…" Venus said softly and frowned "Are you one of those who think she should marry him in order to continue the legacy and expansion of this alliance?"

Artemis shook his head and looked both sides to see if they were completely alone "After Princess Serenity confronted him the other night at dinner, something…sparked inside my mind…there is something strange, she knows things not everybody should know…"

Venus widened her eyes and waved her hand while chuckling "Ah…about that! It's all Mar's fault! You know…she…being the God of war's daughter…she knows too much about battling and all…" she giggled a little louder with nervousness "…Princess Serenity is like a sponge, she absorbs everything! And well…um, she has been having this crazy idea of wanting to know about warriors…"

"I did not know Mars knew so much about a warrior's discipline…" Artemis said slowly "…But Princess Serenity spoke with such great conviction and maturity that it really caught my attention…since then I've been thinking there is something behind that I need to uncover…"

Venus bit her lower lip "Something?...something like what?"

"Something like, why she broke the engagement so suddenly"

Venus felt like she was about to faint right in front of Artemis, she did not came to realize why she might have ended that engagement but not that she knew all about her little secret romance with the terran prince could imagine the main reason of it all. [God…] she thought, she was carrying a very large secret in her chest that was starting to haunt her mind and cloud her judgment. But then, her mind drifted to the image of the man that captured her lips with his and started to feel some sympathy to what Serenity have been telling her all this time since she found out about her romance with her prince.

"A woman's heart is a mystery…" she said softly, she turned to Artemis "…It is a Pandora's box, once you open it is almost impossible to close it…it holds too many secrets and emotions, more than you can imagine…" she lowered her gaze "If she broke her engagement with the General maybe it was because she realized it was not her time to get married but a time for her to learn more things that could enrich her future as Queen of this Kingdom" she looked at him again "Sometimes…a marriage with love can bring more bliss and opportunities than one made only by obligation or political matters…maybe she does not love the man…maybe she is waiting for somebody else…"

Artemis widened his eyes in admiration of her words, he has never listened anyone talk like that before, with such romanticism and passion, this was a woman who believed in love, truly, and made him think even more the situation of why this man was not enough for her to think he was the perfect man for the princess to marry, sure, he was certain it was in part because of the kind of man he actually is, but he felt there was something else; narrowing his eyes he crossed his arms "You speak with such security Venus, can it be because you know something we do not?"

Venus widened her eyes with surprise "I only know what I see Artemis…and I know what is what you know, you have seen it yourself how much she dislikes to be around him…"

Artemis let out a sigh, admitting the blonde guardian in front of him was actually right "He is a difficult man…that is all I can say about him, Princess Serenity is too kind, she is like a flower and he is like a blade ready to cut anything that gets in its way…"

Venus frowned slightly and tilted her head, looking at both sides before beginning to speak again "We share the same thought then, you do not like him…"

Artemis let out a chuckle "I have several doubts, yes, Venus…but because of very different reasons"

"Then you should think it might be a better idea if Princess Serenity chooses another man to marry…" Venus said softly, Artemis arched a brow "I cannot give any comments about it"

"But do you think it is?" Venus asked, looking at him. Artemis sighed again "I cannot give any comments about it; I cannot go against Queen Serenity's wishes"

"But you are her advisor" Venus frowned.

"Yes, but I am her advisor in something completely different…I do not advise her about love…that is why you are the senshi of love, to advise Her Highness…"Artemis answered and gave her a faint smile which faded seconds later, his face turning serious again "Do not go in there Venus…do not talk to him right now" his voice turned lower and had a warning tone.

Venus looked at the man in white and shook her head "Why not?"

Artemis took a step closer "It is not a good time"

Venus wondered what might have happened between Artemis and Athamas that might have molested him so much, she imagined he was upset about something, the general always got upset about things.

"There is an energy that it is worrying us all, it is foreign but at the same time it holds strong power and that is what is threatening to break the peace cycle we have been living" Artemis said, startling Venus, who widened her blue eyes with worry "An energy?"

Artemis nodded "It is something that seems to be growing with great speed"

"But do you know where is it coming from?" Venus asked with concern; Artemis lowered his gaze for a moment "We do not happen to know where exactly yet but it has to be from a place very near from us"

Venus lowered her gaze and bit her nail in thought "Maybe that is why Mars is sensing it with such force" Artemis nodded "You must be careful…please Venus, keep our Princess safe"

His words felt like shards of ice piercing her heart as she felt it start beating faster, the pressure and responsibility she felt was starting to become suffocating and not because she did not wanted or felt she could protect her at all but because she wanted the best for her and she knew what the princess wanted, wished and hoped with all her heart. She swallowed and stayed silent for a moment, thinking of how she had to handle this situation that apparently was starting to lose control.

Lifting her face, she looked at Artemis and nodded "I will, no matter what; _we_ will…no matter what"

O.o.o.o.o.O

"The new troop will leave tonight then, it is settled" a man with dark hair spoke, interrupting the king's thoughts "Yes?"

"Your Majesty?" the sergeant asked slightly worried "Did I just say something wrong?"

Eros ran a hand through his hair, the amount of work, the long hours talking to the cardinal kings and the ball issue clouded his mind disconnecting him completely from his reality. Shaking his head softly he looked at the man standing in front of the table where he was working on "Do what my son just suggested"

"I need your signature, Your Majesty"

Eros frowned "What?"

"Your approval…"

Eros gritted his teeth and searched for his son with his eyes, he looked around the room until he found him leaning on the table looking down at one of the maps pinned to it "Endymion" he called out strong, making everyone in the room go silent and pay attention to what he was about to say. Endymion did not move but only his eyes and looked at his father several feet away from him "Yes Pater?"

"Can't you sign this paper?"

Endymion frowned and shook his head "My signature is already there Pater, but I need your approval…I just did major changes to the plan that in order to send it to Isra, it has to have your approval for him to accept it"

"You are the Polemarchos…your signature should be enough"

Endymion stood straight and crossed his arms "You are the King, your signature is necessary" his comment somehow lightened the dense ambient in the room, making some of the sergeants give a soft chuckle, Eros sighed and shook his head "This King is going to make me lose my mind…"

The sergeant looked at the king and let out a soft chuckle "The Southern King is very special"

"Sometimes too special" Eros muttered and signed the letter with the new strategy of attack and security, looking at the man in front of him he gave him the letter after he folded it and put the wax seal on its back "As soon as this letter can be given to the messenger the better"

"Yes Your Majesty, right away" the man turned on his heel and left the study. The four shitennou walked to where Endymion was studying the map trying to find any possible area where it could be unprotected; Kunzite frowned as soon as he noticed the frustration in his prince's eyes "You are not doing anything wrong…"

Endymion sighed and closed his eyes, lowering his head, his pitch black hair covered his eyes "I do not understand…"

"We will find a solution Master" Zoicite reassured the prince, Jadeite pressed his lips together and nodded "These are only trials Prince, we will find a way to solve this"

Endymion tapped the table with his fingers but still his head was hung down "I am running out of ideas, literally"

Kunzite looked at the map and observed closely, Endymion had everything under vigilance and protected at the side of the map he read some annotations he made and the drastic changes he did with all the guarding groups at each and every cardinal point. He was doing a meticulous and very detailed work like he always did and this was even more frustrating because when it came about Endymion's work there was no flaws or lose ends, he always studied his plans over and over again before announcing the changes, he was well known for solving issues at a very short amount of time but this time, it was something not even he could control because he did not know what to fight and being linked to the blue planet did not help at all.

"Whatever it has to be done it will be done, we understand it and we will support any decision you make Master" Kunzite said very serious, making Endymion lift his head and look at him "I appreciate it" suddenly, he flinched in pain and put a hand on his head; the four men widened their eyes "Master?" Kunzite asked with worry.

Endymion shook his head and opened his eyes again "I'm alright, it's just a headache" when he was about to regain his posture another twinge made him flinch again; Nephrite watched him with worry "Master, maybe you should…"

"…Rest? No, out of the question" Endymion looked at him "I do not have time to have some rest"

"If you are having a headache you won't be able to concentrate Master" Zoicite said.

"Having or not a migraine, I won't stop working" the prince said with a serious tone and looked at the map again "I do not understand why is this happening…"

"…Because we have been here for hours, you haven't eaten anything…" Jadeite said and saw Endymion looking at him "I'm talking about the disappearances…"

Jadeite widened his green eyes and pursed his lips; Nephrite turned to look at his prince "But Jadeite is right Master; you haven't eaten anything that might be the reason why you are having a headache"

"How long have we been here?" Jadeite asked in his usual sarcastic and playful manner; Nephrite sighed "All morning and afternoon…"

Endymion was starting to feel the pain increasing; every time he felt a twinge coming he could feel how the pain was intensified. Just when he felt another one was about to come he took a chair next to him and sat, sighing he ran a hand through his dark hair and looked at Nephrite "Ask them please, what is going on"

Nephrite watched his prince with great concern, the stars have been speaking and shining in an uncontrollable way every night, they are warning him about something that he cannot seem to decipher yet but he was worried, very much. The star of Leo was more and more in danger according to the wise stars up in the heavens, it glimmer differently from the rest of them showing a big change in its course. The northern shitennou nodded and leaned on the table while looking at him "I will Master, until I find a straight answer"

The rest of the men were starting to leave the study by orders of the king who was assigning some task to be completed by the end of the day, his attention was drawn to his son who was sitting on a chair rubbing his temples. King Eros stood up and walked over to him "Are you alright son?"

"Just frustrated…" Endymion mumbled.

"You are doing everything in your power to solve this issue, we all are do not punish yourself so hard…" the king said while looking down at his son.

"What now Master?" Jadeite asked concerned; the king sighed and Endymion lifted his head and pursed his lips for a moment "We have to be careful…and wait to see what kind of result we are going to have"

Endymion sighed and stood up and started walking around the study stopping right in front of a window and looked up at the sky "It will soon rain…" he mumbled; Eros scratched the back of his head and took a deep breath "Son, with all this changes you made to the security plan…" he trailed off.

"If we are careful I hope it will give us some time to figure out what will be our next move" the prince kept looking out the window, his eyes were fixed on the pale moon appearing in the day sky. Kunzite imagined what he was looking at as soon his eyes searched for the nearest window and looked outside, yes, it was one of those days were the moon looked like a pearl against the pale blue sky.

Eros took several steps and stopped a few from his son "There is something I need to talk to you about…"

"What is it?" Endymion frowned and turned to look at his father, giving him his full attention. The king pursed his lips and crossed his arms "I talked to your grandmother…"

Endymion gave his father a puzzled look "About…?"

"The winter ball"

The prince let out a sarcastic chuckle and crossed his arms "What about it?"

"She is starting to plan it…like every year"

This time the prince frowned "What?"

"She…"

"No, what?" Endymion interrupted his father "This is serious? Are you really planning to throw a celebration at a time like this?"

Eros sighed "Endymion…"

"Out of the question!" the prince snapped.

"Would you listen to me son?"

"No…" Endymion shook his head and started walking around the room "Would you listen to me Pater…? This is serious!" he took the papers from the desk and showed them to his father "You think this is some sort of a game? A joke?"

"No"

"There are people dying Pater, dying!"

"I know son"

"Then why are you even mentioning the winter ball?" Endymion frowned, Eros sighed "I said the same thing to your grandmother, both your mother and I were against her wishes but then we all came to the conclusion that this might help distract the people from what is happening…"

Endymion frowned, his eyes went darker "Are you listening to yourself?" his voice went deeper and colder as well "Help distract people…? How can people be distracted by the harm an anonymous enemy is causing to them, to their families? How can you agree to do this?"

"Endymion this might even help the enemy think we are not prepared and it is our alibi to catch them, to find out who this enemy is and what they are after" the king said with a serious tone "This ball is part of our tradition…"

"Tradition? Tradition does not matter in these cases, this is something I will not approve, for heaven's sake…this is not something that will eventually go away the same way it appeared…this is something that can actually get worse, as the person in charge of the security of this nation I cannot approve this" Endymion said slowly.

"Your Mother and I talked about this, we are not having this ball just because we want to, but it is also a plan to take the attention away from this critical situation, the people of this nation already knows about this tradition if we do not throw this ball they will know something is very wrong and they will get worried, it is not a good idea to have everybody speculating, worried and frightened… we are doing this, not because is your grandmother's wishes but because the people to be merry…" the king looked into his son's eyes; Endymion shook his head "I just made drastic changes! How can you possibly even think of throwing a party just because it is tradition!"

"Your Mother needs this as well…" Eros said "I am also doing this for her…"

The mention of his mother was something important to him, Gaia was a very sensitive spot in Endymion's heart, anything concerning her was of great importance to him because he just like his father knew her health was becoming more and more delicate. Eros sighed and put a hand on his son's shoulder "Your mother is very worried about all this…"

Endymion widened his eyes and looked at his father "You told her?"

"She is the Queen of this empire; she has to know what is happening. It was not my wish to tell her, just like you I'm worried about her and I do not want anything to hurt her or make her feel bad, but it is her wish to be involved in everything concerning this family and this kingdom" Eros said softly "…She felt something was wrong this morning and asked me…I had to tell her the truth…"

The prince sighed and shook his head "She has a very sharp intuition…"

"She is a mother" Eros said softly "At first she thought the same thing you are thinking right now, that it is not a good idea to throw a party in the middle of a crisis, I did think the same thing…but your grandmother had a point, it is not with the intention to forget what is happening, it is just a moment of distraction for our people…for us, and I saw your mother's eyes gleam with excitement"

Endymion narrowed his eyes "See, there is exactly where I hesitate…Mater dislikes balls just as much as I do, to actually believe she is excited…confuses me" he sighed again and ran a hand through his black hair "But I still think it is a terrible idea…" he felt the pain return and closed his eyes for a moment "This is not a game…I am responsible for your security, for all this nation's security…I cannot pretend nothing is happening"

"I would never agree to do something to harm everybody…you know that son, I thought it through and I imagined you would oppose because of your position, but believe me when I say that I thought about it, Leonidas helped me with his advice, we analyzed the situation and came to the same conclusion…it is something the people needs right now and we can use it as a plan to distract the enemy" Eros said while looking at his son.

Endymion rubbed the bridge of his nose "When are you planning to throw this ball?"

"Three weeks from now"

The prince opened his eyes and turned to his father "Three weeks, so soon?"

"Winter is around the corner…your grandmother just started with the invitations and all the arrangements" the king said and sat behind his desk; Endymion sighed "I did not have much of a choice right?"

"Endymion…" Eros said in a fatherly tone, the prince frowned "I still think it is bad idea…" he stood up and rubbed his the back of his neck "Go on, throw the celebration I cannot forbid _you_ to do something, after all…you are the King"

Eros looked at his son and arched a brow "And someday you will be on my place, until then you will understand my position…"

Endymion sweat dropped "Of throwing a party?"

Eros stood up and walked over to his son, placing his hands on his shoulders he chuckle "Of doing _anything_ for the love of your life…" his voice was soft and gave his son a smile "You will understand one day"

The image of Serenity came to Endymion's mind right away, in some way he understood what his father was saying to him, he would do anything for Serenity, he would even fight the mere gods just to earn the right to be with her; how he would risk his own life to keep her safe and make her happy.

"Fine" Endymion muttered startling the king, Leonidas and the shitennou "I won't say anything else concerning this matter…you know I do not think it is the bests of the ideas, I do still think is a great risk and just another wimp coming from my grandmother…but, do as you please"

"Are you alright?" Eros found his words very unusual, he would never talk about his grandmother that way "What is wrong with you son?"

Endymion frowned and closed his eyes "I'm frustrated Pater…" he sighed and flinched in pain "…And having a terrible migraine"

Nephrite narrowed his eyes "Migraine…" he muttered to himself, Kunzite turned to him and frowned "This is happening more and more often…"

The brown haired man nodded and looked at his prince; Zoicite pursed his lips "Whatever it is happening is affecting the Prince directly…"

"So it seems…" Kunzite said softly and with great worry; turning again to see Nephrite he narrowed his grey eyes "You have to do a reading tonight…you must consult the stars about what is happening…with His Highness"

"The only thing I see Kunzite is the cloud over the star of Leo" Nephrite said "Nothing more…"

"Maybe because you are not asking about our Master directly but the situation happening in this kingdom…" the white haired man sighed "Ask them about Prince Endymion"

Nephrite nodded "I will, tonight" both men turned to look at Endymion rubbing his temples again. Jadeite crossed his arms and stood next to Kunzite "Do you think we should tell the Queen about this?"

Zoicite widened his eyes "Tell her what?"

"This!" Jadeite hushed a little louder "Prince Endymion having constant migraines…that is not normal…something is happening…"

"I think we should wait to see what the stars can tell Nephrite" Kunzite muttered "That is our strongest card right now…"

"I have the feeling that something is going to happen…something that could go out of control" Zoicite said softly; Jadeite widened his eyes and turned to look at him "Like what?"

"I don't know…I just feel it"

Nephrite sighed "It is possible we go to war again…"

"Depending on what Nephrite can find out we will think of something and a way to protect the Prince" Kunzite said, biting his lower lip with worry "…This might be already out of control Zoicite…"

Zoicite widened his eyes and turned to Kunzite "What do you mean?"

"Since the Prince laid eyes on…_her_, things changed…drastically" Kunzite crossed his arms, Zoicite pursed his lips "Are you saying that she might be the one behind all this, is that what you are suggesting?"

"It can be possible" Kunzite said slowly and sighed.

Jadeite frowned "If the Prince gets to hear this thoughts of yours…he will never speak to you again"

"She…" Nephrite trailed off and looked at the king and prince a few feet away from them talking about the plans they are going to start as soon as possible, he turned to look at his fellow comrades and shook his head "…She adores him, it is clear how she cares for him she could never do such a thing as disappearing people…"

"Maybe someone from up there already knows about their romance…" Zoicite said uncertain, worried. Kunzite ran a hand through his white hair and sighed in frustration "If Zoicite's suspicions are true we are doomed"

Nephrite shook his head "The stars have never showed me anything like that…"

"Then why is the star of Leo in so much danger?" Jadeite asked "If the Prince is in danger then we all are…"

"That is why we must protect him" Kunzite said, looking at Jadeite; lowering his gaze he closed his eyes for a moment "Endymion will hate me for what I am about to do…"

"Kunzite?" Zoicite frowned.

Kunzite opened his eyes "We must separate them. At any cost"

The three men widened their eyes "What?" they said in unison. Kunzite raised his head "We will separate them…this is turning too ugly, too dangerous…there are too many lives at stake here and Jadeite is right, if Endymion is in danger then we all are in danger…"

"What are you going to do?" Zoicite asked concerned.

"He will never forgive you…" Nephrite said.

"I know…but I swore my life to keep him safe, no matter the cost" Kunzite turned to Zoicite "I still not know how am I going to do it, but I will do it" he turned to look at his prince, still rubbing his temples with a worried look [I'm sorry my dear friend…]

O.o.o.o.o.O

Artemis had left Venus alone in the hallway because he had to go to a meeting with the queen, her thoughts went on and on with what they just talked about [Protect the Princess Sailor Venus] she sighed and lowered her gaze for a moment thinking in how much she had been trying to do so and how much she has had to do in order for her princess to be okay. She was immersed in her own thoughts that she didn't really noticed Athamas walking her way on the hall.

"Two in a row…now this is becoming annoying" his deep voice brought her back to reality, startling her. Looking up she saw him standing right in front of her with his arms crossed "What are you doing here?" he asked dryly.

Venus frowned "Is that how you speak to everybody, even Her Majesty?"

"I asked you what are you doing here, not what do you think about my manners" Athamas answered, his eyes were fixed on hers, sending chills down her spine but not in a good way but otherwise. Venus arched her brow and crossed her arms as well "I deserve respect, remember with who you are talking to"

"I do not serve you senshi but the Queen, I really don't care what you think of me"

Venus frowned "I do not know how you expect Her Highness to look at you differently…when you obviously can't hide or better said change your true self, the more I learn about you the more glad I get to know you are no longer engaged"

Her words ignited his anger, just like Artemis did a moment ago. He clenched his jaw and could not dissimulate his disgust "You will ask me to forgive you one day"

"Forgive me?" Venus let out a sarcastic chuckle "No General…I think it will be the other way around"

Athamas gave the blonde an evil smirk "You think I am stupid but the truth is senshi that I know what you are doing behind everybody's back"

Venus widened her eyes slightly, trying her best to dissimulate her anxiety "What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I am talking about" Athamas chuckled the same way she did moments ago, with sarcasm and a sensation of winning, something he needed for his ego "You…and your little senshi friends think I haven't noticed what you are doing?"

Venus' heart started pounding very fast and strong in her chest "I still don't know what you are talking about"

"Do not try to fool me any longer!" he took a step forward "I know she has her eyes on somebody else, I know you are helping her. She has been acting differently…and has mentioned things that not in a million years you will know, she's being influenced by somebody and you know it" Athamas narrowed his eyes and looked at the blonde triumphant. Although he did not know if his suspicions were true or not, he had to plant the seed of anxiety and doubt in the blonde so she could develop that, anxiety, doubt and would eventually show him the truth he has been seeking for so long.

"You have no proof of anything you are mentioning me right now" Venus challenged him.

"I do not need any more proof than the fact that you mysteriously disappear in the middle of the day. I could just tell the Queen and she would investigate right away…that is something very simple to get Venus, do not underestimate me. Like it or not, I am your superior"

Venus felt trapped in his words [He knows] she knew what it meant if he knew what was happening, it was obvious the rivalry they had and from what she was seeing in him, he was not going to back off and make a truce, now, he had a very strong alibi that could actually expose her for treason.

"As I said, you have no proof and you are not my superior" Venus said dryly.

Athamas chuckled and looked away "Oh…but I will be sailor senshi…soon, _very_ soon"

Venus looked at the man in front of her with eyes of frustration and anger, shaking her head slightly tried to say something else but words couldn't come out of her mouth, whatever she could tell him right it could be used in his defense for whatever he could do to harm her and all the other girls.

"All of you who dare to challenge me now will regret it later, one way or another you will pay for what you have done…Princess Serenity will be my wife and I will become your King whether you like it or not. Once I do, there is nothing you can do to stop my plans for the future" Athamas smirked "Your services will no longer be required soon…"

Venus narrowed her eyes "Plans for the future? What are you talking about?"

Athamas chuckled "You will see" smiling triumphant he walked around the blonde "The Queen wants me to marry the Princess and I want her, there is nothing you can do to stop destiny"

Venus frowned and looked down "Destiny…" she closed her eyes for a moment "That is not destiny…"

Athamas stopped and widened his eyes "What?"

Venus opened her eyes, remembering the many times she watched her princess with the terran prince, the way she smiles and the way they look at each other, her blue eyes were full of sadness "That is not destiny…that is ambition of yours…" she turned to look at him "…Queen Serenity will see it soon enough"

Athamas arched his brow "She will never believe a word coming from you, after I tell her what you are doing…"

Venus' heart started pounding fast again, her hands started to shake softly but tried with all her might to control it so he would not notice "Tell her whatever you want, you have no proof…" she looked at him up and down and then turned on her heel and walked away, leaving him alone in the corridor.

Athamas looked at her walk away and smiled "You better start running sailor senshi…because once I win everything, there is not going to be a place for you to hide…" he muttered.

Venus walked faster and went straight to Mars' room where she hoped her to be. She stood a few minutes in front of the door and opened right after; walking without any notice she found her ready to leave. Mars widened her eyes "Why are you so pale?"

"He knows" Venus said worried.

Mars frowned "What? Who?"

"Athamas. He knows…he knows about the romance"

Mars eyes went wider "What?"

Venus covered her face with her hands and breathed several times, trying to fight the urge to cry "We have been underestimating him…"

"But we have been very careful…I do not know how he could…how do you know?" Mars trailed off; Venus looked at Mars and shook her head "Athamas has many 'servant soldiers' one of them must have seen something…I just talked to him…he told me he knew…"

Mars bit her lower lip "What are we going to do now?"

Venus frowned "We are not going to do anything…I told him he has no proof…but what if he does? This can no longer continue…this has to end"

Mars sat on her chair and looked absent "This is going to hurt Princess Serenity greatly"

Venus closed her eyes "He talked with so much confidence…he is sure he will marry her…"

"But we are not sure if he will, Princess Serenity does not care for him. Not anymore" Mars turned her face to Venus, but the blonde let out a sad sigh "But the Queen does…she has always wanted the Princess to marry him"

"But if you talk to her…" Mars trailed off "You are the Love Goddess' daughter…she will listen to you"

"But we have not found anything to use against Athamas…I cannot lie to her" Venus sighed and sat on Mars' bed feeling defeated, she lowered her gaze and stayed silent trying to find a way to solve all this as quickly as possible. Her mind searched for any possible loose ends but she could not come to any conclusions, the only thing was that indeed, the general had somebody spying on them, whether was true or not what he said, she had to cut with this entire situation but this was something she no longer could do alone. Her blue eyes widened and stood up, startling Mars "Venus?"

Venus turned to look at the raven haired senshi "Do not let Princess Serenity leave this place by any reason"

Mars frowned "What?"

"You heard me"

Mars stood up "What is that suppose to mean?"

Venus walked over to her and put her hands on her shoulders "It means that, if she asks where am I, do not tell her I am away. Do not tell her what just happened…and if she wants to go to earth to see the Prince…do not let her by any means"

Mars blinked a couple of times "What are you going to do?"

"I am not sure yet…" Venus turned on her heel and walked out of the room, leaving Mars very confused. Venus walked to her chambers as quickly as possible and closed the door behind her, locking it, she closed her eyes and summoned her own power which in a flash of light engulfed her and made her disappear.

O.o.o.o.o.O

Kunzite walked out of the study with several papers in his hand, not really concentrated on where he was going he felt he needed to stop for a moment; after his talk with the shitennou he felt he could no longer maintain his stoic character when the truth was that he was feeling guilty for something he still haven't done.

Looking at the papers in his hand, he studied the prince's signature and sighed again "You keep doing the impossible to keep everyone safe…but nobody is doing anything to help you…" he raised his head and looked down from the mezzanine at the large smithy doors that led to one of the gardens of the palace; leaning himself on the rail he closed his eyes for a moment.

As soon as he opened his eyes he noticed there was somebody walking in to the palace, a woman wearing a pale gown; Kunzite frowned and kept looking silently and then widened his eyes "What?" he muttered and walked as quickly as he could down the corridor and the stairs.

Venus turned both sides of the corridor and then walked back to the gardens where she leaned on a tree. Closing her eyes she lowered her head unaware of who might be right behind her.

"What are you doing here?"

Venus opened her eyes and turned quickly as she heard that voice. His voice. She widened them slightly but could not say a word. Kunzite frowned and stayed still a few feet away from her "I asked you a question"

"It's a peaceful place…" she said softly and with slight sadness "No wonder why my Princess likes to be here…"

"You still haven't answered my question"

Venus sighed and looked away "I do not know anymore…I came here to talk to you…but I do not know anymore…"

Kunzite narrowed his eyes "You do not know what?"

Venus lowered her gaze "What to say…"

"I do not understand…" Kunzite frowned again "What do you want?"

"I want peace…that is all I want"

"Then why are you here? Being here is not going to bring you peace" Kunzite said dryly "You have done nothing but insult us…looking us with inferiority"

Venus looked at him "…I am only protecting my Princess; it has nothing to do with you"

Kunzite sighed and shook his head "I do not have time for this…" he turned on his heel "I recommend you to leave. This is not a place where the one of your kind should be"

Venus frowned "The one of our kind? What is that supposed to mean?"

Kunzite looked over his shoulder "What do you want from us?"

"Nothing!" Venus said.

"Then what are you doing here?" Kunzite turned and raised his voice "What do you want, what are you looking in this place?"

Venus stayed silent, for the very first time in her life probably. She was not really sure why she was there, for a moment she thought that it might be a better idea than standing at her castle's entrance looking absolutely confused and worried of what to say or ask to her mother. If she told her mother the truth there would be consequences she thought, not that her presence on earth was the safest place for her to be but it was more of a necessity than a solution to her problem.

"I am just looking for somebody to talk to" she said surprisingly soft to Kunzite; the white haired man was taken aback by her random attitude but somehow he could not deny the fact that he was glad to see her again.

"Someone to talk to? Don't you have anybody to talk to up there?" he asked, confused "What about your friends? What about your Princess, isn't she your friend?"

Venus lowered her gaze "I cannot be friends with my Princess…"

Kunzite frowned "Why not?"

Venus looked at Kunzite again "Because, she is my Princess"

"So?" Kunzite crossed his arms "That is no impediment…"

Venus looked at the man in front of her confused, Kunzite frowned "Why are you looking me like that?"

"One it is not allowed to be friends with our royals…we must pay them respect. If we turn friends with them, then the line of superiority is lost and they won't listen to you…" Venus said and shook her head "That is an impediment"

Kunzite's frown deepened "What you are saying makes no sense"

"What?"

"You heard me"

Venus widened her eyes "Of course it does…you sure are not friends with your Prince"

Kunzite let out a soft chuckle and leaned on the tree behind him "Of course I am…what makes you think I am not?"

Venus frowned "Weren't you asked to keep your distance with him?"

"Why would I be asked to do so? He is my Prince, not a stranger…" Kunzite frowned, trying to understand the woman's confusion. Venus shook her head and then looked away; Kunzite moved away from the tree and took on step closer to her "Why…?"

"How can you be his friend?" she interrupted him, her voice held deep frustration "How can you be his friend and also be able to be his protector?" her eyes started to shine with tears "He might not even listen to you!"

Kunzite frowned, there was something odd in this situation. She was in the verge of tears and of all the places she could go and all the people she could talk to, she was there talking to him. His mind told him one thing but his heart told him another and all he could do right now was to respond to his instincts and walked over to her and in a swift movement he ran his arms around her and held her tight. Venus widened her eyes for a couple of seconds and then, she could not hold it any longer and started to cry.


	99. Chapter 99

_A/N: Eeek!_ _I know... it's been ages since I last posted something, but I swear I have been writing, I have several chapters done right now but you remember how I mentioned I wanted to finish the season before start posting one after another like I sued to when I first started this adventure. Anyways, I am still not done...close, but not done but still...I thought I was being too rude for disappearing this way so, here goes another chapter, freshly edited. I literally opened my archives and re read it, I confess I forgot how good it was lol, I really liked it and I hope you too._

_I want to thank you for all your support, to those who have been sending me messages or encouragement and understanding it really means a lot to me and I really appreciate it. Trust me when I say that it is because of you I stay up late writing and writing so I can finish this season and hopefully begin with the final installment of the Divinity series, by the way...I need to start thinking in a name for the third and final season...Any ideas? :) _

_Again, thank you and enjoy the chapter. Reviews and comments are always welcomed and appreciated. You know I do not own sm, just the plot and some of the characters._

* * *

Divinity: A question of Honor

Chapter ninety nine

* * *

_[ remember, these means thoughts, alright? enjoy ]_

Her hands curled in his military jacket and her face was against his chest; her shoulders jumped slightly from her sobbing not really caring of the scene she might be doing. Kunzite closed his eyes and tightened his arms on her and stayed silent, giving her the time she needed to let all her frustrations out; when he least expected he found himself resting his chin on the top of her head in a caring way, like if they were close enough for that kind of proximity.

Venus kept sobbing for another while but then realized what just have happened and opened her eyes again; widening them she pushed herself a few inches away from him and looked at his slightly damp chest for a few minutes in silence and then looked up at him and found him looking down at her; she was surprised to see he was smiling at her "Why are you here?" he asked barely a whisper.

Venus softened her gaze and blinked slowly, her tears continued falling from her blue eyes "…I wanted to see you"

"Why?" he asked the same way.

"I needed you to help me understand…I needed you to help me make a decision…but I am no longer sure…"

"What decision?"

Venus felt his hand wipe her tears softly without breaking eye contact with her "What decision?" she heard him ask again; the blonde looked at him sadly "What to do…"

"What is it that you want to do?"

"I do not want my Princess to suffer…but she cannot see your Prince anymore…" she whispered, still looking at him. Kunzite frowned slightly "…Then why are you crying?"

"Because…" she trailed off and hesitated for a moment "…If they stop seeing each other…I will no longer see you"

Kunzite widened his grey eyes in shock "What?"

Venus gave him a soft smile "You heard me"

Kunzite blinked several times "…Why is that a problem to you? I thought you disliked me…"

"I thought that too…" Venus said softly "…But I was wrong…I have no reasons to dislike you…"

The white haired man lowered his head and let out a soft sigh "You came here to tell me this?"

"I came here…to talk to somebody who could actually understand my situation…" Venus said; Kunzite took a step back and shook his head "Are you saying this because of…" he sighed again and looked away, remembering the kiss he gave her the other day "I won't deny the fact that I like you Venusian girl…" he turned to look at her "Your beauty has captured me and so did your character…"

Venus blushed at the way he referred to her [Venusian girl]. Kunzite looked at the papers in his hand "I never thought I could meet a woman like you who could actually make me act by mere impulse, who could make me go against my will…" he smiled sadly "I kissed you against reason…I kissed you because I felt I needed to do it, I feel attracted to you even when we only argued a couple of times…there is something in you that makes me think of you all the time…" he looked at the signed papers he was supposed to take right away to its destination; his prince's signature brought him to reality "…But, it is impossible to respond to such attraction you know that, better than anyone" he looked at her.

He gave her a soft and tender smile, something she haven't had the chance to witness before "You came here to tell me this, because something is wrong…am I correct?"

Venus widened her eyes at his sharpness "H-How…?"

"Otherwise you would never have the courage to expose your true feelings to a mortal man…" Kunzite said softly; startling her. Venus looked at him and then lowered her gaze "…It is happening…" she looked at him again "…My Princess no longer will come to meet your Prince…"

Kunzite sighed and looked away "I see…" then looked back at her "And that means we will no longer see each other" Venus nodded. Kunzite sighed "They are from two different worlds…it was only a matter of time; the situation here is becoming delicate...it is better if you keep her out of here, Endymion is under too much pressure…seeing her will only complicate things more and that could cloud his reason…"

Venus frowned "You call your Prince by his first name?"

Kunzite frowned as well "Don't you call your Princess by hers?"

"No"

"Why?"

"Because…she is my Princess…not a random person…" Venus shook her head, confused. Kunzite chuckled softly "My Prince is not a random person…he's my friend"

Venus widened her eyes "Your…friend…?"

"Yes"

"How does he listen to you?" she asked, confused. Kunzite sighed and gave her a smile "Because…I'm his friend"

"Guardians are not supposed to be friends with their superiors…" Venus said softly; Kunzite tilted his head "Endymion does not need to listen to me all the time, he can make his own decisions…I am his advisor, not his sitter. I think…" he trailed off and walked over to her "…I think that is your main problem…"

"What is it?" Venus frowned.

Kunzite walked around her and stopped "…Being her guardian, does not necessarily mean you have to forbid yourself from being a friend to her…she might be lonely and you don't even know it because you are too worried looking after her all the time when you already know she is fine"

"She came here by herself for I do not know how long…" Venus protested "How do you think that makes me feel? I failed as a guardian; I swore to my Queen to always look after her, we all did…"

"You never failed, stop punishing yourself so much…" Kunzite crossed his arms "You just…let her be for once, royals live like that…they feel trapped in their golden cages, at least that happens with my Prince…when I met him, he was a lonely boy with a mission, to protect his family, to become what he is now…we were all ahead of him in battling skills, I was the best prospect to be the leader of the army…I was the General's favorite to be the next Commander…"

He smiled and walked around the garden with Venus walking beside him "…When I learned he joined the army to train I was upset, I was angry…I joined the army for my own reasons, because I wanted to prove how strong I was and it ticked me how a boy who was born in a golden crib was there pretending to be something he was obviously not"

Venus listened to him with great interest, she was enjoying this amazing part of him "…Although I am marveled with your story…I do not see your point…"

Kunzite looked at her but kept walking "…I mistreated him, I mocked him and made him have very difficult times, we hated each other, we could not stand being in the same camp, crew or team. We constantly fought and were sent to stand under the freezing waterfall…" Venus widened her eyes and chuckled making Kunzite chuckle as well, but continued with the story "…But then, my Prince started to become better with his fighting skills and soon he was catching up with me who, at that time was the best in the army…when I least expected it, he was already promoted to General and I could not stand it…but then war happened and he saved my life right before he killed the enemy fairly saving us all" he smiled and lowered his head "…Everybody kneeled in respect… it was a very powerful moment, everyone kneeled except for me"

Venus widened her eyes "Why?"

Kunzite raised his head "Because…I was angry…I was angry to know I was wrong all along…and my pride was more powerful than the scene before me…I challenged him to fight me and although the fight lasted only a few minutes…he ended up winning...and then, it hit me"

Venus stopped and frowned "Hit you what?"

"The main point of this entire anecdote, what I want you to understand"

Venus crossed her arms "Which is?"

Kunzite smiled "I was angry at myself for being so stubborn…he offered me his friendship since the moment he stepped that army that day and I did not want to listen because I was too busy thinking he was just another spoiled brat who just came to the army to waste his time as if it were vacations…but he trained, just like everyone else, bleed like everyone else and felt pain just like everyone else… he faced death and earned his right to be where he is now…and he never stopped offering me his friendship. He was lonely, he wanted a normal life and he was not having anything here at the palace…he felt desperate and useless as a plain Prince, he needed to really do something about it and I was too busy thinking that a peasant or a mere soldier could never be friends with a royal…but the truth is…Venusian girl that you do not know the truth until you face some facts that makes you realize it…" he shrugged his shoulders "Maybe…you needed to come here and tell me all that, to realize your Princess is lonely and needs a friend to listen to her…maybe, her loneliness made her come here and destiny put my Prince in her way…their love, was inevitable"

"You are saying that it is my fault all that is happening?" Venus frowned.

"Stop blaming yourself for what destiny had planned for those two…" Kunzite tapped her forehead with his index finger two times "It is prohibited yes, but what I am saying is…that maybe this whole situation could be less painful for your Princess if she has a shoulder to cry on…" he sighed sadly "My Prince adores her with all his might; we have fought several times because he defends her with all his heart…but he is her…let's say, lover, he might be her best friend, yes, but…he occupies another part in her heart...she needs a friend and she has four of them but they won't listen to her aching heart…Being apart from Endymion is difficult for her, I have seen her desperation and I have seen the worry and desperation in my Prince's eyes as well because he wishes nothing more than to protect her, to make her happy and it's frustrating for him know that he is not able to do such because of who he is…He is frustrated, he is angry…he does not sleep but at least he has us to discharge all his worries even when he knows we do not approve his romance with her…he is my Prince and I am his advisor and guardian, but we are also best friends"

Suddenly his words fell into place, he was right. Serenity needed a friend; she needed them four to be there by her side, that idea of being limited to only be her guardians was becoming more and more absurd regardless of what her training was or what they were told, she cared for her princess more than just as her superior and she has always have offered her friendship in so many ways; she turned to Kunzite and bit her lower lip "Thank you…"

Kunzite arched his brow "For what?"

"I knew you were the right person to talk to…" Venus said softly; Kunzite sighed and looked at her sadly "I am glad I could help…even if it is only this time…"

Venus gave him a sad look and then noticed the papers he had in his right hand "What…?" she pointed at them with her index finger; Kunzite looked down at them and sighed "These are letters I should have sent hours ago…"

"Urgent matter?" She asked softly.

"You can say that…" Kunzite sighed again; Venus frowned "Is something wrong…?"

"Do you care?"

Venus arched a brow "Of course I care…"

Kunzite looked down at the papers "These are new security plans…My Prince has formulated a new strategy to protect this kingdom from the enemy"

"Enemy?" the word caught Venus' attention. Kunzite nodded "We are under a very delicate situation…things are happening…" Venus frowned "Here too?"

Kunzite frowned "What do you mean with _here_ too?"

Venus pursed her lips "We are also worried because there is some kind of threat approaching us…we still haven't found the enemy or who is causing this…but I have been trying to find any kind of information and still nothing, Mars as well…but with no success…"

Kunzite looked at the papers in his hand "Could it be related?" he whispered, confused. Venus bit her lower lip "…It can be…that is why we must do something…"

Kunzite looked at her "Keep them apart…"

Venus looked at him sadly "Yes…for their sake"

Kunzite walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders, bringing her closer to him; he cut the distance between them two and captured her lips with his startling her at first but then gave in to his soft, tender and spontaneous kiss that lasted two good minutes. Kunzite parted slowly and opened his eyes soon after Venus did the same and both knew what was about to happen but neither of them wanted to verbalize it.

They stood there in silence for a moment, looking into each other's eyes. How much long did Venus could wait to express what was tormenting her and occupying her thoughts with so much effusivity? She did not know, but her chest felt light and so did her soul; the man before her had lifted a great and heavy load off her back and for that she was thankful, smiling, she patted his arm, puzzling him "What?" he asked.

Venus chuckled "Who would have thought that underneath that stoic, cold and inflexible shell was a kind hearted and spontaneous man?"

Kunzite widened his eyes and blushed "Don't say that"

Venus smiled and tilted her head "Why not? It is the truth…"

Kunzite smiled at her "And who would have thought that underneath that very beautiful but also very stubborn shell was a very noble and caring woman?"

Venus blinked a couple of times "I am noble and caring…not to mention beautiful…you just happened to know it until now…" she giggled, making him chuckle "Be like that more often…"

"I cannot be happy, knowing that my Princess is not…"

Kunzite gave her an understanding smile "Things are going to get difficult…be with her, listen to her…and do what you have to do"

Venus nodded "…Take care…" Kunzite nodded and watched her turn on her heel and disappear seconds after in a flash of gold sparks, he watched the soft freckling lights disappear slowly in front of him and smiled softly "…Take care…my Venusian girl…"

O.o.o.o.o.O

Charmindy was sitting on her usual chair next to the hearth in the living room; like always, she was having her usual glass of wine. Not that mattered if it was early in the afternoon, she heard of the queen's decision to send the redhead back home and it was not something that made her feel very much pleased.

Frowning, she kept looking outside the window and heard someone walking to the living room "It is her, isn't it?" her voice was full with annoyance. Felimina looked at her mistress' back and nodded, she rubbed her hands constantly in a very nervous manner and lowered her gaze for a moment "Yes, My Lady"

Charmindy pursed her lips and took another sip of her chardonnay while waited for Beryl to come in. About ten minutes after they waited in silence, Felimina gave the redhead a look to start preparing herself for what she was about to experience and stepped aside. Beryl licked her lips and took a couple of steps before Charmindy could say something to her.

"…Almost two weeks in that majestic Golden Palace and still you couldn't get the Prince to look at you…" she moved her glass in circular motions letting her wine breathe; she then turned and looked at her. Narrowing her eyes they went up and down studying her wardrobe "All that money spent for nothing…not even the most exquisite silks could catch his attention…"

Beryl pressed her lips together "Charmindy…"

Charmindy's eyes widened as if the devil itself had said her name "Lady!"

"…My Lady…" Beryl corrected right away "I tried everything in my power…I swear I…"

"Nonsense…" Charmindy put her glass down on the side table and stood up with a sigh; turning she walked to her and looked at her before letting a derogatory chuckle "…Clearly, beauty it is not all…now I understand it"

Beryl widened her eyes "What?"

"You are beautiful…" Charmindy walked around her "…But stupid, plain stupid" she caressed a curl of her fiery red hair "What a waste of beautiful flesh…no wonder why you were a homeless prostitute"

Beryl turned with her eyes full of tears but could not say anything else; Charmindy frowned "Oh don't look at me like that! You know it is true…you used to sell your body to survive"

"I never…" Beryl trailed off, trying to fight the urge to cry. Her voice was quivering but still when she knew Charmindy was aware she was about to cry she was not going to give her that pleasure "…I never sold my body for food…I worked for it everyday"

Charmindy arched a brow and crossed her arms "Well, if you did a good living from your…" she saw her up and down again "…Survival tactics then you should go back to your old life" this last comment made the redhead widen her eyes with great fear "What?"

"I am tired of your failures and I told you I was not going to hold on any longer with it…there are many girls that would do anything to be in your place, I can find somebody else"

"But none of them will be the queen's favorite like I am…" Beryl retorted.

Charmindy looked at Beryl "Her favorite…"

"She is going to invite _me_ to the winter ball"

"The winter… ball?" Charmindy widened her eyes "They are planning it already?"

"I am in the guest list… I hardly think that you would like to send me back to the streets like you say when I am obviously our Mother Queen's favorite candidate for the Prince"

Charmindy pursed her lips and turned "The winter ball…is a wonderful celebration…although everybody is invited; only the people with a status can be close to the royal family…I remember when I went to the winter ball, when the king was still a Prince and I was his best candidate…" she turned to Beryl "…This is your last chance, by midnight you must be the Prince's fiancée"

Beryl widened her eyes "Fiancée…"

Charmindy narrowed her eyes "If you are the Queen's favorite, then, at the winter ball you will be betrothed to the Prince…but if you fail…mark my words…do not even mind coming back here…"

"But…" Beryl bit her lower lip and frowned "The winter ball is not an engagement party…"

Charmindy arched her brow "If you are the Queen's favorite…it will be one. She announced her son's betrothal on a winter ball…she can do it again with her grandson…" she narrowed her eyes "This is your last opportunity" she turned on her heel and started walking "I am beginning to feel tired of so many failures coming from you…I thought you were smarter, what a shame"

Beryl lowered her gaze and fought the urge to cry, she felt Felimina's hands on her shoulders "You know she could act this way if you came back with nothing but failures…" the older woman said slowly "You know she dislikes to fail"

The redhead sniffed and wiped her tears from the corners of her eyes and turned to look at Felimina "I do not see this as a quest…"

Felimina frowned "Then how?"

"I care for the Prince" Beryl said "I am in love with him…"

Felimina let out a soft chuckle "But of course you are…every girl from this kingdom is in love with him…you just happen to be another one who has fallen under his charm"

Beryl lowered her gaze; Felimina looked both sides and then back at the redhead "Did you talk to him?"

"Yes, I did" Beryl sighed "But he is difficult…"

Felimina arched her brow "How?"

Beryl raised her head and braced herself "He is very mysterious…although he is very polite and educated, not to mention how strong he is…he is always very busy and does not like to talk too much…"

Felimina shook her head and began picking some of Beryl's boxes from the floor "Royalty is like that…and not only royalty but the socialite in general" she began walking towards Beryl's room "You better start thinking in something if you do not want _her_ to throw you out to the streets again…"

Beryl entered her room after Felimina did; the older woman put the boxes on the bed and began unpacking. Beryl walked around and sat on her vanity chair and looked at her nails for a moment "Has she's always been like that?"

Felimina continued unpacking "Who?"

"Charmindy…"

The older woman sighed and continued "Maybe…"

Beryl raised her head and looked at Felimina's back; not that they were close but she felt some kind of affection for the woman since she helped her that fateful day when Charmindy slapped her across the face and threw her against the floor in one of her tantrums. Felimina was hard to read, sometimes she was warm and sometimes cold, sometimes nice and others not. Although she always kept her distance, she was the closest person to her and who she could say her friend in some point; he listened to her, even when she sometimes questioned her opinions and well, she was there with her most of the time.

"Have you ever been on a winter ball Felimina?"

Felimina widened her eyes and stopped unpacking; raising her head, she turned to look at her "I did, once. With Lady Charmindy…when her parents still lived and she was the King's prospect"

"So it is true…" Beryl widened her eyes "…She did was His Majesty's best candidate"

"Their marriage was already settled…" Felimina said "…Lady Charmindy's father was a good friend of our late King, King Odell. Queen Narella supported her very much; she always invited her to the palace to have lunch with her so she could see King Eros, Prince at that time…"

"What happened then? Were they engaged?" Beryl asked curious, somehow her voice holding some kind of hope of her current situation. Felimina sighed again and sat on the bed and crossed her hands on her lap "I believe so, well…when Queen Narella was going to announce the engagement…Prince Eros introduced our Queen to the court and announced he was in love with her…"

Beryl sighed and rested her chin on her hand "She is very beautiful…"

Felimina tilted her head "Queen Gaia? She caused quite a commotion when she was introduced…nobody seemed to know where she was from, she was not from the court"

That caught Beryl's attention "Queen Gaia was not a Princess?"

Felimina pursed her lips "I never said she wasn't, I said she was not form the, this court"

"What do you mean?"

Felimina bit her lower lip and remembered the time when that fated event happened and the current queen saved them all. She was not there to presence the commotion and all what happened but she heard from other people of her divinity or the sacred power she possessed but also remembered how it was not to be mentioned ever again. The woman kept a serious respect for the queen; since she met her she thought she was graceful and kind; with strong character but noble nothing like her mistress, she thought sadly.

The older woman stood up and began hanging Beryl's dresses "Nobody actually knows where she comes from, except for the royal house…we all know it is from a small town near the northern point"

Beryl bit her lower lip in thought "…If Charmindy was Queen Narella's favorite, why did the engagement was broken, if their marriage was already arranged, why did King Eros did not marry her?"

"Because…" Felimina sighed "…She lost her patience and attacked Queen Gaia in front of every single guest…since that event, she was continuously invited to the winter ball but she is not greeted the same way she was before…the Queen kept her distance with her…after that night, everybody knew she was not as kind as she pretended to be…but, there is no doubt that she loved the Prince, very much" Felimina stopped hanging the dress in her hands for a moment and lowered her gaze "…She still does…" she turned to look at Beryl "…And that is why you are here, because if you marry the Prince, then she will have easy access to the palace and King Eros, now that Queen Gaia is sick…if she passes away she could marry him and take her place…"

"Do you really think she could marry him?" Beryl asked softly.

Felimina sighed "…She wants to recover her youth, her past…her golden days…I do not know"

Beryl leaned on the back of her chair "Who would have thought that Charmindy had a heart full of longing…?"

"We all long for something" Felimina said dryly "Like we are never contempt with what we already have…"

"What do you mean?" Beryl frowned; Felimina put away the boxes after she finished unpacking and stood near the doorway "You, for example. You could just step aside and continue a life on your own…you have the education you needed to succeed and still, you are here following a plan we are not sure if it is going to work…"

Beryl looked at Felimina wide eyed; Felimina tilted her head "Why are you still here, after all her bad treatment…?"

"Because I want him; I love him and I want him to look at me…" Beryl said "I fell in love with Prince Endymion since the first moment I met him…"

Felimina crossed her arms "You have to be careful…what you want…with what you wish, is a double sided blade…" she turned on her heel and began to walk away. Beryl frowned "Why?"

Felimina stopped and looked over her shoulder "Because if you are not corresponded…you could end like my Mistress, bitter…and alone" she turned again and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Beryl looked at the door as if the woman was still standing there; her green eyes were expressing her heart's mixed feelings, a feeling of worry started to engulf her.

"Bitter and alone…" she whispered; looking at the door. Frowning she closed her eyes and shook her head "No…I won't turn bitter….I won't be alone…he will look at me…I will win his heart…" her hands started to tremble as her lips continued repeating those words like a solemn mantra.

O.o.o.o.o.O

"Oh my…where were you? I was looking all over for you!"

Venus widened her eyes and turned at her right, finding Mars standing a few feet away from her. The raven haired girl walked over to the blonde guardian. Venus tilted her head "Why?" she asked her.

Mars frowned "I was worried about you"

"I am alright Mars…"

Mars crossed her arms "You were very upset a while ago…you disappeared without notice…where did you go?"

Venus widened her eyes and blinked a couple of times "I…needed some time on my own…but I am alright"

Mars closed her eyes and sighed "Remember I too can read auras…it is useless to try to hide things from me…"

Venus lowered her gaze and bit her lip "Stop reading my aura Mars…"

"Stop hiding things from me Venus…"

Venus looked both sides and sighed "I went to…" she bit her lower lip "…you know, _there_"

Mars widened her eyes "What?"

"Shhhh!" Venus put her index finger on her lips, silencing her friend "Don't be so loud, somebody can hear us…" she hushed. Mars sweat dropped "Look who's talking…"

Venus narrowed her eyes; Mars sighed and shook her head "Why did you go there? What for?"

"I…needed some answers; I needed to find a way to separate them…"

"What?"

Venus raised her hands in the air "This is going out of our control Mars…" Venus walked around the palace's entrance hall "We can no longer permit this situation, we must do something"

"Is this has to do with what happened with the General?" Mars asked, confused.

"This has to do with everything Mars…we are not supposed to support that kind of behavior…what we are doing can be considered treason" Venus said with worry "It is not alright"

"We have known that since the very beginning Venus…"

"Then you should understand…you should understand this cannot continue" Venus looked at the raven haired woman. Mars sighed "And what exactly did you do there? Did you talk to somebody?"

Venus hesitated a moment; was she going to tell her friend what just happened down there, what she talked about with the shitennou, about her own feelings, feelings that were betraying her because she was now doing the same thing Serenity did with the terran prince, she was sneaking to earth to see the man that has captured her heart. It was contradicting and it was starting to feel like guilt.

She was prohibiting her princess to do what she did just a moment ago. "No" she said with her eyes looking down "I didn't…but like they said, they are in our same position, they think the same thing and I believe they will follow their duty just like us"

Mars narrowed her eyes "Help me understand Venus…" Mars crossed her arms again "You are telling me, that you went there in search of an answer you already knew? What you are saying makes no sense…"

"I also went there to see if there was something we did not know about your premonitions…"

Mars widened her eyes "How should they know about it? We are supposed to know more than they do"

"One of them can read the stars…" Venus said directly, startling Mars "What?" she asked astonished "What do you mean?"

"Yes, I once heard from our Princess that one of them was under the blessing of the stars..." Venus said softly.

Mars frowned "But that is … unbelievable…"

"But it is real" Venus said.

"And which one of them is?" Mars asked.

"I do not know…I must ask our Princess…"

"I think it will be better if we ask the girls…"

Venus frowned with confusion "Why?"

"Because, the girls have talked to the other guardians…one of them must know who the gifted one is…" Mars commented; Venus pursed her lips "You are right…"

"Do you think he might know something concerning the…" Mars trailed off "Have you spoken to Artemis? He might have some news or…"

Venus shook her head "I did…" she interrupted Mars "…But he has no information, it is a fact that something is happening, something dangerous…that is another reason why she cannot go there any longer, we would put her in great danger…"

"…But why did you go there? Why seeking for answers with them? You were the first to think it is a bad idea to talk to them…" Mars frowned. Venus pursed her lips and shook her head "I am desperate Mars…I am worried…and I need answers…"

Mars narrowed her eyes "We need to go someplace else…"

Venus frowned "Athamas?"

Mars nodded and started walking towards one of the living rooms followed by Venus and closed the door. Kilmakos looked from behind one of the pillars and frowned "Who are you seeing sailor senshi?" he whispered and narrowed his eyes.

"Was Athamas there?" Venus asked worried; Mars shook her head "If it was not him it was one of his peons…"

Venus sighed and leaned on the wall "Athamas is ruthless and he will not step aside until he gets what he wants"

"But Queen Serenity trusts him" Mars said slowly.

"I know…and I am starting to think and fear that his words might come true..." Venus said, looking outside the window; Mars frowned "Which is?"

Venus pressed her lips together and crossed her arms, then turned to look at Mars "…To be our next King"

"Father would never allow it" Mars said dryly.

"But Queen Serenity might and she is the head of the Silver Millennium" Venus responded the same way. Her blue eyes held fear and doubt, the general was sharp and ambitious, very ambitious. The blonde senshi looked down "This has to be stopped…"

"This will break our Princess' heart"

"It has to be done…it is already breaking mine, to know that I…the senshi of love will prohibit a woman to stop loving the man of her life" Venus looked at Mars again.

Mars sighed "Let them say goodbye at least…"

"There is no time" Venus said dryly "Athamas already knows…with him knowing, their possibilities of continue seeing each other diminish even more"

Mars sat on one of the individual couches and sighed again, her hands rested on her knees "At this point, I do not what to say or do…I do not know how to react anymore, I feel guilty and I feel hurt all at the same time…" she turned to look at Venus "What kind of a wicked game is this?"

Venus walked over to her friend and sat across from her on another cushion chair "This is a question of honor…we must do what we must do in order to protect her from any danger that might come her way…"

Mars lowered her amethyst gaze and nodded "I will talk to the girls and see if they know which one of them can read the stars…" she raised her head "Are you going to look for him?"

Venus nodded "But Princess Serenity must not know because, otherwise she will want to come along"

"About Princess Serenity…what are you going to say to her? She will not accept it" Mars said sadly; Venus sighed "I know but…how are you going to tell her?"

"The same way I have been telling her how she cannot see him…there is no other way" Venus looked at her sadly. She looked away and remembered Kunzite's words [Do what you have to do…] at this moment, she felt more tranquil and centered; her talk with the shitennou and her confession made her feel more lightweight, although she was still worried about her princess and she still felt this sort of guilt over her for depriving her princess from a love that might be the one, the only and the purest she will ever experience in her life.

Sighing she came to one conclusion: Mars was right when it came to realistic matters; she was right when she says this world is unfair even when they have a long life span, power and strength. They still have to follow rules, they still had laws and they were blind to true feelings. She stared at her wiggling fingers on her lap for a moment and wished she could be another minute talking to the mortal guardian once again.

She was now a victim of her own power: Love.

o.o.o

Princess Serenity was brushing her long silver blonde hair in a slow motion; while her left hand held some of it while her right hand held the brush and stroked with its bristles the silky mane of hair; her mind was elsewhere. It was more of a mechanic motion; she closed her eyes for a moment and smiled at the memory of seeing her handsome prince sleeping. It still marveled her even after all this time how adorable he looked while he was asleep; how a man with a character like the one he has, the strength he has and the authority he has can be that kind and noble […Like a little boy…] she thought.

She took another section of hair and began brushing it with a smile on her face. Her delicate features became a frown when she thought about the possibility for him to leave for war; how could she live without him? The question started to torture her heart, What if something goes wrong? What if she never sees him again?

"…No…" she whispered and widened her eyes.

Biting her lip, she tried to contain her tears. Every time she thought about that possibility she felt her heart break a bit, they have shared so many things together, laughed together and learned so much from one another. She is in love with him, away from all the protocol of being royals; she loved him not his crown. But her own crown weighted too much to bear, she was the princess of a strong reign that united all the planets into one nation, Olympus, she was well aware of the power of the gods, their authority and their power.

This was not the first time she thought about it and wonder came to her senses again "…What can I do to make your planet join our Alliance? What can I do to let them know you are not what everybody thinks you are?" she asked to the nothingness and waited for some kind of an answer but instead of that, the memory of Athamas came to her mind.

She sighed and turned to look at her reflection in the mirror "Athamas…" she whispered.

She was disgusted by the idea of that man being their army leader, the one who decides what to do in terms of protection and politics concerning the moon. She was confused on how her mother could not see what she did; a man with ambition is not the proper candidate to be king and to wear her father's crown.

[You should be the one being banned instead of Endymion…] she thought.

She was about to take another piece of her hair to continue brushing it when she heard someone at the door "Princess?" she heard a familiar voice calling her. Serenity turned on her seat and stared at the door of her bedroom, waiting for that person to open it and come in.

Seconds later, Jupiter and Mercury appeared behind those tall white doors "There you are" Jupiter said with a smile on her face; Serenity tilted her head and answered with a smile "Where should I be?"

Mercury smiled "Having tea with Her Majesty, Princess"

Serenity widened her eyes and shaped her lips into a perfect 'o' "I believe I trailed off into my own thoughts that I lost track of time…"

Mercury walked over her princess and took the brush from her hand and bowed her head "Allow me Princess…" and began brushing her long and shiny hair "May I ask what your thoughts were Princess?" she asked softly while looking down at her. Jupiter smiled and went to sit on a chair next to Serenity's vanity "Yes Princess…"

Serenity lowered her gaze "Oh it's nothing…"

Jupiter narrowed her eyes "Does it has something to do with a certain person?"

Mercury smiled "A certain Prince, perhaps?"

Serenity blushed and looked at Mercury from mirror but words could not come out of her mouth. Jupiter chuckled "So you are thinking of him"

Serenity bit her lower lip and lowered her gaze; the amazon senshi tilted her head "You should not be embarrassed Princess…if you have feelings for him it is normal you dedicate your thoughts to him"

"I just would like things to be quite different…that is all" Serenity said softly; her fingers traced the flower pattern of one of her hair pins. Jupiter frowned softly "Different how Princess?"

Serenity looked at Jupiter and then out the window "…I would like the gods to understand that they are not bad people…I wish mother could include the blue planet in our alliance…"

Mercury looked at her sadly "…That has been the law for so long now, it is quite impossible to change their mind Princess…they might have their reasons and we are not to question them…"

Serenity sighed "I do not understand…"

Jupiter crossed her arms "Like Mercury said, they must have a good reason…not that they are the most amicable beings in the universe but…they are our superiors after all, they rule Olympus"

Mercury smiled and put the brush down, Serenity looked at herself in the mirror and noticed the mercurian had put up her hair in her usual style and noticed she pinned a couple of crystal pins on her buns "Thank you Mercury…"

"Her Majesty must be waiting for you in the tea room…" Jupiter stood up "Do you want us to walk with you, Princess?"

Serenity sighed again "I do not know if that is what I want to do…" she stood up and arranged the skirt of her ivory dress "…I am not that hungry…"

"Is that it, or is it because you do not want to see Her Majesty?" Jupiter asked softly.

"The one I do not want to see is Athamas…" Serenity said dryly "He always appears and always stays…I do not wish to see him…"

"He is…" Mercury started.

"…Our Commander, I know Mercury…but, I do not feel comfortable when I am around him…and my mother constantly insists on me giving him a second opportunity…" Serenity leaned on her balcony doors "She wants me to marry him"

Mercury sighed "Princess…eventually, you will have to make a decision and marry your best prospect…"

Serenity raised her gaze and turned to Mercury "Athamas is not my best prospect"

"Then, we will have to look for the one that is…" Jupiter said softly.

"I already found the one for me"

Jupiter sighed "Who is?"

"Endymion"

"That is not possible" another voice joined the conversation. The princess and the two other guardians turned to see Venus standing in the doorway with Mars standing next to her "I'm sorry Princess but that is not possible"

"It is if I talk to Mother…" Serenity tried to defend her ideal.

Venus let out a soft breath. How could she explain what was happening in a way her princess would understand her position and the reality of things? She tried many ways and many times and she was starting to feel desperate "If you talk to Her Majesty Princess the only thing you will achieve is a punishment"

Serenity frowned "Punishment?"

"You need to please start seeing things with more reasonableness Princess…it is not me who does not want you to be happy, it is not any of us…but it is the law…if the higher gods learn about this it could cause a disgrace…" Venus said seriously "The time to stop with all this has come…"

Serenity narrowed her eyes "What are you saying Venus?"

"You are not going back to Earth"

"You can't do that…" Serenity said softly and turned to look at Jupiter and Mercury behind her "You cannot be serious…I thought you…"

"Princess…" Mercury said sadly.

Serenity turned to Venus again, this time when she felt she wanted to cry, she felt upset for trying to restrain her again "I thought you…"

"We cannot support you in something that is not a right thing to do, Princess" Venus interrupted her; her voice was firm and strict. Something nobody has ever seen in her before; but it was part of her plan, part of her charade to try to separate them for once and for all. She remembered Kunzite's words [Things are going to get difficult…be with her, listen to her…and do what you have to do]

"I have to do what I have to do…and right now is to protect you" Venus said again; Serenity started to feel her eyes burn with tears "You know he looks after me…you know I am safe when I am with him…I know you know it, why can't you just respect our love, why can't you understand?" she raised her voice slightly.

Venus walked over to her "Princess…have you ever put yourself in the Prince's situation? Have you ever thought about the stress he might be having? He, unlike you has to see for everyone's security… we, here have Athamas to do that…and he has the help from many soldiers from all over the galaxy…down there, it is only him, his army and his guardians…"

Serenity watched Venus with sad eyes "And yet, he is stronger than Athamas…"

"You are not seeing the point here Princess…" Venus said.

"The point here, is that you cannot stand me being with him because you do not think it is real love…you think is a caprice of mine and you think I am only doing it to go against you all…"

"I am doing it, not only for your own safety Princess but for ours as well" Venus retorted.

"It is me the one that is deciding what to do with my life…not you…" Serenity said.

"Princess…" Venus trailed off "…What we are doing, by letting you go to see him…" she took a deep breath "We might get punished for what we are doing Princess…we are committing treason"

Serenity widened her blue eyes and words died in her lips, she had to think in two things, how she had to manage to free herself from her ethereal and beautiful prison witch at the same time was her home, the place where she has spent all her life, the peaceful place that has seen her grow, ironically, it was the same place that departed her from her real dreams; her freedom and her ability to choose whatever she wanted to experience.

Second, she had to think for them as well. Treason was something that even for her was a strong word and she knew the meaning of it. But this time, she would be smarter than other times and would agree to every condition her guardians will give her in order to achieve what she only had left. Her evening meetings with the prince.

She lowered her gaze and stood still, she could not deny to herself that it hurt her very much what was happening. When she thought there could be finally a solution to the situation, the leader of her guardians took a step back, why? She did not know.

It hurt her, because Venus had turned cold and distant, just like she was never her friend. While the other girls talked to her more frequently, Venus' absence was the one that strike her the most because they were the closest of the five. Surprisingly, in this situation it was who she least expected to be the most comprehensive the one that has been secretly helping her; she turned to look at the raven haired girl standing next to the blonde "Mars…" she whispered, although she said it too softly, it was barely heard but she was sure the red dressed woman did.

"Alright…" Serenity said dryly and turned to look at Venus "You win, just tell me one thing"

Venus was taken aback by her determination; something she knew Serenity had but rarely showed, when it came to serious things she was the pure example of a true believer of trust, honesty and innocence, something extremely difficult to find in the divine world.

"What is it that you want to know, Princess?" she asked; puzzled but her voice was as determined as her princess'.

Serenity crossed her arms and looked at her seriously. Without a hint of curiosity and mischief; not even tenderness. It was pure seriousness.

"Do you really think I should marry Athamas?"

Venus widened her eyes.

"Do you?" Serenity asked again, not giving the blonde too much time to think.

Venus widened her eyes a little bit larger.

Serenity waited for an answer.

Venus sighed "Why are you asking me this Princess?"

Serenity arched a brow, showing her authority "Do you really think I should follow my mother's wishes and marry Athamas? Do you think I should marry him? Do you think he is the right man for me?"

"Princess"

"Tell me, not as my guardian…tell me as the senshi of love"

Venus sighed again and looked away "I…" she trailed off; "I do not know"

Serenity frowned "You do not know?" she asked, confused and with annoyance "You, are forbidding me to see a man that shows nothing else but love to me and you do not know how to answer me when it comes a man who only loves himself? It is extremely obvious! And it is absurd!"

Mercury turned to look at Mars who had her arms crossed the whole time, watching the scene that was developing right in front of her eyes. She thought she was going to be the first one to say something to stop the arguing but she was surprised to see Mars so tranquil or maybe she was just pretending, she thought.

She took a step forward and cleared her throat "The laws of nature are very strong Your Highness…"

Serenity turned to Mercury and looked at her with sad eyes "The laws of nature are contradictory Mercury…look around you and tell me one thing that is fair in this realm…"

Jupiter widened her eyes "Princes, Venus is only trying to protect you…she means no harm, none of us does…"

Serenity turned to Jupiter this time "I know Jupiter" she turned to Venus "But it still hurts"

Venus fixed her gaze with her princess'; Serenity continued "It burns down my throat, it burns my chest and stabs my heart…the feeling I am experiencing, will not ever match with any kind of pain of yours…"

The blonde senshi lowered her gaze, breaking eye contact with Serenity [Kunzite…] she thought, moments ago she was there with him, she longed to hear his voice of experience again, his strange but adorable behavior, his grey eyes, his tan skin and white shiny hair. She wanted to be near him again.

"Princess…" Mercury said softly and took another step closer to the princess; getting her attention "Princess…Queen Serenity cannot be wrong…if she approves General Athamas, maybe it is because he is…" Mercury trailed off and widened her eyes realizing what she was saying and tried to change her words "…Maybe it is not a bad idea to try and give him an opportunity to show you he has changed…"

Venus frowned and turned to look at Serenity again, no, she did not think Athamas was the right man for her princess, not for what she has seen before between the terran prince and her princess, but, he was the one approved by the queen and accepted by the gods. Right now, he is her best choice, even when she knows the kind of prick he is.

Serenity closed her eyes and shook her head in consternation "How can you ask me that?"

Venus sighed and lowered her head "Mercury is right, Princess…"

Serenity opened her eyes and widened them in shock; turning abruptly to see her guardian she frowned seconds later "What?"

Venus turned her face to her princess "Her Majesty cannot be wrong…she is your mother, she knows what is best for you…"

"What?" Serenity shook her head.

"You should give him the opportunity he deserves…" Venus finished.

"I cannot believe what I am listening…" Serenity gasped "…I cannot believe this…this is like a nightmare…a terrible nightmare, my friends…" she trailed off and looked at the four girls "You are betraying me, you know the kind of man he is and still you are suggesting me to leave the man I love and marry this one that cares for nothing else but himself…"

Friends. Venus heard the word and flinched slightly; although when she had hard times cataloging her status in this realm, her place in the lunar palace, she felt she only served as a guardian never imagining her princess did consider her a friend.

Venus closed her eyes and regret what she was about to say "That is the point Princess…we are not betraying you, we, are not your friends but your guardians…we are not allowed to be friends with you…"

Serenity gave the blonde and the rest of the girls a very sad glance; this hurt her. Venus pressed her lips together, knowing that this, her words where destroying the little friendly relationship they had with the princess and it killed her to know she was hurting her to death "We are not betraying you…"

"Since the moment you were introduced as my guardians, you were my friends. I trusted you, all of you…you know I love Endymion and you know he loves me back…" Serenity tried to raise her voice but her voice was starting to quiver.

Mars lowered her gaze and so did Jupiter and Mercury. Serenity tried to look for their gazes but none of them was looking back at her. Venus was the only one that did "We are saving you from harm. We, on the other hand are betraying our Queen by letting you go to earth…" Venus raised her hands up to her chest and looked at them "…We have risked your life too much…you can no longer go there, you are not to see him again" her voice was calm and showed a little courtesy and respect but it was dry and authoritative.

Serenity sniffed and wiped her tears in a brusque manner and showed her back to the girls "Tell my mother I will be there in a moment"

The comment startled the girls "Princess?" Jupiter said, not really following what was happening. She expected her to start crying desperately the same way she did many times before, she expected her to curse them for being so inflexible with her but not this calm woman.

Mars on the other hand knew something was wrong, she knew what this meant and so did Venus, it was the end of a tender friendship; Mercury brought her hands to cover her mouth and tried to suppress her sobbing, her eyes could not take it any longer and began to cry silently.

"Do you need us to help you Princess?" Jupiter asked softly.

"I can finish getting ready myself, in case I need any assistance I will call one of the maids, thank you…" Serenity said softly and at the same time absent and dry. She finished wiping her tears in the same brusque manner and walked to her vanity where, again took her brush and began brushing one of her long pigtails.

The four girls did not know what to do or what to say; Venus took a step forward but Serenity watched her from her mirror "You are excused"

Venus was taken aback and stopped abruptly in her tracks; she did not find any spark in her princess' eyes that showed excitement, or even kindness. She was hurt and she caused it but the shitennou's words kept playing in her mind [Do what you have to do…] she turned to the girls and nodded her head as if letting them know it was alright to leave the princess by herself.

Mars was about to protest but the blonde put a hand on her shoulder and shook her head; Jupiter watched her princess with sadness and ran her arm around Mercury's shoulders in a supportive way. The four girls walked out of the princess' chambers and Mars closed the door behind her and leaned on it right after it, she sighed "I cannot believe what just happened…" she said softly.

Venus pursed her lips "It had to be done…" she turned to see Mercury wiping her tears off "Don't be sad Mercury…"

Mercury looked at Venus and sniffed "It just…hurts me to see her suffer, I know she is suffering"

"She took it impressively well…" Jupiter said.

"She is maturing…" Mars said.

"He helped. We know" Venus said.

Mars sighed again "How long do you think she will hate us?"

Mercury widened her eyes "She hates us?"

Jupiter turned to Mercury and patted her shoulder "No, no Mercury…she does not" Mercury lowered her head. Venus shrugged her shoulders "I do not care at this point…it had to be done before things would complicate more"

"Complicate more? Can this situation complicate more?" Jupiter arched her brow.

Mars sighed for the third time and turned to the amazon "It seems Athamas knows about the affair"

Mercury widened her eyes even bigger and so did Jupiter "What?" both girls said shocked; Venus put raised her index finger and pressed it against her lips "We are underestimating him…"

"If he tells the Queen…" Jupiter trailed off.

"…He could even go to Olympus and ask for an audience…we could get sentenced…" Mercury gasped "…Oh no…"

"This is why it had to be done, even when we are hurting her, it is a way to protect her and us" Venus said.

"And now what?" Jupiter crossed her arms.

Venus bit her lower lip "Actually Jupiter…now that I remember…"

Jupiter arched her brow again "What?"

"There is something I would like to ask you…" Venus looked both, Jupiter and Mercury. Both girls frowned (Mercury sniffed, so adorable) "What is it?"

Mars narrowed her eyes "It will be better if we talk about this in private, not in the hallway…"

"But Princess Serenity…" Mercury said.

"Princess Serenity needs some alone time right now…" Mars said sadly "We are the last persons she wants to see right now"

"Auch" Jupiter said.

"I know…" Mars looked at her "…But, it is the truth"

"That is even more painful" the amazon said, Mars frowned "What is?"

Jupiter sighed "Well…that, to know that this is not something that will eventually go away in a couple of hours, this is not something that will be forgotten with just a simple 'I am sorry' this is serious, she does not want our company"

"But we are her guardians, eventually she will have to deal with it" Venus said "If she learned something from…" she turned both sides "You know, _him_. She will accept it and take it the most mature way possible"

Mars closed the door behind them as soon they all entered one of the princess study rooms "You are defending him?"

Venus sat on a couch "I never said the man was evil or unprepared…" she sighed "He is mature, up to some point because he won't let go of the princess…but in other things, he is mature and she learned that from him…I believe. For what we all have been witnessing…"

"She challenged the General" Mercury said.

"She has been challenging him since I do not know when…" Mars said "It was only a matter of time"

Mercury turned to Venus "You know she does not love him…"

"You suggested it too Mercury" Venus interrupted the blue haired woman; she sighed and put her hands on her face "This is going out of control…we are not supposed to be doing what we are doing, we are her guardians, what we were asked to do was to only look after her, protect her not befriend her…"

Jupiter frowned "That is too harsh…"

Venus moved her hands away from her face "…I do not know what I am doing or saying anymore…"

"You care too much for her; you are frustrated just like any of us is…" Mars walked over to the blonde and stopped right in front of her "If there hasn't been any threat surrounding us, we would probably continued supporting our Princess"

Venus sighed and looked at both, Jupiter and Mercury "There is a man who has a blessing not anyone can have and it happens to be one of the terran Prince's guardians…do you know who he is?"

Mercury frowned and shook her head "I have no idea…"

Venus' eyes shifted to look at Jupiter who nodded "Nephrite has the blessing of the stars"

"Did he say anything mortifying?"

Jupiter frowned "Like what?"

"Something that may have to be related with the vicious energy that approaches us"

Mercury widened her eyes "Vicious?"

"Something it's coming…I can't help feeling it" Mars said softly, with a worried tone "War is near"

"Nobody knows who the enemy is?" Jupiter asked confused.

Venus and Mars shook their heads "Not even my Father…" Mars continued "He is very worried…he has come several times to talk with the Queen but, there is still not a single answer"

"This must be killing Athamas" Jupiter said "To not be able to share the universe of this discovery; this could definitely catapult him straight to the throne"

"He never mentioned anything to you Jupiter?" Venus asked the tall woman, Jupiter crossed her arms and shook her head "He is very polite…"

"I need to talk to him"

Jupiter widened her eyes "What does that mean?"

"It means I will go to where he is and talk to him" Venus said determinant.

"Alone? By yourself?" Jupiter asked surprised.

"Absolutely not, I am going as well" Mars stepped in; Venus turned to the woman in red "Why?"

"I believe we all have the right to know whatever is happening…if Mars go, I will go as well" Mercury said surprising everybody. Jupiter widened her eyes and turned to the blushing mercurian and then back at Venus "Then, if Mercury goes, I'll go as well"

"Somebody needs to stay with Princess Serenity" Venus said.

"Our Princess the last thing she wants to do right now is to be around any of us…that is our alibi" Mercury said again, surprising everybody.

Jupiter narrowed her eyes and turned to look at her "What happened to you?"

Mercury blushed "N-Nothing…but, the situation is already too complicated to not be involved…" she turned to the blonde "If she goes, we all go"

"We still need a second alibi" Mars said slowly "Athamas might have his pawns surrounding the entire palace searching for some kind of answer; if he not sees us around he will immediately think something is happening"

"We do not have much time, the sun will soon go down and if we are still here trying to decide what to do…we will have to take our chances and just go" Venus said.

"How are we going to find him?" Mercury asked softly "Or any of them that could lead us to him? We do not have what Princess Serenity has with the Prince"

Venus bit her lower lip and looked at the girls "We will have to take our chances this time"

"How are we going to even appear inside the palace?" Jupiter asked, last time we went with Princess Serenity that is how we got there, but now?"

Venus stood up and walked around the room in thought "I don't know…maybe if we visualize who we want to see…maybe it works that way"

"And what if it doesn't?" Mars arched a brow "Um, Venus…you do not seem to have a clue of what you are saying…"

Venus shrugged her shoulders and giggled nervously, showing that usual perky and bubbly personality everybody was starting to miss so greatly "Oh please, how hard can it be? We just imagine the person we want to meet and them BAM! We will be there!" she turned to look at the girls and widened her eyes as soon as she noticed all of them were giving her strange glances and sweat dropped "What?"

"…And _BAM!_ We _will_ be there?" Mars arched her brow.

"Fine, do not go with me…I can go and get lost by myself" Venus huffed and started to walk toward the window; just when she was about to summon her power she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to meet a smiling Mars and widened her eyes.

"So you are still in there…I knew it…and I'm glad" Mars said softly, startling the blonde.

Venus blinked a couple of times and tilted her head "Mars…"

Mars sighed "All right then, let's all go and get lost on Earth…"

Jupiter and Mercury nodded and walked over to them and held each other's hands and started to summon their inner power; Venus closed her eyes and wished with all her might to be able to find them [Please…even if it is one…last…time…]

And they were gone.


	100. Chapter 100

_A/N: To my dearest readers_;

_I know it has been zillions of years since I last posted, trust me when I say that it is not because I didn't have anything written or because I forgot about the story, but it is because I have been going through many changes in my life with writer'sblock included for the final chapters. We are now officially crossed to the final stage of this season, I'm very excited and even more because this si our 100 chapter; I don't knowifit counts as an anniversary...I planned it topost it on the exact day when I started writing the whole story but again, my eye infection, work and other things that have been taking my time away made it very hard. It isno excuse, I know and you just can't imagine how much I hate it. I haven't forgotten about you, any of you and your kind words and strong opinions, I really appreciate everything you have shared with me since this adventure called Divinity began. You are the best and even when I am taking ages to post, I won't give this story up, I will finish it even if it is the last thing I do. My plan was to start posting once I finished the season completely, but I just could not wait for you to read this long, long and juicy chapter, which while I was re reading it and editing it I was loving it a lot and I hope you like it, love it and be prepared for more._

_Thank you for your kind and understanding words, thank you for understanding and your messages asking if I am doing better, I am, no worries, I will be myself pretty soon and continue posting more and more chapters until I'm done :)_

_Happy 100th chapter everyone!_

_I do not own sm, just the plot and some of the characters, thank you._

_Divinity: A question of Honor_

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Chapter one hundred

Queen Gaia walked slowly down the hallway, the day have been going on slowly and awkwardly peaceful. There were any kind of incidents, no damsels in distress pleading to see the prince, no strange events concerning the outside and of course, no signs of her past.

She sighed as she continued walking, even when she said it might be a good idea to let her mother in law throw the winter ball her heart told her that her son might be quite upset, or better said, very upset. She stopped to take a rest and leaned herself on the mezzanine to look at the inner garden peacefully; she felt the breeze caress her face and cool it down with its moist and delicate scent.

"Where are you going?"

The queen widened her golden green eyes and turned to see Narella walking towards her "I saw you coming this way and I wondered"

Gaia smiled "Nowhere exactly"

Narella chuckled "Do not misunderstand me dear, I just found it strange…"

Gaia answered with a chuckle "Believe me Mother, that it is quite a surprise for me as well…I am condemned to be on my chambers all day and all night, not able to do much…" she trailed off and looked away "…My body has weakened and it has started to remind me where I am destined to go after I fulfill my time in this place…"

Narella looked at her sadly and leaned on the rail of the mezzanine as well "Dear…" she trailed of and frowned "I hardly believe you will leave this place before than I do"

Gaia widened her eyes and turned to look at Narella "Don't say that, you are very strong and healthy!"

Narella chuckled "Very strong…but old dear" she patted Gaia's shoulder "Years have passed us by very quickly…it was just yesterday that you and my son met and got married…now Endymion is all grown up and ready to follow his father's steps…impressively, Odell would be so proud"

Gaia smiled sadly "You miss him, don't you?"

Narella sighed "Oh…you have no idea of how much…" the older queen turned to look at the distance, many memories started to fill her mind, her lips curved into a sad smile "I married a very decent man" she sniffed "Very stubborn I must say, but very decent. He believed in good will and kindness, he always told me that our son had to be noble before all things…"

"And he did, because of you" Gaia patted her mother in law's freckled hand.

Narella looked down at her hands together and her smile widened "Odell was very proud of Endymion; he always said it was a vivid image of your love"

Gaia tilted her head "Endymion grew fond with his grandfather, I am sure he suffered when he learned he was gone…" she gave her mother queen a sad smile "He still keeps the wooden horses he gave him for his birthday"

Narella chuckled and wiped a tear of her eye "Ah that young man, underneath all that stoic persona is a very noble man, he has the heart of a little boy…like my mother would say, Endymion is like an onion, he has too many layers and you have to peel one at a time…very much like his father, very much like his grandfather" she sighed and looked away again "That is why I wanted to find him the perfect girl…someone who could really understand him, listen to him and keep up with him…"

Gaia frowned and looked down "Then why Beryl Mother?"

"I don't know dear, I just think she is the girl who could be by his side…" Narella said softly; Gaia turned on her side, resting one arm on the rail and the other on her waist "Do you really think so?"

"Yes" Narella nodded "I truly do"

"But you know Charmindy…you know how she is" Gaia continued; Narella smiled and tilted her head "You have always judged Beryl because she is Charmindy's protégé. I know you do not like her because of what she did to you…"

"That is not why I dislike Charmindy Narella…it is simply because she wants things in her own terms, in her own way and when things do not go as planned she just goes ballistic…that is the example that young woman has been receiving for I do not know how long…I do not want a woman like that be related to my son…Endymion is too kind to deal with a family like that…Can you imagine Charmindy as his mother in law, walking around the palace…flirting to my husband?…"

Narella smiled "You are jealous…"

Gaia frowned "Why, of course I am jealous!…I love my husband, with all my heart and I love my son as well…what if I am not around for too long to look after them?...what if?..."

"Dear" Narella took Gaia's hands and gave her a warm smile "Nothing bad is going to happen. Eros loves you too much to let go of you…he risked his mortal life to be with you and he has done everything in his power to keep you safe, so as your son…I know how Charmindy is dear, I am not blind…but, I do not see any trace of Charmindy in Beryl…I believe that is why I trust her"

Gaia bit her lower lip and looked away; Narella squeezed Gaia's hands trying to get her attention again "Why don't you give her an opportunity?"

"Because I still believe there is someone better out there for him…"

Narella sighed and let go of her hands "A Goddess? Is that it?"

Gaia widened her eyes and turned; Narella shook her head and let out a soft chuckle "A Goddess it is…"

"It has nothing to do with the fact that we are mortals and they are not…" Gaia widened her eyes when she saw Narella raising her hand "I know it has nothing to do with that dear" she turned "It has to do with the fact that only a being like that could really match his nature, and it is understandable but dear, but, what are the chances for that to really happen?"

Gaia sighed and lowered her gaze "I do not know… maybe I am just being hopeful, idealistic perhaps…my mother always thought I was too idealistic and always dreamt about impossible things…"

"But impossible things can happen as well" Narella patted Gaia's hand again "You married my son and had a child. It has been so long…I find it very sad that your family never tried to contact you…"

"That is how divinity works" Gaia said sarcastically.

"Give Beryl a chance" Narella said softly "I invited her to the winter ball…"

Gaia sighed again "There is still something in her that I do not like…" she rested her chin on her hand "Maybe is her hair…"

Narella chuckled "What?"

Gaia smiled, trying to enlighten the mood "Her hair is too red…"

"That is not a good excuse"

Gaia smiled and turned to her mother in law "But it sure made you laugh"

Narella smiled "It did"

Gaia coughed softly and covered her mouth with her right hand; Narella tilted her head "Are you alright? Do you want me to call for Aurea?"

"No, no I'm alright…" Gaia shook her head but continued coughing "It comes and goes…" the terran queen felt some moisture in her hand and moved it away slightly and widened her eyes.

"Is something the matter?" Narella asked.

Gaia looked at her hand and then at her mother queen and shook her head "N-No...I'm fine…" she fisted her hand and moved it away "I think, it will be better if I go to my room…I have been out for quite a while and Eros won't be free until dinner time…"

"I'll walk you to your room" Narella said.

"No, it's alright, I can go by myself"

Narella frowned "Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes" Gaia smiled and waved her other hand "I'm fine…it's just a little cough…I'm always coughing"

The older queen looked at her worried and watched her daughter in law walk slowly away; she looked so fragile that she wished there could be something she could do to help her. Narella loved Gaia like a daughter and just like everybody else in the palace was worried to see the once strong and powerful queen being betrayed by her weak body.

Gaia stopped and leaned on a pillar once she knew Narella was not close by and looked at her shaking hand, she tried to cry and held the urge to scream out in frustration and worry; her fingers were tainted red with blood. Her golden eyes gleamed with unshed tears and her lips trembled until she could not hold her tears any longer.

Soft sobbing echoed in the hallway, she was scared. She leaned herself against the pillar and took several breaths, they sounded harsh, it was a mixture of lack of air and fright, coughing blood was not a good sign, it only meant one thing, that her journey in this place was close to come to an end.

The terran queen searched for her silk handkerchief hidden on her chest and wiped the blood off her hand with desperation, hoping there was nobody coming her way and saw what she was doing, her hands were shaking uncontrollably now and her tears could not stop rolling down her cheeks, she sniffed trying to regain her poise and once she saw the blood barely tainted her hand, she hid the tissue again on its place and walked slowly back to her room.

Down in the study, the king, prince and the rest of the generals and sergeants continued working on new plans and new strategies alongside the new terms of exportation where the prince had to serve as advisor to the king.

Leonidas walked inside the study and closed the door behind him, Endymion turned from his seat on the large table and sighed "More paperwork" he extended his hand as soon as he knew those papers were addressed to him.

"These are some reports you asked concerning the exportation points near the bay area, your Father has approved some of the new regulations, and there is a list of people involved in the new crew of supervisors and assistants, practically now, we only need your approval and your signature" Leonidas sat across from him on the table, next to Kunzite.

Endymion frowned as he started reading "When are you planning to start this new regulations Father?" he asked out loud so the king could hear on the other side of the large study, where he was with a few sergeants. Eros pressed his lips together and put his hands on his waist "Why? What did you found?"

Endymion continued reading "People should get a notice about this, are they notified?"

The king sighed and walked towards the table where his son was working "It hasn't changed that much"

Endymion turned to his father "But they should be informed about this" he looked at the papers again "Some of the exporters still do not know the full list of regulations and now that they're changing they need to be as informed as possible. I do not think it is necessary so much change in this matter, everything goes as it should be…why changing it?"

"Because, population is increasing and with that more articles are needed to be imported and exported, which means more supervision and assistance" the king said.

"It is a good project, I just think they should be advised that's all" Endymion gave Leonidas the papers who, returned them to the prince, Endymion frowned "What?"

"Your signature" Leonidas said and gave him the pen.

Endymion sighed and took the pen "Right…now everything needs my signature, apparently"

"It is better if all the paperwork is checked by two people. It is important for you to know these entire things son" the king crossed his arms. Endymion signed one paper after another "It makes it look like I do not trust you and I do…more than I trust myself" once he finished, he gave Leonidas the papers back, who in response gave him a smile.

The prince's words caught the shitennou attention and turned to look at him, so did the king "Son?"

Endymion put the pen down and sighed again "Yes?"

"You do not trust anything that you do?"

"I didn't mean it that way…" Endymion leaned his back on his chair "I'm just…" he rubbed the bridge of his nose "…Tired"

King Eros looked around and then back at his son "We are finding solutions to every matter, you are doing a good job" he sat next to his son and patted his back "I know this is frustrating"

"Do you know what would make me much more tranquil?" Endymion looked at his father.

King Eros arched his brow "What?"

"You, cancelling the winter ball" the prince said.

The king shook his head "I can't do that"

"You should"

"But, I can't"

"But, you should"

"Endymion…"

Endymion sighed for the third time and ran a hand through his hair "Father, I do not see the point" he stood up "As your advisor, you should listen to what I am saying…how can you listen to my suggestions when it comes another matter…but when it comes something from my jurisdiction you oppose?"

"Son, I am not opposing…I am just following your mother's suggestions"

"My mother would have never agreed to do this…" Endymion said dryly "I know her too well"

"Your mother is tired son, she needs to distract herself…she may not have fully agreed but this time I had to go with what my gut and heart told me to do…your grandmother is greatly preoccupied for your mother, I am and I am sure you are as well. I am doing this for her, which is why I am working more than I should be working…"

Endymion lowered his gaze "What am I supposed to do?"

Eros frowned and turned to the shitennou "Please, tell the sergeants to take a recess…"

Kunzite nodded and stood up immediately, followed by the rest of the shitennou. Leonidas looked at Eros and Endymion with sad eyes, knowing where this conversation was heading. The king continued once all the men left the study, leaving them alone "About what son?"

"I don't know what else I should do to make her feel better, I know how sick she is…I can feel it…somehow…" the prince looked down at his hands "I don't know how to protect her from any harm…I do not know how to protect her from herself" his voice went down a decibel, showing his concern and frustration.

Eros watched his son with sadness "Son…"

"And I have tried…" Endymion snapped "I have tried to know what is really happening to her…but she won't say a thing, I have tried to find a cure for her illness…something, but I never succeed"

Leonidas sighed "Endymion, your mother is not alone…she has many people that loves her all around her, she has Obelix and she has you…that is what matters"

"She is not alone, you are right…but, we are going to be if she leaves our side. I can't stand to see her in the condition she is…" Endymion ran his hand through his hair and sighed; he stood up not really sure of what he was supposed to do or say next and stood in front the nearest window in the study and crossed his arms "She looks like if one day she will vanish…"

Eros lowered his gaze and stayed silent for a moment while Leonidas patted his shoulder in a supportive manner, Endymion rested his hand against the wooden frame and closed his eyes "…I don't understand…anything, I don't understand"

Eros raised his head and looked at his son not with the eyes of a king but with the eyes of a loving father, his son was in great pain, longing for a solution of what it hurting his mother. Endymion sighed again "…No matter how many times she will keep telling me how it has nothing to do with me…I will always have the feeling that it has…"

Leonidas took a step closer to the prince "Endymion…your mother's health has nothing to do with you"

Endymion turned to look at the general, his eyes showed hurt and anger "Don't you lie to me Leonidas, not you"

Leonidas was taken aback by what he found in the prince's gaze, something he had never received from him in his years knowing him "I am not lying" he said seriously; Endymion turned to his father and then back outside the window; time was going on too fast for him "I am starting to wonder if this is what I really expected when I was longing to be who I am now"

Eros frowned "Son?"

"I do not believe I was fully aware of all the implications I might have to deal with to become this…" Endymion said dryly. The king stood up and walked over his son "By _this_ what do you mean?"

"This…" Endymion moved his hands up and down "Whatever it is that I am now…"

"Whatever it is…?" Leonidas frowned "You are a warrior! The warrior you always wanted to be…the warrior you said you will become when I went to visit you on the training field that day"

Endymion turned again and before he could say anything his father took another step "You are far much more than that…you are a great human being"

"Am I Father?" Endymion frowned "Even after all those deaths I could not prevent? All those disappearances? After my mother's sickness? Am I really a good person, after I committed assassination?"

"That has nothing to do with you directly…" Eros trailed off and raised his hand stopping his son from interrupting him "…Yes, you are the one in charge of our protection but, whatever it is happening it something that shouldn't only concern to you, this has to do with all of us and we all are working on it, about you mother…" the king sighed "It hurts me too to see her like that, but if she is making a great effort to be well, we should make one too to show her our appreciation…and this is a good time to spend more time with her…if, you know what I mean…" Eros squeezed his son's shoulders tightly.

Endymion lowered his gaze and nodded "She knows I am there for her, always and forever" his words echoed in his own mind, making a little more sense to him than to his father and godfather; he remembered something important he promised to her, something he completely forgot because of all the events that have been happening lately including Beryl's unexpected stay in the palace.

The prince turned to look at his father and nodded "I'll work on what it will take to keep the palace and all its surroundings safe for the winter ball then…"

Eros turned to Leonidas and then back at his son, with a smile he patted his shoulders in a grateful manner "Thank you son, thank you for understanding"

Outside in the hallway, Jadeite leaned on one of the pillars while Kunzite walked back and forth; Zoicite was leaning on the mezzanine's rail watching Kunzite move with a face of deep concentration and worry "You are going to leave a trail you know…"

Kunzite continued walking, his mind divided in two things one, the problems with his kingdom and second, the blonde venusian that captured his heart. Nephrite was standing next to Zoicite and only shook his head; Jadeite gritted his teeth "Zoicite is right you know? You will indeed leave a mark on the floor if you continue"

Kunzite stopped abruptly "It is not funny Jadeite"

Jadeite arched his brow and crossed his arms "My comment wasn't meant to be funny at all"

"Are you concerned about what we have been revising and discussing all day?" Zoicite asked, this time in a more serious tone. Kunzite sighed "Endymion is worried…that is not a good sign…"

"He is always worried" Jadeite shrugged his shoulders.

Kunzite shook his head "No…he always has a solution or a backup plan for everything…and this time…he is lost in a way"

"Lost?" Zoicite asked.

Kunzite sighed "By lost I don't mean he doesn't know what to do from where we are right now, but, he normally has an immediate solution for any problem and this time…he is struggling"

"It is normal…he has too many things in his mind…" Nephrite said softly "What is happening it's not an easy thing to solve…and well, there are many other things that must be occupying his mind"

"Yes…like the white Princess" Jadeite said.

"Shhh!" Zoicite turned to his blonde comrade.

Jadeite frowned "What?"

"Don't say that out loud…somebody can hear you"

Jadeite rolled his eyes "Nobody will ever understand what I meant…"

"You can be very insensitive sometimes…" Zoicite shook his head; Kunzite sighed and shook his as well, trying his best not to smile. Those two always made him chuckle with their usual discussions, even when they always argued about something he knew that they were the best soldiers the terran queen could ever chose to advise and look after her son.

He was about to say something, when something caught his eye and turned. His grey eyes widened immediately when he thought he recognized what he saw "Venusian girl…" he whispered.

Nephrite frowned "Kunzite?"

Kunzite turned to the chestnut haired man and then back down at the garden, the same place where he saw her the last time; his heart started pounding fast and could not really control what he was about to do, so, he obeyed his body and walked as quickly as he could down the long staircase and walked towards the garden.

"Where is he going?" Zoicite frowned; Jadeite gave the blonde a confused face and shook his head "We better go after him…"

"What if Prince Endymion call us?" Nephrite asked.

"I do not think he will call us right away…" Jadeite said and went after Zoicite; Nephrite sighed and had no other choice but to go after his comrades. Kunzite entered the small garden and looked around trying to prove to himself that what he saw was really her.

"Good afternoon…General" her voice caught his full attention and made him turn. His eyes widened when he saw her again, standing there in front of him, wearing a very pale ochre gown. Her beauty was one of the reasons he widened his eyes as soon as he saw her but the other was the fact that she was not alone.

The intimacy was gone, knowing it had to do with the fact that she was accompanied by her fellow senshi. Her face was tranquil; there was no sign of anger or frustration and even when her face showed a serious expression, her eyes showed excitement to see him again. He had to play along, he could not let them know she has been there with him before; her eyes pleaded him that façade.

"Good afternoon Guardian" he said in monotone; Venus missed his warmth but also was grateful for what he was doing for her. Kunzite frowned "This is not an appropriate time to come and talk to my Prince"

"We did not come to talk to your Prince Shitennou, but with you…" Venus said softly but clear "…My Princess does not know we are here, we will be very grateful if you never mention this meeting to you Prince"

Kunzite's frown deepened "What do you want to talk about with us exactly?"

Seconds later the rest of the shitennou entered and caught up with Kunzite and widened their eyes as soon as they all watched the four girls standing there "What…?" Jadeite asked but trailed off as soon as he saw Mars standing next to Venus.

Zoicite watched Mercury's delicate features and her unsure gaze that somehow troubled him. Nephrite stayed silent but could not deny his pleasure to see the amazon girl again.

"They have come to talk to us" Kunzite said to them "Our Prince must not know of this meeting"

Jadeite frowned "Has something happened?"

"It is happening…" Mars answered him "Something is happening and we do not know what it is"

Zoicite frowned and turned to Mars "And what makes you think we do know? Does it have something to do with us?"

"In a way…" Mercury's soft voice made him turn "What do you mean?"

"We want to make sure that this conversation shall be kept secret" Venus said again "This is something I am telling you from a guardian to another guardian"

"You have our word" Kunzite said in his same monotone voice "But the this place is the least secure place to talk about such thing, we should go somewhere else"

"But the study is occupied…" Zoicite turned to Kunzite "Where should we go?"

"If we go to one of the offices, we could get caught as well" Jadeite said not diverting his gaze from the girls; Kunzite pursed his lips "We will use of the guardhouses" he kept his gaze on Venus who kept her gaze on him.

All eight guardians walked in silence through many secret passages and crossed many doors to get unnoticed by the guards in the palace and finally managed to go to one of the guardhouses like the first shitennou in command suggested; Jadeite closed the door behind him after they were all inside and went to stand next to Zoicite.

"What is it so important, that you want to talk with us in private?" Kunzite said.

"…And so important that our Prince is not allowed to know…" Zoicite added; Venus cleared her throat and looked at all four men before locking her gaze with Kunzite's "We happen to know that one of you has the blessing of the stars…one of you, can communicate with them and actually get answers from them…"

"And what about it?" Jadeite asked.

"We want to know who this person is…and see if he could answer a few questions for us…" Mars said; Jupiter watched Nephrite but before he could say something Zoicite crossed his arms "It is somehow ironic how you come here to ask us for some divine answers.

"What is that suppose to mean?" Mars fiery character started to ignite the conversation "Are you mocking us?"

"Weren't you the ones who told us that we were nothing but just mortal guardians with no comparison to you divine beings?" Jadeite asked and looked at Mars "You were the first ones to mock us…in case you don't remember"

"I knew you were a bas…" Mars narrowed her amethyst eyes.

"It is I…" Nephrite interrupted "I am the man who can read the stars…"

"So you might have some answers…" Mars said softly.

Nephrite frowned "I don't know what you are talking about"

"About the shadow surrounding the sun" Mars said.

"Shadow?" Kuznite widened his eyes and turned to Venus; the blonde gave him a worried look and nodded "Mars has premonitions…her power has to do with visions from the future and she has been having one strong vision about a shadow covering the sun…"

Nephrite frowned "I do not know what you…" his eyes widened "Nephrite?" Zoicite asked confused.

"A shadow covering the sun…" Nephrite said softly and turned to Mars "What else appears in that vision of yours?"

Mars widened her eyes "You know about something?"

"I need to know, what else do you see in that vision…?" Nephrite said; Mars lowered her gaze and starts to remember the vivid image "I see destruction…I see blood…many people dead… and a man protecting my Princess all this, under the shadowed sun. There is only a blood tainted sky, no stars and no moonlight…just dust, heavy mist and a sultry environment"

Nephrite's eyes widened a little larger "A man…how does this man look like?"

Mars frowned "He…I…" she shook her head, trying to visualize the scene "I do not know who he is…but he is not the Commander of our army… he is holding a sword and this man is protecting our Princess…we are suspecting it has to be a very powerful man because the aura surrounding him in incredibly strong…"

Kunzite frowned and turned to look at Nephrite "What?" he asked.

Nephrite turned to his comrades "The star of Leo…is tainted red…"

Zoicite's eyes widened "What is that supposed to mean?"

"You keep repeating this like a mantra…" Jadeite said.

Kunzite's eyes widened "The star of Leo is the star under the protection of the sun"

"Our Prince…is under the protection of Leo" Nephrite said softly "This has to do with our Prince after all"

The four senshi frowned "What?" they said in unison "What are you saying?" Mars asked "So do you really have an answer to this vision of mine? Do you know what I am talking about?"

"We are not allowed to say more than we can" Nephrite said and looked at Jupiter with sad eyes "I'm sorry…"

Jupiter widened her eyes, Venus frowned "What is it that you are not allowed to say?"

Kunzite crossed his arms "We swore our lives that we won't say anything"

"You said it had something to do with your Prince…what about your Prince?" Mars said "What are you hiding?"

"Is there something we must know about your Prince? Is it something that it might be convenient for us to know?" Mercury asked softly.

"What is it that you want exactly? Have you come here to inquire about our origins?" Jadeite asked with annoyance.

"No…" Mars shook her head.

"Then what?" Zoicite asked.

"We only want to know the truth…" Mercury answered.

"The truth about what?" Jadeite asked again.

Jupiter watched Nephrite's serious face; his eyes somehow held worry and she was sure there was more to know. This was a man that knew too much. She was positive that the stars has portrayed a whole situation right in front of his eyes but he does not want to accept it still; she walked towards him and held his hands not really caring what the rest would think or say "I know you know more than you are telling us…" she whispered while looking into his eyes.

Nephrite looked down and stayed silent, Jupiter squeezed his hands "Why can't you trust us?" she whispered again.

"I'm sorry…" Nephrite shook his head "I cannot say more than I already have…"

"You know something about your Prince…" Venus turned to Kunzite who was staring back at her "That is something you are not allowed to know"

"Why is it kept a secret?" Mars frowned.

"Because it is his life, we do not ask you private things about your Princess" Jadeite said to Mars, who was already frowning "We came here to talk to you about this urgent matter that requires our full attention"

Zoicite turned to Mercury "Ballerina…"

Mercury widened her eyes and blushed; Zoicite took her hand and looked down at her "Why are you doing this? Why here and why us? Is it really because of Nephrite?"

"We are desperate, we need answers…it does not matter from who or where we just want to know what is happening so we can prevent it" her voice pleaded him for more information, anything he could share with her. The blonde man shook his head "You are asking too much of what you can really know"

"Or maybe you do not really have anything" Mars snapped.

Jadeite gritted his teeth and turned to her "Do not be so insensitive; do not ask us to tell you the story of this kingdom!"

"Are you calling me insensitive?" Mars frowned.

"You heard me" Jadeite looked at her.

Jupiter looked at Nephrite "I'm sorry, if all this is making you feel uncomfortable…"

Nephrite sighed "We all want answers, I do as well…but I am not a wizard, the stars talk to me but they only give me hints of what could happen…what your friend is telling me is the same thing I know…there is something approaching us, but I do not know what or why…I'm sorry"

Venus heard her friends entranced talking with the shitennou and felt the right and appropriate time to talk to Kunzite as well, now that any of them would notice their earlier encounter "Why this has to be so difficult?"

Kunzite crossed his arms "Was this your idea?"

Venus widened her eyes "What?"

"Was this your idea, Venusian girl?"

Venus lowered her gaze "…I'm desperate"

"Where is your Princess?"

"Having tea with her mother"

Kunzite sighed and parted from his comrades, to a quieter side of the room "Venus, this is too dangerous…and too much, you can't come here and ask for something we are not allowed to tell"

"We are desperate, I am desperate I need to know what it is so we can protect Princess Serenity" Venus said slowly "So it is true then…"

Kunzite arched his brow "What is?"

"There is something about your Prince…there is a secret you are hiding about him" the blonde insisted.

"Venus…" Kunzite warned her.

"This only forces me to make another drastic measure"

Kunzite frowned "Another? How many have you taken already?"

"I just talked to my Princess…she is not coming here anymore" Venus said in a serious tone.

The white haired soldier sighed "I told you to do what you needed to do…my Prince will resent this, but I believe it is the best thing for all of us"

"Even for you?" Venus asked, her voice softened.

Kunzite sighed again and ran a hand through his hair "Our feelings are only clouding our judgment Venus...I am protecting my Prince the same way you are protecting your Princess, I have told you that many times…I have feelings for you that I cannot deny or erase for my mind, this is not easy…but I have a duty to fulfill and that is to serve my royals with much honesty, my loyalty is to them…to my Prince…maybe someday…" he trailed off.

Venus shook her head and stepped away "There is no more to say about that…you are right"

"I am mesmerized by you, Venus" Kunzite said in a whisper making the blonde widen her eyes "Just like I know you love me back…but you know our position"

Venus looked at Kunzite with sad eyes "Kunzite…"

On the other side of the room, Mercury was talking to Zoicite who, occasionally turned to look at Mars arguing with Jadeite "We all want answers…"

"What answer are you looking for Ballerina?"

Mercury widened her eyes and turned to Zoicite "Excuse me?"

Zoicite held her hand "What is that you want to know? Is it the same thing your friends want to know?"

"We are very worried about this whole situation…" Mercury said.

"It is truly a shame this whole situation…" Zoicite sighed, Mercury frowned slightly "I do not understand…"

Zoicite looked at her "It is a shame that we are not meant to be more than what we are now… I find your face angelical, I am captivated by your elegance and simplicity…I believe all of us are enchanted by you all…but it is our nature what parts us"

Mercury looked at him surprised and blushed, her blue eyes turning sad "I am not meant to love anybody…not just you General. There is more than just our nature…this might be the last time we see each other…"

"…Believe me I am not going to miss you…" Mars snapped at Jadeite who repeated the same words Mercury said; Jadeite crossed his arms "It is like talking to a brick wall…"

"I do not understand the nerve you have to talk to me like that…" Mars narrowed her eyes.

Jadeite smiled at her "Maybe because I am probably the only man in this universe that it is not afraid of you…"

Mars widened her eyes and stayed silent; Jadeite chuckled "Touché… again"

"Men are not afraid of me…" Mars said softly.

Jadeite arched a brow "But of course they are…your character is too strong for them, I can assure you that, but they are really missing the true beauty behind it all…it is their loss, I am glad I had the chance to see it in time"

Mars blushed "Is that a line you always tell to your conquests?"

Jadeite shrugged his shoulders "You may find it hard to believe, but you are the only person I have dared to tell you this"

"Why?"

Jadeite looked at her "Because, you are lovely" Mars blinked a couple of times and stayed silent.

"What did you mean with the star of Leo?" Jupiter asked Nephrite "The red tainted star…" her green eyes tried to find an answer in his. Nephrite sighed and closed them for a minute "Is it a warning the stars have been giving me for quite a while now… now that you mentioned the shadows covering the sun…it leaves me thinking…"

"Your Prince is under the protection of that star"

Nephrite widened his eyes slightly "Yes"

"Your Prince is in danger then?"

"Not just he, all of us… the sun is the strongest star in the galaxy…" Nephrite answered.

"Do you know who is causing it? Do you have the slightest clue of who might be behind this atrocity?" Jupiter asked worried; Nephrite shook his head no "They don't show me that…the only keep telling me the same thing, night after night…"

Jupiter lowered her gaze and felt the general's hand on her shoulder "You keep doing what you are doing…keep her save, not from us…but for anything that could harm her"

The amazon raised her gaze and looked at him "How am I going to do that?"

"You are not alone" Nephrite said and caressed her cheek "You are a lovely woman Jupiter… never believe that lie of not being ever enough for anything, you are a very valuable Lady, remember it always…"

Jupiter blushed.

Venus looked at Jupiter and the other girls as well "They all have feelings…" she whispered.

"Do what you have to do Venus" Kunzite held her hand and made her turn "Do what you have to do and keep her safe"

"Your Prince won't accept it"

"My Prince has too many worries in his mind right now… he cannot be distracted by anything…she is lovely but she is somehow a distraction...there are too many things happening right now in this place…"

Venus frowned "Have you found anything concerning what you told me…?"

Kunzite shook his head "Endymion reinforced the security and changed all strategies, if we are not careful this could lead us to war"

Venus lowered her gaze and felt his hand caressing her cheek "…We'll be alright…" his voice made her look at him again "Kunzite…"

Kunzite gave her a kind look "We will be alright...I'll miss you Venusian girl"

The blonde's eyes started to shine with tears but quick enough, Kunzite wiped them away "Don't cry…this was never meant to be anyways… our hearts met but they are not meant to be together… maybe one day they will"

"You sound like your Prince"

Kunzite smiled and shrugged his shoulders "We are friends, after all"

Venus pursed her lips and sighed for a moment "I have to leave…"

Kunzite nodded and joined the rest of the shitennou as she joined the other girls "We have nothing against you" the venusian said, playing her little façade again "It is a shame how things had to turn out"

Mars looked at jadeite with sad eyes "Take care…"

Mercury let go of Zoicite's hand "Thank you for everything…"

Jupiter squeezed Nephrite's hand "Do not worry…everything will be alright"

Venus looked at Kunzite and put a hand on her heart "I'll miss you…" she whispered; Kunzite read her lips and did the same gesture "Take care…"

The four senshi closed their eyes and in a blink of an eye they were gone.

O.o.o.o.o.O

Serenity walked back from her meeting or better said failed meeting with her mother and stopped by the smithy doors that led to the main court; like in a prairie small white flowers danced to the rhythm of the slow air, so different from the earthy and moist breeze that she loved so much from the blue planet.

Her white, one shoulder dress flowed with every movement she made, not sure of where she was going she just felt the need to walk. Her eyes fixed on the blue planet right above her and imagined the smell of the grass, the cool breeze crashing against her skin and the sound of wind; she closed her eyes and wished to be there at this precise moment, she missed talking to her prince.

The sun was almost ready to set on the moon indicating time for dinner was near; her previous talk with the girls had left her feeling crushed somehow and abandoned. Somehow in her heart, she hoped for a light that could lead her to find a way to fulfill her dreams "Dreams" she said to herself sadly.

"Princess" a familiar voice caught her attention, making her turn "Venus…"

Venus was there, standing with the other girls "Can I have a word with you?"

Serenity could not stay mad at them for too long, but still she was hurt for what have happened earlier "It is like you do not believe in dreams…" she said softly.

"I know…and, I'm sorry…but there is really a reason for it" Venus said softly.

"The same reason you keep telling me. I know, but I believe in miracles" Serenity said "I believe there is some kind of way…"

"There is no other way" Venus said softly "What we said it's real… you cannot longer keep doing what you are doing, you cannot longer see him again"

Serenity closed her eyes "Stop saying that"

"There is danger approaching us Princess and we must keep you safe" Mars said softly.

"Danger has always been approaching us, it has been way before I was even born…I know that" Serenity said, opening her eyes "You are just saying it because you want to be safe from any sentence that can be put on you…"

"We are telling you this Princess because it is the truth…" Mercury said softly.

"His guardians think so too" Venus said.

Serenity widened her eyes "His Guardians… you spoke to them?"

Venus stayed silent; Mars frowned and turned to look at the girls "Wasn't this supposed to be kept secret?" Jupiter shrugged her shoulders. Serenity walked towards Venus and looked at her straight in the eyes "You spoke to them?"

"It is something we have always known Princess…they do not agree with whatever is happening…the relationship is putting him in danger as well" Venus said.

"You can keep repeating yourself and them the same thing over and over again…I thought you were on my side"

"And we are, that is why we are trying to keep you away from any harm"

"He is not harmful…he is not a bad person!"

"He is not good for you!" Venus raised her voice silencing her.

Serenity looked at her friend with teary eyes "How can you say that…?"

"He is dangerous for you Princess…" Venus said softly, sadly and more like a friend instead of a leader.

Serenity shook her head "How can you say that?" she whispered "When you have seen the way he looks after me all the time, when you have seen us together?"

"Princess, please…understand us…" Venus pleaded "If the Queen finds out about this…she will…"

Serenity shook her head "If Mother finds out about this…" she widened her eyes "I will end with this…" she turned on her heel and started to walk quickly back inside the palace; Venus frowned "Princess? Princess! Where are you going?"

The princess walked faster "I am going to tell Mother the truth…"

Mars widened her eyes "What?"

Venus tried to stop the princess "Please…" she turned Serenity "Let me go Venus"

"If the General ever finds out about this…he could do something…is that what you want?" the blonde asked; Serenity felt frustrated and stopped trying to free herself from Venus' grasp "Why can't you just understand?"

Venus looked at her with sadness "The truth Princess about this all is that I do understand…and I know it hurts…"

Serenity lowered her gaze "I need to be by myself…"

"Princess?" Mercury asked.

The girls watched their princess walk away and tried to go after her but Mars shook her head "No…" the girls stopped; Venus turned to them "Let's give her some time…"

"I can't stand this situation…it is too painful" Jupiter said.

"It is something that had to be done…even if it goes against our wishes…" Mars said softly.

Serenity kept walking, wiping her tears off her face with the back of her hand; she was about to go up the stairs when she felt someone's hand holding hers and turned immediately "Where are you going with such hurry?"

Serenity's eyes hardened "What are you doing here?"

Athamas looked at her "It is not forbidden for me to walk on these halls or am I wrong?"

Serenity looked away "Do whatever you please…"

"My my… aren't you in a bad mood?" Athamas frowned "Is it because your dear friends told you not to wear a certain dress? Or better said… because they did not let you see a certain someone?"

Serenity widened her eyes and turned to look at him "What kind of nonsense are you saying?"

Athamas narrowed his eyes "The kind of nonsense you are provoking with your insensitivities…" he went and grabbed her wrist, making her flinch in pain "Whoever you are seeing, whatever you are doing…I know it all"

"I do not know what you are talking about" Serenity said slowly, still flinching.

"Do you think I am stupid?" Athamas' grip on her wrist tightened.

"You are hurting me" Serenity said.

"A little pain does not hurt anybody"

"Have you forgotten who I am? I am your Princess! You should be respecting me instead of hurting me…I will tell Mother about this!"

"And you…" Athamas pulled her closer to him "You…" he trailed off and took in her powdery scent; his nose caressing her neck "You…think I am stupid and that I do not know what you are doing…but just as apparently I seem to forget your position you tend to forget mine…I am your Commander, the one who shall ever keep you safe…the one who you will marry soon…"

"I will not _ever _marry you, mark my words" Serenity said, looking at him.

Athamas smiled, a devilish smile "We shall see about that…once I find who this man is…I will destroy him…"

Serenity widened her eyes "Love, is not something you take by force"

"You will see, it can"

"You keep thinking I am seeing somebody else…"

"Oh, please…you keep thinking I am stupid…" he pressed her against the wall on arm on each side of her, making it impossible for her to run away. Her heart was starting to pulsate faster with every minute as her eyes started to fill with tears; she tried to scream for help but she already knew her guardians would be far away from her at this moment and if she tried to say something Athamas had the power to make the guards pretend like if nothing happened.

She closed her eyes hoping that something or somebody could come and interrupt him again like the last time; she hoped for her mother, Luna or Artemis to pass by and see him doing what he always did when he had the opportunity. She wished for Endymion to be there to give this man a lesson, she wished too many things but her most stronger wish was to escape that place.

She felt his breath, his cold breath against her neck again, then how it when up to her ear "I can't wait for the moment for you to be mine…" he whispered "Soon…you will be mine…"

She opened her eyes and could not help her tears from falling "Please, let me go" she said, trying to control her trembling voice.

"I will let you go as soon as you let me prove you how much I want you" Athamas whispered in her other ear "I know you want it too…"

Serenity tried to push him again, but her force was no near to his, the weight of his body was too much for her to handle; closing her eyes she started to think of Endymion [I do not want to be kissed by other that it isn't you…] she started remembering the time when he taught her some things about how could she defend herself and opened her eyes kicking him with her leg she made him flinch in pain "What are you doing…!" he said "Where do you think you are going?"

Serenity pushed him with all her might and freed herself from him "Anywhere that is away from you" and ran as fast as she could like she said, away from him. Athamas frowned and cursed under his breath, hitting with his fist the wall leaving a small mark on it "You will be mine; the time is coming near…" he said between hoarse breaths.

Serenity kept running until she reached for another stairs that would lead her to her chambers, looking back to see if he was not coming after her; her eyes full of fright and her heart beating strong and faster. This was starting to become a nightmare, the man was no longer reasonable when they were alone, every time he had the chance he would try to take advantage of her and she was no longer knowing how to get rid of him; he lived in the palace and had her mother's trust and if he can he could go at night and do whatever he pleases with her, after all, he is a man of power.

Closing the door behind her, she locked it and began crying desperately against the door; sliding to the floor she tried to let all her pain out, her frustrations, her fears and her desperation. She tried many times to tell her mother, but she was so blinded by his apparent kindness that she never believed what she constantly said, that he was an evil man. Her guardians earlier that day told her that it might be better if she would just give him an opportunity, was it really a bad dream?

Did she really have to marry him in the end, when loving somebody else?

Was he really going to succeed and become the next King of the Silver Millennium?

She braced herself and brought her knees to her chest and kept crying desperately, at times she would hold her head and at other she would pound the floor with her delicate hands. Asking herself only one thing.

Why can't it be Endymion the one to be there with her instead of Athamas?

She cried silently and then loudly, she cursed and pleaded, at moments she fell silent and only stared at the nothingness and saw how the night eventually turned to dawn. She cried until she fell asleep on the floor; not really noticing if somebody knocked on it or of somebody tried to open her door.

Several hours passed and when she opened her eyes she noticed it was still dawn; rubbing her eyes she knew it was still too early for everybody to be up.

She stood up and walked towards her bathroom and took a bath, when she was finished she dried her long hair and wrapped herself in her towel; taking one of her dresses, a delicate white silk, thin strapped empire cut gown. She did her own hair and then put her usual make up on, delicate and classic; a touch of a peachy tone on her cheeks, iridescent shimmer in her lids, her long and dark lashes framed her icy blue eyes; her delicate and well shaped brows held that darker shade that accentuated her eyes beautifully and her lips, she put a rosy tone to them. After a few drops of her powdery scent perfume, she stood up from her vanity and closed her eyes, only to be gone seconds later.

She appeared once again his room, noticing how it was still too early even for him to be up, she walked in her tip toes and took off her silk ballerina slippers. Sitting next to him on the bed, on her usual side she looked at his face and ran a hand through his dark hair without really expecting him to open his eyes, but he did and without saying anything, lifted the covers allowing her to get in; Serenity immediately snuggled in his chest and closed her eyes.

"The sun will come out soon…" he whispered.

Serenity snuggled closer with him and shook her head "I don't care…" she whispered back and both went back to sleep.

It had been weeks now with Serenity going down to see him without anybody back at her home noticing her absence, she did what they did at first when they first met, they met at night time but this time was different. She no longer felt safe in her own home, with a man like Athamas haunting her every time he could.

Just like Endymion said, the sun came out soon and started warming up the room, while its rays started to filter from the window curtains. She opened her eyes first and blinked a couple of times, then looked up at him who was still sleeping or at least she thought he was.

"Salve" (Good morning) he said.

Serenity widened her eyes "How do…"

"I knew you were staring at me?" Endymion smiled "I don't, I just assumed it" he opened one eye "Ah…see so I was right" he said in a raspy voice.

Serenity smiled "Your assumptions are very assertive"

Endymion opened both eyes and tried to adjust them to the soft light "I would be doing the same if you were the one asleep" he smiled and kissed her hand "Good morning"

Serenity smiled "Good morning"

"Now…" he turned on his side "This is something new to me, I am used to see you at night time…"

Serenity smiled and moved his bangs away from his dark blue eyes "Your eyes are so blue"

Endymion blinked a couple of times with a puzzled face "I thought you knew…"

"I did"

The prince arched a brow "Your eyes are blue too"

"Yet so different from yours"

Endymion chuckled "But beautiful"

Serenity smiled "I was too used to see you at night time…this is also new for me"

"What changed? Isn't dangerous for you to be here at this time?" Endymion asked worried.

"Don't worry…" Serenity caressed his face "Your face is raspy…like your voice"

Endymion sighed "Yes…the thing is that I am not myself in the mornings…I am somebody else…" he joked and smiled.

"Who are you then?" Serenity said smiling, playing along.

The prince blew his bangs and pursed his lips "A normal person"

Serenity chuckled "So, I was told this is the Oh Mighty Prince's room…why are you here?"

Endymion laughed, still a little heavy because of the sleep "I don't know…I just, ended up here" he smiled and caressed her cheek "I missed you…"

Serenity leaned on his hand "Me too…"

Endymion looked at her and gave her another smile, realizing that this might be the right time; Serenity frowned slightly "Is something the matter?"

"No…" Endymion smiled "I just…" he trailed off.

"What?"

Endymion pushed her bangs aside "I think today will be a special day"

"Really?" Serenity tilted her head "How so?"

Endymion looked at her "You will see" he stood up and went straight to his walking closet, minutes later he came back to the room with his uniform and hung it on its usual rack and went to Serenity "I won't take long" he bent down and gave her a peck on the lips and walked to his bathroom closing the door behind him.

Serenity turned to look at his uniform and stood up, walking over to it. She never had the chance to really study its medals, the one she liked the most was the one he wore on his collar, a golden circle with a compass rose engraved, her fingers traced the shiny and elegant shapes and lines of all of them until she reached a familiar piece of jewelry.

"My locket…" she whispered gladly, a soft smile crossed her delicate features "You wear my locket like you promised…"

Her hand caressed the fabric of Endymion's navy uniform, she liked how he always looked impeccable and loved the intensity of his uniform; unlike many princes she met in the past all their uniforms were pale and boring, even Athamas' uniform was pale, when she looked at it she smiled "It matches your character…strong and defined…it matches your eyes"

She was about to take the sache to look at it closer when she heard the door opens, revealing a brunette girl with a bun on her head, Serenity gasped and held the sache tight and close to her chest.

Megumi widened her eyes and frowned trying not to let go of the tray she had in her hands. The young maid turned to see the prince's bed and then back at Serenity "Who are you?" she asked confused.

Serenity hesitated, what could she say to this girl after all, she was caught by another person in the palace that could actually tell the shitennou and send her back home "I…"

Megumi heard the water running from inside the bathroom and saw how Serenity held the royal sache close to her "You are not supposed to get a hold of that sache, let go of it" she said in a dry voice and put the tray on the desk "His Highness hates terribly when somebody else touches his belongings"

Serenity shook her head "I…"

"Who are you?" Megumi asked again.

Serenity looked at the girl and shook her head again "I am not a stealer…"

"A Lady from the court?" Megumi asked again "It is my job to ask…" the girl noticed a different air from the woman in front of her, something was different, although she was a stranger she could not be rude to her and she could not ignore her beauty; then, her eyes widened "It is you…" she whispered in amazement.

Serenity widened her eyes "I beg your pardon?"

"Yes Megumi" Endymion's voice startled the princess and the young maid who turned to look at him, already wearing his uniform pants and his under short sleeve shirt; Megumi widened her eyes and bowed her head "Your Highness, I did not…"

Endymion smiled and held Serenity's hand, kissing it later "…This is she…"

Megumi blushed and raised her head again, looking at Serenity this time with more detail; she noticed her porcelain skin and elegant dress, her almost silver hair and how long and luscious it looked even when it was styled in a strange up do; but what amazed her the most more than her beautiful face was her eyes, that kind of blue, just like her prince's it was a shade that has never been seen before; a mixture between blue and grey.

Endymion turned to Serenity "Bunny, I would like you to meet Megumi, she is a good friend of mine and the one that comes and helps me arrange my room every day" then turned to look at the girl in front of them "Megumi, this is Serenity"

Megumi blinked a couple of times and took a step closer to her and bowed in respect "Please forgive me My Lady if I have insulted you in any way…"

Serenity widened her eyes and smiled "No, not at all…" she took a step closer and extended her hand at her "It is really nice to meet you"

Megumi widened her eyes in shock, surprised that this girl, obviously a woman with a high status was being so polite and most impressively kind; of all the women she have met in her life, from court of not, they weren't as nice and amicable as this stunning woman. She smiled and took her hand softly "It is very nice to meet you My Lady" she turned to the prince and then blushed "I… interrupted something" she turned "Oh dear…"

Endymion frowned and then widened his eyes "Oh no no Megumi…it's alright, you haven't… Serenity just arrived a while ago"

Megumi looked at the white princess and then bit her lower lip "I brought you your morning coffee, Your Highness"

Serenity frowned at the mention of the word coffee and frowned, turning to look at him "You still drink that horrible thing?"

Endymion arched his brow while he finished putting his black boots on "Keeps me awake…"

Megumi smiled, she had never seen him smile that way before; so warm and happy. She had to admit to herself, that her heart was slightly broken to see, that she could never be a girl for him, but after seeing the woman in white everything made sense now. Lowering her gaze for a moment, she looked at the couple again and bowed her head "I will come back later to arrange the room Your Highness"

Endymion nodded and walked over to her "Megumi…could you…"

Megumi nodded and smiled "Do not worry My Prince, your secret is safe with me. I will excuse you from whoever asks something"

Endymion smiled and bowed his head "Thank you…"

"But…" Megumi trailed off "What if Her Majesty asks?"

Endymion smiled and started to put on his jacket; while buttoning it up he turned to look at the brunette "Do not worry about that, leave it to me"

Megumi nodded, turned to Serenity and bowed in respect "It is a pleasure to finally meet you My Lady…please, forgive my intermission once again"

Serenity smiled and shook her head "It is alright. I hope to see you soon" Megumi smiled, bowed her head again and left the couple alone; Serenity turned to Endymion "You must be very busy today…"

Endymion smiled and kissed her hands "I arranged things yesterday so this day could be different"

Serenity frowned "Different?"

"Mhm…" Endymion hummed while putting his medals in place and folded his sache to put it back in its velvet box. He turned to look at her again "Different"

"Why is it has to be different today?" Serenity tilted her head "Are we staying here all day?"

"Not exactly, we are going to somewhere special" the prince said softly and took a sip of his coffee. Serenity gave him a puzzled look "Where are we going?"

Endymion held her hand and smiled "You will see" his lotion impregnating the room, sending her shivers down her spine (in a good way) and sighed dreamily, taking in that particular scent she loved so much; she felt his hand taking hers "Come with me" he said softly.

Serenity arched her brow and walked out of his room with him "The shitennou might see me…"

"They're busy right now…they won't, don't worry" Endymion turned to look at her and smiled "I told you I arranged everything to make this day different"

As soon as they left Endymion's chambers Serenity paid attention to her surroundings, admiring the elegance of the palace, being the very first time she ever saw with amaze those long halls during daytime. The morning breeze was chilly, so different from the one at night and the light from the sun filtered the large and tall windows.

The more they walked, the more she noticed they were going to another side of the palace. She noticed then, that something was indeed happening differently; the more they seemed to reach their destination the more vases full of flowers she saw and then, they stopped; behind two very large doors with golden handles.

The white princess frowned slightly wondering where they were and turned to look at her prince "Endy?" she asked softly.

Endymion smiled at her and turned to open the door slowly, he turned to look at her and stepped aside allowing her to come in first "Come" he said very softly. As soon as she walked in he closed the door behind them and began walking. Serenity widened her eyes in awe as soon as she saw the immensity and elegance of the room where they were, it was a room very different from others, it had double height ceilings and a skylight in the lobby, where of course were more crystal vases full of pink and white roses. It was a room full of windows, where ivory curtains draped graciously allowing the warm light from the outside lighten it up beautifully.

The walls had a very pale golden shimmery glow, giving the illusion that they were in another different place; Serenity took in the delicate and powdery scent that filled the room and wondered with more curiosity of where they were. It was soon enough when she noticed they were in somebody else's room; when she noticed a large bed with white linen.

"Endy?"

Endymion turned and smiled "Wait here Luna Bunny"

Serenity nodded and let go of his hand as she watched him walk a few steps before hearing a voice.

"Quis est?" (Who is there?) "Iam vos dont 'postulo Aurea… medicina meum tulit me increpare" (I already took my medicines Aurea…you do not need to scold me)

Endymion smiled "Gaudeo te scire iam eos" (I'm glad to know you already took them)

Queen Gaia widened her eyes and turned her face to look at her son "Endymion…" she breathed happily "Quid mirum pulchra!" (What a beautiful surprise!) she tried to stand up but began to struggle, something the prince noticed right away and went to her aid quickly "Non stabit Mater pulchra est…"

Gaia remained seated and held her son's hand "Salve"

Endymion smiled and kissed her hand "Salve Mater"

Gaia still with a smile on her face frowned slightly, noticing something different in him, an air of nervousness and anxiety, something very rare in him "Est res carius aliquid?" (Is something the matter dear?)

Endymion kissed her hand and crouched in front of her; sighing softly he shook his head no "Veni, ut impleam promissionem fecerunt vobis die I" (I came to fulfill a promise I made to you one day)

Gaia tilted her head "Promissio?"

Endymion nodded "Si promissio" he looked down at her hands and took them into his "Pollicitus sum vobis, ut unus homo cognoscere quod ad primum diem capit pectus…" (I promised you that one day very soon, you were going to meet the person who has captured my heart…) Endymion smiled "An obliti estis?" (Do you remember?)

Gaia widened her eyes and shook her head "Quomodo I obliviscar?" (How can I forget?)

Endymion smiled and stood up and walked back to where Serenity was standing "There is somebody very special I want you to meet" he whispered to her; Serenity widened her eyes "Who?" he smiled again and walked with him back to where he was standing minutes ago; he sighed.

"Serenity, I want you to meet somebody very special to me… This is my Mother"

Her eyes widened as soon as she witnessed with her own eyes what her prince has been telling her all this time about her. She was beautiful.

Gaia turned and widened her eyes in shock; her lips parted slightly still not believing what she was seeing. Her heart started beating fast in her chest, it felt like if she was many years back in Olympus seeing her dear friend; she did not know too much presentation, she knew who this girl was but still she needed to be sure.

The girl was a goddess and not just any goddess; she was her best friend's daughter.

Serenity looked at the woman sitting on a large cushion chair; her hair was long and dark and it was styled in a lose kind of braid with crystal pins on it that gleamed with the light. Her face was beautiful; her green eyes were framed by long dark lashes she noticed. The deep azure of her dress enhanced her light skin and her position on the chair made its skirt fall elegantly like a cascade.

"Mother…" Endymion smiled at his mother "This is Serenity…"

"It is very nice to meet you, Your Majesty" Serenity bowed in respect.

Gaia took her time to assimilate the situation, first because it was the fact that finally her son confessed to her his deepest secret and second, because she could not believe it was her. Her eyes gleamed with tears and tried with all her might not to cry; she could not help but give the girl a warm smile "It is a pleasure to finally meet you…Serenity"

Serenity blinked a couple of times, surprised by her warmth and the elegance of her voice; she now understood where Endymion got that way of speaking. She noticed Gaia tried to stand up but struggled; Endymion turned and put a hand on her arm "It's alright Mother…"

Gaia tilted her head and extended her hand "Please, sit" she said softly; Serenity bowed her head and admired the way the balcony was decorated with so many flowers and plants, it was like a small garden in her own room. She sat on a chair in front of the queen and Endymion followed.

"It is a beautiful place here Your Majesty" Serenity said softly "But I believe I have intruded your privacy…"

Gaia chuckled and turned to look at her son and then back at her "Not at all, I am glad my son finally decided to introduce us, I was starting to wonder if you really existed"

Endymion widened his eyes and blushed slightly "Mother…"

Serenity chuckled and then widened her eyes "You knew about me Your Majesty?"

Gaia smiled knowingly "I knew my son's heart was captured by a special someone…" she rested her hands on her lap and continued admiring the girl next to her son; her hair was as long as her friends and just like she imagined Serenity would do, she taught her own daughter how to do the same hairstyle. She felt like if destiny heard of their dreams and ideals and it seemed like a funny dream. Her eyes were so blue, so different from her mother's even though she was very much alike, she had more refined features and her skin did look like if it was made of porcelain.

The terran queen shrugged her shoulders "Well, not that my son really told me much…he is quite a mystery"

Endymion arched his brow "What is that supposed to mean?"

Gaia smiled "It means you were keeping such an important matter from me"

Serenity smiled and turned to look at him "You were keeping me secret" she said jokingly.

"Yes, he adores that…since he was a little boy" Gaia rolled her eyes "Never said much, he used to disappear for hours!"

Serenity widened her eyes and turned to look at him "You?"

Endymion blushed "I…had my reasons"

Gaia closed her eyes and raised her nose playfully "Yes, play in the mud and the come running back inside leaving all your dirt behind…you were quite a challenge dear"

Serenity widened "He still likes to hide?"

"All the time" Gaia said softly.

Endymion cleared his throat "I'm glad you are getting to know each other at my expense"

Serenity giggled "I never imagined you could be such a little devil"

"Oh! If you only knew" Gaia said smiling.

Endymion was about to say something when Megumi came inside and knocked softly, before bowing in respect "Forgive me Your Majesty for the intermission…" she looked at Endymion "Prince, there is a guard outside looking for you, he says he needs to have a word with you"

Endymion frowned slightly "Can't it wait?"

Megumi pressed her lips for a second "He says it is important"

The prince sighed and pursed his lips; Gaia tilted her head "Go"

Endymion turned to her mother "What?"

"Go" Gaia said.

"But…" he turned to Serenity and then at her; Gaia smiled "She can stay here"

"But I may take a while…" Endymion said.

"I do not see a problem…" Gaia said softly "Of course…unless Serenity wants to be somewhere else"

Serenity widened her eyes and shook her head "No, I'm alright…" she held Endymion's hand "If you have to go, go…I do not mind. It is important"

Endymion smiled at her and kissed her hand "I'll try not to take long" Serenity nodded and returned the smile; he stood up and went to kiss his mother on the cheek "I'll be back" Gaia nodded and waved her hand "She will be fine, don't worry"

The prince smiled and left them alone; seconds later Megumi bowed her head and left as well. A moment of silence fell but surprisingly for both of them it was not uncomfortable; Gaia let out a soft breath and reached for a tea pot on a table next to her chair "Do you like tea, Serenity?"

Serenity smiled "Yes I do, Your Majesty"

Gaia smiled and grabbed to cups and began pouring the hot liquid on both of them; then extended her hand with the cup to Serenity, which accepted immediately "Thank you Your Majesty"

"Rose tea is my favorite" Gaia said softly "Everything that has to do with roses as a matter of fact…" she smiled.

Serenity took a sip of her tea "It is sweet; yet so soft…it is like drinking silk"

"Exactly" Gaia smiled and took a sip of her own tea and put it down "…Tell me about yourself Serenity"

Serenity widened her eyes "A-About me?"

Gaia smiled and nodded "Yes, tell me… how you and my son met?"

Serenity bit her lower lip, she was starting to feel nervous; she thought of many things she could say to the queen but she felt wrong to lie to her of all people, maybe because she felt some sort of connection between them or just maybe because she was being really nice or maybe just because she is Endymion's mother which is a very good reason.

Gaia noticed her hands played with the soft fabric of her dress and imagined why; taking another sip of her tea she decided to take another direction, a more sincere direction "How is your mother doing?" she put her cup down in her lap and waited for the girls answer.

Serenity in her attempt to keep her nervousness at bay did not really notice what the queen was doing and smiled, shrugging her shoulders "Busy…she is always busy with the Alliance and…" she widened her eyes as soon as she realized what she said and gasped softly, turning to look at the woman in front of her; who, surprisingly for her had a knowing smile on her face.

Serenity blinked a couple of times astonished "You…know my mother Your Majesty?"

Gaia's smile widened a little "You look so much like her"

Serenity widened her eyes "You really know her Your Majesty?"

Gaia rested her face on her hand "Let's just say I do…a little" even when she wanted, she did not think it was a very good idea to mention how close they used to be and how she knows everybody because of her past.

Serenity smiled and then turned into a sad one "…Mother is busy most of the time, she has to take care of the Alliance because of my Father's absence"

Gaia frowned "What do you mean?"

"He passed away…" Serenity said softly "He perished in a fight…I did not get to meet him, I was too little"

Gaia widened her eyes and gasped "No…how terrible!" she lowered her gaze and thought in the pain her friend must have felt, her loneliness and the sense of abandon. She felt awful to know she was not there to support her, to give her her strength and anything else she could have needed; she was well aware of how much Queen Serenity loved her husband, how their love developed and even after all the problems she knew they had in their time she still looked at him with eyes full of love.

She lowered her gaze and prayed for her and her husband's spirit who thought it might be taken by Hades to the valley of the fallen "It is so sad to know that dear, I'm so deeply sorry"

Serenity could not fight her curiosity and put her cup down on the coffee table next to her chair "Your Majesty...my Mother is…"

"A Goddess…I know" Gaia looked at her "And so are you; you may be wondering how do I know? Since the moment my son walked inside with you by his side I knew you were special…your aura, your garments and…" the queen tapped her forehead "Your symbol gives you away" Gaia sighed and looked away "And how do I know her you might be wondering too…well…let's just say she helped me with something very important to me; she listened to my prayers…and for that I will always be grateful"

Serenity smiled "She listened" somehow knowing her mother did what she thought is the best for them to do to help was soothing and admirable, she held a new respect for her mother and was happy to know, she helped the queen of Earth.

"Did you keep praying to her Your Majesty?"

Gaia shook her head "I always pray dear…even when my health is delicate and I am banned to spend most of my days in this room" she gave the girl a sad smile "May I ask how did you meet my son?"

"I…" Serenity blushed and looked away "It was the first time I ever came to this place…I always thought this planet was very special, unique and beautiful…but nobody could ever tell me what it looked like, so, I decided to do it myself and we coincided…"

"Destiny…" Gaia whispered.

Serenity widened her eyes "What?"

"You must have many admirors…" Gaia said and took another sip of her tea.

Serenity bit her lower lip and lowered her gaze, Gaia arched her brow. Something the lunar princess noticed and found very familiar, yes she has seen that gesture many times before.

The terran queen sighed softly and looked away "My son is not an easy person to deal with, it sounds harsh I know and I love my son with all my heart but it is the truth…in his mind was not the idea of finding love…"

Serenity blinked a couple of times, Gaia turned to look at her again "I must be very direct with you…so you know what I am talking about, he was trained to fight and to lead his people…"

"I know"

"Then, what really brought you to this place?" Gaia asked.

Serenity tilted her head "I do not understand"

"You come from a world that is very different from this one, my son has privileges as royal yes, but they will never be compared to yours… so my question is, why a girl with a different lifestyle came to this primitive world to the gods…?"

Serenity looked away and noticed the once clear blue sky now had fluffy white clouds dancing across it and took a couple of minutes to decide whether to confess her heart or not to the woman in front of her. The queen's beauty was admirable, it was not only something that showed because of her delicate physique but it was also because she had a strong character, her voice was sweet yet warm and authoritative when it had to be, she noticed.

"Freedom" she answered softly.

Gaia widened her eyes slightly, Serenity turned and looked at her "It was freedom…I wanted to feel free in a world I always thought a treasure, a secret dream…because with all those privileges you are aware I have Your Majesty I have felt trapped all my life in my beautiful crystal cage unaware of the reason…"

Gaia arched her brow and stayed silent, letting the girl continue. Serenity lowered her gaze and looked at her hands "I never thought of you as primitive or threat and since I was a little girl I wanted to know the wonders this place held…my world is beautiful, it has trees and soft wind, but the sun never warms your skin like it does here, it does not hold so many mysteries like you do here…I came in search for a sense of adventure and freedom…in that search Endymion and I met and even though it was a funny start…I continued coming and we continued seeing each other and when we least expect it..we were already in love…"

Gaia smiled sadly "You have captured my son's heart…everything in him changed…"

"Changed?" Serenity frowned; Gaia nodded "Endymion has seen too much, done too much… he had to mature at an incredible speed and that, well… made him a very hermetic person; cold sometimes but with you it seems he is at peace, which I really appreciate"

"I have learned from him so many things…he encourages me and makes me feel strong and confident, he did not laugh when I told him I wanted to learn how to fight…"

That caught Gaias attention right away and widened her golden green eyes "Learn how to fight?"

Serenity nodded, Gaia blinked a couple of times and tilted her head, still surprised to know this about her "Why?"

The white princess smiled "So I can be a better Princess for my people…if I marry someday, I want to learn as much as I can so I can be a better Queen"

Gaia gave the young woman a soft smile "A warriors world is very challenging…it requires too much discipline and self control" she sighed softly "Why him, of all the men you could have met…why Endymion?"

Serenity tilted her head and gave the terran queen a warm and sincere smile "Because he has passion in his heart…and he is the most wonderful person I have ever met in my life…"

Gaia brought a hand to her chest and tried to fight her tears; Serenity leaned forward "The way you live…mesmerizes me, the way you see life and how you keep it like your greatest treasure…" she sighed and looked at the cloudy sky "…We take ours for granted; unlike you we do not dream much…"she turned to the queen "…I feel myself heard when I am around your son because he does not think I am idealistic…he believes as much as I do in better things…"

Gaia looked at Serenity with so much respect and wonder; she was entranced by her sweetness and her elegance. Her friend raised her very well; she raised her to be fair and kind; with dreams and hopes, something it was clearly more and more difficult to achieve in Olympus.

Gaia looked up at the sky and pursed her lips; Serenity took this moment to look at her and admire her extraordinaire elegance and poise. Endymion was right, he did look like her in a way, the more she heard her speak the more she found the resemblance but she also could see in her something she have seen in somebody else before but the moment didn't gave her enough time to realize who might be.

The way the color of her gown contrasted her skin was beautiful, she thought; Serenity could see right away that even when she was a petite woman, she had a strong character and proved she did not like to be fooled.

"We do consider our lives a treasure…" Gaia said softly, catching Serenity's attention. The terran queen turned to Serenity and nodded "You are right, we do hold our lives dear and the lives of our loved ones…" the queen put her cup down "That being one of the main reasons I do not get to see my son very often…"

Serenity gave the queen a sad look "He talks about you with so much love, Your Majesty"

Gaia smiled softly and looked at Serenity "Endymion is not the most expressive man in this world…but he has a very noble heart and he is after all, my son. I will always look at him as my greatest treasure" she lowered her gaze for a moment "…Even with all the difficult times we had to overcome…me always being ill…I haven't been there with him as much as I would have loved to…"

Serenity pursed her lips "He told me once that he is trying to find a cure…"

Gaia nodded "I know…but he won't find one, I have a destiny to fulfill in this planet and we all have to respect it…" she crossed her hands on her lap "It is very surprising what my son just did, introduce me to you…I am so sorry for my appearance…I wish I could have greet you in better conditions…"

Serenity shook her head "No Your Majesty, do not worry…" she smiled "With all due respect, I think you look very pretty"

Gaia smiled "I'm glad your heart isn't cold…"

Serenity frowned "I beg your pardon?"

Gaia looked at her but before Serenity could say something else; the queen turned "Does my son listen to you?"

Serenity widened her eyes "Listen? Well…"

Gaia turned to look at her "Endymion can be very stubborn…" she trailed off and pointed at herself "….Like someone I know…" both women chuckled.

Serenity smiled "He does…he never judges me or questions me…"

Gaia nodded "That is all I needed to know"

Serenity widened her eyes "W-what?"

Gaia gave the young woman a soft smile "I hope he brings you to the winter ball"

"Winter… ball?"

Gaia nodded and turned to grab the pot of tea "Would you like to join me for another cup of tea?" she asked politely and with a smile on her face, something Serenity appreciated very much. Both women felt very comfortable with each other, even when Serenity knew she was her lover's mother, a woman well respected and admired, she always wanted to meet her and feared whether she would make a good impression on her or not, just with the fact of her nature and the difficultness of the relationship with her son.

"How much do you love my son I now know…but, are you aware of your situation?"

Serenity nodded "Yes, Your Majesty…I am, we both are…"

"So?"

Serenity frowned and shook her head, puzzled. Gaia poured more tea on Serenity's cup and put the pot aside "What are you going to do?"

"We want to stay together"

"That is lovely to say…a lovely picture, really…" Gaia said dryly.

Serenity frowned "You do not think I truly care for your son?"

Gaia sighed "My son is different from you dear and you come from a world when all of us are banned…I do not oppose to your relationship, in fact I applaud my son for having the courage to bring you here and I admire you for being here talking about your feelings…but, we both are women and I think it is best if we go straight to the point…"

"Agreed" Serenity said, much to Gaia's surprise. The girl knew how to speak and how to express herself, far from being who she is, Gaia liked that about her; unlike many women from the court who only embellished their words and only worshipped her while feeling threatened by her. Gaia was tired of that, and that was one of the main reasons she always thought a very special woman should be the one to be with her son.

"How long will this relationship last? How much longer are you going to continue this?"

"Forever" Serenity answered.

"Forever?"

"Yes"

Gaia arched her brow "Do you know there are consequences?"

"Yes"

"Aren't you afraid?"

Serenity bit her lip for a moment "I am not afraid…" she trailed off "I trust Endymion…and I know, I am certain he could be a better leader than the one we have guarding the lunarian army right now…"

Gaia looked at Serenity "You were trying to hide your true nature from me…"

Serenity blinked a couple of times "Maybe that was something I was afraid of…"

"What is that?" Gaia frowned.

"That you would not accept me because of my nature…"

Gaia took another sip of her tea and put the cup down "Serenity…I knew who you where since the moment you walked beside Endymion; I am in no position to oppose…my son chose you, that is all that matters to me and it matters your safety…it is dangerous, yes, love is dangerous…and if it's real you will have to fight for it"

"We are going to fight for us…like we always say; we will find our way to be together…"

Gaia smiled "But of course you will…you were destined"

Serenity widened "Destined?"

Gaia kept her smile and before she could say something else she was soon interrupted "It is time for your medicines…"

The queen sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose "I already took them" she said out loud to the woman who was coming inside. Serenity was not sure of what to say or do and started to feel worried that another person was there.

Aurea walked out to the balcony and crossed her arms, not realizing there was somebody else with her friend "Should I trust you this time?" then turned and widened her brown eyes in surprise "Forgive me…I did not know you had a visitor…" the word felt alien even to her, the queen never, ever greeted visitors much less in her room. This was odd "Visitor…?" Aurea repeated.

Gaia nodded "Yes, I have a visitor…" she turned to Serenity and smiled "Meet Aurea; Endymion's godmother; she is like a second mother to him…"

Serenity widened her eyes "Second mother…" she said softly.

Gaia turned to Aurea and gave her a contempt smile; a smile that masked pure bliss and joy, Gaia had that look in her eyes when she achieves something she wanted "This is the woman who has captured Endymion's heart, Serenity"

Aurea nearly faints "What?"

Gaia smiled "What?"

"Endymion is in love?"

Gaia's smile widened "I knew it for so long…I just did not get the chance to meet her until now"

Aurea widened her eyes "Endymion is in love?"

Gaia nodded; Aurea scratched the back of her neck with delicacy "Are we talking about the same person?"

Serenity widened her eyes and could not help but smile, Aurea shook her head in astonishment and covered her mouth with her other hand "I cannot believe it"

Gaia smiled and nodded "He introduced us a while ago…he brought her here…"

Aurea frowned "Where is he?"

"He was asked to attend an important matter"

Things finally started to settle for Aurea and soon her face of astonishment turned to one of glee; she walked towards both women and took a seat not before giving Gaia her medicines; the terran queen rolled her eyes and sighed "Alright…" making Serenity laugh.

"Here" he gave her a glass of water and turned to Serenity "The same as him…the same thing, stubborn as only they can be"

Serenity chuckled and studied Aurea. She was about the queen's same age or maybe a little older, one year or two; her hair was tied in a low bun and had some grays hair on it, it didn't look bad it just accentuated her knowledge; she seemed like she knew many things. The way she talked to the queen made her think they were very good friends, sure, she was "Endymion's godmother?" she asked softly.

Aurea smiled "I have been serving my Queen years before he was born…I have seen him grow"

Serenity widened her eyes with interest "How…" she trailed off and blushed "How was he, when he was a little boy?"

Aurea turned to Gaia and then back at Serenity "Mischievous"

Serenity giggled "Really?"

"He loved to play in the mud and then ran inside the house all dirty…he always left foot and hands prints on the walls and carpets…" Aurea said slowly. Gaia laughed "He loved his birthdays…because his grandfather always used to give him a toy made by him…his favorites were his wooden horses"

Serenity widened her eyes again and remembered those horses in his room "…His grandfather made them?"

Gaia nodded, his laugh died slowly "He loved his grandfather very much, he passed away when Endymion was still training…he did not have a chance to say goodbye…that was something very sad for him…"

"And it still is…" Aurea said softly.

"Why did he…" Serenity trailed off and looked at Gaia and Aurea again "…Why was he sent to that place, knowing he would completely change?"

Aurea sighed "Because that was his decision…he wanted to go, he had the opportunity to train here…and he was, but he felt he was not being fair and decided to go so he could protect us all. His dream was always to be a warrior"

"When you get to know him…you realize he is not as cold as he usually portraits himself…he is stoic and incredibly disciplined when it comes to his work…but normally, he is a sweetheart" Aurea said softly and turned to Gaia; knowing this would probably be very important to her she decided to leave them alone, she stood up and turned to the queen "I will go see what is going to be served for dinner"

Gaia nodded; Aurea turned to Serenity and bowed her head in respect "It was truly very lovely to meet you"

Serenity smiled and bowed her head "It was very lovely to meet you too"

Aurea turned on her heel and left them alone again; Gaia smiled softly and took her cup of tea again "She has been a part of this family for so many years now…" she lowered her gaze for a moment and then look at Serenity again "Your mother does not know you are here…am I correct?"

Serenity bit her lower lip "No, she doesn't"

Gaia nodded and lowered her gaze "Does anyone else know about this?"

Serenity sighed softly and lowered her gaze "My guardians…but they do not accept it…"

Gaia looked at her "I am going to tell you something dear that, probably it is no surprise to you…what you and my son have is forbidden by the laws of the gods above…I won't lie to you, it is dangerous for you and for my son…as Endymion's mother I have to look for him, even when I am in the conditions I obviously am…I cannot protect him they way I should and he is very capable of looking after himself, but the gods have their own way of fighting and I do not want my son get hurt by them…"

Serenity felt her cheeks burn with a mix of shame and an urge to cry but she could not let the queen see her in tears, how would that make her feel or what could the woman think of her, all she could do was to lower her gaze and tighten her grip on the cloth napkin in her lap.

Gaia watched her in silence and lowered her gaze "…But it is not a mistake and it is not impossible, I can tell you that"

Serenity widened her eyes and looked at the queen "You do not think I am a threat?"

Gaia arched a brow "Why would I think that?"

Serenity blinked a couple of times and shrugged her shoulders slightly "Because…of who I am?"

Gaia smiled softly "Dear, danger is everywhere…there are other things that are more dangerous than the love you have for each other…" Serenity let out a sigh of relief and Gaia pressed her lips together for a moment before continuing speaking "…You are a young woman in love…that is all I see…a woman with dreams and ideals…you are no different than us…we all share a same belief and I am truly glad to meet somebody who does not think we, mortals are barbarians…"

Serenity shook her head "I would never think that of you…and I know my mother does not think that either…"

The mention of Queen Serenity painted a warm smile on the queen's face; she missed her with all her heart and wished there could be a way she could meet her again and talk like they used to, she imagined how she would feel if she ever knows about the relationship between her daughter and her son. The lunar queen she knew was very noble, her heart so pure always made her shine among all the goddesses in Olympus and made her the regal woman she was now; so different from her in her days as the Goddess of Earth.

"It seems you are getting along very well…" Endymion's voice caught the women attention and turned to look at him; Gaia smiled and nodded "I am glad to see you are back" Serenity smiled and put her cup on the coffee table.

Endymion smiled softly and went to sit next to Serenity; the white princess immediately turned to look at him and tilted her head "Is everything alright?"

The prince sighed softly and winked an eye at her "Don't worry"

Gaia watched them and smiled to herself, there was no doubt for her that those two were deeply in love. It was the way he looked at her, something she never thought she could ever witness; and the way she worried about him, her aura, her smile and gentle face. It was like she was looking through a mirror showing her past, her stare turned to one of melancholy just imagining how much they were going to have to fight for their love, how many trials they would have to overcome and all the risks they would have to make in order to be together.

They were in their own little world, Gaia watched with awe the way her son smiled at the woman beside him. It was a smile she haven't seen in a very long time, it was that smile of contempt, peace and joy and she understood that feeling very well, she knew that characteristic warmth and that special look you could only give to that special loved one [Yes] she thought [You are deeply in love]

"Is everything alright dear?" she asked, interrupting the small talk and stares between them. The prince turned to look at her and nodded "Yes Mater" Serenity smiled softly "Mater…" she whispered to herself, loud enough for Gaia to hear and catch her attention.

"Do you know latin, Serenity?"

Serenity blushed and shook her head "No…although I think it is a beautiful language…I just love how it sounds, I think it is very romantic…"

Gaia arched her brow "Romantic?" she chuckled softly "I have never heard anyone say Latin was romantic…how sweet of you" she straightened in her seat "Well, you must know that Latin is our mother tongue…it is ancient but not everybody speaks it fluently…I know it well because in my times when I was young it was how we spoke most of the time…so when Endymion was born I thought it was important for him to know everything about his planet, so I thought him"

"I think it is absolutely beautiful…I am constantly entranced every time I get to hear him speak that way" Serenity said with interest. Gaia smiled "You will learn it with time and pacience…Endymion should teach you" she turned to look at him; Serenity chuckled "He has…a little but I think I am a slow learner…"

Endymion chuckled "Of course not, you understand some words perfectly but it is like Mater says, you have to be patient" he turned to look at his mother "How are you feeling?"

Gaia coughed softly and covered her hands with her napkin "Well dear, I'm alright"

"Do you need anything? Do you want me to call Aurea?" he asked concerned but the queen shook her head "No, no dear I'm alright…I have been having a wonderful day with this lovely girl"

Endymion smiled and turned to look at Serenity then at his mother again "I'm glad…sorry I was gone for a long period of time…"

"We understand…" Serenity said softly; Gaia nodded "Serenity is right dear, we understand"

Endymion nodded and winked his eyes at his mother as a way of thanking her for her understanding. It meant the world to him her opinion and maybe later when they had a time for themselves they could talk about what happened today but for now she had to take some rest; he turned to his side and watched the sky "Those are rain clouds over there…"

Gaia nodded "Yes, a sign that winter is here…"

Endymion turned to his mother "I know of your plans by the way…but that is something I need to speak with you alone"

Gaia arched her brow the same way Endymion did "How serious"

"It is serious…" Endymion said.

The queen sighed "I knew you were going to be against it"

Endymion stood up and went to help his mother stand up from her seat "We will talk about that later…"

"I thought you didn't want to talk about those matters with me" Gaia said and turned to Serenity "Dear, don't stay there, come inside" Serenity stood up immediately and followed them inside the majestic bedroom "Here is fine dear…" Gaia said once they reached one of the couches.

"You need to rest…" Endymion said.

"I'm fine over here" Gaia said softly "If I get sleepy I'll go to bed, I promise…for now I will read a little"

Endymion sighed "I am telling you because you like to be involved in every matter…it was surprising for me to know you of all people wanted to throw that ball…why?"

"Because I think your Father is right…"

"Or is it because my grandmother convinced you to do it?"

Gaia sighed and shook her head "No…"

"I don't believe you"

"You will have to dear" Gaia said; Serenity smiled to herself as she watched them argue. Yes, he was right when he told her they were very similar. Both have the same strong and defiant character, just like…she widened her eyes "...Nut!"

Gaia fell silent and turned to look at Serenity "I beg your pardon?" she asked immediately. Serenity was surprised by her sudden change and bit her lower lip, it was not that Gaia talked to her like she was upset or anything but, she looked slightly surprised. Endymion frowned and watched Serenity "Did you say something Bunny?"

Serenity smiled at both then turned to Gaia "It is just that…we have a family friend that expresses herself the same way you do…"

Gaia felt her heart beat faster "A family friend…and what was her name?"

"Nut" Serenity smiled.

Gaia had a mix of emotions at the sound of her mother's name, she continued going to the lunar palace, she thought. Then her mind drifted to many questions about her and her father, if they were okay, where did they live, if they wondered to meet their grandson or if they missed her as much as she did. The terran queen tried to dissimulate her shock and casted a smile "R-Really? Is she nice?"

Serenity smiled again "She is very serious but very nice…"

Gaia brought a hand up to her chest and began playing with her golden pendant "Is she…does she have a family? Is she married?"

Serenity nodded "She is married I believe…she mentioned once she had a family…but her comment was very vague and she never mentioned it again…"

"I see…" Gaia lowered her gaze for a moment "Did you meet her husband?"

"No, I heard he does not like to go out that much…" Serenity said softly and smiled "You reminded me of her, Your majesty…"

Gaia let out a soft chuckle "Did I? How curious…but I believe it is a good thing, she must be very pretty"

Endymion turned to his mother "Are you alright?" he asked as soon he noticed some sadness in his mother's voice. Gaia nodded at her son "I'm alright…" the prince crouched in front of her and looked at her straight in the eyes "Have some rest, please…"

Gaia's gaze softened "I will"

"I amo te" Endymion whispered; Gaia smiled at him "I amo te…" she whispered back and turned to Serenity and extended her hand at her which Serenity immediately took, Endymion was surprised by her proximity with his princess "I am so happy to finally meet you Serenity"

Serenity's smiled widened "I am so very happy too Your Majesty, I loved being able to spend the afternoon with you…"

Gaia smiled "You are always welcome, whenever you want to come and visit us again"

Endymion smiled at his mother and stood up "Please…have some rest. I beg you"

Gaia chuckled "Alright, alright…I will"

The prince turned to Serenity and held her hand, squeezing it he smiled "Let's go…" he whispered to her; the white princess nodded "Of course" she turned to the queen and bowed in respect before the two of them left the room, leaving the terran queen alone.

As soon as she heard the door be closed, she brought a hand to her mouth and began crying. It was a whirlwind of sentiments, the mere sound of her mother's name broke her heart and realized how much she really missed her and her father, how much she missed her dear friend Serenity but destiny caught up with them all and brought that light of hope to her son's life. After a few minutes of sobbing, she wiped her tears and smiled softly because her son had finally found his soulmate and beautiful queen.

She looked down at the napkin she still held in her hand and watched the red stain on it, pursing her lips she wiped a tear that rolled down her cheek "My son is no longer alone…I can go in peace now…"

She sighed softly and looked away "Everything…will be alright…but Oh Mother…I am scared…"


	101. Chapter 101

_A/N: I know, another century for me to post a new chapter. I have all these written already...well, the final part is still on the making, but almost done. I read all your comments and private messages and I feel bad because I sometimes hate to have so much to do and so little time, and because I love this story so much that I ant to keep on writing and posting but sadly...I have to pay the bills...(tons of them)_

_I want to talk to you a little bit about this chapter. I have to tell you that probably some of you will feel annoyed by it others, may not. Some of the readers asked me if there was ever going to be some kind of a closer more intimate moment between the two princes, I have to say that I tried my best to write a decent scene, i read and re read it and polished it as much as possible because I believe it is a very delicate matter that has to be written very carefuly. I think the chapter overall is good. I liked it everytime I had to re read it when I was editing it. After this...it starts to get difficult, so stay tunned. (I know you are, and I know I should make myself a little time to keep posting more often)_

_I want to thank you so very much for your messages, comments, opinions and questions. I may take a little bit to answer but I do read all of them, every single one o them and I could not help but smile in gratitude, thank you for making Divinity a favorite, it really means a lot, and to those new followers a special thank you as well, because it is because of all of you that I continue writing, you make me feel like I am doing something right and its worth a lot._

_Thank you again, and enjoy!_

_I do not own sm just the plot and some of the characters, thank you._

Divinity: A question of Honor

Chapter one hundred and one

* * *

The girls were having tea in the kitchen, the day had been incredibly calm even for them but after the long talk they had with their princess they supposed she was still upset with them.

"She won't talk to us again…"

The girls widened their eyes and turned to Jupiter, who had both elbows on the marble table, her dark green eyes were fixed on her tea; Mercury frowned "She will, do not say that…"

Jupiter blew the steam off her tea but still kept looking at it "I do not think so…"

"She is just upset for what Venus told her" Mars took a sip of hers, while Venus choked on hers "What?!" her voice went a decibel up as she turned to look at the raven haired senshi. Mars turned and narrowed her eyes "Is there another reason?"

"She has to understand…"

"She won't talk to us again…I can feel it" Jupiter said again.

"She has to understand, I repeat" Venus took a sip of her tea "This situation does not makes me feel any good either, it breaks my heart…"

"How long do we have to stay away anyways?" Jupiter asked.

Venus sighed "I thought she would need to have some time on her own"

Mars put her cup aside "And now what, you will encourage her to marry the General?"

Venus frowned "Agh…I do not want to talk about that…or him for that matter"

Jupiter let out a sarcastic chuckle "Is he really her only option? Can't she choose somebody else?"

"She can but Queen Serenity thinks he is the best for her since he is the leader of the army…" Venus said; Mercury sighed "They did a pretty couple…"

Venus turned to look at the bluenette "The General with our Princess?"

Mercury widened her eyes and shook her head "No, the Prince and our Princess…"

"He is gorgeous…there is no doubt about it" Jupiter said slowly "And has an enchanting voice"

Mars arched her brow "You sound like you feel attracted to him…I thought you were attracted to the dark haired soldier…"

Jupiter widened her eyes "I…we have to admit that the Prince is very handsome…or am I wrong? And no Mars, I do not feel…attracted to any of them…specially Nephrite…"

Venus sighed "Of course you are…"

Jupiter blushed and lowered her head "He is such a gentleman…" she said in a defeated tone "Nobody ever treated me with so much respect before…he does not see me like a giant or a female version of Hercules…"

"Well…yes, you are right, the Prince is very attractive" Mercury said softly "…And very smart…"

The three girls widened their eyes and turned to look at the blunette; Mercury blushed and took a sip of her tea "What? He is…"

Venus sighed tiredly "We will have to give our Princess some time to assimilate things…she eventually will have to understand…this time"

"Maybe we should go and see if she is alright…maybe she needs something" Mars said softly.

Jupiter let out a soft sigh "What if she does not ever speak to us again?"

"Don't think like that…she will" Mercury said softly and turned to Venus "Right, Venus?"

Venus put her cup down after taking a sip and looked away _"I wish you could give me some advice…Kunzite"_ she thought. Mars pursed her lips and lowered her gaze "They fear the same thing…" she turned to Venus before the blonde could say anything "Darkness is coming near us…he has seen it too"

"Yes, but he mentioned a star" Jupiter said.

"The star of Leo" Mercury said softly.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Jupiter frowned.

"They said it was their Prince's star…" Venus said "I said to Princess Serenity that the Prince was dangerous but is he, really? Does that star have to do with him?"

"Then the one that protects Princess Serenity is really the General…" Mars trailed off "We will have to deal with that…" she bit her lower lip and looked at Venus hoping she could say something to her that will contradict her thoughts but nothing from her came out. The four girls looked to each other sadly and continued having their tea in silence.

O.o.o.o.o.O

The sound of the soft and cool wind startled Serenity as she walked with Endymion back to his chambers, the prince turned to look at her and smiled softly "Don't worry…it's the wind that is bringing the clouds"

"Bringing the clouds?" Serenity asked puzzled, Endymion nodded and held her hand "Look" he walked closer to the window of the hallway and since it was an open corridor they could feel the cool breeze and see the cloudy sky "It will start raining any moment now"

"Raining…" Serenity said softly.

Endymion smiled and continued walking; he opened the door of his room and moved aside to let her walk in first and closed it behind him. The lunar princess walked to his balcony doors in the living room and looked at the dark grey clouds in the sky "What is that you call rain?"

Endymion smiled again, walking towards her, he opened the balcony doors and walked outside with her "You will see…" he leaned on the balcony rail and sighed softly catching Serenity's attention "Is something the matter?"

The prince shook his head and kept looking away, Serenity walked over to him and ran her arms around his waist and leaned her head on his chest "Your mother is a very beautiful lady…I am glad I had the opportunity to meet her"

Endymion looked at her "I wanted you to meet her…"

"She knew about me?" Serenity asked softly and blushed as soon as she saw him nod "She knew there was somebody special in my life but the time was not the appropriate to tell her everything about us…" he looked down at her and moved her bangs aside allowing him to look into her eyes "…What did you talk about?"

Serenity always felt like she could drown in those deep blue eyes and never actually get out, the way he always looked at her made her feel like the only woman in the universe, special, loved and protected. She gave him a soft smile and reached for his face and traced the line of his jaw "About you, of course…" she whispered.

Endymion blushed slightly "I hope Mother said nice things about me…"

Serenity continued caressing his jaw with the tip of her index finger; her smile faded "Why is she sick?"

Endymion sighed and looked away, pursing his lips he tried to find the right words to say. He lowered his gaze and stayed silent for a few seconds "That is something I do not know Beautiful…" his voice was low but Serenity could sense an air of sadness, clearly it was something that affected him very much. The prince raised his gaze and looked at the distance "…Her heart just started to become weak…and even though I have tried to find a cure for her, it has been useless…" he took a deep breath and let it out again "…She gets tired very easily…I know she is also tired of being ill…she is not a woman who likes to be depending on others to do whatever she wants to do…her pride goes against it"

Serenity leaned her head on his chest again and sighed "She is very beautiful"

Endymion smiled and bent a little so his face could be at the same height as Serenity's "You are very beautiful" he rubbed his nose against hers and kissed her softly on the lips; Serenity blushed and closed her eyes losing herself in the kiss but minutes after she opened her eyes and parted, breaking the kiss.

"Is something the matter?" Endymion asked puzzled.

Serenity widened her eyes "I could have sworn I felt something on my face…"

Endymion arched his brow "Something like what?"

"I don't know…something…" Serenity was trying to find the right description to it when she felt it again "Ah! It happened again!"

Endymion widened his blue eyes, looked up and smiled as soon a rain drop fell on his face as well "Raindrops" he looked at her at her again "You are about to see what rain is like"

"What?" Serenity widened her eyes when she started feeling many droplets of water fall from the sky and turned to Endymion with a surprised face; Endymion smiled and nodded, letting the lunar princess experience rain for the very first time in her life.

Water started to fall seconds later with much more force crashing against Serenity's skin; she widened her eyes and extended her hands trying to catch some of the thick and fat droplets. A big smile was formed on her face as she looked all around her and was amazed by the scene of water falling from the sky.

Endymion chuckled and held her hand, after staying a few more minutes under the rain. He could notice it was not going to stop anytime soon "We should get inside before you get sick" he squeezed her hand softly and walked back to room right in time before it started to pour with an uncontrollably force outside. The sound of water dripping and crashing against the roof was something that was keeping Serenity in awe.

The prince went immediately to the hearth to light the fire as soon as he felt it was going to get very cold; Serenity looked at herself and touched her damp dress taped to her skin and rubbed her hands, she turned to the balcony doors and went to close them when suddenly a roar caught her by surprise making her scream in fright. Endymion widened his eyes and turned immediately to look what happened "Bunny!" he went over to her and saw her trying to hide behind the curtains; the prince held her hand "Bunny, are you alright?"

Serenity looked at him scared "Did you hear that?"

"What?" Endymion looked at her worried when the sound of strong and loud thunder came again; Serenity widened her eyes and tried to hide again but this time Endymion pulled her closer to him "It's alright…" he put his arms around her "Calm down"

"What is that?" she asked with fear.

Endymion rested his chin on her head "That is the sound of thunder…"

Serenity turned to the balcony and looked outside when another thunder was heard and this time she saw with wide eyes the lighting breaking across the sky, scaring her even more. Endymion went to close the curtains and went back to Serenity "It's alright…" he whispered "It's just a thunderstorm…"

Serenity tightened her grip on Endymion's jacket and shut her eyes when another thunder was heard "I do not like that sound…please…make it stop"

Endymion held her close and tried to calm her down "I wish I could Bunny…but I can't…nothing is going to happen, you are with me…it's just thunder and it's happening outside"

Serenity could feel her eyes filling with tears, the sound was decontrolling for her, even though she wanted to believe Endymion's words she could almost feel as if the sound could trespass the walls and hit her. Endymion frowned as she felt her shake uncontrollably and noticed her clothes were just as damp as his and parted from her "You are soaking wet…let me go get a towel for you"

Serenity widened her eyes "No…don't leave" she said in a pleading tone; Endymion smiled at her "Bunny…nothing is going to happen…you are shaking and if you stay in those damp clothes you are going to get sick"

"Yours are wet too" Serenity said softly "I won't get sick…I promise but please don't leave…" she held her hands and sneezed; Endymion shook his head "You are about to…come on, let's go light the hearth in my room, it's starting to feel cold"

Serenity held his hand and walked with him to his room and went to sit on his bed; Endymion lit the fire on his room as well and went to his closet and walked back to his room with a towel in his hands, extending it he put it all over Serenity's shoulders and sat next to her while rubbing the soft towel against her back trying to absorb the excess of water from her clothes; Serenity looked at him and saw water dripping from his hair "You are as wet as I am…"

Endymion pushed his damp hair back and looked at her "Now you officially know what rain is and feels like" a sound of thunder rumbled again scaring Serenity "…And thunder" he finished; his hands touched her skin and it felt very cold, without saying a word he stood up and went to his drawers again and went back with a dry cotton shirt "Here" he said softly, handling her the shirt; Serenity frowned "Why are you giving me this?"

"You need to change your clothes…you are soaking wet"

Serenity watched Endymion pushed his damp hair back several times and widened her eyes when she noticed he was not as wet as her but even more as she watched how much water roll down his jaw and down his neck; without hesitation she turned to look at him and wiped one side of his face gently with the towel he gave her moments ago. Endymion smiled warmly at her and took her hand "I hope they don't get to see you like this…"

Serenity moved closer to him and intertwined her fingers with his, she lowered her gaze for a moment, looking at their hands together and something in her sparked; she looked at his hand and caressed it softly with her fingers, barely touching his skin, then brought it close to her chest and closed her eyes for a moment. Even when she felt cold she could feel some kind of warmth coming from him, that energy that always made her feel protected and safe; she opened her icy blue eyes and looked at him "They won't…"

Endymion frowned slightly and tightened his grip on her hand "What do you mean?"

Serenity moved closer to him until her face was only inches away from his and ran her hand through his damp hair "…Let me stay here with you…" she whispered; Endymion leaned his forehead on hers, his eyes never leaving hers "Stay with me always" he whispered back.

Serenity closed her eyes for a brief moment and nodded; Endymion noticed how the thin fabric of her dress stucked to her skin revealing even more her enchanting curves. He always thought that under those shimmery gowns was a beautiful body and he finally knew it for sure; he looked at her this time more closely and saw the way her hair was no longer in her usual hairstyle but mostly down because of the weight it had because of the water on it, she glowed with the light of the fire and the moist that still was on her skin made her look even more beautiful than she already was to him. Her lips were slightly parted, always inviting his to kiss them and her eyes always showing great love and for him.

The same was happening to Serenity as she watched him in silence and thought that no other man has ever made her feel the way he did, never in her life had experienced that feeling of joy and fulfillment, never have ever felt so happy and complete. She was deeply in love with the man before her and she had so much in her chest she wanted him to feel as well as she looked into his eyes she felt her cheeks flush and how much she could not hold the urge to move closer and kiss him again.

Endymion was taken by surprise as she captured his lips with hers and then let her take control of it; it was a sweet kiss, tender and from time to time she would nip his lower lip with hers gently, a move that nearly made him lose control over himself.

The kiss continued for a little while longer before she parted from him and opened her eyes, he opened his seconds later and looked at her while moving closer to her and began kissing her neck very softly; his lips barely touched her skin but still she could feel his breath on her ear making her moan a little. The lunar princess looked at him again and put her hands on each side of his face "Your eyes…they have that color again…" she whispered "What are you trying to tell me Prince of Earth?"

Endymion looked at her and pushed her bangs aside, moving closer he nipped her earlobe gently making her close her eyes "I love you…" he whispered "I love you so much I can barely control myself"

Serenity moved her face and locked her lips with his again, her hands played with his hair making it even more intimate. They stayed like that for a couple of more minutes before Endymion parted, stood up and moved away, letting out a deep breath; Serenity looked at him with worry "Endy? What is the matter?"

Endymion ran his hand through his hair and shook his head, not saying anything which worried Serenity even more "Is something wrong?" he shook his head again, still not saying one word. The princess pressed her lips together and lowered her gaze "Did I do something wrong?"

Endymion looked at her and frowned "You didn't do anything wrong…"

Serenity looked at him "Did I do something that made you feel uncomfortable?"

"No"

Serenity bit her lip "What did I do then?"

"You didn't do anything wrong…" Endymion said again.

"Then what happened, why did you stop and move away from me?" Serenity asked with confusion "Endy…"

"I do not trust myself Serenity…" Endymion interrupted her and looked away for a moment and then turned to look at her again "…You make me feel things I have never felt before…you make me lose my mind and if I do not stop, then I won't be able to keep controlling myself…"

Serenity looked at him "You…" she trailed off; she did not blushed or felt intimidated, this time she knew what he meant, they talked about that before and came to realize something; standing up she walked towards him and put her hands on his face "…What if I do not want you to stop?"

Endymion widened his eyes "What?"

"What if I do not want you to keep controlling yourself?" she whispered and looked into his eyes, Endymion looked at her startled "Serenity…" he said softly.

Serenity stood on her tip toes and wrapped her arms around his neck "Forever yours…I am, forever yours" she whispered.

She looked at him in silence for a little while before she began twirling her fingers in his hair; Endymion wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her closer to his body in a strong yet gentle move startling her and bent his head down capturing her lips with his in a deep kiss. She could feel his strong arms holding her making her feel safe and how she wanted to be nowhere else but there with him.

She closed her eyes and responded to the kiss, his hands started to undo whatever was left of her buns letting it go lose and down her back like a silver cascade. Serenity opened her eyes slowly looking into his when she felt the warmth from his lips started to fade away and there it was, that deep and mysterious shade of blue that drowned her into that feeling she yet could not explain but felt so right. This time, she knew what his eyes were saying to her, a mix between desire and passion; passion and love and it was all for her.

She could not stop looking into them and as if she was hypnotized by him, her hands started randomly and slowly to unbutton his jacket not really sure if she was doing it right or wrong. Serenity felt his hands roaming on her back, loosening her dress. Endymion bent again and started to give her butterfly kisses on her cheek and went down to her neck sending shivers all over her body making her moan softly as she moved her head to the side allowing him to kiss her down to her collarbone.

Serenity finally managed to unbutton his jacket and started to pull it away with a little of his help and let it fall to the floor, she opened her eyes a while he was still kissing her neck with tenderness she ran her hands from under his cotton shirt feeling the cold water that was still trapped between his skin and the now cold fabric of his undershirt moving them down to his lower back; while doing it she could feel a tingling sensation all over her body and her cheeks flushed slightly. Her fingers traced the muscles of his back and waist still feeling a little shy; Endymion started caressing her bare back with the tips of his fingers in a circle motion as he let her dress fall slowly from her.

Serenity felt the contrast between the coldness of the room and the warmth of his hands, she could feel them roam slowly and with such tenderness from her shoulders and down her back making her feel more need and desire for him with each stroke. Her heart started pounding a little faster and felt like she could not take it any longer, taking his shirt off it was revealed to her eyes what she always imagined and never got the chance to see.

Endymion felt a new wave of desire that started to take control over him; his body started to react while he could not take his eyes off the woman in front of him. The feeling of her bare skin against his bare chest sent him shivers down all over his body realizing he had come to a moment where he just couldn't stop touching her; the feeling of her soft silky skin, her sweet scent, her warmth, everything in her drove him to a state of nearly losing all control.

His lips caressed her face and down her neck again while he felt her soft hands caress his chest. Her soft moaning against his ear ignited his desire of whatever she wanted him to do, at this moment he was at her mercy.

He felt her hands go slowly down his waist and stop when he knew they reached his pants; opening his eyes he looked at her and smiled softly at her shy expression and held her hands while helped her unbutton them. As soon as she unbuttoned them he ran his arms around her waist and carried her to his bed, putting her down slowly he looked at her while his hand caressed her face; his eyes looking straight into hers.

Serenity blushed as she realized she was with any clothes except for her underwear and blushed even more when she saw him in the same condition as her. Endymion watched her bit her lip and frowned slightly "Is something wrong?" he asked softly; Serenity bit her lip again and looked at him shyly "It is the first time somebody looks at me this way and vice versa…"

Endymion caressed her face with the back of his hand "Do you want me to stop?" he asked softly, looking at her. Serenity traced his jaw line with her finger and shook her head "No…" she whispered, moving closer to him capturing his lips with hers in a kiss that soon became more passionate and intense.

His lips nipped hers from time to time, while his hands caressed her body reaching down to her thighs, pulling down the last remaining piece of clothing on her and threw it on the floor; as he moved closer to her again he bent down and kissed her again, this time softer.

Serenity opened her eyes as soon as she felt he moved his face inches away from hers and looked into his eyes.

"Are you sure?" she heard him ask her; her heart beat fast in her chest and the shyness she once had disappeared. She nodded her head slowly and let herself go as he began to kiss her again; she let out a soft moan and then opened her eyes at the new sensation her body was experiencing; they both got lost in their world, their bodies reacted to their touch and their passionate kisses and warmth made them forget all their problems and everyone who opposed their union.

Serenity opened her eyes slowly and watched him doing the same; his hair was disheveled from the many times she intertwined her fingers on it as she continued feeling what she could not describe but felt with intensity and tenderness at the same time when suddenly felt a wave of heat all over her body, letting out a soft moan she could not even try to control. The energy between them intensified and they continued loving each other and soon gave herself completely to him as she let her mind take over her body and began to move with his.

Endymion was being gentle and tried his best to not try to make her feel uncomfortable; at first she felt pain but soon her body started to react to his finally becoming one. Their breathing fastened; their touch became stronger and their kisses rougher. Serenity no longer felt foreign to the action and intensified her movements making him lose his mind completely. He looked down at her; his eyes were dark, like an ocean in the middle of a storm; lowering his face he kissed her ear "I love you…Serenity" he whispered.

Serenity wrapped her arms around him and held him tight as she felt his hand roam down her leg "Endymion…my love…I love you…" she whispered back and kissed his neck. After some time they both reached their peak, Serenity was feeling for the very first time a wave of incredible sensations running all over her body, engulfing her with many sentiments and a strong feeling of pleasure and completeness, letting go a deep breath. Endymion's heart was pounding strong inside his chest, his breathing was short and fast as he kept his eyes closed for a little moment and felt her hands caress his back softly. He was about to move to the side when he felt her arms around his waist tighten, stopping him from doing so.

She looked beautiful, he thought. Her hair cascaded around her like a silver aura and her cheeks had a rosy tone; her lips were parted as she breathed, slowly coming back to reality. Serenity pulled him closer to her, making him rest on his forearms; smiling softly he wrapped his arms around her waist and turned over so she could be on top of him "I'm forever yours" she whispered in his ear; Endymion kissed her cheek "My beautiful…"

Serenity smiled and watched him let out a soft sigh catching her attention "Is something the matter?" Endymion shook his head and yawned "No…"

She noticed how much he tried to stay awake and even though his hand caressed her arm, he could not hold his eyes open any longer and yawned again "You're sleepy…" she said softly.

Endymion opened his eyes slowly and turned to look at her "I am…" he smiled softly "You aren't?"

Serenity smiled widely and shook her head "No…I could talk all night"

Endymion yawned again "Alright, I'll listen…"

"No...how am I am going to speak all by myself, I'm going to look insane…" Serenity pouted her lips.

"…You little cheater" Endymion let out a soft chuckle.

Serenity tilted her head, blinking several times "Why?"

Endymion chuckled again "You took all my energy my dear" his hand caressed her cheek and moved her bangs away from her eyes; Serenity widened her icy blue eyes "I did?... Did I do something wrong…?" she asked worried, startling him. Smiling, Endymion shook his head "It happens love, you didn't do anything wrong…"

Serenity narrowed her eyes and poked him on the ribs "You have experienced it before…don't you?" she rolled down next to him, Endymion widened his deep blue eyes "What?"

"You have slept with other women…" her voice lost some of its sweetness and pursed her lips, yes, she was jealous. The prince put his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him "Serenity…"

"Ah!…so you have!" Serenity widened her eyes "…I caught you!"

Endymion frowned "Serenity…" he looked at her "Why are we even discussing this? It doesn't matter…it makes you look like if you were…jealous"

Serenity frowned "Pfff! Jealous? Me? No… I was just commenting…please…" she waved her hand and covered her face while mumbling something under the covers. The prince sighed softly "Bunny…it doesn't matter, why are you so upset? I'm with you and nobody else"

Serenity pushed the covers away from her eyes and looked at him "…But I am not your first…"

Endymion widened his eyes "What?"

Serenity sighed and moved the rest of the covers away from her face and bit her lower lip for a moment "…You are the only man in my life…you know…like _that_… and I am not the only women in yours…"

Endymion looked at her "Serenity…" he sighed softly again "What makes you think you are not my first?"

"You have said it before…" Serenity said in a childish tone, pouting her lips.

Endymion arched his brow "Because I said being sleepy was normal?"

Serenity sighed softly "That and because you have said it before…you have slept with other women…"

Endymion shook his head "Bunny… you are the only woman I have ever loved, the first in my bed, the first in my life, the first in my heart; the first I ever made love to… you are, the woman of my life"

Serenity blushed "The woman you ever loved"

"You are the woman I love" Endymion said again "It happened a long time ago…I was young and stupid and it did not mean anything"

Serenity bit her lower lip "You were what?" she asked, her tone changing to a warmer and playful one; Endymion caught it right away and smiled "What?"

"You were…_what_?" Serenity asked again and smiled, knowing how prideful he could be to have heard him say he was stupid was like finding a four leaf clover in the middle of a forest. A one in a million occasion.

Endymion knew where she was going and chuckled, rolling his eyes "Stupid…I was stupid…"

Serenity giggled "Aaaaaand…who is your only one?"

"You are"

Serenity blushed "Forever mine?"

Endymion pulled her closer to him, making her blush even more as she remembered they did not have any clothes on "Forever yours…Serenity, I swear my life when I tell you that you are the only one, my first one and only love"

Serenity ran her hand through his dark hair "I love you Endymion, so very much…" she whispered.

Endymion turned on his side and snuggled in her chest, his arms tightened around her waist, Serenity smiled when she heard his breathing become slower and how she could barely hear him snore.

The white princess giggled softly "It is true what you said about taking your energy…amazing..."

[Silence]

Serenity widened her eyes "Endy?"

[Silence]

"…Endymion?"

[Silence]

She moved her head to confirm if he was really asleep or if he was half asleep, half awake like he usually is but she never got a reply from him. Smiling, she continued combing his hair with her fingers but when she least expect it she started to feel very tired and relaxed and without even realizing it she was already deep asleep as well.

O.o.o.o.o.O

The door opened and Aurea walked in with a tray in her hands. She pushed the door with her foot and closed it behind her and continued walking straight to the royal bedroom where she knew the queen was already preparing herself to sleep; and just like she imagined, she saw her brushing her hair and cleared her throat, letting her know she was there.

Gaia turned and smiled at her "There you are"

"I brought you some herb tea, to help you sleep" Aurea smiled and put the tray on a small round table near one of the windows and began pouring the hot liquid into a small porcelain cup.

"I was starting to wonder where you were…"

Aurea walked over the queen and handled her the cup of tea "I was doing my rounds like always…and had dinner with Leonidas"

Gaia smiled; Aurea sighed softly and sat on a chair near her "…Besides, I didn't want to interrupt your social memento"

Gaia's smile widened a little and took a sip of her tea; Aurea frowned slightly "What? Why are you so happy?"

The queen put down the cup and looked at her brunette friend "She is the one"

Aurea sighed softly and rested her face on her hand "What do you mean?"

Gaia looked down at her tea for a moment and nodded; she bit her lip and then turned to Aurea again "You know what I mean…she _is_ the one…"

"The one?" Aurea arched her brow "Gaia…you have always said that only a goddess could be the perfect match, the 'one' for Endymion…what made you change your mind?"

Gaia smiled "Didn't you look at her carefully?"

"She is pretty, very beautiful if that is what you want to hear…"

Gaia shook her head "She is absolutely beautiful…but that is not what I meant"

"Then what?"

Gaia rolled her eyes "How can you be so dense sometimes?…I'm surprised"

Aurea blew her long bangs "Gaia…You always said that you wanted…" she trailed off and widened her eyes "…Oh…" she turned to look at the queen who had a big smile on her face, Aurea shook her head in shock "…No she is not..."

Gaia nodded "She is"

Aurea's eyes widened even more "How…why…who…?" she could not formulate a straight question. The queen put her cup of tea on her vanity and rested her hands on her lap "And do you know who that beautiful woman is?"

Aurea stayed silent for a moment and then shook her head "…I am still confused and surprised…"

"She is not just any Goddess…she is a special one…" Gaia said softly "A very special one"

Aurea frowned slightly "Who is she?"

Gaia looked at her "Don't you remember that hairstyle? You have seen it before…I know you remember…"

Aurea bit her lip "I don't know… I have never met any god or goddess before…well, except for the one that came to fight you and your…" she widened her eyes again "…Friend…"

Gaia nodded "She is my friend's daughter, Serenity"

Aurea stood up and covered her mouth with her hands in shock "It cannot be…" she mumbled, surprised "Are you positive?"

Gaia smiled "Yes I am… she is as beautiful as her mother, has the same way of speaking…well she is a little more adventurous…but her eyes hold the same kindness…and of course, share the same name"

"But…" Aurea trailed off "…How did they meet? How is that possible?"

"Destiny…" Gaia said softly "I can only think in Destiny…"

"Did you talk to her?"

"Yes, of course…"

Aurea widened her eyes "You told her the truth then, you told her who you are"

Gaia frowned and shook her head "No…of course not"

"But you just said…"

Gaia's frown deepened "I said I talked to her to get to know her better and see why my son fell in love with her, I needed to make sure he loved her because of her heart and not only because of her beauty and vice versa and I was very happy and pleased to see she is much more than I ever imagined for him…she is educated, passionate, kind and with so many dreams…she is a dreamer…and that is what makes her unique…her mother raised her beautifully"

Aurea frowned and crossed her amrs "You didn't tell her the truth…"

"What did you want me to say to her?" Gaia shook her head.

"Well…something like how friends you are with her mother, who you really are…who Endymion really is for instance…" Aurea crossed her arms "You sure are stubborn"

Gaia sighed "Telling her won't make the situation better, but the contrary…it would be more difficult than how it is already…"

"Why?"

The queen stood up slowly and began to walk around the room, wrapping her arms around herself "Because Aurea…their romance it's already too dangerous…and my past should not interfere with their lives…"

Aurea let out a sarcastic chuckle "Like if hasn't happened already…"

Gaia turned and frowned "Aurea"

"We are not only talking about your true self and your past Gaia…we are talking about Endymion's. Don't you think she has the right to know?"

The terran queen leaned on the wall "I understand their love…but it is very dangerous…" she turned to Aurea "For both of them…Serenity would be devastated if something happens to her daughter…if she loses her"

"Maybe this time it is different" Aurea said softly.

Gaia shook her head "The gods are not going to let this happen again…" she sighed and moved closer to the balcony doors as she watched the pouring rain outside "…She makes him happy…" she said softly "…You should have seen the way he looks at her…she is the one, he is in love with her"

Aurea sighed sadly "What is it going to happen then?"

Gaia looked over her shoulder "I cannot break them apart…but I can't help them either…" she turned again and put her hand against the cold window "…I am too weak, too sick…I cannot do anything in this state of mine…"

"Does it mean then that they will have to break apart?" Aurea asked with sadness.

Gaia closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh "No…it means, that they will have to fight for their love…" she opened them again "If they want to be together…then they will face very difficult moments…and too many trials that will fall upon them…"

O.o.o.o.o.O

The sound of rain could still be heard outside as it dripped from the roof and windows like a sweet and gentle melody, its sound was constant and abundant and surprisingly tranquilizing until a loud thunder crashed across the sky, rumbling with fury. Serenity immediately opened her blue eyes and turned to the window, the light emanated by the lightening filtered the thick curtain scaring her; she brought the covers closer to her body and closed her eyes in fear hoping there was no more rumbling sounds like those.

As strong and loud as the last one, a new one came, scaring her even more. Not sure of what to do, she was about to hide under the covers when she felt Endymion's arm tighten around her waist "Nothing is going to happen…" he said with a raspy voice.

"I do not like that sound…" Serenity whispered and closed her eyes when she saw the light filtering the curtains again "It's evil…"

Endymion watched her cover her face with the blankets with desperation "Hey…" he sat on the bed, his hand rubbed her back in soft circles "…It's alright…nothing is going to happen" he pulled the covers away from her and searched for her face "Bunny…" he whispered. Something in his voice soothed her, opening her eyes she looked up at him and blushed softly "Silly me that I want to be a fighter…I know…"

Endymion smiled and caressed her neck "You are a fighter"

Serenity frowned "How am I going to be a fighter when I am afraid of those sounds?"

The prince slid back into the covers and caressed her bare shoulder with his fingers, sending her shivers down her spine. His smile was comforting and reassuring "You are a fighter"

Serenity narrowed her eyes "You are being sarcastic…right?"

Endymion chuckled and shook his head "No Bunny…"

"Hm…"

"What?"

Serenity frowned "Yes, you are being sarcastic"

Endymion widened his eyes "What makes you think that?"

"When it comes to sarcasm…you are a natural" Serenity pursed her lips; Endymion tried to hold his chuckles with all his might "You are a fighter" he repeated. Serenity narrowed her eyes again "What makes you think that?"

"You are fighting with me right now, apparently for no reason" the prince gave her a boyish look. Serenity blew her bangs and pouted her lips "I am being serious…I am never going to be a fighter"

Endymion's smile faded, his face turning serious. She was meaning all her words, she did want to be a warrior surprisingly for him; since the moment she asked him to teach her how to fight with a sword caught his attention but never really imagined it meant so much to her. Crossing his arms he let out a soft sigh, his eyes staring at the ceiling with slight confusion and what it could be interpreted as anointment.

His memories as soldier weren't the best. In fact if he could choose to erase something from his mind it would be exactly that; the faces and cries of suffering and help from all the people he couldn't actually help when he was young. He closed his eyes and frowned "Why is it so important to you? Besides the amazement it causes to you…"

Serenity turned to him and widened her eyes "Amazement?" she whispered.

Endymion opened his eyes "Is it really what you want? To be the ghost of a person you used to be...?" the coldness in his voice and maybe the hollowness made the white princess frown "Are you saying you are the ghost of a man you used to be?"

"I am saying, even suggesting you many other ways to protect and support your family and your kingdom" his voice maintained the same low tone. Serenity frowned again "Then why did you continue even when you knew the consequences of it all? When you knew there were other ways?"

"Because…" he trailed off, he blinked several times slowly trying to verbalize what he was feeling at that precise moment and frowned when he realized she had a point "…You are going the say I am being ridiculous…" he mumbled; Serenity arched her brow, exactly the same way he always did. It seemed that the papers had turned, like in an alternate universe where she was the serious, collected and stoic one and he, the one confused and with a rush of feelings flowing through his chest towards his head.

"I am already thinking you are being ridiculous for not telling me"

Endymion let out a deep breath and hesitated a couple of more minutes "I knew the consequences, I always did…but it was something I felt I needed to do, like a calling…"

The word calling caught Serenity's attention but stayed silent and let her lover continue; Endymion pursed his lips as he tried to find the right words that would not make him sound too corny but apparently, there was not a single expression that could actually make him look less cheesy and gave up "…I felt the need to become a soldier since I was little, I always felt that was my destiny, my mission in life…to be a protector...some kind of guardian, a warrior"

Serenity frowned slightly and sat on the bed, covering her nude body with the dark silky sheet, pressing it against her body like a second skin "Like a calling"

Endymion turned to look at her; his hand slid from under the sheet and caressed her stomach "Exactly" Serenity blushed at the feeling of his fingers caressing her skin but then realized that more intimate than that they could not be, they gave themselves to one another, they were now one body and soul.

"I respect your wishes and I understand your desire but there are other ways of fighting, my destiny was to be this kind of soldier…yours is different, you are different"

His voice made her look at him again and widened her eyes "Different…" she said softly, the prince nodded "I do not want your hands be covered in blood like mine already are…I do not want that for you, ever"

Serenity's eyes softened, it still impressed her how many things the man next to her held in his heart, it still marveled her the kindness of his words and the way he looked after her all the time; she could feel the love all around her while she was with him, his touch was always warm, his lips always tender, his eyes always passionate. She smiled softly, making her look like an angel to his eyes, her hand slowly went to touch his well toned chest and put it right where she could feel his heart pounding so steady and strong "…You are different as well…" she said softly.

Endymion frowned slightly and then let out a soft chuckle "Well…yes I am, I am a mortal, and that makes me different from you"

Serenity pursed her lips and tilted her head "That is not what I meant"

Endymion arched his brow and smiled "Oh? Then what?" his hand kept moving, this time caressing her waist. He just could not get enough of her, her skin was like touching perfumed silk. Serenity kept holding the sheet close to her body with her free hand and moved a little closer to him "You used to play in the mud and loved to leave dirt marks on the carpets"

Endymion widened his eyes with her comment "What?"

Serenity grinned "…You used to hide so nobody could ever find you and you hated to take a bath…"

Endymion blinked a couple of times, then realized where that information came from "Mother…" he smiled softly and shook his head; Serenity giggled and tilted her head "Mischievous boy"

Endymion narrowed his eyes "You make it sound like if I were a grumpy person…"

Serenity put her finger on her chin in thought "Well…you are…" she trailed off and sat straight "…All serious, all the time" she tried her best to imitate his deep voice. Endymion arched his brow and held his urge to laugh "What are you doing?"

"I am you" she continued talking like him "I am all so serious and a Prince"

Endymion pressed his lips together while looking at his petite lover imitating him "What does being a prince has to do with all of this?"

"I am serious because I am a Prince. I am no longer playful and mischievous because I am all grown up"

Endymion widened his eyes and cleared his throat, trying his best of not to laugh "Bunny…I do not sound like that"

Serenity pouted her lips and frowned "Of course you…I mean I do" she said again, in 'his' voice.

Endymion could not hold it any longer and broke into laughter, bending his head back. This was probably the first time Serenity watched him laugh with so much effusivity, even though she heard him chuckle, she never thought his laughter could be so adorable and contagious. It was warm like his voice, but constant and fluent; it wasn't scandalous or exaggerated but incredibly sweet.

Serenity tilted her head "You do realize you are laughing at yourself…right?" she widened her eyes "Oh no, wait…" she sat straight again, crossed her arms and arched her brow the same way he does "You _do _realize you are laughing at yourself…right?"

Endymion watched her and widened his eyes "Now what are you doing?" he said between laughs.

Serenity pointed her nose up "I am you, so I do not joke or laugh. I am always serious" she said again, trying to imitate his voice again "I am no longer playful because I am a soldier and have to be serious all the time"

He continued laughing but soon stopped when something in her words made him realize something; how right she was. True, he was serious most of the time but because he had to, he did not have the time to just being himself with nothing pulling him back; he came to notice that this was probably the first time he laughed so hard in so many years.

She was so magical she even managed to break that frozen part in him. A long forgotten but very familiar feeling took control of him and gave her a grin she probably hadn't ever seen before; Serenity looked at him and widened her eyes "What?"

Endymion looked at her, still with a smile on his face reached for the sheet pressed against Serenity's body and pulled it down in one swift move, making her widen her eyes and gasp in surprise "What are you doing?!" she asked softly.

The prince smiled widely at her "Nothing" he said in a boyish tone.

Serenity blushed and tried to get some sheet to cover herself again but Endymion moved his hand away "What are you doing?"

"What?" Serenity asked "Give me that!"

Endymion chuckled "No"

"Why not?"

"Because…" Endymion said still with a boyish tone "It's mine…if you want it you will have to come and fight for it"

Serenity pouted her lips "That is not fair!" she moved forward and extended her arm trying to reach the fabric but soon lost her balance and fell on top of him and stayed looking into each other's eyes, their faces were only millimeters away; Serenity blushed and bit her lip softly "I'm cold…" she whispered.

Endymion moved her bangs and hair away from her face very gently and caressed her cheeks with the back of his hand; he moved his free arm and covered them with the silky sheet one again "Better?"

Serenity blinked slowly as she felt a warm wave of comfort and protection engulfing her again; she moved her face closer to his and caressed his lips with hers. She soon ran her fingers through his hair while intensifying the kiss, this time she followed her heart not really thinking about anything else but in her own feelings and the man underneath her. Endymion closed his eyes as soon as she locked her lips with his and responded immediately; his hands went from her back down to her hips and then to her thighs, she knew how to make him lose his mind without even trying too hard, he felt how she pulled his hair and her lips traveled down his neck, this time being her the one in control.

Serenity opened her eyes slowly, moved her face and kissed his chin, then his jaw "I amo te…Endymion…" she whispered in his ear and just as if her words were the key to his desire he wrapped his arms around her waist and kept her close to him.

He looked at her with those deep azure eyes of his "Pulchra Serenity…I amo te…"

Serenity smiled softly and kissed the tip of his nose "See? I can speak Latin"

Endymion smiled and trapped her lips with his; immersed on their feelings and desires they disconnected themselves from their surroundings, their reality and became one, once again.

O.o.o.o.o.O

Alone in his room, Athamas looked at the nothingness with eyes full of rancor. In his attempt of formulating a new plan to fulfill his own wishes and achieve what he had planned for so long had a few drinks but nothing really came to enlighten his troubled mind.

He had loosened his sandy blonde hair and took off his uniform jacket, his shirt was unbuttoned, revealing his well defined chest and abdomen; the man was very handsome but also very dark. He had in his hand another round of what could be whisky, that strong, amber colored drink he always had when he spent his nights alone thinking in one thing: Serenity.

The question of who might be the one taking his place constantly haunted his mind, drifting him from his duties as soldier in the silver millennium's palace. He thought about the first time they met, how they were introduced, how her light blue eyes gleamed with excitement and loving, how she bit her lips nervously and how she could say anything just to get his attention.

He fidgeted in his seat, close to the hearth in his room. The memories of those moments came from time to time, and all that happened back then; his relationship with his mistress back in Andromeda, his wishes to become a soldier and then…the voice.

That voice he could not explain or even understand, with an ancient sound, sultry notes that filled his mind like an echo, ordering him, guiding him to what it says it was the future. It constantly filled him with a satisfying sense of triumph, the way it pictured a future with power, strength and a beautiful woman by his side, he liked it. He never imagined that the strange advice coming from the back of his mind would take him so far; then, the sound of soft laughter interrupted his thoughts.

He frowned and sighed "The sound of your voice…" he whispered and looked up "I no longer know what I am doing anymore…"

The image of her smiling at him melted his heart; closing his eyes he put a hand on his face. Then another image, when he said she was going too fast and he wanted to focus on his duties as soldier. Athamas opened his green eyes and frowned. He was starting to realize that beyond his desire for marrying her and taking control as king of the silver millennium he cared for the princess, he missed her laughter and kind eyes, he missed the feeling of having her close, he wanted to be the man that could hold her every night and every day for the rest of eternity; he wanted to be that man…and he wanted to kill the one taking his place.

It didn't matter how much the senshi tried to cover him the truth, he was certain Serenity was seeing somebody else, even when she was still the woman he met a year ago, something in her changed. She was stronger, more secure of herself and was not afraid to confront him; more than any other thing in the universe, that is what he hated the most. Standing up, he walked over to the window and looked outside. With the glass of whisky in his hand, he soon took a sip and made a face of disgust, thinking how he should be taken control over the planet before him by now.

As he watched the blue mixed with the greens and browns it made his blood boil in his veins. He knew about the myth of a hidden soldier in the universe, the one with the power to destroy everything in its path and took a vow to be stronger than him. Then, he joined the army and listened to more rumors about it, nurturing even more his desire to unmask that soldier and take its place.

There was no guarantee that the soldier he always wanted to destroy was in the blue planet but many theories he started to formulate and many times he investigated made him think he actually was there.

"The hidden soldier…" he muttered and took another sip of his drink.

"_Ti…tir…tired…ti…tired of…waiting…I'm tired of waiting…"_

Athamas frowned and closed his eyes, he brought a hand up to his head and shook it "Tired…"

"_Unleash the true power…it's time…it's time for our glorious time to come…"_

The blonde soldier let go of the glass in his hand and crashed in million pieces on the floor; bringing his other hand to his head, he felt like a thousand blades hit him, causing him tremendous pain "What…what should I do?"

"_Kill everyone in your way…destroy everyone who opposes you…unleash the true power…it's time…it's time for our glorious time to come…"_

Athamas fell on his knees not realizing a big piece of glass was cutting the skin of his arm, making him bleed. The blonde soldier shook his head and in between breaths he tried to stand up again, raising his head he looked at the blue planet in the distance. His eyes went darker, with nothing in them else but pure rage.

"Everything is mine and I am tired of waiting…If I want things to be done, I will have to do them myself…I will unleash the true power…it's time…it's time for our glorious time to come…and then, I will make her mine"

O.o.o.o.o.O

"I am going to check up on her"

Jupiter watched Venus stand up from her seat "Do you think we should? She is probably asleep by now…"

Venus sighed and pursed her lips; Mars yawned softly "Jupiter is right…"

Mercury turned to the girls "Yes, maybe she needs to be left alone for today…"

"She has been in her room all day…" Venus said "I'm worried…"

"We all are, what is happening is something that is affecting her greatly" Mercury said "What is going to happen now?"

Mars let out a soft breath while kept stirring her spoon on her tea "I am not sure…"

"The General will make his move" Jupiter said, catching the attention of the girls; Venus frowned "What?"

"It is the most logical thing I can think right now…without any more obstacles, he will make his move to try to win our Princess' heart again; he has all the support from our Queen…" the amazon reassured.

"I'm scared…I'm worried" Mercury said softly, then felt a hand on her shoulder, she turned and saw Jupiter smiling at her "Don't be…everything will be alright…we are here to protect our Princess"

Mercury nodded and looked at her cup of tea, now cold "I really liked him…I really thought he was perfect for her…they were perfect for each other"

Venus lowered her gaze and thought about the white haired general with sadness; they all wished this situation wasn't as difficult as it was now that obviously they all grew fond to the prince's guardians. Mars turned to look at her and studied her face "It was something that was needed to be done…"

Venus turned to her startled for a moment and then nodded "Yes…I know…" sighing, she pushed the stool back to its place and turned to look at her fellow guardians "I will go to my room…"

"Are you going to be alright?" Mercury asked soflty; Venus nodded and responded her with a smile. Turning on her heel she began to walk away, none of the girls say a word until she was no longer around.

"This is too much for her" Jupiter sighed and turned to Mars "If she continues suppressing her feelings, she will explode"

"There is not much she can do as a matter of fact…" Mars responded "She has a very large, very heavy weight on her shoulders…"

"Don't we all have the same responsibilities?" Mercury frowned.

"She is our leader" Mars responded.

"Yes, but…she is letting this entire situation affect her" Jupiter said.

"She cares for our Princess, very much. We all have known how close they were since the very beginning…but now that we've grown, our duties and responsibilities have become more serious. We must look after her and protect her, she is the leader of us four…if anything happens to her, it will affect her first…" Mars said and lowered her gaze "…It has been something that has been tearing her apart, it is not like she dislikes the fact Princess Serenity loves that man, what is hurting her is to know she is the senshi of love and being the reason of their rupture…she is not being the friend she wished she was…none of us are…"

Mercury pushed her cup to the side and rested her chin on her hands "I wish there could be something that would allow them to be together…I understand your point and I too feel guilty by all this…"

Mars pursed her lips and turned away "But…this…premonition…is coming stronger with each night…"

Jupiter frowned "Mars…I thought we all agreed where to send her in case something happens in this place…we talked about it and we agreed we would send her with _him…_why are things changing now?"

Mars turned to Jupiter and hesitated for a moment while letting a soft sigh "Because…this dark and powerful energy, seems to be coming from Earth…" Jupiter widened her green eyes and stayed in shock, worry and disbelief. Was war really going to happen then? She thought; Mercury closed her eyes and prayed with all her heart that this madness could be stopped in time, the picture Mars portrayed was not pretty and it seemed that not even the mere gods could fight it.

The four girls were trapped in their thoughts and in silence hoping everything they were living was just part of a long and bad dream.

O.o.o.o.o.O

Queen Serenity was standing close to the large window in her bedroom; with her arms close, hugging her lean body, looking at the outside. Her lavender eyes, full of wisdom and caring love watched the stars dance across the sky soon to be covered by Diana's veil of the night.

It had been a calm and very quiet day, not too much to do and not too much to really analyze. She knew what was happening, just like the other gods. She had been present in several meetings and audiences with all the monarchy around the universe at the great hall in Olympus.

She sighed one time "Danger…"she said softly and closed her eyes; she felt a chill traveling all over her body and frowned when she remembered the events that happened earlier.

Flashback

_The sound of her heels against the marble floors echoed in the corridor, her pace was fast and steady as she hurried to get as soon as possible to the large room, where an audience with the high gods was going to take place._

_A woman with light blonde hair turned and widened her eyes as soon as she watched her coming closer, turning to the people to whom she was talking, she excused herself and walked over to her._

"_Serenity…" Aphrodite said "…You received that letter as well…"_

_Queen Serenity pursed her lips and nodded, looking around at the rest of the crowd and then turned back at the blonde goddess in front of her "Have you heard anything? Why did they call us all?"_

_Aphrodite shook her head "No, the letter does not explain much…but it has to be something very serious…" sighing she bit her lower lip "Ares haven't mentioned anything?"_

_The white queen shook her head "No…I haven't seen him in quite a long time…and I haven't being able to schedule a meeting with Chronos either…"_

_Aphrodite sighed "How is my daughter doing?"_

"_She is doing very well…she is a marvelous guardian" Serenity smiled softly at her friend "I won't deny how worried she is…she takes her duty very seriously"_

_The blonde goddess smiled softly "Must be difficult, considering her bubbly character…"_

_Both queens turned when the room's large doors opened revealing two tall guards, indicating it was time for the meeting. Queen Serenity pressed her lips together while Aphrodite arched her brow "I believe it's time…" _

_All gods and goddesses started to take their usual seat at the enormous room, soon Queen Serenity found her seat and turned to her side to find the one next to her, empty, her lavender eyes looked at it with melancholy and traced the golden symbol graved on its back "Dear friend…I miss you terribly…"_

"_It is still not the same without her…even after all this time…" a male voice interrupted the queen's thoughts, making her turn. Her eyes widened as soon as she saw Ares standing next to her "Ares" Serenity said with slight surprise. The blonde god smiled softly at her and kissed the top of her hand "I am so sorry for not visiting as often as I would like to…"_

"_I understand…you are a very busy man"_

_Ares shrugged his shoulders "Apparently I am…how are you little flower?"_

_Queen Serenity let out a soft sigh "Confused…concerned…do you know why we are here?"_

_Ares took a seat next to her and looked at her with serious eyes "You know why. But they want to make the official announcement so all can be prepared…"_

_Serenity frowned "Prepared for what?"_

_Ares sighed "What it is about to come…"_

"…_And what is that?"_

_Ares patted her hand still on his "…We need to let Gaia know…" _

_Queen Serenity widened her eyes "Let her know what Ares?" this time, her voice showed more concern that it did before "What is that she needs to know?"_

_Ares looked around so nobody would hear and sighed again; then turned back at Serenity "That just like us…the life of her planet is in danger…"_

_Queen Serenity froze in her seat "…Gaia no longer holds any power…that is why we have to help her Ares…"_

_Ares watched the golden chair next to Serenity's silver one "That is against the law little flower…we are tied by our duties…"_

"_Then how do you dare to tell me we have to warn her…?"_

_Ares looked at her "Because, the one that has that immense power and the one who should occupy that seat lives with her…"_

"_How are we going to let them understand?" Queen Serenity looked at him with teary eyes. Ares sighed and lowered his gaze "They are not going to…"_

_The lunar queen frowned "What?"_

_Just when Ares was about to tell her something, the high gods made their appearance one next to the other and took their respective seating at the center of the large room. The blonde god turned to Serenity and patted her hand softly "I have to go…"_

_Queen Serenity looked at him sadly and watched him leave and take his seat next to Chronos, who was already there with a serious face. The air in the room felt dense and cold, Aphrodite took her seat next to her where Ares was sitting just minutes ago "Are you alright?"_

"_There is no surprise why you were asked to be here today. Many of you have been wondering what is happening but we made sure to keep this a secret until now" Zeus said; his voice loud, authoritative and very clear "It would be no surprise for you to tell you there is a strange and evil presence coming our way…"_

_The room was started to fill with the sound of murmurs; Zeus locked his gaze with the lunar queen and extended his arm "We joined our forces and trust to Selene's daughter's Alliance, which have kept us safe all this time but now that this treat is approaching us, we must be prepared…the Alliance must be strengthened"_

"_What is that evil presence you are telling us?" one of the gods in the back asked._

"_If it is evil…we know the nature of the treat" Hades said coldly._

"_I thought that problem was solved many years ago…" another god said._

_Hades crossed his arms and closed his eyes "That problem will not be solved until we eliminate everything that is linked to it"_

_Chronos turned to look at him "Hades…"_

"_That problem could have been prevented, but many of the ones present here with bland and weak hearts thought love could solve everything…" Hades said dryly and opened his dark grey eyes "I believe we all know who we are talking about…"_

_Ares frowned "We are still not sure if what is happening has to do with it…"_

_Hades turned to look at him "You will defend it, just because he is your beloved's relative…" his voice was low, being the ones on that stage the only ones to hear it. Chronos frowned and turned to Hades "You are crossing the line and missing the point"_

_Zeus frowned and turned to Hades "I asked Hades to put more security in Tartarus…"_

"_What is going to happen then?" Hera asked, slightly annoyed "Hades is supposed to guard those gates…it is his territory after all"_

_Hades growled and tried to stand up but Chronos stopped him. Zeus turned his head to where his wife was seating and frowned "The gates in Tartarus are sealed. This treat seems to be coming from another place...You must be prepared for anything…if we are not careful, disaster will fall upon us"_

_Queen Serenity widened her eyes "What about Earth?"_

_All stares where now on the white queen, who was still seating on her silver chair. Aphrodite widened her blue eyes and held her hand "Serenity…" she whispered._

_Chronos looked at her with sad eyes [Little flower…] he thought._

_Poseidon let out a sarcastic laugh "What about it?"_

"_What are we going to do? How are we going to protect it?" Queen Serenity asked; murmurs started to fill the room once again "The blue planet is part of our galaxy…it deserves to be in the Alliance just like any one of us…"_

_Zeus annoyed by the sound of murmuring growled and threw a thunder at the ceiling, startling everybody "Silence!" he then turned to the white queen "We are not going to do anything"_

"_But it is part of our Galaxy… part of this universe…" Queen Serenity said._

"_That planet and all of its inhabitants are forbidden to even think about the possibility of crossing the line to this realm" Zeus said; he knew of the queen's kind and loyal heart and so the importance of her friendship with the goddess of that planet "It's protector broke the law"_

"_Earth has a new protector…" Queen Serenity said "One that can do magnificent things to improve the Alliance"_

_Poseidon frowned and laughed again "Are you being serious?"_

_Hades turned to the white queen "One that comes from a legion of criminals. You want to bring an assassin to this realm, not really caring the damage that could cause"_

"_I am sure he is not raised to be an assassin. She was fair, she was strong and admirable…she could have never, ever, raise her own child to be an evil being" Queen Serenity stood up._

_Hades frowned and stood up "How dare you to even think we will consider them? That protector you say Earth has is nothing else but an assassin bastard. The fruit of that horrendous relationship is not one of us…that bastard is a great treat to all of us and must be sent to Tartarus where it belongs…" his eyes were fixed on her "He has killed our kind as well...he has ripped souls from living bodies and sent them to the underworld…"_

"_He is protecting his people, his planet…and his mother" the queen responded quickly._

"_He is a murderer!"_

_Zeus frowned "A sentence was put on them…we are not doing anything. If darkness approaches them…then, its protector will ha to find a way to solve it…that planet is banned from our reign, any contact with them is forbidden and anyone who dares to do it, will have the same luck its previous protector had"_

"_We are supposed to look for each other…" Queen Serenity said softly "That is the point of the Alliance, to help us all"_

"_We are not here to discuss that matter, we are not here to try to redeem her faults and forgive her for her treason. The problem we are trying to solve is more important and it is coming close. The sun is being covered by darkness, affecting Helios' powers. The outer senshi are being prepared, warned and are ready for battle, the inner senshi must be as well" Zeus said determinant._

"_They are prepared" Ares said and looked at Serenity "The Silver Crystal must be guarded. If it falls in the wrong hands we are all doomed"_

"_Now that you are warned, proceed and alert your commanders and soldiers…The Silver Alliance must strengthened and its army must be ready to fight" Zeus said and turned to leave, indicating the audience was finally over. Queen Serenity watched everybody leave the room while she could not even think about the possibility of leaving her friend fight that evil being alone._

_Aphrodite stayed there with her and held her hand "Serenity…I wish there could be something I could do to help…"_

"_Why are they so blind?" Serenity said softly._

"_Because, they like to believe they are always right" Aphrodite patted her hand "Come with me, let's leave this place…"_

"_Queen Serenity, Goddess of the Moon" a guard addressed the white queen, catching her attention "Yes?"_

"_Your presence is required at the main office"_

_Aphrodite frowned "Why?"_

_Queen Serenity squeezed her friend's hand "Isn't that obvious?" she shook her head. The guard stood there and turned to Aphrodite "I was not required to tell you why Goddess Aphrodite, but only to call Goddess Serenity"_

_Serenity stood up and turned to Aphrodite "I will be fine…do not worry"_

_The blonde brought the lavender haired queen close to her with a hug "Please, call me if you need anything…anything Serenity"_

_The lunar queen smiled and nodded "I will. I promise" she moved, breaking the hug and soon followed the golden dressed guard. They walked in silence until they were standing outside the majestic office doors, one of the guards standing outside opened one for the queen and bowed his head in respect "You are being expected, Goddess"_

_Queen Serenity nodded and walked inside, soon the doors were closed behind her and took several steps forward and soon saw Chronos, Zeus, Ares and Hades standing in front of her "Why are you doing this?" Zeus asked with a soft voice, very different from what everybody was used to hear._

"_Because, the Alliance has a mission and that is to bring all the planets and guardians together so we can protect the galaxy" the white queen said._

"_Do you realize the fear you install by mentioning them?" Hades asked this time, his dark eyes watched her with anger "Have you forgotten what she did?"_

"_She did nothing wrong and you know it" Serenity said and turned to Zeus "You know it…I know you do…"_

_Zeus sighed and crossed his arms "We have rules and we have to follow the law…otherwise it would be a disaster"_

"_This place already is a disaster Zeus…we forget there are other feelings than competition and hunger for power…since when love is a crime? She fell in love…and gave birth to a child with an amazing ability to protect…"_

"_What you call ability to protect is nothing else but danger. His nature is other, he comes from a family of warriors…feared by all, you are too blind to even think that bastard is going to help us…to believe he is kind. He is just like him" Hades said coldly "What makes you think he is different?"_

"_I trust his mother" Serenity said._

"_His mother betrayed us all, she committed treason…fell for a mortal and broke the rules of our existence, she tainted our pure legion. She was admirable yes, a superb warrior but she failed us all…just like her brother did" Hades responded._

_Queen Serenity turned to Chronos "Do you really want to leave them unprotected?" she turned to Ares, then to Zeus and Hades "Is it even fair? She did not kill anybody…you do not know what she had to go through…you did not see her cry when she was given the responsibility to protect a planet she was not supposed to look after until a certain age, she was asked to follow her brother's legacy by being the first senshi to become a polemarchos…she gave up the fact of being a girl, she forgot how to play, how to enjoy her time…all she did was train and fight. Her dreams were shattered the moment she held that sword…the moment the crystal chose her, she was no longer seen as Gaia the Goddess but Gaia the trophy...when she met him, she felt free…and for the very first time in so many years…she was happy"_

"_It was exactly because of the Goddess she was, she could not break the law that way…she was not even supposed to have children" Zeus said._

"_You agree then that he is a miracle" Serenity said._

_Zeus sighed, Queen Serenity looked at him "Do you?"_

"_My thoughts and sentence won't change if I say I do believe it" Zeus sighed "I know how important she is to you…even after all this time, but you have to accept it. Danger is approaching us an if we don't do anything to stop it could the end of too many things…if not everything"_

"_If there is something we are certain about this enemy is that, it knows us well and know how to play its cards" Ares said, bringing the attention back to the meeting subject. _

"_That is why you thought it was coming from Tartarus"_

_Chronos walked closer to the lunar queen "Your daughter is in danger"_

"_Serenity is being guarded by the inner senshi" the queen said quickly._

"_Your daughter is guarded by somebody stronger, but what I am saying is that…if this enemy attacks us, she might be affected by all of it" Chronos said "She is the heir of the Silver Millennium and the one who can control the silver crystal…if it falls in the wrong hands it will be over…if that happens any of us will have any chances to win…not even Zeus…"_

_Queen Serenity lowered her gaze "That is why Athamas is with us, he is doing his best to protect her and so the senshi"_

_Ares crossed his arms "About that…" the white queen looked at him again; Ares frowned "I have read the reports...they are not complete…and I would like to understand why"_

"_I do not see where are the missing parts, I have read them as well…I am no warrior but I do know what they have to say…" the queen frowned "Artemis is working on it as well…but Athamas has never failed to any of my orders or suggestions, he has been doing a very good work"_

"_Then why Ares is saying otherwise?" Zeus asked "Have you ever considered anybody else for that position?"_

"_Yes I have, but, he is not available at the moment" Queen Serenity said, not really wanting go into details. Zeus arched his brow "Who is he?"_

_The white queen hesitated for a moment but knew what it meant to speak her thoughts "Somebody very capable, very prepared and strong but as I said, he is not available at the moment"_

"_He must be a very good soldier" Zeus said._

"_A Polemarchos, actually" Queen Serenity said; surprising everybody in the room "Have you spoken to him?"_

"_Sort of, a long time ago" Queen Serenity said._

"_If he is not available for the position you should keep insisting, we all know how difficult is to find a warrior with that caliber to be in our army…" Zeus sighed and then widened his eyes "Me included"_

_Chronos watched her nod and remain silent. The way she said she knew of one warrior perfect and available for the current commander's position gave him the thought of who she was talking about. She turned to look at him as if she was reading his thoughts and nodded, reassuring him what if fact, she knew he was thinking the same thing as her._

End of flashback

Tears started to pour from her eyes as she gazed the blue planet in the distance, close but at the same time far away from her. She brought a hand close to her cheek and wiped the moist off of them with delicacy "You will regain your rightful place in this galaxy and the entire universe, somehow, someday…but in the meantime I will look after you…my dear friend…"


	102. Chapter 102

_Author's note at the end of the chapter._

_Divinity: A question of Honor_

_Chapter one hundred and two_

* * *

In between night and dawn, where everybody slept and the soft sound of the wind was the only thing heard besides the grasshoppers and frogs; several guards were taking their usual routine while watching the area near the zone known as Point D. One of them had started a fire and was boiling some water for his tea while the other, a man with dark hair rubbed his hands to try to warm himself up.

"Oy! How much longer will that water take to boil?" one of the men asked. The other one preparing the herbs to throw them in the water turned and looked at him "It will be done soon…"

"Well, it better be…I am freezing, this damn rain came to ruin everything"

The other man chuckled "It is the charm of being a soldier"

"His Highness should have warned us it was going to rain like this…"

The man with a beard narrowed his eyes "Actually…he did"

The dark haired man raised his arms in the air "But he did not come today!"

"Yes…that is strange; he normally comes or sends one of the Generals"

Another two guards appeared a redhead and a blonde. The first one moved quickly toward the fire and rubbed his hands as well "Tonight it was surely something…it has been raining like hell"

"Yes" said the bearded man "…And that damned tea is not ready yet"

"Oy! You have to wait!"

The blonde scratched the back of his head "We were supposed to be trained to deal with this...I guess we will never be"

"I bet His Highness wouldn't have minded to stand out in the rain for a while" the redhead said, startling the others "Why?"

"Don't you remember the many times Rumalos sent him and Kunzite to stand under the waterfall?"

The blonde laughed "Oh right! Oh those were great moments…remember the pub?"

"Unforgettable, when Jadeite stood on a table and began singing…"

The sound of a twitch made the four man turned quickly "Shhh…hear that?" said the blonde; the redhead looked around and found nothing "It was probably an animal…"

"I swear I heard steps…" the bearded man said. The other dark haired man turned and saw a shadow standing near the trees and unshielded his sword "Who's there, show your face!"

The other three men unshielded their swords as well and formed a circle "Whoever is here…we must be prepared"

They heard some chuckles and frowned "Who is there?! Show your damn face!" the four men saw a shadow move closer; one of the guardians was about to attack when it moved faster and pierced them all four with its weapon, leaving the four bodies bleed until they died.

The shadowed man walked closer and moved closer to the cave and moved the rock that impeded the smell of coil and death coming from it "Whoever is in there…this shall be your exit…kill them all" its raspy and deep voice said; the shadow tried to break the seal on its own but then soon heard some other noises and walked away.

One of the attacked men opened his eyes slowly and turned to look at his fallen comrades; his eyes turned from one of confusion to one of horror as soon as he saw one of them headless "HELP!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.

"HEEEELP!" he began crying and tried to move but all he could see and feel in the darkness of the night was moisture, its peculiar scent letting him know it was his fellow's blood. Soon after, several other guards appeared and gasped in shock while tried to help the man in great need.

"WHAT HAPPENED HERE?!" another fellow guard said.

The bearded man shook his head "There was a shadow…everything happened so fast…"

The other guard turned to his fellow soldiers "We need to take him back as soon as possible" he turned to another soldier "Go and inform His Highness right now!"

The soldier had his eyes wide open in shock as he watched the blood splattered all over "GO, GO NOW!" the other guard yelled at him, making him come back to reality; nodding he ran as fast as he could mounted his horse and rode back to the palace while the other guards helped the wounded soldier get to the nearest village to get emergency help.

O.o.o.o.o.O

The soft and melodic sound of the birds chirping made Serenity woke up slowly; stretching her arms she let out a soft yawn and smiled. She opened her blue eyes and turned to her side and smiled as soon as he saw Endymion was still there, deeply asleep.

She moved as slowly as she could trying not to wake him up and rested her head on her hand; she smiled happily as she watched him sleep. She blushed slightly as she remembered the events that happened the night before and bit her lower lip. She brought up a hand and traced the line of his jaw and nose with a feather like touch and smiled, thinking she never imagined in her life she was going to meet somebody as wonderful as him.

His raven hair was disheveled and she could swear his cheeks were slightly blushed "Like a little boy…"

She moved her finger to follow the shape of his brows and the line of his hair, she adored the way his hair fell on his face and the little widow's peak where his bangs were always parted.

She almost never had the time to look at him this close; even when she has slept with him before and spent many time together, this was the very first time she could take her time to admire the man's beauty.

It mesmerized her and wondered, how he could be so smart and incredibly handsome and have an unbelievable kind heart. She tilted her head and began tracing the shape of his lips as she began to remember all the men that went to the moon to ask for her hand in marriage and how attractive they were but how there was always something missing. Whether was their intelligence, their ability to make decisions or the confidence they showed on themselves. Some of them had bad breath, that memory in particular made Serenity frown with disgust as soon as the image of that prince came to her mind.

Others only talked about themselves; others were too self centered, others too needy and many of them were just too jealous. Her thoughts went straight to Athamas and shook her head "_How could I been so blind with that man?"_ she thought and moved closer to the man beside her "Nobody is like you…" she whispered incredibly softly.

Endymion moved slowly and yawned; moving closer to his princess he let out a soft sigh and stayed still, making her believe he was still asleep. Serenity smiled and ran her hand through his hair "Sleepy head" she whispered and soon widened her eyes when he shook his head slowly "No sleepy head…awake…" he mumbled with a deep and raspy but very sensual voice.

Serenity smiled widely and moved closer to him, until her face was only a few inches away from his "You have been awake for too long?"

Endymion shook his head again "No…sleepy"

Serenity chuckled "I'm sorry I woke you up, go back to sleep…" she whispered; Endymion frowned, still with his eyes closed "A little while…" he mumbled but then opened one eye and looked at her "Hi" he mumbled and wrapped his arm around her waist; pulling her closer to him and making her giggle "Hi…did you sleep well?"

Endymion closed his eye and smiled softly "Yes…did you?" Serenity looked up at him and smiled as well "I did, you are very comfortable to sleep with…you barely move" she heard his hoarse chuckles and felt he kissed her forehead "And you my love…kick and twirl all night long"

Serenity widened her eyes "Did I kick you?!"

Endymion chuckled again "A few times"

Serenity blushed and looked up at him again "…I'm so sorry"

Endymion kissed her forehead again and sighed "It's alright…" this time, opening both eyes he smiled; his eyes greeted her with a beautiful deep blue shade "There you are beautiful…good morning"

Serenity smiled "Good morning"

Endymion traced the line of her nose with his finger "…I love you…"

Serenity wrapped her arms around his neck "I want to stay here with you forever"

Endymion tucked some hair behind her ear "I will fight whoever I need to fight in order to stay together…I cannot stay away from you any longer"

Serenity felt her eyes fill with tears catching his attention "Love, why are you crying?"

"Are you really going to fight for me? Would you fight for me?"

Endymion wiped her tears with the back of his hand "Serenity, I will do whatever it takes…if I have to fight all the gods in the universe in order to be with you I will"

Serenity could not hold it any longer and kissed him fully on the lips "I will fight for you as well" she opened her eyes when the kiss ended and rested her forehead on his "I swear with my life"

Endymion smiled and was about to say something when a very desperate and loud pounding on his door interrupted their peaceful moment "Your Highness!"

Serenity sat quickly on the bed while Endymion began putting his pajama pants as quickly as possible and turned to her "I'll be right back" he said as calm as he could and went to open the door; Serenity bit her lower lip, picked her dress and all her belongings and ran to his closet as quickly as she could, knowing whoever was knocking on that door with such desperation might come straight to his bedroom.

Endymion opened the door and frowned as he saw Jadeite's very worried face "Endymion…we have an emergency"

The prince's frown deepened "What is it?"

"There has been…" Jadeite turned both sides and walk inside his room "There has been an incident"

Endymion widened his eyes "Where?" his voice went down a few decibels. Jadeite hesitated for a moment, knowing this might upset his prince even more. Endymion growled "WHERE?!"

Serenity widened her eyes in fright "What happened?" she whispered with great concern, never in her life she has heard him raise his voice that way. She tried to come closer to the door but knew that the general might walk in and it would not be a very great moment for him to find her there, naked.

Jadeite closed his eyes and lowered his head "Near Point D…"

Endymion closed his eyes as well and ran a hand through his hair and turned on his heel, walking back to his bedroom "When did that happened?" he began putting a shirt on and went for his pants, but the anger and frustration was not letting him think straight "Dammit!" he threw a glass against the wall.

Jadeite took a few steps closer "Endymion…there is one survivor… but he is gravely injured…he might not make it…"

Endymion ran his hand through his hair again and sighed "Tell the guards to prepare the horses…I will be down right away, just let me get changed. Tell the rest to be prepared"

"Yes, Endymion"

"Does Kunzite know?"

"Not yet, I was just informed about this…"

"Go and tell them and meet me down as soon as you can"

Jadeite nodded "Yes, Endymion" he turned on his heel and walked out, closing the door behind him. Cursing under his breath he hit the wall with his fist. Serenity walked out of his dresser room fully clothed and watched him with worry "Endymion…" she said softly and watched his bruised hand, widening her eyes she walked toward him and held his hand, making him flinch in pain "What happened?" she asked very worried.

Endymion closed his eyes for a moment and then looked at her again "There has been an incident…I…" he was interrupted by her hand on his mouth "You don't need to explain anything to me, go, take a quick shower and leave"

"I don't want to leave you alone…" Endymion said.

"You won't…I will be fine…I will go back…I will do everything I can to come back here again" Serenity looked down at his hand "Please don't hurt yourself…" she closed her eyes and brought his wounded hand to her lips and kissed it softly, then opened them back again and looked up "Last night was the best night of my life…"

Endymion caressed her face "Mine too Serenity"

Serenity stood on her tip toes and kissed him softly in the lips "…I am forever yours…always remember it…"

Endymion kissed her again and was about to go to his dresser to pick some clean clothes but Serenity already had everything he needed in her hands "Go, my warrior Prince"

Endymion smiled softly at his new nickname and nodded; turning on his heel he walked quickly to his bathroom and closed the door behind him. Serenity sighed softly with great concern and turned to look around, her cheeks flushed when she saw his clothes splattered all around the room and went to pick them up and put them on the rack close to the window.

Sighing sadly, she looked outside and watched the partly cloudy sky "Rainy nights are sad…" she whispered and closed her eyes "But not being able to do anything to help is even sadder…" and soon after, she was gone in a mist of sparkles.

O.o.o.o.o.O

Imagining the girls might be looking for her, she tried her best to arrive in a place away from her room and from any place where Athamas could find her. She no longer could be in a place alone with him because she knew what could happen in case nobody is around and strangely the blonde general always managed to have his alone moments with her.

Looking around she soon realized she was near the main court. Walking quickly on her tiptoes she managed to go up the stairs and reach her room's doors without being unnoticed; closing them behind her she sighed and leaned on it, closing her eyes for a moment.

"Princess" a female voice startled her and turned to see Venus standing at the bedroom's doorway with a concerned face. Serenity tried her best to remain tranquil and cleared her throat, making Venus fidget in her place a little "Are you still mad?" she asked softly.

The princess began walking towards her room in silence and passed right next to the blonde without saying anything; Venus lowered her gaze and waited until her princess was inside the bedroom and closed the doors "I know you did not spend the night here"

Serenity stopped in her tracks but still remained silent; Venus leaned her back on the closed doors and let out a soft sigh "This is going to be between us Your Highness…but I just need you to tell me the truth"

"Did you spy on me once again?"

"No…"

"Did you spend the whole night in here?"

"No…"

Serenity frowned and turned "Then what makes you think I did not spend the night here?"

Venus looked at her up and down and shrugged her shoulders "Did you?"

"Does it really matter Venus?" Serenity asked tiredly; the blonde kept looking at her and tilted her head "Yes, Princess…it matters, it matters to Her Majesty, it matters to Luna and Artemis, it matters to the girls and it matters to me as well"

Serenity turned and looked away "I spend the whole day here…I got tired of being in between these walls and went to take a walk. I was not sleepy or tired…time flew by…"

Venus looked at her and sighed again as she went toward her and wrapped her arms around Serenity "You will have to let him go one day…and he will have to do the same…"

Serenity widened her eyes as she listened her guardian speak. Venus has always told her she should think about her kingdom, her other responsibilities, her mother's wishes but she was against the idea of doing something that made her feel half complete, half happy or in this case, completely unhappy.

The blonde guardian moved away and looked into her princess' eyes "I am no one to talk about love afterall…but…it makes me very sad to see you in the middle of something it cannot happen…Don't you think it is also unfair for him? I do not doubt the love he has for you…I've seen it and I am tired to tell you otherwise or just being shut, but this time Princess…think about him, you two love each other, but what will happen to him? He too will have to follow his duties as Prince; he soon will have to give his kingdom an heir…" Venus trailed off and took a moment to continue while Serenity sat on her bed with her gaze down; the blonde guardian walked over to her and crouched in front of her, her hands resting on Serenity's knees "Princess…it is not that I dislike him but the contrary, I agree with you, he is very intelligent and much more prepared than the General, for what Mars and I have seen…he has the aura of a true warrior, strong enough to defeat any obstacle stepped in his way…he gives you the place you deserve in his life and in everything that has to do with him but…unfortunately, he is from a world where contact with us is forbidden. It is a forbidden love"

Serenity raised her gaze a watched Venus staring at her with sad eyes "You are telling me all this because you still can't understand…because you are not in love" she sighed and looked away, regardless of how Venus might be looking at her "…You can't understand it and it is not your fault but I do not want you to ask me to stop loving him because that is not going to happen…"

Venus sighed again and lowered her gaze "…What is going to happen to you once his existence ceases to be?"

The question startled Serenity and made her turn abruptly and looked at her guardian with wide eyes "What…?"

"What is going to happen once he is dead? Have you ever thought about that?" Venus asked again, her voice was still calm "A mortal's lifespan is short, very short…he will grow old and eventually will die…his attractiveness and strength won't last forever"

Serenity frowned and tried to push Venus away as she tried to stand up but the blonde held her down "Princess!" she exclaimed, surprised at her reaction. Serenity managed to break free from Venus' hold and stood up, her breathing fastened and could feel her cheeks burn and so her eyes with tears "Do not ever dare to mention that again…" her voice was authoritative, something that startled Venus greatly.

"Princess…" Venus said softly, still on the floor.

Serenity shook her head and turned, this time not hiding her tears "Do not ever say that to me again! Ever!" Venus felt her eyes burn with tears and stood up, walking toward Serenity she wrapped her arms around her in a strong hug and closed her eyes as she felt her princess broke into soft sobs.

O.o.o.o.o.O

Endymion walked down the stairs in silence and walked as quickly as he could to the Palace's front door. As soon as the guards saw him come closer they bowed their heads in respect "Prince"

The prince passed them by without even looking at anyone and went straight to Kunzite who was giving orders and directions to one of the soldiers who were going to join them; the white haired man turned as if he could feel Endymion's strong and perturbed aura and nodded "Prince" he said.

"Are there any more news?" he asked coldly.

Kunzite pursed his lips and shook his head "I know as much as you do…"

"Where is the survivor?"

Kunzite sighed and gave his prince an envelope "In a clinic near the Southern Kingdom"

Endymion read the report he had in his hands quickly and put it back on the white envelope "It's time" he started walking down the stone steps; Kunzite sighed softly and followed him "Where are we going first, what is the plan?"

Endymion frowned and narrowed his eyes trying to protect them from the strong sunlight "To the exact place where this happened" he turned to Kunzite "I want you to come with me, Nephrite and Zoicite will check the surroundings while Jadeite will go with a group of soldiers to the clinic and see what else he can learn about what happened, anything helps at this point" Kunzite nodded "Very well"

"Endymion"

Both men turned to see King Eros and Leonidas coming their way "I heard about what happened" the king said slowly "Have you know anything else about the soldier?"

"Not yet" Endymion said.

"Bring the horses!" Leonidas said to one of the guards and turned to the prince "I called Rumalos, he is on his way"

Endymion clenched his jaw as his frown deepened, Rumalos was second in command next to Leonidas in his father's court of generals and he was better known for his skills in the battlefield and his impeccable way of training the soldiers. Calling him meant no other thing than war.

"Your Mother is worried about you…" Eros said, the prince pursed his lips "I hate she has to know all of this…"

Nephrite, Zoicite and Jadeite joined them, already on their horses "Your Highness, the area has been left untouched as you asked" Jadeite said.

Endymion nodded and went to mount his own horse and turned to his father and Leonidas "Whoever this is…I am going to find him" he turned and shook the reins of his horse and went off; Kunzite and the rest of the shitennou went right after him and so the king and his right handed general.

As they went closer and rode through the thick woods, the prince could feel his heart accelerate as he began feeling his head spin. His heartbeats echoed in his head with every inch he came closer to the scene of the crime; every sound resounded and began to bother him, the sound of horses trotting, the feeling of the cool breeze crashing against his skin, there was something very strange about it all and what annoyed him the most was the fact of not knowing why or what else to do to stop it.

They rode for a couple of hours until they soon were near the camp where the soldiers were attacked; Endymion was the first to come across the river that indicated them they were now on southern lands. The prince stopped and watched the water's strong flow for a couple of minutes, as if the cold river was upset by the event, it ran with much more force than usual carrying everything in its path with it.

Shaking the reins of Aethos once again he started crossing the mad river slowly as a sense of nausea began to overwhelm him again. The shitennou soon reached the same spot where their prince was standing a few minutes ago and watched with worry at the strong flow of water in front of them; what surprised them even more was how the water, when close to the prince seemed to calm allowing him to reach the other side of the road.

"Unbelievable…" Jadeite said with amazement as the others only watched wide eyed. Zoicite turned to Kunzite who held a knowing look in his face and frowned slightly "This is his power…"

Kunzite blinked a couple of times "There is more than meets the eye with this man…but I cannot describe either the feeling or the experience of seeing something like it…"

"We should follow him right away before the flow returns to its aggressive mode…" Nephrite said, this time taking the lead; once Endymion reached for the other side of the road he saw a soldier already waiting for them "Your Highness" he bowed his head.

Endymion stopped and got off his horse "How many soldiers are guarding this area?" he asked, the soldier bowed as soon as he saw the shitennou come closer to the prince "All the soldiers you suggested Your Highness, there are also men looking for some kind of hint that could lead us to the responsible…"

Endymion nodded and continued walking "Uh, Your Highness…if you want I can take you…" the soldier jumped in surprise as he felt a hand on his shoulder "He already knows where it is this place…" Kunzite said slowly "And I suggest we should keep our distance"

The soldier widened his eyes and nodded; Endymion frowned as he walked through the trees "This smell…" he muttered as he continued walking, after several more steps he stopped and turned to his surroundings feeling some kind of a strong and dense energy, turning to his side he stretched his arm and rested his hand on one of the trees near him and closed his eyes _What are you trying to tell me…?_ he thought.

_In the mist of the night and clouds covering the night sky there is a shadow walking through the woods leaving a poisoned energy behind it; it was somebody strong and apparently a solder because of the blade that occasionally caught the light from the moon that managed its way through the thick clouds._

_Endymion frowned as he noticed there was something unusual with whoever this person was, even when the image in his mind was vivid he could not distinguish his clothes or his face because of the darkness but then it happened again and this time it caught his attention; the moon came out again from in between the clouds making the sword shine its reflection._

Endymion opened his eyes and frowned "Who the hell are you?" he muttered "Prince…" Kunzite interrupted his thoughts "Is something the matter? What did you see?"

The prince shook his head "I cannot be certain…" he turned to Kunzite "Everything in this 'being' is strange and unrecognizable"

Kunzite frowned and turned to see the men coming their way "They're coming"

One of the sergeants bowed his head in respect "Your Highness, you arrived earlier than we thought"

Endymion narrowed his eyes, trying to protect them from the sun "Are there any news?" he asked, ignoring the man's comment. The sergeant stood straight and frowned "We have men surrounding the area as we speak, still there is no sign of the person who cause this or what his intentions were exactly, we do not understand what he could possibly look for in a place like this…"

Something pulled the prince to the scene where everything happened and stopped when he saw the dark red stains on the ground; looking at his surroundings he continued walking as the shitennou followed him right after, Jadeite being the first to react "By all heavens…"

Zoicite widened his eyes "Who could do such thing?"

Kunzite clenched his jaw at the sighting; the entire area was tainted with red as the soldiers left everything exactly how they found the dead men except for the fallen soldiers "Where did you take the bodies?"

"The bodies were taken to the same clinic where our fellow soldier is still in intensive care" the sergeant said; Endymion frowned, shook his head and turned to look at the shitennou "This whole place is contaminated"

The four men widened their eyes "Contaminated?" asked Jadeite "Because of the blood?"

"No…because of the energy surrounding it…" Nephrite said "It is coming out of somewhere"

Endymion turned again and saw the pot with water and the remains of what apparently were having for dinner. This was what he hated the most about his duties, to see innocent people lose their lives, to be witness of evilness and the frustration of not being able to do something to prevent it, all his intents failed and still not knew why.

"You informed the families?" the prince's voice softened a little; the sergeant turned and nodded "Yes, Your Highness…"

"I want this area evacuated as soon as possible Sergeant" Endymion turned to look at him; the sergeant widened his eyes "Prince? But, what about…"

"Retreat. I won't be risking any more lives, the area is contaminated and it is no longer safe for you to be here. I will also want the soldiers at the other points to be removed"

Kunzite frowned "Are you sure about this?"

Endymion nodded "This 'being' will come again…and I will not risk any more lives"

"But our duty is to protect Your Highness…how are we going to be of service if we are not in our posts?" the sergeant asked concerned; Endymion shook his head "And mine is to see for you all and think of something else to fight this enemy…" the blonde man was about to say something when one of the soldiers walked over to them "Your Highness, sergeant…"

"What is it soldier?" the sergeant asked the young man, who seemed to be just released from his training.

"I was asked to inform you that the soldier at the clinic opened his eyes…"

Endymion's eyes widened and turned at the young man in front of him "How is his state?"

"He is still very delicate Your Highness, His Majesty and General Leonidas are there already"

"Fine" Endymion turned to Kunzite "Recruit everybody and be certain that nobody stays in this place"

Kunzite nodded "Very well" the prince turned to the sergeant "Lead me there"

The dark haired man nodded, whistled and raised his hand to one of the men in charge of the horses "Oy! Bring my horse!" then turned to the prince and hesitated for a moment "Your Highness…" he trailed off "This…event, could be the reason of what we all wanted to avoid right?…if you know what I mean"

"I know what you mean" Endymion turned and sighed "I know what you mean…"

"Is it, My Prince?"

Endymion looked around and felt impotency of not being capable to solve this matter quickly himself, in all his years as soldier this was the first time none of his plans or strategies worked, it was mortifying him since he no longer knew what he should do except for one thing "All indicates that it is..." he turned to look at the man next to him "The problem here is that nobody knows who is causing this or why…what does this enemy wants?"

"The crown maybe?" the man wondered "They are always looking their way to the throne"

Endymion shook his head "This enemy is very different from others, if the crown was what it wants it would just attacked us right were the crown is…just like it happened the last time"

"Could this enemy be related to _los genus_?" the sergeant asked curious.

The prince pursed his lips and shook his head again "Everything can be possible at this point…" his voice froze the man in fear as he turned to take the reins of his horse and mounted him again "Lead me to the clinic"

The sergeant widened his eyes and nodded "Y-Yes Your Highness"

They went in silence, his thoughts fixed on the vision he had moments ago; closing his eyes he visualized the dark silhouette holding a sword again and the exact moment where it caught the light flashes again in his mind. The prince frowned as his mind pictured the way blood slid down following the curved shape of the sword tainting the many stones attached to it; Endymion opened his eyes _Where is this person coming from…?_ he thought.

Deepening his frown, he tightened his grip on the reins and clenched his jaw _'I swear I will find you…whoever you are and kill you the same way you killed them…your soul will burn in hell'_

O.o.o.o.o.O

The large study was silent, being the sound of paper the only constant melody against the quietness. Queen Serenity let out a soft sigh as she put another paper away and put her pen down; looking at her hands, she stared at her wedding finger and sighed again this time catching her advisor's attention "Is something the matter Your Majesty?" Luna asked softly.

The beautiful white queen bit her lower lip and leaned her back on her chair; looking away her eyes showed sadness and something else Luna could not describe "This is too much…" her voice was as soft as a whisper. Luna tilted her head and blinked a couple of times "What is My Queen?"

"All this…" Queen Serenity kept looking outside the window "I just wish Athan could be here to help me go through all this…" her voice started to quiver "I miss him so much…" she brought a hand to cover her face and began sobbing.

Luna stood up immediately and walked over to her queen, she turned to look at Artemis who was standing a few feet away from them with a face of worry; the dark haired advisor nodded her head as assuring him she would take care of the situation.

"My Queen" Luna said softly as she sat next to her and put her hands on top of her queen's right hand. The queen moved her hand away from her face and turned to her advisor "Sometimes I feel I do not know what I am doing anymore…and wonder if this is what Athan have done in my place…" she sniffed and wiped her tears from her face but new ones kept falling "I wish things were different…I wish my friend could be here to help me think what to do, to help me go through all this…"

The queen managed to give her two advisors a smile and patted Luna's hands "You have been with me since day one…but you cannot carry with these burdens of mine…you don't have to carry my past, my wishes and my dreams on your shoulders…you two need to have your own, you need to live your life too…"

"We have a duty Your Majesty…" Artemis joined the conversation "And we are not only here because we must give you our advice with political matters…"

"Artemis is right My Queen" Luna said "We are here because we care about you as well; we hate to see you sad"

Queen Serenity closed her eyes and took a deep breath "There will be the time where I won't be able to hold so many secrets in my heart…" she opened them again "This place is turning into a madhouse"

"We will overcome this situation My Queen, you will see" Artemis said softly.

"It is not only that Artemis…" the queen said sadly.

"Did something happen on that meeting Your Majesty?" Luna asked.

Queen Serenity pressed her lips together "It always happens something…I always cause a commotion when I am called to those audiences…Athan hated that"

Luna widened her eyes and turned to look at Artemis who had the same puzzled expression. The queen patted Luna's hand again and stood up, chuckling sarcastically "I am too idealistic for them…I offend them when I say we should forget about the boundaries they created between Earth and us…" she put her hand over the window "Everybody thinks they're primitive because they do not have our lifespan and powers…but they're mistaken"

"You want to bring your friend back, am I correct Your Majesty?" Artemis asked curious.

"Does she have the power to help us?" Luna asked "Or why is she a myth, is it just because what happened?"

Queen Serenity hugged herself and leaned on the wall; sighing she lowered her gaze "She was the first sailor senshi…before her, there were only male warriors…she is the first senshi to become a Polemarchos…"

Luna and Artemis widened their eyes "The…first…" Luna trailed off.

"…Sailor senshi…" Artemis finished.

Queen Serenity nodded "She had to in order to regain peace and the balance in the universe…" she smiled softly "But she was far from being a cold hearted warrior…" she raised her head and chuckled "She was always happy and cheerful…we had so much fun together" soon her smile faded and turn into a frown "Her crime was to fall in love"

"That is what happened? What really happened?" Luna asked softly.

The white queen turned to look at her and nodded "That was her only crime…to fall in love with a mortal" she turned to look outside her window "I was there when everybody found out…the way they punished her, how everybody mocked her…they chained her like a criminal and sent her away…"

"You haven't seen her since then…" Luna said sadly; Queen Serenity let out a soft sigh "I went to her wedding in secret…I arranged her veil the same way she did with mine…" she lowered her gaze and smiled sadly "The last time I saw her was when I met her child"

Both mauians widened their eyes "The child everybody think is an abomination"

The queen nodded "In my opinion there have been more horrific crimes committed in this place than the one she did…Hades still wants to kill Gaia's child…Zeus is reluctant to accept them in the Alliance…Poseidon calls them sinners…"

"But God Ares is on your side…" Artemis said.

"And Lord Chronos" Luna continued.

"It is not that simple…I know Chronos and Ares still look after her as they always did when she lived here…but still, they have their duties…" the queen went back to her seat and sighed sadly "I know Gaia is not alone…she has her family…but…I miss her telling me that everything is going to be alright…"

Luna noticed a tear roll down the queen's cheek "Your Majesty…"

Queen Serenity sniffed and smiled "It's alright, she probably would have said to me 'little flower you are being silly again, wipe those tears and carry on'" she turned to her advisors "She hated to see me cry. She said it did not suit me"

Luna and Artemis looked at her with sad eyes "Is there anything we can do?"

The queen shook her head and sniffed one last time "I will be fine, I promise" she looked down at the parchments over the desk "Artemis, I think we should give this to Athamas so he can consider a new strategy…he needs to be as informed as possible, the gods just gave their warning"

Artemis pursed his lips and remained silent; Queen Serenity looked at him and arched her brow "Artemis, what is the matter?"

The white clad man cleared his throat and stacked the papers in front of him "Well…I could let him know about your decision…" he trailed off; the queen frowned "But?"

"…General Athamas is nowhere to be found…he is not in his office or in his room…I haven't seen him since yesterday"

Queen Serenity widened her lavender eyes "Since yesterday? That is very strange…did he left any message of where he was going? He cannot leave just like that…" her frown deepened "Where he could be?" she asked softly.

o.o.o

The sound of glass woke him from his deep sleep, sleep he hadn't have since he could remember. He opened his eyes and tried to adjust them to the dim light in his room really unaware of what time it was and uncertain of why he was feeling the way he was.

His head throbbed like if it had a bomb inside it ready to explode; any little noise was intensified to the tenth power and was starting to drive him insane. Bringing a hand up to his head he frowned "Dammit…" he said growling. Standing up, he walked towards his window not really sure of what he was doing and moved the curtain aside then turned to look the table where his crystal decanter normally full was now empty.

Running his hands through his hair he widened his green eyes as he saw a red stain on them and brought them down, he looked at them for a few minutes before reality hit him. The dreams he thought he had during the night were not dreams but something that really happened, shaking his head he frowned trying to remember everything more clearly; the echoes of laments and pain in his mind where becoming overwhelming as he tried to wipe the deep stain off his hands with a cloth when suddenly heard a knock on his door.

""What!?" Athamas yelled to whoever was behind the door.

"General…it's me, Kilmakos"

Athamas growled and tried to hide his tainted hands with the same cloth he was using to wipe the stain off "What do you want?" he asked, a sign the soldier always took as a 'come in'. Closing the door behind him the man widened his eyes as he saw the mess in the room "Are you alright General?"

Athamas swallowed and frowned "That is not of your business" he walked towards his dresser "I asked what do you want, not your pity"

Kilmakos frowned and looked around the room "Artemis has been looking for you…he asked me if I have seen you but I did not know what to say…"

"I have been here all the time" Athamas responded quickly.

"But I came here earlier General…and you were nowhere to be found…" the soldier said confused, his eyes widened as he saw something in Athamas' hands "General…what…happened?"

Athamas frowned "SILENCE!" he turned and looked at him "You are not to ever ask my actions!"

Kilmakos widened his eyes again "You're hurt Athamas! Look at your hands!"

Athamas growled again and grabbed the soldier by the collar "I said I do not want your pity! YOU ARE NOT TO EVER ASK MY ACTIONS! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?! ARE YOU STUPID? SILENCE! SILENCE!"

Kilmakos watched the man in front of him with horror "Athamas!"

Athamas shut his eyes "I SAID SILENCE! LEAVE ME ALONE!" the man tightened his grip on the soldier's jacket and threw him a few feet away from him with force "Nothing happened…" his voice fell a few decibels "I cut myself with a glass…" the blonde ran his hands through his long hair and sighed, while walking towards his bathroom.

The soldier frowned and shook his head; the horror in his face was still evident and looked around the room again and indeed, found a crystal glass broken but there was no sign of an accident. Standing up, he walked around the room in silence and saw his sword on the floor. Kilmakos frowned as he found very unusual to see his commander's weapon hidden under the bed, he went to pick it and widened his eyes in fright as he noticed his own hands were slightly tainted with the same deep color Athamas' hands were; swallowing hard, he dared to take the cover off the sword and gasped as he noticed the exotic and bejeweled sword was all covered in blood.

The soldier watched the weapon with eyes of horror as he didn't know his master was doing behind everybody's back "What are you doing Athamas?" he asked softly "…What happened to you?"

"I am doing the work I have been asking you to do for a long time…"

Kilmakos widened his eyes and turned to look at the blonde man standing a few feet away from him; there was something in his voice that made him feel goosebumps "What are you saying? Athamas…"

The blonde man pushed his wet hair away and finished buttoning his grey shirt "I thought you had clear the fact that you no longer can address to me as if we were still on training…we are not the same, I am your superior"

"This is not what I asked you…" Kilmakos said "Even when you are my superior I have known you for years and this…THIS…" he showed him the blooded weapon "Is not who you are…what have you done?"

"I already told you. I started the work I asked you to do and you didn't because of your incapacity of making decisions and your lack of leadership…that is why you are weak and just another underling" Athamas answered coldly "I asked you to continue with the plan…"

"Killing was not part of the plan…" Kilmakos said "Who did you kill? Who's blood is this?!"

Athamas chuckled and then his smile soon faded "I…" he trailed off and gritted his teeth "It does not matter who it is…I am very sure it is no longer part of this universe…"

Kilmakos shook his head "What is wrong with you? What are you doing?!"

Athamas narrowed his eyes and continued buttoning his jacket "Let's say I am moving people out of my way…I have a target in mind and I will not stop until I get it"

"You are going too far…"

"And what are you going to do?" Athamas chuckled "Are you going to tell the Queen about this? The mauian? You are as sunk as I am in this matter…if I go down, be sure I won't be going down with you…in fact, if you dare to do something you now know what I am capable of…"

Kilmakos put the sword down and tried to wipe the blood off his hands with horror and desperation "You were not like this…"

Athamas laughed "Please, don't come and try to be all good and pure with me…your hands are tainted as much as mine, you have committed treason, you also thought my plan was good and you still think so…because you know that if I become King everything will change for our benefit. Once I turn into a Polemarchos, everything in this realm will change…I will become a legend, a myth…" he narrowed his eyes "You are weak and useless…and I have you here just because I have pity for you…you are so weak, you abandoned your family, why? Because you are as hungry for power, as ambitious as I am"

Kilmakos lowered his gaze; Athamas chuckled and tied his hair in his usual low ponytail "Stop trying to pretend you are a good person…because you are not. Besides, it does not suits you" he walked over to the dark haired soldier and took the sword from him and put it in his belt "Now go and tell that stupid mauian I am in my study and hurry up...I do not have your time"

The soldier looked at him and shook his head before he left the room in silence; Athamas laughed as he watched him leave and turned to look at his reflection in the mirror "The time for a new era is near, the time to unleash the true power is coming near…"

o.o.o

After Venus left her alone Princess Serenity took a long bath and changed her clothes. Without any interest in doing her hair or makeup or anything else in particular she went to lie on her bed; her hands absently played with her hair as she curled a strand in her fingers and thought about the night she spent with her prince.

Her lips curved into a soft smile as she remembered the special moments she shared with him; sighing she turned on her side and looked outside. Never in her life imagined she could be so close to somebody like she was with Endymion, the way they connected, they understood each other was something very significant for her, the most amazing feeling she ever experienced.

She blushed as she remembered the way he held her in his arms, the warmth of his body next to hers and the softness of his touch; opening her eyes Serenity let out a soft sigh of contempt "I love you so much…" she whispered to the ceiling and hugged her fluffy white pillow.

Her mind went through every little detail of the day before and smiled at the memory of his mother. She had seen many beautiful women before including her mother who, was considered to be one of the most beautiful goddesses in Olympus but Endymion's mother beauty was something very different. Maybe it had something to do with the elegance in her or maybe her poise, the way her dark hair framed her face, her voice; she was mesmerized by the way she spoke so fluently.

Serenity had to admit that at first she felt intimidated by her presence, even when they shared almost the same height there was something in her that gave her an air of authority. The terran queen was the perfect example of a regal lady. Smiling, she now knew where did Endymion learned to be so collected and centered. They both had the same way of speaking, the same way of expressing themselves and the same character.

Soon her smile faded as she remembered what happened before she came back; she wished she could have done something to help him. The way he reacted worried her, considering how collected he normally is; biting her lower lip she stood up and walked around her room trying to think of a way to help him, her hands trembled as she tried to avoid the thought of him going to war, she stopped and widened her eyes "No…" she said softly.

O.o.o.o.o.O

Endymion entered the small clinic and everybody bowed their heads in respect "Your Highness" one of the nurses said softly; the prince nodded and turned to the sergeant but before he could say anything the doctor assisting the wounded man came close "It is a great honor to meet you Your Highness…even when the conditions are not the ideal…"

Endymion sighed softly and nodded "Are there any news? How is he?"

The doctor pushed his glasses back and pursed his lips "He is gravely injured…he has lost too much blood…" the man trailed off "He is barely conscious…he is in too much pain"

The prince lowered his gaze but the doctor continued "We are doing everything we can…but…"

"He is not going to live" Endymion cut him off, looking at the older man in front of him sigh and nod "His wounds are too grave…"

Endymion clenched his jaw "Can I see him?"

The doctor widened his eyes "H-He won't be able to say anything Your Highness…"

"I am not expecting him to say anything…I want to see him" Endymion said, startling the doctor who immediately nodded and lead him to the room; opening the door he stepped aside and let the prince be alone with the soldier.

The room did not have much; it was quiet as if the sound from the outside was shut down, maybe it was the impression of seeing another fellow soldier is hurt because of his fault. The prince moved closer to him and closed his eyes for a moment in pain as he saw his friend on that bed.

The soldier opened his eyes "You came…"

Endymion opened his eyes as soon as he heard his hoarse voice "Hey…" he moved closer; the man on the bed cough a little but did not move "You came…" he repeated, this time with much more feeling. The prince frowned "Of course I came Orthos…"

The dark haired man blinked slowly "Remember when we were on training? When I told you how scared I was to die?"

Endymion looked at his friend and felt a knot on his throat and all he could do was nod; the soldier nodded too and moved his head slightly "It is not compared to how scared I was last night…"

The prince lowered his gaze "I shouldn't…"

"Hey…" Ortho interrupted him "I was doing what I was supposed to do…I was serving my kingdom…I was serving you"

Endymion clenched his jaw "I swear I will find the bastard who did this to you…I swear I will kill him"

The soldier took deep breaths between his words as he felt he was running out of air "I know you will…and you will do the same you did with Silas…" he took another deep breath "Everything happened very fast…I was about to fight him when he attacked me with his sword…I could not see his face…everything I could hear was his laugh…so cold and full of satisfaction…"

Endymion lowered his gaze for a moment "I will find him"

The man on the bed nodded "You know Endymion… I think I was more scared than I should…"

"Orthos…" Endymion looked at him wide eyed.

Ortho smiled "You were a good friend to me...it was a pleasure to be at your service…Prince…" he let out one last breath and let himself go; Endymion watched him with teary eyes and moved to close his eyes with his hand and lowered his head in respect of his dead.

Kunzite, Nephrite, Zoicite and Jadeite arrived at the clinic moments later and were received by the doctor "His Highness is inside, Generals"

Jadeite sighed "How is he?"

"Gravely injured" the doctor said "He is barely conscious"

"This must be very hard for the Prince…" Nephrite turned to Zoicite, who nod in response "He was close to Ortho"

Kunzite remained silent and watched the prince come out of the room with a distorted face, something he interpreted right away "Damn…" he muttered.

The doctor walked towards him "Your Highness…"

Endymion looked at him "He's gone" his voice was very low, barely hearable; the doctor nodded and turned to one of the nurses and walked towards the room again and closed the door. Kunzite looked at the prince "I'm so sorry"

Endymion nodded and walked outside the clinic, the four men walked behind him "Where is the King and Leonidas?" he asked coldly, Zoicite sighed "Checking the area, Leonidas just sent the last crew back to the Palace"

"King Isra will depart to Elysion first thing in the morning" Nephrite said "He has to offer the service for the fallen soldiers"

"The service will be held at Elysion, not here" Endymion snapped "They were from Elysion so are their families. Somebody inform Isra about my decision…"

"What now Prince?" Kunzite asked "Do you need anything else?"

"Yes" Endymion turned to look at him; his eyes were red from crying "I want to send that bastard's soul to hell"

"We will find him Prince" Jadeite said in a serious tone.

Endymion clenched his jaw and looked away; he was trying his best to hold himself from crying and yelling in anger. Nodding, he began walking back to his horse and mounted it again "The sun will set soon and there is still much to be done"

"Endymion, we can take of what is left to be done…you should…" Kunzite said but the prince cut him off "We must be sure nobody is in the area. The changes of danger will increase once the sun goes down and we still have to go back with many behind us"

"Endymion" King Eros said from the distance "I thought you were back at the camp" he said as he moved closer to his son and soon noticed there was something wrong with him as he saw his eyes "Endymion?"

"Did you talk to Isra?" the prince asked, not giving any pattern to ask him anything about his state. The king sighed and turned to Leonidas then back at his son "Yes, he wanted to give the service for the fallen soldiers here…"

"I just told Kunzite that the service will be taken in Elysion" the prince snapped again "That is out of the question"

"That is what I said to him, he was reluctant at first but then understood it was the right thing to do" the king said.

"Fine" the prince shook the reins of his horse "If we are leading the troops we should get going before the sun begins to set" he shook the reins again and rode away; the king looked down at Kunzite "What happened?"

"The soldier passed away…he was friends with the Prince…he was a friend to all of us" Kunzite answered "But he is suppressing his grief"

The king sighed "I understand…" turning to Leonidas "You take the first troop, I lead the second…Endymion will be guarding the youngest soldiers" and then turned to Kunzite

"We are going with the Prince, there are three troops remaining and we will be leading them home"

"Very well" Eros said and shook the reins of his horse; Leonidas gave the sign to the sergeant in charge of the first troop "Let's go"

The shitennou mounted their horse and went to Endymion who was giving the sign to the respective sergeant of the troop he was guarding "We must hurry before it gets dark" the prince said to Zoicite who was next to him, the blonde nodded, indicating everybody was set and ready to go back home.

O.o.o.o.O

Queen Narella was alone in one of the living rooms while having some tea on her own; foreign to the situation that was happening with the mysterious assassination that just happened last night, she looked through many fabric samples she could use for the ball.

Her hands really feeling the patterns and texture of every little piece of fabric in the box beside her while other brought her cup of tea close to her lips and took a sip. Widening her eyes she watched Gaia walk inside the large and well sun lit room in silence; the queen smiled and extended her hand at her "I'm so glad to see you here"

Gaia bit her lower lip and sat next to her on the couch; sighing she turned to look at Aurea who was coming inside the room as well and bowed in respect at the queen "Good afternoon Your Majesty" she said softly.

"Come in Aurea" Narella said and smiled at her as well, turning to her daughter in law she patter her hand on her lap "Do you want some tea dear? It's delicious; it's peach tea you should…" the queen trailed off and turned to Aurea and then back at the woman in pomegranate next to her "Gaia, what is the matter?"

Gaia remained silent and let out a soft sigh, the queen licked her lips and blinked a couple of times before putting her cup of tea down on the coffee table "What happened? Something happened, right? What happened?" she asked nervous.

The terran queen looked up at her and bit her lower lip "I do not think you should continue with the ball plans…"

Narella widened her eyes "What?"

Gaia looked at her with worry "There has been an incident…"

The mother queen sighed and lowered her gaze; her fingers traced the pattern of one piece of fabric "I cannot cancel the ball…" she trailed off and turned to look at Gaia again "The invitations are sent. It is too late"

"What happened is not something we can just ignore…" the queen said softly. Narella sighed and looked away "Isn't there something…you can do?" her voice became a whisper; Gaia widened her eyes "What?"

Narella looked at Gaia once again "Isn't there something you can do?"

Gaia's heart skipped a beat in her chest and diverted her gaze from the mother queen's; standing up she began walking slowly around the room, bracing herself "Narella…" she trailed off, not really sure of what to say. The older queen shook her head "You are our Goddess…you are our Protector…"

"I am not the woman you met many years ago…I no longer hold any power in me…" Gaia said softly "You know that…"

Narella frowned "Eros did not mention anything to me this morning…"

Gaia sighed "You must stop with the preparations…"

"No" Narella snapped "I cannot"

"Because of the invitations?!" Gaia arched her brow; Narella shook her head "Because I won't let everybody live with whatever happened today in their minds…I stand still in my beliefs, our people need this…" she sighed and frowned again "I won't let them have what they want!" looking at her daughter in law and narrowing her eyes she stood up "If we weren't strong…we wouldn't be here standing on our own…they won't win and I won't yield" biting her lower lip, she tried to control her trembling hands "We are not to give them the pleasure to see us being defeated"

It was the first time Gaia has seen Narella being serious when it came something related to fight for something. The mother queen was always known for being kind hearted but also a very social woman; she loved to celebrate and loved to share special moments with her family. She was the kind of woman that left everything to her husband even when she was involved in every matter; she was more of what her own mother wanted for her, a socialite, a lady not a warrior.

"That is not who we are dear, we are fighters" Narella said softly "Or are you going to deny me that?"

Gaia blinked a couple of times "No…" she answered; sometimes her mother in law broke her always so calm and stoic character. Startled she turned to Aurea who surprisingly for her, nodded in agreement "Her Majesty is right"

Narella arched her brow "Times are hard my dear but that does not mean we won't win one day" there was confidence in her voice, something that surprised the queen greatly but at the same time admired. It only meant one thing for Gaia; Narella was well aware of everything but liked to pretend.

Letting out a soft breath, she rubbed her hands "Now…I want you…" she trailed off walking towards the box full of samples and took a few "…To take a look at these and tell me what you think…" she gave Gaia the small pieces of fabric she was holding in her hand. Gaia widened her eyes and looked at her confused "Is that all you are going to say about it?"

Narella arched her brow and stood straight; looking at her she crossed her arms "There is nothing more to say about it" her hazel eyes softened and smiled warmly "I trust my protector… that is all I can say"

Gaia looked at her "Narella…"

Narella looked down at the sample in her hand "I think this color will look beautiful in you"

Aurea smiled at the two women with tenderness; she knew well how Gaia cared for her and how much Narella meant for her. Since day one, she opened her heart to her and trusted her even when nobody knew of her real identity; Narella took the place Gaia needed in her heart to be taken, she was the mother she wanted to have by her side in every important aspect of her life.

She wanted to give them more privacy and walked over the window, knowing she could not leave Gaia alone. Looking outside the window, her eyes were fixed on the blue sky; it was one of those days where the moon looked like a pearl on the afternoon sky "So pretty…" she whispered and soon the soft smileon her lips started fade away as she saw the gates of the palace open "It seems the His Majesty is back" she said interrupting the two women.

Gaia turned and walked quickly to the window and stood next to Aurea, soon Narella was joining them too "Why are there so many people?" the mother queen asked.

Gaia searched for her son silently as soon as she spotted her husband "Something really bad happened then…"

Aurea frowned and turned at her queen with a face of worry "Maybe it is some kind of strategy…"

"I need to know what its happening" Gaia said, turning on her heel, but was soon stopped by Aurea; the queen looked at her wrist being held by her maid and friend "Why don't we wait here?"

Gaia frowned "I cannot stay here! I need to go and see what I can do to help!"

"It is best if we wait here dear" Queen Narella said; the terran queen shook her head and turned to Aurea "Please…" she said slowly. Aurea sighed "This is unhealthy for you…"

"It is unhealthier for me being here unable to do or say something" Gaia responded; Aurea turned to Narella who was already shaking her head knowingly.

Down at the palace's entrance King Eros walked inside followed by Endymion who haven't said a word since they went back to Elysion. His face was still distorted from the previous events and it was clearly that he was also very upset. The shitennou stepped down of their horses as soon as they arrived at the entrance and followed the prince but as soon as they could come in Endymion turned to Kunzite and frowned "Give the order to take them to the east wing of the palace"

"Yes Master" Kunzite turned to one of the sergeants and nodded; immediately all the soldiers gathered at the entranced started to move around the palace.

Leonidas sighed and ran a hand through his brown hair unaware that there was somebody behind him; he felt somebody holding his hand and turned abruptly, widening his eyes in surprise as soon as he saw his wife standing there with the queen next to her "Aurea…Your Majesty!" shaking his head in surprise he frowned "W-What are you doing here?"

"Leonidas what is happening?" Gaia asked but her voice could not hide her worry. The general sighed and looked away "Queen…" he trailed off.

"Leonidas…" Gaia took a step closer "Please…tell me the truth…"

Leonidas turned and pursed his lips "The enemy attacked once again killing a group of soldiers in a very violent way. That is why we all left very early this morning, to see what happened"

Gaia could feel her eyes burn with unshed tears of frustration "Where is my son?"

"He was with us a moment ago…" Leonidas said looking for him; Aurea looked around and widened her eyes "There he is" she nudged Gaia's arm. The prince was talking to a group of sergeants when he spotted his mother on the crowd, frowning he turned to one of the men with him and gave him a final order and excused himself, walking toward his mother "Mother, what are you doing here?"

Gaia moved away from Aurea and held Endymion's arm "Leonidas just told me what happened…"

Endymion sighed and looked at him "I insisted in knowing" Gaia said before he could reply something. The prince looked down at her again "Mother you need to rest…" he looked at Aurea "Please take her to her room"

"What?" Gaia frowned "I am not going anywhere!"

Endymion rubbed his temples "Mother, this is not over yet…Father is waiting for me at the study"

"I am going with you"

Endymion frowned "Mother…" he sighed and put his hands on her shoulders "Please don't…" he trailed off, not really sure what to say to make her understand; deep down he knew what they were going to talk about and he was sure that would hurt her deeply. Looking down he shook his head "You have to trust us… do you trust us?"

Gaia looked for her son's eyes; her heart started beating fast "Endymion…"

"Do you trust us? Do you trust Father and me?"

"Yes"

Endymion caressed his mother's cheek "Then there is no need to worry, leave this to us…trust me"

Gaia looked at her son and fought the urge to cry; this time he did not wait for any response from her and turned on his heel walking away in silence; the queen sighed and turned to Aurea who was already there supporting her "Let's go back to your room…"

Nodding, the queen began walking but gave a last glance at the direction her soon took when she saw the four shitennou walking down the corridor, she widened her eyes slightly "Kunzite…" she called him softly but enough for him to hear. Turning surprised he bowed his head and so did the other three "Your Majesty" they said in unison.

Gaia let go of Aurea for a moment and took a step closer to the generals "How grave is the situation?"

Kunzite pressed his lips together for a moment and remained silent. The queen arched her brow and turned to Zoicite "I know what happened but I need to know where this is going…"

"We are not sure yet Your Majesty…all we know is that the enemy we are facing is strong…very strong" Nephrite said.

"But yet we do not know who this enemy is…we are still investigating" Jadeite joined the conversation.

Gaia turned to look at Kunzite "You are doing your best, I know it…I know how my son can be…I know he can be too independent and does not like to be followed around…but please, do not leave him alone"

Kunzite nodded "We made a vow Your Majesty…beside the fact that he is our Prince, he is also our friend"

Gaia nodded and staggered, putting a hand on her head; Kunzite and the rest of the shitennou went to her aid 'Your Majesty!" Aurea went right away to her side "You need to rest… this is too much for your heart…come on…"

"I don't want to leave" Gaia said softly.

Aurea stopped and looked at her "Do you want to worry Endymion and His Majesty even more than they already are? They can handle all this but they cannot live without you in their lives…please…"

"We will be with him at all times if that will make you feel better Your Majesty" Zoicite said; Jadeite nodded "At all, _all _times. We will be his shadow if it's necessary" Zoicite narrowed his eyes and turned to look at him, then turned at the queen who only nodded in response and soon was taken by Aurea to her chambers.

Kunzite was the first to come inside the study and walked close to the prince who was looking outside the window in silence while the rest of the people in the room kept talking about the previous events. Zoicite and Nephrite came in next with Jadeite being last and closed the door behind him and went straight to where Kunzite was standing with Endymion.

Murmurs and questions being asked out loud was all that was heard, everyone had an opinion and an idea but all ended as soon as the large door opened once again. King Eros turned and left the piece of chalk he had on his hand and walked over to the man who was coming in.

"It's has been a long time" Eros said slowly and shook his hand with the man in front of him "But it was necessary for you to be here. You need to know what is happening"

Rumalos nodded "It's been quite a long time since I stepped one foot in this place…it still holds its energy, so full of mystique"

Eros nodded knowing exactly what the redhead meant with his words; he was one of those soldiers fighting alongside him when he and Gaia got married and fought the enemies controlled by the dark witch. Rumalos looked around the room like if he was searching for someone in particular; his eyes widened as soon as he spotted him.

Endymion nodded his head once and walked from behind the room, Rumalos smiled "The legend himself…here he is, right in front of me once again" he extended his hand and shook it with Endymion's "It has been a long time..."

The prince nodded again "It has Rumalos"

Rumalos nodded and turned to Eros again "I heard about what happened, one of the soldiers informed me…" he turned to Endymion and frowned "This enemy is different from any other we have ever fought"

Endymion pursed his lips and sighed "Right, we don't even know its reasons. He hasn't shown its face, whoever this is, its being a coward…"

"Coward indeed" Rumalos said in between his teeth, walking closer to the table with the map showing all four kingdoms he studied the traces while he listened Endymion explain what he has been doing since the problems started. The prince moved his hand around the large parchment and pointed his finger when the areas had more activity "The protection plan is very well studied and prepared…I do not understand" the redhead said and turned to look at the prince "Where is Point D?"

Endymion tapped the place and encircled it with chalk "This is where all started and where I had more vigilance…and here…" he trailed off and traced a straight line to another close point "…This is where this massacre happened"

"It is still in the contaminated area" Rumalos said in thought, sighing he looked at the prince "The strategy has changed I suppose, what is the plan?"

"I moved everybody from there, brought them here. The area must be cleared it is too contaminated" Endymion frowned and looked at his father "Following the King's orders, a new troop will be sent there within a few days to see if there is any activity"

Rumalos turned and look at the men behind them "This only means one thing… me being here means only one thing"

King Eros sighed and crossed his arms, Rumalos nodded in understanding. He was well aware of what the king was feeling, being one of the king's advisors he knew as much as Leonidas did when it came to the truth about the queen "The soldiers are ready to fight if that is what you want"

The king scratched the back of his head, still trying to find another solution for this even when he knew there was none; Rumalos crossed his arms and looked at Eros "You know, we all know it is the only solution for this...the enemy have declared war and to war…you have to send your best warrior"

King Eros turned to look at his son and hesitated for a moment; Endymion clenched his jaw and looked straight to his father's eyes "We all knew this could happen…do what you have to do"

The room fell in a deep silence, fear and worry started to fill the room, falling like a dense fog. The four shitennou widened their eyes in shock as they witnessed the moment everybody most feared repeat itself again.

Endymion walked closer to his father and took the pen from the desk and pointed at his father with it "Forget about everything else and do what you have to do…"

All eyes were on the king as he took the pen from his son's hand. His hands were cold and tried all his best of not to show he was feeling devastated by the order he was about to give and sign; he could hear Gaia's lament as he pressed the pen against the paper and signed it "…The plan has now changed" Eros said and looked at his son "The First Commander of our Army must begin to prepare himself for war"

Endymion nodded "The strategy has to change as well and so the timing"

Rumalos turned to the men in the room and nodded "You are all excused, we cannot attack until we have everything prepared, for now all we have to do is wait for our moment to strike back. The enemy has retreated for now and it will not show any activity for some time, which will give us the opportunity to have everything ready"

All men bowed their heads in respect and began leaving the room one by one until nobody else but just the king, the prince, Rumalos, Leonidas and the shitennou were alone. Leonidas sighed and turned to look at the king "The bodies will be here tomorrow morning for the service"

"Obelix already knows about it" Eros said softly; running a hand through his hair he went to sit behind his desk and rested his elbows on the wooden table "Endymion…I tried to find another…"

"Like I said…it was something you had to do" Endymion turned and walked to the window "I may be your son but don't forget I serve you as well…I have obligations and duties"

Rumalos smiled softly and turned to the shitennou "It's been a long time since I have seen you too; I was very pleased when I heard the King and Queen gave you the title of shitennou. You are the best prepared to serve the Prince"

Kunzite nodded "You know us too well Rumalos"

"Especially you" Rumalos said "Your pride weren't taking you anywhere"

Endymion kept looking outside the window, his eyes fixed on the silver moon in the sky "When do you want us to leave?" he asked with a low and very calm voice. King Eros sighed and looked down at the paper he just signed "After the winter ball"

"What?" the prince roared "Are you still thinking of throwing that party?"

"Yes" Eros said determinant.

"Are you insane!?" Endymion asked furious "How dare you to even consider it, when it has been a massacre?!"

Leonidas and Rumalos stood on the king's side, just the same way the shitennou stood next to the prince; Endymion shook his head "What kind of a joke is this?"

"It is not a joke"

"You just sent me to war!" Endymion raised his voice, pointing the paper over the desk "What kind of a King you are being?!"

"Enough!" Eros frowned and stood up "I won't tolerate this from you Endymion…"

Endymion frowned "And I won't tolerate any more nonsense…people are dying…and you are planning a ball!"

"It is part of the strategy I am taking"

"It does not make any sense" Endymion growled "Any of this makes any sense!" he put his hands on his head in frustration "Are you even thinking about the innocent?"

"The original plan will continue, the ball will be held as if nothing has happened…"

Endymion shook his head and turned to take a crystal paperweight and threw it against one of the tables with maps, crashing it into pieces. Everybody widened their eyes in shock "Endymion!" Eros raised his voice.

The prince lowered his head and took a moment to cool off "You are right…I should not question your knowledge and strategies…" he trailed off and raised his head, looking at him "I am your Commander and I must follow my King's orders just like Ortho never questioned mine and gave his life in battle" he tried to control himself but his anger was still evident "You want to throw that ball…fine, throw that stupid ball" turning of his heel he walked out of the study, slamming the door behind him.

The shitennou went behind him but soon were stopped by the king "It's alright…give him some time…"

"Ortho's death affected him" Leonidas said softly; Rumalos sighed and nodded "He was good friends with Endymion. They all trained and fought together"

The king sighed and sat on his chair again and ran a hand through his hair "I don't know if what I am doing is the right thing to do…" he looked down at the paper he just signed again and shook his head "…I am putting the two most important persons in my life in great danger…" he whispered and closed his eyes.

* * *

_Author's note:_

_Thank you for those who have been in touch with me after all this time, I must extend an apology to all everybody who has not received an answer to their comments or private messages; not too long ago I wrote on twitter that I was taking my time because I wanted to finish all the chapters before starting to post each week. The writing has been going well and fluent, still need to be polished (the final chapters) but it is almost done (the season). But even when everything has been going smoothly with the story there have been happening hard things in my personal life that has delayed the posting of the remaining chapters but still, I want to confirm again that I have not abandoned the story, actually, I have been working on it more than ever. I really appreciate your patience and understanding._

_Even when I said I wanted to wait until I finished the season, I felt like it had passed too much time without any news or updates so I re read the chapter (because I honestly forgot what I had written...there are just too many chapters!) and edited it, I hope you like it._

_As always, your reviews are most welcome and so are your private messages via twitter, email or this media. Thank you again for all your support, it means the world to me. Be safe and happy._

_Until next time, hopefully very soon._

_p.s. I need some help deciding the name for the final season, I would be more than glad to read your ideas you know, words, phrases...etc. :)_


	103. Chapter 103

_Divinity: A question of Honor_

_Chapter one hundred and three_

* * *

Princess Serenity walked around the palace alone after she had her dinner on her room. After Venus left her alone in the afternoon none of the girls went to look for her for the rest of the day giving the princess a lot of time to think.

The soft sound of her heals against the marble floors was the only thing heard in the peaceful halls; she saw the small candles flicker as they were starting to lit one by one. She was not really sure where she was going exactly but she knew where she wanted to go as she looked into the afternoon sky she waited for the right moment to go and see Endymion again.

"Endymion…" she whispered as she walked to the rail of the corridor and looked down at the gardens "…I want to see you…I am worried about you…"

"Why are you worried?"

Serenity's eyes widened and turned to look at her mother standing a few feet away from her "Who is worrying you dear?"

"Mother…" Serenity said softly and met his mother's serene eyes "W-What?"

"I thought I heard you say you were worried…" the queen came closer "Why?"

The princess turned and looked down from the rail again and sighed "Mother…who was my Father?"

Queen Serenity's eyes widened in shock, astonished by her daughter's unexpected question "What do you mean dear?" she said after a couple of minutes. Serenity turned to look at her mother again "Who was he?"

The queen sighed "Your father…" she rested her elbows on the balcony's rail "…Was a good man"

"What was he like?" Serenity asked.

"Serious…" the queen smiled "He was a man of few words...but he was a good soldier, he was a good King…he was not much of a joker but he had a special smile only for me..." she turned to look at her daughter "He loved you with all his might...since the moment you were born his eyes lit up and held you in his arms with so much pride and joy…he fell deeply in love with you, you were his treasure"

Serenity looked at her mother and then back at the blue planet "Was he a soldier?"

Queen Serenity sighed softly "He was the Commander of the army of Andromeda…"

"…Like Athamas…" Serenity said softly.

The queen nodded "Exactly like Athamas…" leaning on the rail she turned to her daughter who was still staring at the blue planet in the distance "…He reminds me of your Father…very much"

"That is why you want me to consider him…" Serenity pursed her lips "Because you feel he is just like him…"

"He has great potential to be King and to be your protector"

The princess sighed softly "Why did he die?"

Queen Serenity froze for a moment and licked her lips with delicacy; looking down she thought of the right words to say to her daughter. She, just like everybody else had her secrets very well kept and that made her feel like she was failing to her own daughter, the light of her life "He…" she trailed off.

"He died because he was a soldier, right? He died because he fought against an enemy"

Queen Serenity widened her eyes, Serenity turned to look at her; her icy blue eyes staring at her. The queen pursed her lips for a moment and after a few more seconds she nodded "Yes dear, I told you once he died in a fight"

Princess Serenity lowered her gaze and nodded, turning to look at the blue planet again "That means no warrior is really invincible. The ones from this realm can die as well…we are not immortal"

"We live differently"

Serenity frowned and turned to look at her mother again "How so? We live and we die as them…"

The queen narrowed her eyes "As whom?"

The princess turned and pointed the blue planet "What is so different? Why is it even forbidden the contact between us?"

Queen Serenity lowered her gaze "Divinity it is…" she looked at her daughter again "We were born under the blessing of the stars and planets; we hold powers they do not have" the queen looked up "It's part of our laws…we are not to have contact with them because they will never understand us…because we are not at the same level…"

"That is so rude…and cruel…" Serenity frowned "Where is the nobility and faith? Where is the love we profess when we cannot leave our differences behind and work as one? They are part of our galaxy…why are they being pushed away?"

The queen caressed her daughter's cheek with the back of her hand "You always had a soft spot for the blue planet…"

"I do not believe a monster lives there…I do not believe anything I have heard about them…" Serenity said softly "Do you really believe that Mother?"

"Serenity…" The queen said softly.

"_Do you_?" Serenity asked with concern.

The queen looked at the princess and let out a soft sigh "No, I don't"

"Then why can't we include them in the Alliance?"

"Because…" the lunar queen trailed off and looked away "…No matter how much I would like that, it is not possible"

Serenity could feel her eyes burn with tears she fought with all her might, lowering her gaze, she looked at her trembling hands with sadness. She thought about her prince again and her heart shrunk, she wanted nothing else but to be free to love him, tell the whole universe about their love, she wanted to tell her mother how much in love she was with him and how many times he had protected her. She wanted to let her know, how good of a soldier he is. She wanted her to know he existed.

With her head down, she bit her lower lip for a moment in thought "Do you think my Father would have approved Athamas as much as you do?"

The queen looked at her "I do think so, yes. He always said that you were not to be with just anybody but with the best of the best"

Serenity traced an absent pattern with her finger on the marble beneath her hands "Is he? Is Athamas the best of the best?"

"He is a very good soldier, he is strong…"

"I do not believe he is the best of the best…" Princess Serenity interrupted her mother and looked at her "He is not"

"You need to give him an opportunity, if you continue saying he is not, he won't be…" the queen sighed and rested her arm on the edge of the balcony "You two were engaged…you liked him…what happened dear?"

Serenity tilted her head "Exactly Mother…I liked him, but I did not love him…"

"How do you know it was not love?" the queen asked.

"Because…I never felt the longing, the desperation to be with him…the passion…the feeling of protection…I only liked him because of his looks…but I never really had a serious conversation with him because he never had the time or he thought those were things I was not supposed to be mentioning…" Serenity said softly.

"And how do you know about all those things? Are you saying…you are in love with somebody else?" the queen asked surprised. Serenity watched her for a moment in silence and then looked away "I am not in love with Athamas"

"Dear" the queen extended her arm and reached for her hand "…You are not going to be able to know what love is if you do not open your heart…Athamas has his character, but he is a good man, just like your Father was, he is prepared, educated…and he adores you…you just need to give him an opportunity…" the queen sighed "Now you are constantly avoiding him…but he is always asking for you, he is pendant, he cares about you…"

Serenity let out a sarcastic chuckle and rolled her eyes "Of course he is…"

The queen frowned slightly; it wasn't the first time Serenity spoke with such confidence. She had to admit that it did surprised her, not because she did not think her daughter was mature enough to make her own decisions but because she knew her or at least she thought she did.

She doesn't really understand where did the innocent, playful, carefree girl was replaced by this mature and centered young woman. When did she learn to speak like that? She wondered in silence; there was something in her that made her feel secure.

"Serenity…" the queen looked at her daughter with a serious face "…What made you change so much?"

The princess widened her eyes "What?"

"You have matured so much…you have turned yourself into a wonderful lady…I see so much passion in you…like if you were inspired…like if you were…" she widened her eyes "In love"

Serenity blinked a couple of times and felt her heart accelerate its beating; many thoughts crossed her mind at that moment. A year it took for her to realize and change the perspective of life, to give importance to the things that really mattered over the ones that could wait; to pay attention to her heart and instinct, to let be surprised.

And all was because of him coming to her life. Like a missing piece of a puzzle, he appeared and made her feel motivated; Endymion taught her the importance of being a royal, how your decisions can change everybody's life, even hers. He was the reason why she was being more centered, why she gave more importance to her dreams and why she was no longer afraid to speak up and defend what she thought it was right.

He taught her how to be a fighter without the necessity of holding a weapon, she learn how to defend herself with intelligence and grace and if he was the main reason of it all, of all that positive changes in her life why was she going to keep him a secret? She thought, if her mother knew the reality of things she might change her mind and help her.

"Mother…"

The queen tilted her head "Yes?"

Serenity bit her lower lip for a moment and looked down, then looked up again "There is a reason for it all…"

The queen widened her lavender eyes and waited for her daughter's confession; Serenity bit her lip and took a deep breath to continue "And it is because..."

"Good evening"

Queen Serenity turned and widened her eyes "Oh…Athamas"

Serenity sighed in defeat and looked away; Athamas bowed his head in respect and turned to look at the princess "I am sorry for my absence today, I was dealing with some…issues…"

"Is something wrong?" The queen asked worried.

"No no, everything is perfectly…" he trailed off but not taking his eyes off Serenity, he moved forward and took her hand "…Fine" he kissed it softly. Serenity turned to look at him and frowned, then moved her hand away from his cold lips "What are you doing here?" she asked coldly.

"Serenity…" the queen interceded and turned to the soldier in front of her "I was starting to worry…you were not at the meeting today. Artemis has a few questions to ask you…"

"Yes, I am aware Your Majesty…and I am very _very_ sorry…but I needed to solve a problem that was starting to give me a headache; you know, those pendants you know you have but are never solved until you personally do something about it"

The queen smiled and nodded "I understand…but I hope you can be present tomorrow, there are a few new things I must let you know concerning the Alliance and the security plan"

"Security?" Serenity turned to her mother and frowned "Is something wrong?"

The queen hesitated for a moment and then shook her head "Nothing that cannot be solved, don't worry dear" smiling softly, she realized she was being the third in discord and cleared her throat "Well then, I ill give you some space… I must talk to Luna about something I forgot either way" she turned to her daughter and caressed her cheek "Remember what we talked about…you owe me that truth of yours" the queen kissed Serenity on the cheek and walked away.

Serenity watched her mother as if she wanted to scream in frustration for leaving her with him, alone "I have wanted to see you…" Athamas said softly, moving closer to her he moved his hand closer to hers and caressed it softly; Serenity looked down wide eyed at his hand and moved hers away abruptly.

Athamas frowned slightly and watched her closely, he was right on that, he did want to see her, he missed her; he wanted her. It had been days since he last saw her or spoke to her, but every day that passed by he felt the necessity of having her close to him, his hands ached to touch her and so his lips to finally kiss hers. His heart beat fast in his chest wanting to hold her close and never let her go "You are so beautiful…"

"Why are you telling me this?" Serenity snapped and turned to look at him "Why are you doing this?"

The blonde general's frown deepened and crossed his arms "Doing what?"

"Why do you insist pretending that you care for me?"

"I care for you"

Serenity frowned and shook her head "You and I know the truth…"

Athamas chuckled and looked away "What truth? What are you talking about?" chuckling again he turned to look at her "You are hiding something"

Serenity shook her head again "Talking to you is exhausting. It is like talking to the nothingness…it is like talking to darkness, nothing positive will ever come back…"

"You see me as darkness because that is all you want to see" Athamas said, his voice was slow and calm, too confident to be exact "What makes you feel so confident Princess?" he moved closer to her, like a snake approaching its prey "Who is behind all this change of yours…this…" he trailed off and wiggled his fingers, trying to find the right word "…Passion…" he narrowed his eyes.

Serenity narrowed her eyes at him "I don't need to hide anything…I have learned that life does not come in a silver tray, you have to fight for what you want…"

Athamas arched his brow and nodded in an exaggerated manner "Bra-vo!" he clapped two times; he smiled and moved his face closer to hers "You see Princess? We are not that different"

Serenity widened her blue eyes in disgust and frowned "The more I hear you speak like this and the more I realize how blind I was, thinking you were a kind hearted person…"

The blonde general chuckled and moved away "Princess…it is time for you to know this is the way warriors are"

Serenity shook her head "What?"

Athamas shrugged his shoulders "We are not pure…we are tainted, our hands are tainted, our souls were condemned since the moment we held a weapon"

Serenity widened her eyes, suddenly the image of Endymion came to her mind; Athamas was saying something even the terran prince told her once too many times before "A warrior is somebody trained to protect not to gain power"

"Whatever it is the reason, we are dammed…but…" he smiled and moved his face closer to hers again "…It feels so good…" his hands held her arms and turned her face to away from him "The feeling of having control of someone's life…it's very satisfying"

Serenity tried to free herself from his grasp and looked away "Let me go"

Athamas chuckled "Ah, you do not like how it is?"

Serenity frowned and turned to look at him "It is what? What are you talking about?"

Athamas moved his face closer to hers, his fingers digging onto the princess' soft alabaster skin "No matter how much you run away from me, no matter how much you fight me, you and I will end up together"

"You are so wrong…so mistaken…"

Athamas arched a brow; Serenity looked at him "Your idea of warriors is wrong, very wrong…a warrior does not use its power to provoke fear, a real warrior…"

"Oh please Princess…" he looked at her and chuckled interrupting her "You and your idealism"

Serenity frowned and fought to break free "You and your ego" she could feel he was moving his face closer to her again and she knew a kiss from him could not be longer helped, her hands turned cold and her heart began beating at an incredible pace "Why can't you just leave me alone?" she whispered and fought her tears.

Athamas frowned; his lips caressed the rim of her right ear and breathed in her sweet scent "Because…somebody once told me that life does not come in a silver tray, you have to fight for what you want…" he moved slowly toward her lips ready to capture them in a frantic kiss full of desire.

He was about to take control, Serenity feeling desperate and alone when "General"

Athamas opened his eyes and turned to look at Kilmakos standing in the corridor, near him. He growled and turned to the soldier, being this the opportunity Serenity was waiting to escape; moving herself away from him she walked as fast as she could, trying not to lose her composure until she felt she was away from any harm. The general frowned and grabbed the soldier by the collar in anger, startling him "G-General…"

"Do you realize what you have done?" Athamas growled.

"Athamas…"

"What the hell are you doing _here_?"

"Artemis" Kilmakos said simply "He is searching for some papers in your office…"

Athamas widened his eyes "What did you just say?"

Kilmakos swallowed "I tried to stop him…"

"You cannot do anything right…" Athamas growled and threw him against the floor "Anything!"

"When I was informed he was there he was already investigating…" Kilmakos widened his eyes when he saw Athamas crouched in front of him "If he finds something that I specifically asked you to take care of…your life…" he trailed off "No…better said, the life of your goddamn family will go to the underworld"

Kilmakos' eyes widened bigger "N-No Athamas…please…"

Athamas stood up and looked down at him "Send the signal, we must act now. I want him dead" his voice turned cold and without a last glance he went straight to his office and see if the mauian was still there rummaging through his things.

At the other wing of the palace Princess Serenity managed to go into her room and closed the door behind her; sliding down to the floor slowly she began to cry silently in frustration. Her hands were shaking as she slowly undid her hair; pins flying everywhere as if she tried to rip the feeling of his breath against her skin and his lips almost touching hers "I cannot take this anymore…" she said between sobs "Why?"

O.o.o.o.O

The study was slightly illuminated by the candles on the desk where the terran king was still working on some paperwork with Leonidas. Sighing he ran his hand through his hair and continued reading; Leonidas looked at him and put the papers in his hand aside "This is tearing you apart, right?"

Eros sighed again and nodded "The situation is becoming more complicated…"

"We should wait for Endymion to suggest us something else" Leonidas said softly and frowned "Where is he by the way?"

"I sent him to his room and get some rest, he looks tired" Eros leaned his back on the chair and looked down at the papers over the desk "I should master these things…"

"It is harder than we all thought because it involves your son…" Leonidas said "When are you going to talk to her?"

"This evening…" resting his head on his hands the king closed his eyes and sighed "…I do not know what to do anymore Leonidas…I do not even know if I am doing the right thing…"

"You are doing the right thing" Eros heard his friend say and raised his head to look at Leonidas watching him with serious eyes "It is hard because it involves Endymion but he is prepared for the task…"

"It will break Gaia's heart"

"Right now Eros, your son is the only one that can free us from this madness…" Leonidas raised his brow and leaned his back on the back of his chair "And you know why"

The king sighed and pursed his lips "I understand her point, and as his parents all we wanted for Endymion was him to have a normal childhood…"

"He was born as the Crowned Prince of Earth; his life was never going to be normal"

"You know what I mean…" Eros said tiredly "Gaia's childhood was not that happy…she wanted to give her that to our son. I respect that and that is why I never objected her decision again"

"You know Endymion always felt different" Leonidas frowned "He always has thought there is something wrong with him…" the general sighed "You did the best you could, I think that if Aurea and I had a child and it had come with the privilege of divine power we would have done the same thing for him"

"Endymion is like your son too"

"Which is why it pains me to see him involved in all this but it is also why I believe he is the one that can really help us" Leonidas said softly "He is tired…and angry but very strong. I believe in him and you should too"

Eros sighed and closed his eyes for a moment; his heart was troubled thinking of how his wife was going to react once she knew his decision but his friend had a strong point, his son was different and was stronger than they all thought. Standing up he nodded to his friend "Thank you…for everything"

Leonidas waved his hand "This is difficult, I know…but everything will be alright"

Eros nodded again and left the room, patting his friend's shoulder on his way to the door. Leonidas heard the doors close and sighed, his eyes fixed on the dancing flames of the candles "It has to be alright…" he whispered "It has to be…"

The palace had gone under the soft lights of the candles; it was silent and so calm it didn't even feel like they were under too much pressure these past few days. Princess Serenity walked in silence and cautiously so nobody could see her; this was probably the first time she went alone to the prince's room without the help of anybody and she still wondered how did she manage to get to the place she appeared or how she managed to find the right door 'A-ha!' she thought to herself in triumph and with a smile on her face she entered, closing the door behind her.

The room was oddly dark, there were no candles lit not even the hearth she knew was there somewhere in the middle of the spacious living room. She tripped and almost falls with one of the cushion chairs and made herself to the double doors that led to his master bedroom. She opened one of the mahogany doors and peeped inside, surprised to see the bedroom was in the same dark conditions and pouted her lips 'Maybe he is not here…' she thought and frowned "Maybe he hasn't come back from this morning…" she said to herself and entered, closing the heavy door behind her.

She walked on her tiptoes toward the bed and sat where she knew was her side of the bed and sighed softly "Oh Endymion…"

"Yes?"

Serenity's baby blue eyes widened and jumped off the bed panicked and heard the prince's voice again "Serenity?"

"E-Endymion?" she asked, still surprised.

Endymion moved on his bed and sat, taking one long match he proceeded to lit a thick candle on his night stand; Serenity immediately let out a sigh of relief as she confirmed it was him next to her on the bed. Endymion turned to look at her and arched a brow "Bunny? Are you alright?"

"You scared me" she frowned "Why you did not tell me you were here!"

Endymion blinked "I thought you knew I was here the moment you sat on the bed!" he pointed the bed with his hand. Serenity blew her bangs and crossed her arms "I was worried sick"

The prince could not help to smile and sat on the bed again, startling her "I'm sorry Princess" he said softly.

Serenity frowned and looked around "Why were you in the dark?"

Endymion sighed and leaned his back on the headboard, crossing his arms he looked at her "Trying to sleep" he raised his brows "If that is even possible"

"Trying?" Serenity asked softly.

Endymion nodded "The King dismissed me and sent me to sleep"

"The King?" Serenity arched her brow "You mean your Father…"

Endymion shrugged his shoulders "Both"

Serenity tilted her head in a curious manner and blinked, making the prince chuckle softly "I serve my King and try to obey my Father"

"Try?" Serenity arched a brow.

Endymion shrugged his shoulders "I'm stubborn. You know me"

"You mean proud hearted"

The prince arched his brow "What is that suppose to mean?"

Serenity smiled softly, trying to lighten up the mood for what she was about to ask then. She did not need too many explanations, she knew Endymion had a tough time "How are you?" she asked softly. Endymion took a deep breath and pursed his lips "I am…" he trailed off "…Tired, angry…desperate" he looked at her "And you?"

The princess smiled softly "In love…"

Endymion smiled sadly "That is something I share with you"

Serenity went to sit next to him on the bed, resting on her weight on her knees and looked at him "What happened?"

Endymion sighed "Several fellow soldiers died brutally by the hand of a faceless enemy" he lowered his gaze for a moment "It was…beyond terrible"

"Died…" Serenity frowned and studied the prince's handsome face, there was tense all over it, his jaw was clenched, his lips pursed, the brows were knitted together and his eyes stormy blue. It broke her heart to see him that way, he spent so many hours studying plans, working until dawn and still they had this kind of terrible incidents, who could do such horrible thing? She thought.

The prince looked at her and wet his lips "It was a long day…but I could bring the bodies back home, the funeral will be held tomorrow morning"

Serenity frowned "Funeral?"

Endymion nodded "When somebody dies we do a ceremony honoring their life as a way to respect and farewell"

Serenity blinked, Endymion pressed his lips for a moment in thought "It's our way to bid farewell to our loved ones…their families will be there to say one last goodbye"

Serenity's eyes gleamed with tears and bit her lower lip as if she was trying to fight them from falling; lowering her face she fell silent and stared at her hands caressing the soft fabric of the bed's comforter. Endymion frowned and extended his hand to hold hers and squeezed it softly "Bunny?" he whispered.

"It is so sad…" She whispered back and shook her head "...So sad…" her life was so different from his, while she took for granted so many things he looked after the lives of so many people because in the end, to them, life was their most sacred treasure. She looked up and intertwined her fingers with his "I would like to be present…"

Endymion widened his blue eyes "Bunny…"

"I know this is difficult for you…you tried to protect them…" Serenity could not hold her tears any longer "The way you left this morning and the way you look tonight tell me you are in deep pain and I wish to be with you, to give you my support"

Endymion reached for her face and caressed it softly with his knuckles "What would I do without you? I do not know. I appreciate what you do for me but it is going to be early in the morning and I do not want you to get into trouble"

Serenity shook her head "I would do anything for you…" she whispered.

Endymion pressed his lips in a tight line and stayed silent for a moment, startling the princess "Endy?" the prince looked at her and sighed heavily, taking her hands into his "There is something I need to speak with you"

Serenity blinked "W-What is it?"

Endymion licked his lips and caressed her knuckles with his thumbs "The situation on this planet has been complicating more than we all thought and these last events led the King with no other choice but to take extreme measures against this matter…" he looked down at their holding hands and took a moment to continue "He has declared war" he looked at her "And is sending the Commander to lead the army against the enemy…"

Serenity widened her eyes and shook her head in panic "War…?" she began to breathe heavily once she realized what the prince was referring to "No…"

Endymion nodded and looked up at her "Serenity…"

"No, no…" Serenity looked at him "Why? Why are you going?! Why does it have to be you?!"

"Because I am the Commander of the army Serenity…I have no other choice"

Serenity shook her head and closed her eyes "Can't it go somebody else?"

"Serenity…"

"Why cannot go somebody else?!"

Endymion ran a hand through his hair "It is not that simple Serenity…do you think this is easy for me?" he raised his voice a little, enough to let her know he was worried too "Do you think it's easy for me to leave my Mother in the condition she is right now? To leave this Kingdom…to leave _you_?" he tightened his grip on her hands "Leaving you is the hardest"

"Is it not possible to make another plan? Another strategy? I will help you! I will stay until late…" Serenity was interrupted by the prince's finger on her lips, his eyes showed exhaustion, concern and deep love "We have…" he said softly, almost whispering "…But it does not work that way"

Serenity looked into his eyes not being able to control her tears; Endymion caressed her hands again with his knuckles in a comforting manner "People are dying Serenity…innocent people; tomorrow…" he trailed off "Tomorrow will be a very difficult day, those fallen soldiers left their families…some of them had children…and they were my friends as well, I…somehow have to avenge their death"

"But there can be another way…" Serenity whispered, her tears still rolling down her porcelain cheeks.

"I was trained for this Serenity, I was trained to kill whoever threatens this Kingdom and I made a vow to serve my King; Father did not want me to go…but it is my duty…" he stopped caressing the princess' hands and looked at her "I have to protect my family Serenity" his voice was one of a little boy asking for understanding. Serenity looked at him and sniffed softly "I am scared" she shook her head and closed her eyes "I do not want you to get hurt…If something happens to you I…"

"Hey…" Endymion hushed softly "Nothing is going to happen…" he put his hand under her chin and lifted her face up a little "You can always be sure something…"

Serenity looked at him with glazed eyes; Endymion kissed her hand softly and looked at her "I will always return for you"

Serenity broke into sobs and wrapped her arms around him "You promise…?"

Endymion closed his eyes and breathed the scent of her hair "I swear…"

Serenity pulled apart from him and looked at him in the eyes "Te amo Endymion…" she whispered.

"Vos attonitus me assiduissimi" Endymion whispered and he moved closer to her, his nose almost touching hers "Vis in vola manus, manus dulce pulchra…" (_You amaze me everyday…you have me in the palm of your hands, your sweet beautiful hands…)_

Serenity blushed and looked at him dazed, her clear eyes locked with his dark stormy ones and wondered what was that made her feel the way she felt, he mesmerized her, hypnotized her; maybe it was the way he spoke to her, maybe the sound of his voice every time he spoke in his mother tongue or maybe his masculine cologne mixed with the scent of his skin. She slowly closed her eyes as she moved closer to him and whispered "Te amo Endymion…"

"Praestigiae amor vitae nucleum, animi clam in ventum oris osculum. Amor an mysterii sensus esse potest, vires lacerantes te separari. Sed iam nunc ego tibi me et te est rem..." _(Love can be an illusion of life, the core of a soul, a whisper in the wind, a kiss on your lips. Love is a mystery and can be the strength to carry on or the feeling that can tear you apart. But for now, this moment you have me and I have you and that is all that matters...)_

Serenity blinked slowly "I do not want to ever lose you Endymion…" her eyes gleamed with fresh tears "I cannot live…without you in my life…"

"Shh…" he whispered softly, oh so very softly and caressed his lips with hers in a very sweet and sensual way "Ego semper tecum…" _(I will be forever with you…) _"Even if my body ceases to exist…my soul will be forever yours" his last words were just a soft whisper and sealed it with a tender kiss.

Serenity breathed deeply into the kiss, deepening it and making it more passionate. Her heart fed from the passion and warmth she got from him; her hands moved from the back of his neck to his silky black hair and played with it slowly as she let him take her in his arms and forget about everything for the night.

At the opposite side of the palace King Eros walked slowly down the long corridor in silence and sighed once he stood right outside his bedroom. Pushing the button of the intricate door knob he let the dark and heavy wooden door opens slowly and walked in, closing it behind him; the room was warm probably because of the many candles lit in the large and elegant reception area were couches and many cushion chairs were placed around the astonishing marble hearth.

He walked until he reached for the door and walked inside the master bedroom and could not help his surprise to see his wife sitting on her vanity combing her long chestnut hair; he looked at her with amaze. Her beauty was hypnotizing even after all these years she still had the same effect on him, she was indeed a goddess.

Gaia continued brushing her hair unaware that her husband was standing there looking at her and it was until he mentioned something about the tray with food next to their bed. The queen widened her eyes and jumped in scare as she watched him see the contents of each plate "I told Aurea you were having dinner here…so she brought me those…"

Eros frowned and put the silver cloche over the plates again and sighed "Did you eat?"

Gaia widened her green apple eyes and pursed her lips, Eros turned to look at her "You should eat this"

"I already had dinner"

Eros arched his brow; Gaia frowned "What?"

"You are a terrible liar…" the king sighed heavily "Gaia…"

"I am not hungry…" Gaia said dryly.

"You are taking medicines" Eros retorted "It's not healthy for you to take medicines without any food"

The queen rolled her eyes and put the comb on the table of her vanity and sighed softly "How can I eat when I know the situation we are going through right now…"

Eros widened his eyes "What?"

Gaia looked at him "I know what is happening"

"How?" Eros frowned.

The queen shook her head "It does not matter how I know, the point is that we are going through some tough times…" she frowned "Eros, why do you want to keep me away from all these matters?"

"I am not keeping away from any matter Gaia but you are delicate of health"

"Oh? And because of that you think I won't know about what is happening?"

"Gaia, I do not want to fight" Eros rubbed the bridge of his nose "This is delicate…"

Gaia frowned "How delicate?"

"Gaia…" Eros said softly but he was cut by the queen's worried voice "How delicate?"

"I called for Rumalos…" Eros said softly; Gaia widened her eyes and shook her head "You declared war…"

"I needed his advice"

"We have Endymion here, he is your Commander he is the one that advices you! He and Leonidas…you do not call Rumalos for advice, you call him when you want to start a war"

"The enemy is stronger than we thought and it is taking lives as it pleases…what happened today was a massacre!" Eros raised his voice "I had to call him" he sighed "He has met with me and Endymion…"

Gaia widened her eyes "What?"

"Gaia…"

Gaia shook her head "What did you do?"

"I had to do it…"

Gaia shook her head faster this time "No, no no!"

"Endymion agreed to this…"

"You are sending your son to war?!" Gaia raised her voice "Our son!"

"Gaia"

Gaia frowned, her hands were shaking "It was the only thing I asked of you…and you did not listen to me"

"People are dying Gaia!"

"And your son might too if you expose him that way!" Gaia raised her voice; her eyes were dark and serious, she was angry "All they want is him, my son…they want his power they want him dead" her voice calmed down, but still held anger and hurt. Her breathing turned hoarse and unsteady; scaring the king as he heard her cough uncontrollably "This is affecting your health…Gaia, please…look at me" he said as he kneeled in front of her "You signed those papers…" she narrowed her eyes at him.

"I cannot control him anymore…" Eros said sadly "Since the moment he decided to go to train, we lost control over his life; he made a choice and we have to respect it. As the Commander he is and the Prince to this Kingdom" he sighed "He opposed to the idea of you knowing he was leaving because of the reaction you might have, I argued with him tried to talk him to his senses but I realized that I cannot forbid him to be who was born to be…a warrior" the king held his wife's hands "…He is an adult now…"

"All I have been trying to do all these years is to protect him…" Gaia said between sobs; Eros nodded "And you did, you fought for him you protected him, you brought him to this world…but now it is his turn, he is strong enough to confront the world…it's in his blood Gaia, he is just like you and that makes me more proud than anything in this world…" the king sighed and closed his eyes for a moment "We have been protecting our son from himself and that is not right…we hid the truth of his nature of your past of his other family all these years but we cannot deny the fact that he is a warrior, he was trained just like you were and he is by far a better soldier than I ever was"

Gaia sniffed and wiped the tears off her eyes with her hand "Im ', exterruerat" _(I'm scared)_

"Scio Gaia ... scio, sed habemus confidere filius noster" _(I know Gaia…I know, but we have to trust our son)_

Gaia sighed and looked at her husband, her demeanor more calm "I need to talk to him…"

Eros shook his head "Not now darling…" he stood up and held his hand to her and walked her to the bed "Endymion was very clear of his intentions and you know he is very strict when it comes to his work…he adores you, but he won't change his mind"

Gaia sat on the bed and sighed sadly, her wet eyes were low and staring at the carpet beneath her bare feet "All I wanted for him was to give him the peace I never had when I was growing up…but now, it does not matter how much I try…he is dragged to war, to fight" she looked at her husband and began to cry "I made that vow since that day when my Father came and we spoke; his face was angry…disappointed, he was disappointed and all he could do to release that anger was to come here to confront me and take my son to Hades…" she frowned "My son will never step on Hades' realm…"

Eros lowered his gaze "Gaia…this hurts me too, seeing you like this breaks my heart…but, I think it is time for him to let him live his life and that is the life he chose, he chose to be a warrior without even knowing it was his destiny"

"His destiny…" Gaia muttered and turned to look out the window, her green eyes observed the moon from afar and smiled softly "His destiny is bright…the moonlight will guide him on his path, now I know"

* * *

_A/N: I want to thank you for the support and messages it means very much to me; thank you. This chapter was meant to be posted a couple of days ago but funny, I tried to open the document on my pc and it said that it may be corrupted so basically I had to re write it all over again basing myself from what's written in ch 102 and ch 104. I tried to do this huge, huge HUGE effort to remember what was it about and I had a slight clue (it's been a long long time ago since I wrote these chapters, probably six months) so, I tried to stay as close to the plot and story as possible (I think I did) so I hope you like it. _

_We are now getting close to the end, this is it, the final round...I may be only five chapters or maybe less from the ending (but you still have some long chapters to read) I am excited to start working on the new season which sadly will be my last story in my writing adventure. I haven't written anything new yet because I want to see how I end this season, because, I have two plans for Athamas...which one it will turned out to be? We will have to keep on reading._

Again thank you for your reviews and messages, I will wait for some more as always and a special thank you to the my new followers of the story, thank you for marking me as favorite author...thank you for everything.

_See you very very soon. Take care._


	104. Chapter 104

_A/N: Just because I wanted to give you something to read... have a nice weekend. Thank you for your kind reviews, enjoy._

_Divinity: A question of Honor_

_Chapter one hundred and four_

* * *

Charmindy took a seat in the dining room and waited for Filemina to bring her her morning tea and breakfast; minutes after the woman in question showed up with the woman's fruit "I thought you fell asleep"

Filemina shook her head "No My Lady" she began pouring her tea right after. The blonde woman took a piece of her fruit and swallowed quickly "Something is happening at the palace"

The older maid frowned and turned to look at Charmindy "Why do you say that My Lady?"

"I just heard there is unusual movement. There are several carriages at the entrance…you do not get to see that unless something important is happening…and I wonder what it is…"

"Maybe it has to do with the ball?" Filemina guessed.

Charmindy widened her eyes and pursed her lips "The winter ball…I cannot wait for that to happen" frowning she looked around "Where is Beryl?" she turned to the maid with a frown "Filemina, where is she?"

"She is probably finishing getting ready My Lady"

"She is going to drive me insane…" Charmindy took a sip of her tea; minutes later Beryl walked into the room in an astonishing dark green dress "Good morning, My Lady"

"Ah…there you are, where were you?" Charmindy asked with annoyance.

Beryl pressed her lips together for a moment "I was on my way here but…"

"Excuses, excuses, excuses…that is all I hear from you" Charmindy waved her hand and took another bite of her fruit "Like when you said you could not do anything else to get the Prince's attention"

The redhead lowered her gaze "I did everything I could at the moment…"

Charmindy yawned with boredom and took a sip of her tea, ignoring the young woman standing near the room's door. Beryl was not sure if she should go on and take her usual seat on the table or leave the woman alone, she turned to look at Felimina who had a confused expression on her face and then went back to the kitchen.

Charmindy frowned and turned to Beryl "Are you going to stay there all day?"

Beryl blinked a couple of times and walked towards her seat in silence, placing the silky napkin on her lap she proceeded to serve herself some tea. The blonde woman looked at her "I have done miracles with you…look at you, almost as if you were a real Lady" lowering her gaze she took a sip of her tea "The winter ball will be soon and the invitation hasn't arrived…"

Beryl looked at Charmindy "Maybe it is on its way…"

"Do not try to excuse your incompetence" Charmindy snapped "If we are not invited it will be your fault"

"Her Majesty said I would get an invitation…"

"I should have looked for somebody else…all I did with you was a waste of time" Charmindy said slowly "I should just get rid of you"

Beryl lowered her gaze and put her fork down, the slight appetite she had before was now gone and all she could do was to contain herself from crying.

"My Lady!" Filemina walked back to the room with an excited face; Charmindy frowned "What is it now?"

"I just heard what is happening at the palace"

Charmindy widened her eyes "Well, what is it? Speak!"

Filemina turned to Beryl and then to Charmindy who was becoming more impatient every minute that passed by "It's a funeral…apparently some soldiers lost their lives while fighting, defending somebody…"

The blonde narrowed her eyes "How do you know this? Who told you?"

"One of the servants heard one of the royal guards at the gate mentioning it"

Charmindy widened her eyes and smiled "Perfect" she stood up immediately "This is just perfect!"

Filemina looked at her with a puzzled expression "My Lady?"

Charmindy frowned and turned to Beryl "You, stand up and be ready"

Beryl widened her eyes "I do not understand…"

"You sure are stupid…" Charmindy sighed "I said, get up, we are leaving" she began walking away.

"Where are we going?" Beryl asked puzzled.

Charmindy looked over her shoulder "To the palace"

Beryl widened her eyes in surprise and stood up immediately as she was ordered; she was not sure of what her mistress was now planning but just the idea of seeing the prince once again, was enough for her to obey.

o.o.o

At the palace, all the people who were called to attend the funeral in honor of the fallen soldiers were already there. Tall crystal vases full of flowers adorned the temple's long corridor, around the coffins were more flower arrangements tied with purple ribbons symbolizing the mourning of their families, colleagues, army and royal court.

King Eros and Queen Gaia stood at their respective side of the temple wearing formal attire, both wearing dark grey; Aurea stood behind the queen with Leonidas "Where is Endymion?" Aurea whispered to her husband but before he could answer the prince showed up wearing his uniform in the same deep grey color the rest of the soldiers were wearing in respect for the fallen; the shitennou walked behind him in silence and stood on the front row right behind the coffins next to the prince.

Away from all the crowd right on the opposite side where the chorus stood on a mezzanine, just like she said she would, Serenity made her way to be present. Even when she could not be right next to her prince, she managed herself to escape from the moon even if it was for a little while. Not really sure of where the event was going to be held, she appeared once again in his room where luckily Megumi was finishing cleaning and without hesitation lead her to the temple through many secret passages.

She looked around in awe as she had never been in a place like this before. Her eyes took in all the little details and even when the moment was not to be admired, she was mesmerized by the way the light from the sun came through the many tall stained glass windows, illuminating the entire temple.

Her crystal blue eyes searched for her prince as she then noticed the seven coffins at the front; the image of people crying silently with their heads down was overwhelming and so were the echoes of sobbing.

Obelix soon appeared wearing a dark purple tunic over his usual priest attire. Bringing his hands together he closed his eyes for a moment and bent his head, initiating the ceremony.

"Lorem adestis, qui honorem militum praesidio ad vitam patriae, populi ... suas. Praesent pro animabus suis in caelum deis, ita in pace ... denique cessat"

[We are gathered here, to honor our soldiers who gave their lives in order to protect their nation, their people...their families. We are here to pray for their souls to the gods up in the heavens, so they can finally rest...in peace]

"Lorem deum caelo miserit eos audite preces ... nobilem terram cecidit, ubi tandem animae culpa. In nomen Fortis Dominus Chronos, Hades et Zeus ad eis pacem et sic duxit per tranquilla de recordatus Mnemosine scriptor flumen"

[Please gods in the heavens, listen to our prayers...send them to the honorable land of the fallen, where their souls can finally be free of guilt. In the name of our Mighty Lord Chronos, Hades and Zeus to give them eternal peace and so be led by the tranquil waters of rememberance of Mnemosine's river]

"Preses" [Listen to our prayers] everybody said in unison to the priest's prayers.

Serenity could barely or better said, she did not understand anything of what the priest was saying as she did not master the terran's mother tongue but she did recognize the names of those who were called High Gods making her think they were asking for their permission to cross to the immortal realm. She turned to Megumi who had her hands together as if she was praying as well and smiled softly; the young maid opened her eyes and turned to look at the white princess and blinked a couple of times before understanding what was happening "The priest is praying for their souls to the gods…"

Serenity was not sure if the girl next to her knew the truth about her, if she had an idea of who she was or why she explained everything that was happening before them with so much detail without judging her or asking why she wasn't following the rest's actions. Turning to look back at the priest and the people present in silence, she watched how the man chanted one prayer after another while pouring incense and a golden cloth over each dark coffin.

The importance and respect mortals had for their lives was something that overwhelmed Serenity greatly and maybe that was another reason why she wanted to be present and to be with Endymion somehow because only experiencing something so difficult and sad like this could make her really understand and value the small things in life, the importance of love, of trust and happiness.

Her eyes turned watery as she came to realize why this was something so difficult for everybody; It suddenly hit her, fell everything into place; they fought not because they were malicious, it was because they fought for the treasure of living a long and peaceful life. These people were not going to see their families again, people who probably had a family waiting for them to come back home safe, their children were not going to see them again and their faces someday would be forgotten as their voice will turn just a blurred memory.

She now felt like those women crying for their fallen partner; desperation started to curl up in her chest as she imagined the danger her lover might face once he leaves to war. Her hands started to tremble and could not help but cry. Megumi turned to look at the princess with sad eyes "Do you want to leave My Lady?"

"No…" Serenity shook her head "I want them to be heard…"

Megumi tilted her head and looked at the princess with confusion "My Lady?"

"They are all praying…to them…they need to be listened" Serenity said with frustration "It is unfair…it is very cruel…" her tears kept falling slowly from her eyes as she remembered the moment Endymion said to her how he stopped praying because he knew they were not being heard.

Megumi looked at her with wide eyes while Serenity kept listening the priest's words "What is he saying?" she asked softly, really wanting to be able to understand his words. The young maid frowned and tilted her head "You do not know Latin, My Lady?"

Serenity sighed softly and turned to look at the young girl "No…I do not"

Megumi's frowned deepened in confusion but before she could ask anything else Serenity let out another soft sigh "There is a reason why I must not be seen with him…but you have helped me several times before and he trusts you, I do not see the point from hiding the truth from you any longer…" she moved her bangs away exposing the lunar symbol on her forehead; the young maid widened her eyes as soon as she realized what it meant and gasped "My…" she lowered her head in deep respect and kneeled before her.

Serenity smiled softly and put a hand on the maid's shoulder "There is no need for that…" she said softly "Please, stand up…"

Megumi looked up at the princess and opened her mouth "I…" she trailed off "Now I understand it all..."

Serenity helped the girl stand up and nodded, turning to see the scene before them her eyes turned sad again "We both wish things could be easier…"

Megumi lowered her gaze and sighed. No woman could compete against the woman she had in front of her. Her beauty was extraordinaire and it was not just a matter of esthetics but something that came from within; she had a kind heart no woman in this court could ever match. She watched the princess trying her best to understand what the priest was saying but it was evident she was having a difficult time; smiling, she moved close to her and whispered "He is praying for their souls…after the priest finishes speaking, he will purify the temple with more incense giving end to the ceremony; the coffins will be taken to the graveyard to be buried afterwards"

Serenity widened her eyes and turned to her "Buried?"

Megumi nodded "When somebody dies…we return them to Mother Earth by burying them…"

"Mother Earth…" Serenity said softly, attracted to the term "Could it be…" she widened her eyes "Does this planet has a senshi?"

"Senshi?" Megumi looked at her puzzled.

Serenity nodded "Yes, a protector…a divine protector…could it be this Mother Earth you are mentioning?"

Megumi widened her eyes and shrugged her shoulders with a puzzled expression "I would not know My Lady…it is said that there once was a Goddess that protected this planet…but it is only a myth"

Serenity looked down at the crowd from the mezzanine and saw several soldiers surrounding the coffins with Endymion at the front. His face was distorted; she knew he was trying his best to remain stoic and as inexpressive as possible.

The prince looked back and put a hand on Ortho's coffin and sighed "Numquam oblivione honorem integra dedisti vitam ministerium gens ... defendere faciet iudicium animabus vestris"

[You will never be forgotten, your honor is intact, you gave your life to protect us...to serve this nation who, will do justice for your souls]

Lowering his gaze he let out a soft sigh and patted the coffin softly "Vos amici mei vobiscum"

[You may rest in peace my friend]

Turning on his heel he gave the signal to the shitennou and the other soldiers to raise their swords as the coffins were carried outside and taken to the graveyard a mile outside the palace where all the fallen soldiers and people from the royal court were buried. Serenity watched the whole ritual develop slowly and in silence; she had never seen so much respect for something before and somehow she admired their loyalty and care for one another; she felt Megumi's hand on her arm and turned "Right this way, My Lady"

Serenity nodded and was taken to another passage that would lead them to a secret exit, giving them enough privacy to walk towards the graveyard without being seen "We may have to walk a little more…but this is the only way we are not getting caught"

The lunar princess nodded and smiled softly "I really appreciate everything you are doing for me…"

"My Prince would not want anything else" Megumi turned to look at her and gave her a soft smile "My Prince is very independent, he does not like to be seen in a vulnerable state, he likes to solve things on his own…but even he needs a shoulder to cry on…"

Serenity looked at the girl with kind eyes "You are so loyal to him"

"I will ever be loyal to My Prince, he has always been very nice to me" Megumi said softly "Of all the people he could have chosen to serve him directly, he trusted me" the girl stopped in her tracks and turned to look at the white princess "…And now I am at your service as well My Lady"

Serenity widened her eyes and smiled in gratitude "Thank you…Megumi" she rested her hand on her shoulder "You are so very kind"

They stood near the place where the burial was taking place, there wasn't much sound but only the ones the shovels made each time they dig on the earth that threw over the caskets. Serenity could not help to tear a little at the very sad scene in the distance wondering how difficult must be for all the people close to the ones that already left.

In the distance, Queen Gaia watched as soldiers continued burying the caskets and turned away; letting a loud sigh she walked back slowly to the temple and sat on one of the benches. Aurea walked inside right after her and took a seat next to her "What are you thinking?"

"How many innocent will have to die until they leave us alone…" Gaia said slowly "How many years will they continue haunting us, doing whatever they want with our fragile lives…"

"That is something we cannot guess, Little Princess"

Gaia turned "Obelix…"

Obelix walked over to them and took a seat on her other side and took her hand; the queen sighed softly this time and lowered her gaze "Thank you so much for everything" she whispered.

Obelix patted her hand and smiled sadly "No, Little Princess…that is the least I could do…I just now hope their souls find peace up there in the heavens"

Gaia leaned her back on the bench "I just hope they get to Mnemosine's river instead of Lethe's…where mine will soon be trapped in those dark and cold waters…"

"Don't say that!" Aurea frowned "Don't you dare to even think that…"

Gaia gave her friend a sad smile "I am only repeating my sentence…" she chuckled softly "The sentence for my crime"

"Being in love is not a crime…" Obelix said "You did nothing wrong"

"I do not care what happens to me…I knew this could happen since the moment I fell in love with Eros…since I constantly came to see him and spent hours admiring his culture and way of living…admiring him" Gaia leaned her head to the side, looking at Obelix "You were my only confident, you and Serenity"

"Little Princess…" Obelix said softly.

"Mother and Father expected something else from me, Father expected a warrior…Mother a Lady…I could not be both, I just wanted to be me…a girl with feelings, with desires and dreams…I could not stand to see everybody following the divine protocol while dying inside…" she looked up "I am aware of what will happen to me and I will take it with pride, because I lived the life I always wanted. I married a man for love and I lived the miracle of being a mother…" her eyes turned sad "My son…" she trailed off and looked at Obelix "The gods may come for me…but they cannot come for my son"

"They won't if they do not have any reasons" Obelix said.

Gaia blinked slowly a couple of times and gave him a sad smile "But there is…"

Obelix widened his eyes "What?"

"There is a reason"

The priest frowned and looked at Aurea and then back at the queen "It is happening, again"

The priest shook his head in confusion; Gaia patted his friend's hand this time "Endymion is in love Obelix…"

Obelix widened his eyes "What?"

"He is madly in love" Gaia said.

"But that is impossible…he hasn't…" he trailed off "With who?" he widened his eyes "The redhead…?"

Gaia widened hers and so did Aurea "Oh no, no no!" both women said in unison "Not her!" Gaia closed her eyes and frowned "No…" she repeated softly this time and opened her eyes "My son is madly in love, finally he found his soulmate…" she stopped and looked at him with sad eyes "Destiny has decided to repeat the story"

Obelix frowned "Who's story?"

Gaia smiled sadly "Mine"

"Who is she?" his voice was soft, almost like a whisper. The terran queen looked up again and pointed the ceiling "She comes from the heavens to meet him, a girl with innocent eyes and a pure heart…she is, without a doubt his soulmate"

"She is a Goddess" Obelix said slowly.

Gaia turned to look at him again "Serenity's daughter"

Obelix widened his eyes and stood up immediately "Per omnes caeli…" [By all heavens] running his hands through his white hair he began chuckling, then his chuckles turned to laughter as he turned to look at the queen "Is it true?"

Gaia smiled and nodded "It is"

"How do you know all this?"

"He introduced her to me the other day. He brought her to my room"

The priest smiled and shook his head "He is in love alright…for doing what he did…it is because…"

"He loves her, he truly loves her" Gaia smiled "And for that I am glad…I couldn't be happier" her hand rested on top of Aurea's "Aurea met her too"

Obelix arched his brow "You did?" Aurea nodded and smiled "I did"

"How…?" the priest trailed off. Gaia sighed "She was in search for the same thing I was when I was her age…I was searching for something new, for adventure…she broke her own laws and came to this place and one faithful day, they met"

Obelix was still shocked by the news; startled he went back to his seat and let out a soft sigh "Is Princess Serenity aware of all this?"

"Queen Obelix, she's Queen now…" Gaia said softly "…And no, she is not…"

"It is a bittersweet feeling; I do not know what to say…" Obelix sighed again.

"If you could only see her, you would love her too…she is so smart, so prepared so elegant…she is beautiful, isn't she beautiful Aurea?"

"Gorgeous" Aurea said softly.

"But it is very dangerous…" Obelix said bursting their bubble. Gaia's smile faded "Yes"

"Did you talk to her? Did you tell her why?"

Aurea rolled her eyes and shook her head "She did not"

"Little Princess"

"What am I supposed to say? I cannot tell her, even if she knows…contact between us and them is forbidden" Gaia said in her defense. The moment turned serious again "I cannot forbid them to love each other"

"But you are aware of its danger"

"Yes"

"All your efforts in protecting him will vanish"

"I cannot forbid him to do something I did" Gaia said "I cannot…do that to him"

"But you did hide him the truth" Obelix said softly "Little Princess… that girl does not even know his true nature, she does not have the slightest idea of who he is in reality"

"Exactly" Gaia said serious "She loves him for who he is"

"You are contradicting yourself"

"What do you want me to do?"

"To tell him the truth" Obelix said; Gaia frowned "You are taking the conversation to that point I am not willing to discuss Obelix"

"You have been restraining your son for years…he knows he is different but he does not know why, we trained him like the gods trained you so he could be at their level and turned out to be much more stronger than we ever imagined. He is a divine person, just like her, just like you…Little Princess, this affair is contradictory, you have been guarding him from any harm so they would not notice him…do you really think they do not notice him? Do you think they will not know about this like they knew about you and His Majesty?"

Gaia closed her eyes and brought a hand up to her head "You are right Obelix…I have been protecting my son from any harm coming from them" she sighed and opened her eyes "…I am contradicting myself I know…but it is _her_ daughter, I cannot fight against love Obelix…love and duty are two very different things, I cannot protect him from the feeling of love…"

The priest looked at Aurea and then at the queen sitting next to him; sighing, he pursed his lips and put his hand on top of hers. Gaia lowered her gaze "That is why he constantly said to me he was going against the laws of nature and now I understand why…"

"Maybe…" Aurea trailed off and bit her lip but it was already too late for her to take back what she had in her mind; Gaia turned to look at her and so did the priest "What is it Aurea?" the queen asked softly and frowned. The maid let out a soft breath and looked at her queen "…Maybe you have done enough for him…maybe…you cannot protect him anymore…"

Gaia widened her eyes "What…?" she whispered.

"Endymion is not a little boy anymore…I think we all keep holding on to the idea of him being our little prince but he is in charge of his own life now…he has become a very fine man who knows how to fight for what he wants…"

"He is a fighter, just like you Little Princess and just like your father" Obelix said; Gaia sighed and lowered her gaze again "Just like my brother…"

"We will always look after him because we love him, we have seen him grow…but we cannot longer protect him from his legacy and his own destiny" Aurea said again "He is aware of the difficulty of this affair…it is most likely that it won't last…"

"It is not destined to last; they are from two different worlds. Our world will be forever different from theirs…" Obelix said.

Gaia kept her gaze down "When I knew who she was, I realized that I could no longer intervene in his life…" she raised her gaze "Because he is following the same path I took when I was his age…" the terran queen stood up "I cannot forbid him to see her…not her…" tears started to fall from her eyes "…She makes him happy…I can see it in his eyes…"

Obelix stood up and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around the queen he held her close "Little Princess…your heart is troubled, I know…you want them to be happy but it also terrifies you because you know what will happen if they know…" he could feel her head nod slowly and in between sobs, her hands clutched around his white tunic "I feel impotent because I cannot do anything…I cannot stop him to go to war either…"

"He is really going then?" Aurea asked wide eyed; Gaia sniffed and turned to look at her friend "Eros just signed the order…my son will go to war…again…"

"Did you try to stop him from doing so?" Obelix asked softly. Gaia lowered her gaze "I did…but…" she took a deep breath and parted from the priest "…Endymion agreed…"

"When are they leaving?" Aurea asked.

"After the winter ball" Gaia sighed.

"Little Princess…" Obelix said when he saw the king walk in their direction. Eros stopped a few feet away from them and crossed his arms while looking at his tormented wife "Gaia…" he called her softly. Gaia widened her eyes and turned to see him standing with a distorted face.

Obelix turned to Aurea and nodded when the maid began walking away; giving them privacy. The king nodded at both of them in gratitude and turned to look at his wife again "I was looking all over for you…I thought you were at the palace"

Gaia turned, giving her back at him "I was not in the mood to go back…" she said with a dry voice. Eros frowned and took a step closer "Gaia, are you still mad at me?"

"I asked you…I begged you not to send our son to the battlefield…and you did"

Eros sighed and lowered his gaze "I did not have other choice dear, he is our Commander…he agreed…"

Gaia turned to look at him "I told you my reasons…I practically begged you Eros and you did not listen…"

"People are dying Gaia…innocent people...I had to think as King…" the king let out a soft breath "Endymion was aware this could happen…we talked about it before and he asked me not to tell you anything until it was something certain"

Gaia sat on the bench again and began to cry "If something happens to him Eros…"

"Gaia…he knows what he is doing…he is our best warrior…we need to trust him…" the king said as he quickly sat beside her and began rubbing her back in circle motions, trying to calm his wife "We have to stop this madness…and right now, at this point, he is the only one who can…" Eros lifted the queen's face with his hand slowly "Love, we always knew this could happen…we always knew he was destined to follow your steps without even telling him the truth…now that time has come…his time has come"

Gaia stopped sobbing but still her eyes continued tearing, she turned to look at him with a sad face "I am very scared Eros…"

"Gaia…"

"I have this feeling in my chest that tells me this time, things will be different…"

Eros frowned and shook his head "Don't think that way my love, we need to trust our son…we need to believe in him…"

Gaia started crying again and leaned her head on her husband's shoulder "I'm scared…"

The king closed his eyes as he brought her closer to him and wrapped his arms around her "Everything will be alright love, he is not going to be alone…"

Gaia looked up at him and put her hands on each side of his face "If something happens to you…" her green eyes began shining with tears again; Eros shook his head and wiped the tears from her eyes "Nothing will happen to us…I promise, we will return safely"

The queen broke the gap between them and caught his lips with hers in a soft kiss while her arms encircled his neck in a tight embrace "I love you Eros…" she whispered once she parted her face away from his a couple of inches "Return to me safe and sound"

"We will"

"Return to me safe and sound" Gaia said again while caressing his face.

Eros leaned his head, resting his forehead with hers "I will"

O.o.o.o.o.O

After having his breakfast, Athamas went back to his office to continue preparing everything that needed to be arranged for his plan. It might have taken a little longer to follow its initial path but it was finally starting to show some progress, something that made him feel rather contempt.

He sat proudly behind his large marble desk, like a king would do in his throne and smiled "Finally…things will go my way" his voice was deep and raspy, but it held an air of satisfaction. His eyes looked down at his hands and frowned, remembering the tragic scene; the sound of death even when it was silent, it was deafening. He moved his fingers slowly as if they were still tainted with blood and frowned again "All this will be worth it once I kill you"

A knock on his door broke his thoughts "What?"

"General…" Kilmakos entered and closed the door behind him "May I come in?"

Athamas rolled his eyes and growled "You already did…what do you want?"

"The're ready. We are just now waiting for your command"

A smile broke his stern and cold face expression, his fingers began tapping the surface of his desk as he started chuckling with contempt "Finally…you did something right"

Kilmakos swallowed "Do you want me to send them?"

Athamas shook his head "Not yet"

Kilmakos frowned "Master?"

Athamas shook his head and stood up, he walked around his desk and toward one of the windows "I have waited for this moment for so long that I want everything to be perfect, I cannot wait to see his suffering face…"

Kilmakos looked at him and pursed his lips "Why do you hate him so much?"

Athamas frowned and looked at the man in front of him "Because…once I have him under my power…everything will be mine. I will get the recognition I deserve and become the rightful King of this Empire" smiling, his eyes gleamed with excitement "Everything…even Serenity" blinking a couple of times he turned to the soldier "Keep them prepared…the time is near"

Kilmakos nodded and turned on his heel; Athamas arched his brow "You still don't have any information concerning Serenity"

"The Princess is in her room" Kilmakos looked over his shoulder "She hasn't come out yet…"

"Keep a close eye on her and the senshi…"

"The senshi?" Kilmakos widened his eyes; Athamas narrowed his eyes "They know too much…especially Venus…any false move can ruin everything. Keep an eye on them as well"

The soldier nodded and turned on his heel, closing the door behind him. Athamas sighed and walk back to his chair behind the desk; leaning his back on the big dark chair he narrowed his eyes "This time, things will go my own way"

o.o.o.o.o

Venus put down her cup of tea slowly while she had her breakfast in her room; her mind drifted from one thing to another with every sip she took, first it was her duty as senshi, then her princess and then the white haired man.

"Kunzite…" she whispered sadly while putting down the cup again "What should I do?"

Lowering her gaze she let out a soft sigh as if asking to the solitude of her room could bring her some kind of answer. The blonde guardian pushed her plate aside and rested her face on her hands "I am trapped between two very strong things…between duty and love…"

She sighed again and turned her face to the window and looked the clear sky outside, her eyes could see the blue planet in the distance and could not help to feel melancholy; her heart started pounding with much more force in her chest every time she thought about the prince's guardian and their strange declarations of love. It has been quite a while since she last saw him and could not help to wonder how he was, what he might be doing and the one question that pierces the back of her mind, does he ever thinks of her the same way she thinks of him?

Closing her eyes she began rubbing her temples and took a deep breath "Get yourself together Venus, this is not a joke…it is not a game…your duties comes first" she opened her eyes and sighed again "Duties…" she whispered. Pushing her cup of tea aside she stood up and walked over to her mirror and took a last look at herself; her pale yellow gown matched beautifully with her golden hair and baby blue eyes, leaning closer she fixed her lipstick and turned to leave her room.

She closed the doors behind her and began walking in the princess' room direction, it was right when she was about to turn around the corridor when she saw Jupiter and Mercury walking in her direction, the blonde's heart started pounding faster when she looked at their faces "Venus…" Jupiter said, trying her best not to sound desperate.

Venus stopped and frowned with confusion "What is the matter?"

Mercury came closer to the blonde and pursed her lips "It's the Princess…"

"What about her?" Venus asked.

"She is not in her room" Jupiter said "She is nowhere to be found"

"What?!" Venus widened her eyes and turned both sides to see if they were alone and then back at the guardians "Are you positive?"

Jupiter nodded "We've searched for her everywhere…Mars is looking for her at the gardens…but still, she is nowhere to be found"

"She might be at one of Her Majesty's secret gardens…or at the praying tower perhaps?" Mercury said softly, even when she was the most tranquil senshi of all four; she could not hide her tone of worry. Venus sighed and looked away "She escaped again…"

"Maybe she is in the prayer tower…" Jupiter said.

"No" Venus said and turned to both women "She is not here"

Mercury widened her eyes and gasped softly "Do you think she…?"

Jupiter bit her lower lip "Should we go there?"

Venus brought her hands up to her temples again and closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again "She is putting herself in too much danger…" then turned to look at both senshi "Go get Mars…"

O.o.o.o.o.O

The burial ceremony was about to end and many of the attendants were starting to leave the graveyard. A mix of sadness and moist from the cloudy sky made the day even more depressing. The soldiers burying the caskets were almost done and were practically the only ones remaining besides the shitennou and the prince.

Jadeite sighed and turned to Zoicite "Should we go back?"

The blonde general pursed his lips and turned to his comrade "I suppose…unless our Master tells us otherwise…"

Nephrite shook his head and gritted his teeth "I cannot believe this is happening…"

"Me either…" Kunzite muttered and sighed; he turned to look for the prince and saw him standing a few meters away from them with his arms crossed and his head down "He is determined to bring the enemy down"

"This event affected him greatly" Zoicite said.

Jadeite nodded and gritted his teeth "Orthos was a nice man…we all are going to miss him"

The four men watched their prince walk their way "Master" Zoicite said once he was standing next to them "Shall we go back now?"

Endymion stayed silent for a few minutes looking down and then looked at them "You go ahead, I need to do some things before I head back to the palace"

"But the King might be expecting you with the rest of the Generals..." Nephrite said.

Endymion shook his head "I will go later…" Kunzite stood next to him and put a hand on his shoulder "I'll excuse you…"

"Thank you, Kunzite" Endymion said and nodded.

Kunzite looked at him "Endymion…everything is pretty much said, do not try to blame yourself for any of this…do not try to fix things on your own…" he trailed off and lowered his gaze "I know this is affecting you, it is affecting all of us but we must work together…whatever it is what you promised"

Endymion looked at Kunzite and sighed but before he could say anything Kunzite nodded and patted his shoulder "Don't worry, we got you covered"

The prince tried his best to smile and turned to leave; Zoicite widened his eyes and turned to Kunzite "And what are you going to say to the King?"

"We got you covered?" Jadeite frowned "How?"

Nephrite crossed his arms "I suppose we will have to come up with a very good lie for the King to believe…"

"Not just the King but the rest of the royal family because Endymion will disappear for the rest of the day…" Jadeite scratched the back of his head; Kunzite sighed "Like I told him, everything is pretty much said, we know what we are going to do…we know the plan; everybody wants more and more answers from him like if he had the solution for everything…he needs to breathe, he cannot think straight if he has so much in his mind"

Zoicite sighed "I believe you are right…they demand so much from him…"

Jadeite cleared his throat "And what now? What are we going to say to them?"

"He's sick" Nephrite pursed his lips "That is what we always say"

The three shitennou sweat dropped "Yes…Nephrite about that, I think we need to come up with better excuses from now on…because if we analyze things, we are always sick whenever we cannot be in a meeting"

"Yes, it is starting to sound old" Jadeite frowned.

Nephrite sighed and looked up "Well, you then think of something"

Jadeite crossed his arms "Um…"

"Um…" Kunzite looked away "I think we better head back"

"Good idea" Zoicite said.

Nephrite sweat dropped "Why do I have the feeling that you are ignoring me?"

"Yes, we should go back…they are probably waiting for us" Jadeite said; Nephrite sighed in defeat again "Yes…you are ignoring me" he walked slowly behind the other three man. Endymion watched them leave from a distance and began walking toward the temple where he imagined Obelix would be there. As he entered, he looked around for the priest but was surprised to see his parents there; the sound of his boots against the stone floors startled the royal couple and turned over their shoulder, Gaia widened her eyes "Endymion"

The prince stood in the middle of the corridor while looking at them in silence. Eros frowned slightly when he noticed his son was more serious than usual "Son…" he trailed off, unable to say something more, he thought it would be very stupid to ask if he was alright when he was perfectly aware of the situation. Endymion sighed and lowered his head "I suppose I wanted a moment of peace…I was looking for Obelix"

"He went back to the praying temple dear..." Gaia said softly.

"I see…" Endymion looked up and went to sit on one of the benches, resting his elbows on his thighs, while his hands covered his face. Gaia tried to stand up and go over to him but the king stopped her, shaking his head no "But you can talk to us" he said softly; his deep voice echoed in the large room.

Endymion leaned his back on the bench and sighed "I suppose Mother already knows about your decision" he looked across the room. King Eros sighed and turned to look at Gaia who lowered her gaze "I do not want you to go, that is what I was telling your Father. He told me it was your own decision; again, you are taking this to an extreme level" the queen rose her voice a little.

"Extreme?" Endymion frowned and turned to look at her.

"You can think of something, you all could have thought of something…" Gaia turned to look at her husband then back at her son "Please reconsider…Endymion, please"

Endymion's frown deepened "Reconsider?"

Gaia stood up "We don't know who this enemy is…you cannot go without knowing anything! You cannot leave us that way!" her voice started to quiver. Endymion looked at his father and sighed "I thought we talked about this before…" running his hands through his hair he turned to his mother "This is not like any other fight Mother, this enemy is stronger than any other…and it is killing too many innocent people"

The prince stood up and walked over his trembling mother "I cannot sleep, I cannot think…I don't know what is happening to me…all I can see is darkness and pain…like a vision" he narrowed his blue eyes "I have the need to stop this madness, I…" he trailed off, Gaia looked at him with wide eyes "What is it that you are feeling?" she grabbed his jacket "Endymion…what is it that you are feeling?!"

"Like I am being called" Endymion said slowly and lowered his gaze "Since I was a boy…I've had this feeling…every time…"

Gaia let go of her son "Like being called…" she whispered.

Eros frowned "Gaia?"

The queen's eyes started to shine with tears "Endymion…please, do not go. Do not go!"

Endymion frowned "Mother?"

"Do not go!" Gaia's hands started trembling as she turned to her husband "Please destroy that agreement…please!"

Eros held his wife "Gaia…there is nothing we can do…it is his decision…he signed it as well"

Gaia widened her eyes and turned to look at her son "If anything happens to you…" her tears started falling uncontrollably "Ego te, si quid obtigerit reliquis aeterno reprehendunt…" (_If anything happens to you I will blame them for the rest of eternity)_

Endymion narrowed his eyes "Qui sunt _eis_?" (_Who are them?)_ "Mater, qui sunt eis?"

Gaia looked at her son "Eorum umbra pergit ad sequi nobis, ultionis et ambitio ... eius umbra ..." _(their shadow continues to follow us, their revenge and ambition...his shadow...)_

Endymion frowned "Quid loquentes de?" (_What are you talking about?)_ "Quid dicens? Quis vindictam? Qui umbra?" _(What are you saying? Who's revenge? Who's shadow?)_

Eros felt she was about to have a nervous breakdown, immediately went over to her and held her "Gaia…you need to rest"

Gaia shook her head "Sunt sequeris nobis Eros…" _(They keep following us Eros…)_

"Quiescere opus Gaia hodie omnes difficile est" _(You need to rest Gaia, this day has been very difficult for all of us) _Eros held his wife in his arms "Gaia…please"

Endymion looked at his mother "Non quid dicat mihi?" _(What is that you are not telling me?)_

Gaia looked at her son with wide eyes but remained silent; the prince frowned "Quid adhuc tibi absconditur a me?!" _(Why do you keep hiding things from me?!)_

The queen put a hand on her son's face and looked at him sadly, there were so many things she could tell him, about her, about him, about their real life and their true nature. Deep inside she knew she could tell him at this precise moment what was happening, what her fears were, why she always was so against the fact that he wanted to become a warrior but with the enemy being so close she could not jeopardize his life that way; telling him the truth meant to change all his beliefs, it meant to show him the lie he has been living for so many years turning her worst fear into a reality. Her hand caressed his face softly as a single tear rolled down her cheek "Quia amo te nimium…" _(Because I love you too much)_

Endymion frowned "What are you so afraid of?" his voice became a whisper; his eyes searched for some kind of an answer in hers "I am afraid of losing you" she answered the same way.

The prince shook his head "You are not going to lose me, I will come back"

"You are your father's and I most sacred treasure…since the moment you decided to take this path I knew this could happen, I knew there was no turning back…but all I want for you is to be safe, to be happy and this is not giving you any of those things…" Gaia said softly with evident sadness in her voice "I am your mother and I am always going to be worried about you…always"

The queen turned and looked at the surroundings and let out a soft chuckle "You used to look for Obelix every time you had a problem…you used to run to the praying tower looking for answers…" then she looked at her son "You always felt there was something wrong about you, you always felt different…and I know I haven't been the best mother to you…I know I wasn't around as much as I would have wanted because of my illness…"

"Mother don't say that"

"I know you did it for me…" Gaia looked at him sadly "I know you became this wonderful soldier in order to protect me…because that is what you are…a protector…you have protected me all these years…" her voice started to break once again "But now, I am very scared…"

Endymion lowered his gaze "I am too" he looked at her "I am scared too, but I am for you…this is my decision, this is what I chose to be, I swore to you that I would become the best of the best. I made a vow to my King and Queen and I do not have any intentions to break it. I am your son, but, I am also your guardian…so please Mother, believe in me…believe in my Father…and believe that everything will be alright"

Gaia looked into his eyes and sighed in resignation; she knew that look very well and could not deny admitting it, it was like listening to herself, in her young years she would have said the same thing, she would have risked everything in her life to protect those she cared about and she did.

She came to realize what Aurea told her moments ago, she could not stop the unstoppable and she could not fight destiny. She could not go against their nature; his nature. Since the moment he opened his eyes for the very first time when she held him in her arms she knew he was destined to become someone extraordinaire.

The queen lowered her gaze and held his hand "I am proud of you" she looked at him "There is no one like you" the queen turned on her heel and walked away. King Eros patted his son's shoulder and looked at him "She will understand eventually…just give her some time…I will talk to her"

"As long as she is not mad at you…" Endymion said softly, looking in her direction "This matter has always been difficult for her"

"We tried finding a solution to this and we will continue searching for one…but until then, the order is given…" Eros said sadly; Endymion nodded "I understand"

The king nodded "I will handle tonight's meeting…go and have some rest, it looks like you need it"

"Thank you Father" Endymion sighed; the king began walking after his wife who already left the temple, leaving the prince alone with his thoughts. He sighed several times, not sure of what to do or where to go; he sat on one of the benches again and rested his head on his hands. Minutes later, the soft sound of heels against the floor caught his attention but imagined it could be his mother again.

"Did you forget something?" he mumbled.

The person in question sat on the bench in front of him and ran a hand through his hair slowly "Endy…" she whispered; his eyes widened and looked up immediately "Bunny"

Serenity looked at him and continued running her hand through his hair "Megumi guided me again…"

"How…Bunny…"

"Shh…" Serenity put her index finger on his lips "I told you yesterday I wanted to be with you, it does not matter the rest"

Endymion looked at her wide eyed at her determination, normally she would be sweet, kind, gentle. This time even when she was being delicate she made herself clear when she said what she wanted to do. She had never silenced him like that before and he had to admit that it was kind of adorable "How long have you been here?" was all he could ask. Serenity smiled, moving her finger to caress his jaw line "I witnessed the whole ceremony…" she looked up and moved her head slowly as indicating the exact spot where she was hiding with Megumi "I could see everything from up there…"

Serenity pursed her lips, stood up and took a seat next to Endymion; looking at him, she ran her hand again through his hair and moved her face close to his ear "I wished the whole time I could to be there standing next to you, holding your hand…" her breath caressed his ear, sending soft shivers all over his body. He turned to look at her, holding her hand he kissed it softly "But you were…all the time, in my mind and in my heart…"

"Mhm…" Serenity mumbled, pushing his bangs away "But sometimes it is not the same…"

Endymion moved closer and kissed the tip of her nose and leaned his forehead on hers "It is never the same when I am away from you…never the same…"

Serenity wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug and began giving him butterfly kisses all over his neck "I wanted to see you, I wanted to tell you how much I love you…"

Endymion smiled softly and moved his head so he could capture her lips with his in a soft kiss that lasted a few minutes; parting, he opened his eyes first and combed her bangs with his fingers to the side, revealing her lunar symbol on her forehead "How do you do it?" he whispered.

Serenity widened her eyes "How do I do what?"

Endymion smiled again and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand "You…mesmerize me"

Serenity blushed and bit her lower lip shyly; Endymion's smile softened "I sum insanus vobis ... vos perficere me, pulchra Luna Dea ... i numquam sensit hoc fortis affectus, hoc desiderium et passionem enim quis aliud in vita ... vos mesmerize me ... i sum penitus in amore cum vobis ... i sum in amore cum te Serenitati ..."

Serenity's gaze started to shine with tears and smiled softly "You said I was beautiful…you said my name…" she whispered. Endymion leaned closer and kissed her softly again and parted, looking into her eyes.

The princess opened her eyes and blinked a couple of times "Endy?"

Endymion held her hand and kissed it "I sum insanus vobis…I am crazy for you…"

Serenity blinked a couple of times and let him continue "…Vos perficere me, pulchra Luna Dea…You complete me, beautiful Moon Goddess…"

Serenity blushed softly "Endy…" she whispered.

Endymion smiled softly and kissed her hand again "…I numquam sensit hoc affectus, hos desiderium et passionem enim quis alius in vita… I have never felt this strong emotion, this desire and passion for anyone else in my life…" she took a deep breath and let it out "I sum penitus in amore cum vobis…I sum in amore cum te Serenitati… You mesmerize me…I am deeply in love with you…I am in love with you Serenity…"

Serenity's blush intensified as he leaned closer again and caressed her ear with his lips "I cannot live apart from you any longer…you have captured my heart"

Serenity's icy blue eyes started to shine with tears at his words; moving her head slightly away she looked into his eyes and put her hands on each side of his face "You have captured mine"

Endymion smiled and lowered his gaze "There is something I want you to have…" he looked down and unpinned a golden medal with a compass rose from his uniform; Serenity widened her eyes in amaze as Endymion put the medal on the her palm "This…was the first medal I got when I was in the army…my grandfather sent it to me as a way to tell me how no matter how hard the times were, I always had to find my way back home"

Serenity looked at it marveled "It's beautiful…"

Endymion smiled "It has a precious meaning to me and I want to give it to you…as a promise, that I will come back to you"

Serenity's eyes shone with tears as she looked up at him "Endy…"

"I will do my best and I will find my way back home…back to you Serenitati" the prince caressed her face "That I promise you"

Serenity looked down at the precious medal and nodded, then looked up at him with tears already rolling down her cheeks "I will treasure it, I will guard it with my life…and I will be waiting for you"

Endymion kissed her hand and stood up, startling her "Endy?"

The prince smiled and gave his hand out to her "Would you honor me with one dance, Princess?"

Serenity smiled, sniffing she giggled and turned to look around "But there is no music"

Endymion shrugged his shoulders "Do we need music?"

The white princess shook her head and took his hand, standing up they both walked to the center of the corridor and took their position; his right hand rested on her lower back while the other one held her left hand up high and within minutes they began to move to their own rhythm. The prince lead her beautifully as she followed like if they were practicing for years; it was a slow romantic dance and from time to time he would pushed her from him and pull her back to continue. Their laughter echoed all over the temple, washing away the sad memory they all experienced earlier that day.


	105. Chapter 105

Divinity: A question of Honor

Chapter one hundred and five

* * *

A carriage stopped outside the palace, right after a guard went to open the small door for the people inside and bowed his head in respect "My Lady"

Charmindy stepped outside and waved her hand "Yes, we've come to see Her Majesty" Beryl showed her face right after the blonde woman got out of the carriage and looked around to see if the Prince was there to be found. The guard frowned "Do you have an appointment, My Lady?"

Charmindy let out a loud laugh and waved her fan "An appointment…we do not need one, Her Majesty Narella specifically told my goddaughter how she could always come without an invitation"

The guard narrowed his eyes and scratched he back of his head "You see My Lady, now it is not a good time"

Charmindy arched one brow "Oh? And why is that?"

"Their Majesties have guests"

Charmindy waved her fan "Guests?" she looked around "Who?"

The guard sweat dropped and cleared his throat "I am not allowed to give that information"

The blonde bit her lower lip "Could it be…new prospects for the Prince?"

The guard widened his eyes "What?"

"Oh you know what I mean…" Charmindy narrowed her eyes "Prospects…girls for the Prince, you surely must know about those things, since you are such a handsome guard"

The guard blushed and looked away "I-I…"

Charmindy laughed loudly "Oh please, do not be so modest…you are as handsome as the Prince himself!"

"My Lady…" the guard warned "Please…"

The blonde turned to Beryl and waved her fan "Isn't he handsome dear?"'

Beryl widened her green eyes in surprise, first, because the guard was far from being handsome and second because the woman called her dear but yes, of course, it was because she was trying to obtain something "Y-Yes, yes of course"

Charmindy turned to the guard and waved her fan "You see?"

The guard felt his cheeks flush "Um…no…they have other kind of visit, the King called the three Kings for a meeting"

Charmindy widened her eyes "The King?"

The guard nodded, the blonde woman waved her fan again "Did something happened? You see, I am a good friend of their Majesties"

"Ah…no" the guard looked away "My Lady I think it is better if you come in another time"

Charmindy bit her lower lip and frowned "Is the Prince there?"

"Ah…yes, well no…um… he is in a meeting"

"Well" Charmindy flashed a smile at the guard "Tell him Lady Beryl said hello"

The guard sweat dropped "Um…of course…"

Charmindy turned on her heel and stepped into the carriage and waited for the guard to close the door, she then moved the small curtain aside and smiled again "You are so very kind" then pulled it aside again and waited for the carriage move. Beryl leaned her back on her seat and sighed, looking outside from the other window _'My Prince…'_ she thought.

As the carriage moved away from the palace, Charmindy's face started to change from a smile to a frown slowly; waving her fan she blew her bangs away "I am starting to wonder if you really made an impression on Queen Narella"

Beryl widened her eyes "Why?"

Charmindy moved the curtain away and looked outside at the road "The winter ball is almost here and we haven't received an invitation" she narrowed her eyes and turned to look at the redheaded girl "You…" she trailed off, Charmindy's frown deepened "If the Prince ends up with somebody else Beryl…"

Beryl widened her eyes even bigger in horror "No…"

"If he ends up with another girl from the court…I will…"

"No!" Beryl shook her head "Prince Endymion is not seeing anybody…he is not…"

Charmindy watched her a couple of minutes and arched one brow, the older woman let the sound of the wheels of their carriage invade their conversation before letting out a laugh, startling the redhead, she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and took a deep breath "This is all too much…" she turned to look away, shaking her head.

"What is it so funny?" Beryl asked with slight annoyance "What?"

Charmindy turned to look at her "You are in love with him" shrugging her shoulders she turned to look away again "You are actually infatuated with him" the blonde sigh "But it is obvious he is not with you"

Beryl felt a tug in her heart, like a dagger piercing her chest and pressed her lips together in an attempt to hold her pain. The blonde woman always found a way to touch her very core and break her, she had the power to do so maybe because she rescued her from the streets and hunger but even so, she was still living in a terran hell.

Charmindy let out a sarcastic chuckle but did not move "Men are like that, the Prince is not the exception. He, has more reasons to be cold…to be arrogant; he was born in a golden crib and you…" this time she turned, her eyes moved up and down and chuckled "…And you obviously did not"

"If a girl from the court has more chances than me…then why didn't you look for one of those instead of me?" Beryl snorted "Why a girl from the streets? Why a girl who knew nothing about etiquette and protocol?"

Charmindy arched her brow and smiled knowingly "Because, the women from court are educated in some certain way and you…" she chuckled "With you…it was like creating a perfect creature, like playing with clay…" the blonde shifted in her seat and leaned forward "I molded you the way I wanted you to be, I taught you what you needed to know, I fabricated you…I gave you a title, a name…I turned you into what you are now. I turned you into an exact replica of myself"

Beryl widened her eyes and shook her head "No, that is not true"

"Oh but it is, it is" Charmindy chuckled slowly "Without my help you wouldn't even have had the chance to meet the Prince…" she exhaled and looked outside the small window next to her "I once felt the same way you did and all my dreams were crushed, I felt I was going to die but instead…I decided to kill everything that was left inside of me and take revenge" she turned to look at the girl in front of her "And there is when you come along…after so many years, I thought it was time to make myself known again"

Beryl looked at the woman with incredulity and then began to remember everything she taught her; her eyes started to burn with tears as she looked at her "I am not like you, I will never be like you"

Charmindy laughed, loud and clear; waving her fan she threw her head back for a moment and then looked at her again "Maybe you are right on that; true, we are not the same person. You come from the dirt…you, without my help are a nobody, a peasant…" she chuckled "But next time dear, when you look at yourself in the mirror, take a little time longer, look closer… and you will see what I am talking about…"

"Why are you always so cold toward me? What have I ever done to you to receive such treatment from you?" Beryl asked softly.

Charmindy arched her brow "Why should I feel something for a person who does not fulfills my wishes?"

"You should recognize my accomplishments" Beryl said.

Charmindy frowned "Accomplishments? Which are those?"

"Queen Narella sees me as the perfect candidate for the Prince"

Charmindy gritted her teeth "Really? So then, could you explain to me why we haven't received an invitation?"

"I have stayed in the palace! No other woman has ever slept there!" Beryl exclaimed in frustration, trying to prove she has been successful in many attempts. Charmindy frowned "Did you ever have the opportunity to kiss him?"

Beryl blinked "No…" but before Charmindy could say something she raised her hand "But it was because the Prince always had something to do or because we were interrupted"

"I specifically asked you to fulfill his needs, did you do it?"

"No…"

"No, of course not" Charmindy muttered "And do you know why? Because you are not capable of doing something right"

"What?" Beryl frowned.

"I do not even want to continue wasting my time talking to you" Charmindy turned to look away and heard the driver calling for her "My Lady, My Lady"

Charmindy huffed and moved the small curtain away and frowned "What?"

The carriage finally stopped and soon the driver opened the door for them, helping the blonde and redhead step down carefully off the carriage. Charmindy turned to the man and snapped "Why did you stop here and not at the entrance?"

The older man bowed his head in respect "There is a carriage at the entrance, My Lady"

Beryl widened her eyes as soon as she recognized the insignia on one of the sides of the carriage "It comes from the palace…" she said with wonder; her heart started racing in her chest with anxiety, was it really happening what she was imagining?

Charmindy composed herself and walked quickly toward the man standing near the entrance "Good afternoon"

The man turned and nodded his head in respect, he did not look like an ordinary messenger and he did not look like a guard either but her eyes widened as soon as she noticed the badge on the left side of his military jacket. Charmindy blinked a couple of times "Can…I help you?"

"My Lady, excuse my intromission…but I am only here on behalf Her Majesty Queen Narella"

"Her Majesty" Charmindy said perplexed "Is something wrong?"

The soldier extended his arms and handed her a golden envelope with a wax seal with the royal symbol on its back "Her Majesty asked me to deliver this to you personally"

Beryl walked slowly towards them and stood next to Charmindy, amazed by the elegant design of the envelope in her mistress' hands "What is it?" she asked softly.

Charmindy's hands trembled slightly while holding the object in question, her heart started beating fast, it had to be it, it _had_ to be she thought; her time was again close, her time to shine and to move the current queen away from her longtime love "This is…"

The guard turned to Beryl then to the blonde woman "I am only a messenger My Lady, have a good day"

"You too" Beryl answered for Charmindy who was still looking at the envelope in her hand. The redhead frowned "My Lady…what…"

Charmindy smiled and turned to Beryl "I suppose you did something right"

Beryl widened her eyes; Charmindy turned and walked inside the mansion with excitement and hurry. She felt she had almost have won the battle and that she was finally close to her main goal. Beryl went after her and stopped a few feet away from the woman in pink, near the hearth; she watched her break the wax seal and opened the envelope with anxiety. Her eyes followed each and every letter written on the luxurious paper, her grin widening with each second "It is" she turned to look at Beryl "The invitation to the winter ball"

Beryl blinked a couple of times and bit her lower lip; Charmindy held the piece of paper close and sighed in relief, then widened her eyes in realization "The ball is going to happen soon…" she turned to Beryl "…And this…is the moment of glory, this…" she trailed off and smiled "This is when you will finally capture the Prince's attention" folding the piece of paper, she put it on its envelope once again and put it on the table; clapping her hands she frowned "Fileminaaaa!"

The older woman walked quickly inside the room and bowed her head "Yes, My Lady?"

Charmindy narrowed her eyes "Go get the seamstress…we need to look our best for the ball" she turned to Beryl "At last…" she walked over to her "The moment I have been waiting for so long…it is finally here" she put her hands on her face and narrowed her eyes "Do not dare to ruin it"

Beryl widened her eyes in surprise at her comment and gesture, her hands were cold, they held no sympathy, no kindness and no support. She watched turn on her heel and leave her alone with those warning words; Filemina cleared her throat and walked beside her "Do not think about it"

Beryl was brought back from her thoughts and turned to the older woman, Filemina gave her a faint smile "Let's better think of what kind of dress you should wear for the ball"

Beryl answered with a smile and nod, sighing she turned to look outside the window and could see the palace in the distance "I always dreamt to be there, I always heard about that ball…" she sighed again and sat on a chair "I used to watch all the carriages and lights coming from the palace from a distance…and I always dreamt to be part of it" her voice started to quiver with melancholy. Filemina laid a hand on her shoulder and tilted her head "Beryl…" she frowned "How long have you been all by yourself?"

Beryl turned and lowered her gaze "I was too young when I lost my family..." pressing her lips for a moment, she looked up at the woman next to her "I can still remember the smell of burning wood, the smell of death…so acid…it still haunts my mind"

"Who caused it?"

Beryl shrugged her shoulders "I do not know…I do not even know how I was the only one surviving that day…"

Filemina looked at Beryl with sad eyes and soon regained her stoic posture "But, now things have changed. Those wishes are now coming true"

"My true wish is to win the Prince's heart" Beryl said slowly "He is all I want"

Filemina frowned, something in her words was not right "I heard he is special, that it is very hard to get some private time with him"

Beryl bit her lower lip "He is special…" then turned to Filemina and narrowed her eyes "He is mine"

Filemina widened her eyes in fright, she recognized that look in her eyes. It was like she was going back in time when Charmindy was one of the now king's prospects _"He is mine" _she remembered her saying while she helped her get dressed and every time she knew she was going to see him "_He is mine" _she said that night when she grabbed Queen's Gaia's hair in front of everybody at the ball _"He is mine, he is mine" _

The girl who once tried to only like the prince was now obsessed with him, just like her mistress was with the king; their look were the same and so their goal and she had to admit it, it scared her. She always knew Charmindy's plan since the very beginning and she actually was the person who brought Beryl to the mansion, she never thought the moment of transformation could happen; she never believed her ambition could be so strong that it could change other people's mind.

Felimina pressed her lips and moved her hand away from Beryl's shoulder, feeling a wave of madness in the room she turned to leave "Are you going to be alright by yourself?"

Beryl smiled and turned to look at her, this time, her smile was corrupted by maliciousness "One day, I will no longer be alone. Soon"

The older woman felt chills down her spine and tried to keep the seriousness in her face as she turned again and this time, left her alone with her own thoughts. Beryl lowered her gaze for a moment and turned, she watched her reflection on the large mirror above the hearth; she could see her pale skin contrast her deep green gown, her red hair fell on her back in big waves with one curl falling freely on her face.

Standing up she walked toward it and kept looking at her reflection and studied her features, Charmindy's words began to echo in her mind:

"…_I turned you in what you are…I turned you into an exact replica of myself…"_

She raised her hand and touched her face, her fingertips tracing her lips and cheek and continued looking at herself "You will look at me…You _will,_ look at me Endymion…you will realize we are meant to be together, how you are meant to be _mine_"

O.o.o.o.O

In a flash of colors the four senshi arrived at earth, Venus learned the road very well and they soon were near the garden where they last saw each other; Mars sighed and rubbed her temples "How do you know she is here?"

Venus frowned "She is nowhere to be found at the palace…I used my sense of logic"

Mars frowned and crossed her arms "No, how do you know she is _here_. There is nobody around…and if we are seen we might get into trouble"

"She could be anywhere" Mercury said softly while looking around "This place is enormous…"

"The best way to find her is finding them" Venus said.

Jupiter frowned "Them?"

"Yes" the blonde stated.

"Who's _them_?"

"Them!" Venus exclaimed.

"The Prince and Princess" Mars said.

Venus sighed "No, _them_, the Prince's guardians"

Mars widened her eyes "Why?"

"Because…they might know where they are" Venus said.

Jupiter pouted her lips in thought "How on heaven's sake are we going to find them? Mercury is right, this place is enormous and like a maze…"

The raven haired guardian sighed and looked around "I think it would be better if we go back and wait for her"

"No"

Mars frowned "Why not Venus?"

The blonde turned to look at Mars "Because, she needs to realize that no matter how many times she tries…we will know she is here"

Mars arched her brow and crossed her arms "Do we?"

Venus sighed "I know she is here now all we have to do is find her"

At the other side of the corridor the shitennou were walking towards the study to see the king and explain to him the prince's absence, all four men were walking in deep thought and silent, immersed in the previous events they just had to deal with. It was when they were about to turn to the right when he clearly heard a woman speaking; he knew that voice very well even when he only listened to it a few times. It held the same determination, the same tone, and the same sweetness. It had to be _her_.

Frowning, the white haired shitennou walked towards the smithy doors when he confirmed what he was thinking. There she was, beautiful in her pale golden dress matching her golden hair; her pale and peachy skin caught the few last sun rays of the afternoon "I know she is here! She is here, I am sure of it" she said with such security, so sure it made her look adorable to his eyes. Holding his laughter, he arched his brow while crossing his arms "You speak with so much certainty"

Venus stopped talking abruptly and widened her eyes, turning to see the man behind her. Her heart began to race again in that characteristic way, something it only happened when he was around, maybe it was his voice, maybe his mere presence, there was something there between them she had to admit it was strong.

Kunzite inclined his head down as he waited for a response from her but since he was not getting anything he let out a sigh "I can imagine why you are here" his eyes moved back to the blonde standing silent in front of him "But even so I must say it is a surprise…it's been quite some time since we last saw"

Mars frowned and so did Jupiter "We did not come here to chat" the amazon senshi said.

"I know" Kunzite cleared his throat and turned to see the rest of the shitennou standing next to him; Zoicite immediately eyed the blue haired woman and gave her a soft smile "Long time, no see Ballerina"

Mercury widened her eyes and blushed softly, Jadeite looked at the fiery woman in red and pressed his lips together "We always seem to be trapped in this awkward situation…but somehow…it is a lovely surprise"

Mars frowned then softened her facial expression; Nephrite smiled at Jupiter and turned to Kunzite who already knew what they were doing there "I am sorry to inform you that this time you are mistaken"

Venus frowned "What?" finally breaking the silence. Kunzite sighed again "Your Princess is not here, I am sorry to disappoint you"

Given the look on her face it was enough to let him continue "She is not here, I'm sorry Venus" his voice turned softer when he mentioned her name, she noticed it. Jupiter bit her lower lip "How can you be so sure?"

"The Prince has been with us all day; he might be on his way toward here…" Nephrite said softly "With all due respect ladies…this is not the time for you to be here"

The amazon senshi sensed something in Nephrite's voice "Did something happen?" she asked surprisingly to the others. Nephrite widened his eyes softly and so did the rest of the shitennou "I do not think it is something you might find interesting…" Jadeite said.

"We did not come here to fight" Mars said as a way to reassure the blonde she was not upset. Jadeite gave her a small smile and tilted his head "I know…but Nephrite is right, this is not a good time…"

Venus looked at Kunzite and without any more hesitation walked over to him "Kunzite…" she whispered "Please, help me"

Kunzite frowned; there was a desperate look in the blonde's eyes that was unbearable to him, his chest filled up with worry and desperation as he noticed how she was doing her best and not to cry "How?" he whispered back. Venus turned and saw the girls talking to the shitennou then turned her face back to the man in front of her "She is nowhere to be found…this is the place, the only place she trusts…"

Kunzite lowered his head and let out a sigh "Venus… I just saw my Prince…" he looked up at her "We are under threat…things are complicating venusian girl, it is impossible for her to be here…Endymion has many things on his mind right now…"

Venus narrowed her eyes "Threat?"

Kunzite looked around and then back at her "War is approaching us…we will soon leave to war"

"War? But against who?"

"Strange things have been happening" Kunzite said resisting the urge to caress her delicate face "…My hands are tied and so is my heart, I cannot touch you even when I am burning inside…but the only way I can help you right now is to warn you, this time is different; your Princess cannot longer come here…it is too dangerous, for her and for all of us"

Venus closed her eyes for a moment, a single tear rolled down here cheek "I am doing the best I can Kunzite, I really am…" she trailed off and opened her eyes "…But my Princess loves your Prince very much…"

"And viceversa" Kunzite said softly "I believe I understand him now…it is something that comes from within…but I supposed they are being more brave than us…" he looked at his comrades and smiled softly "…Any of us…"

"Kunzite…" Venus said but was interrupted by him "Go back…wait for her there...if I see her here, I will make sure she goes back but this time, you all need to go back…this is not a good time to be reunited"

"I am afraid" she whispered.

Kunzite frowned "Why?"

Venus licked her lips and lowered her gaze for a moment "If I come here next time looking for her I might take extraordinary measures to break them apart…" she looked up at him "…And I do not want to be disrespectful to the man that loves and protects my Princess so much…I do not want to be rude to you...I…"

Kunzite put his index finger on her lips silencing her; his grey eyes looked at her with determination "Do what you have to do" he moved his finger "I will protect my Prince the same way you are going to protect your Princess… even if that means tearing us apart forever…"

"I do not want that…" the blonde said sadly.

Kunzite pursed his lips "Venus, I have to protect Endymion because he is more than just a Prince, I was not asked to look after him just because he is a royal…I made a vow to my Queen, we all did…we swore our loyalty and we cannot break that vow"

"More than just a Prince?" Venus asked curious "What are you trying to tell me?"

Kunzite shook his head "I am sorry venusian girl, I have to go"

Venus shook her head "Wait, no…Kunzite!" she tried to reach him but he was already walking away from her; her eyes tried to search for some kind of answer, she was waiting for something more. Kunzite went over Zoicite who was talking to a shy but very worried Mercury "Our King is waiting"

Zoicite pressed his lips together and nodded, turned to Mercury and gave her a sad smile "It is a shame I am no candidate for you Ballerina…"

Mercury widened her blue eyes "Candidate?"

Zoicite chuckled softly "Your beautiful face is something I will always remember" he nodded his head and turned to leave. Jadeite watched his comrades walk away and turned to Mars who had a face of worry "I will be honest with you, I haven't met anyone like you before"

Mars arched her brow "What is that suppose to mean?"

"…You are almost a sin" Jadeite continued "…Almost like wine…"

The raven haired senshi frowned "I asked you what was that supposed to mean?"

Jadeite smiled "It means…you are unique, it means…there is no one like you, you have taken away that bandage off my eyes"

Mars widened her amethyst eyes in shock; Nephrite bowed his head in respect and gave Jupiter a smile. Jupiter frowned and shook her head "You speak so differently from other times…why?"

Nephrite's smiled turned into a sad one then frowned "Times are changing…"

Jupiter looked at him with worry "You speak like if this is goodbye…"

Nephrite was the only shitennou with them, he looked at the other girls then at Jupiter "We do not know what is going to happen…not even myself…" he gave them a sad smile "We have a duty to fulfill…I have to go, Lady Jupiter"

Jupiter shook her head softly "You know something…"

Nephrite stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her, his eyes met with hers and stayed silent for a couple of minutes, his lips barely moved to smile "Protect your Princess...my Prince won't be here to be by her side…"

Mars frowned "What?"

Nephrite bowed his head "Please find your way back home…Protect your Princess" and with those last words he turned to leave. Jupiter shook her head and felt a hand on her shoulder, turning her head she saw Venus standing next to her "Let's go Jupiter…"

"It is not like them to act that calm…that resigned" Mars frowned "Something must be happening, something serious"

Venus kept looking towards the direction where Kunzite left, hoping he would turn back and talk to her again _"I have to protect Endymion because he is more than just a Prince…" _she remembered his words and tried to put pieces together to that gigantic puzzle "_War is approaching us…protect your Princess…this is not a good time to be reunited…"_

Mercury bit her lower lip and turned to look at Venus "Did the General told you something?"

Venus blinked a couple of times and turned to Mercury "…Why would he tell me what is happening?"

Mercury moved closer to the blonde "Because I've seen how you two look at each other" she whispered "It is clear that tension between you has vanished…"

The blonde lowered her gaze "We have learned that there was no point in continuing arguing when we all had the same duty" she looked at Mercury "That is all"

Mercury smiled sadly and shook her head "I may not have the same power you and Mars have…I may not sense anything or see auras…my gift is different from yours but that does not mean I do not see what it is crystal clear"

Venus widened her eyes; Mercury sighed softly "I believe we all learned to care for them in one way or another" she turned to look at the other girls who were looking around hoping to see the princess and then turned back at the blonde "What are we going to do if Princess Serenity is not here?"

"She is here" Venus said dryly "I know she is here"

"How are we going to find her?" Mercury asked softly.

Venus turned "She will return home"

"It will be better if we do not leave her side again…before the General notices" Mercury said.

"Athamas already noticed…" Venus turned her face to Mercury "…But it is time for me to do something"

"What are you going to do?" Mercury gave her a worried look.

The blonde sighed and looked up to the sky "Whatever I have to do to keep her safe…"

o.o.o

The couple walked silently holding their hands back to the palace as the sun slowly began to set, fireflies began doing their magic while illuminated their path back to the palace. Serenity smiled as she watched them fly all around the trees and raised her hand gasping softly when one rested on her finger.

Endymion looked at her in silence; his eyes held sadness as he watched her giggle and enjoy the moment as it was probably their few last night's together before he left to fight again. It was tearing his heart inside because even when he promised to be back as soon as war ended he still had doubts and worries and his major concern was to break her heart in case he does not find his way back home.

Serenity felt the lack of enthusiasm from him and stopped in her tracks startling him, Endymion turned to look at her and frowned slightly "Is something wrong?"

Serenity shook her head and pressed her lips together; Endymion inclined his head down and arched his brow "Are you sure?"

Serenity nodded but stayed silent, enough for him to know there was more than something just wrong. He moved in front of her and put one hand on her shoulder while the other lifted her face to meet his "Tell me what's wrong"

The white princess blinked "I am alright" her voice was soft.

"Serenity" Endymion said in a pleading tone.

Serenity bit her lower lip "What makes you think there is something wrong?" she faked a soft giggle, worrying the prince even more, he sighed and looked at her seriously "It is practically impossible for you to tell a lie"

Serenity frowned and pouted her lips, something Endymion found adorable "Serenity?" he asked again, this time softer.

"I just wish there was something I could do to help you with this" she said frustrated. Endymion's eyes softened and extended his hand to caress her cheek "You already do"

Serenity looked at him "What?"

The prince gave her a soft smile "Having you in my life is enough…"

Serenity frowned and lowered her gaze "I wish I could be strong to fight the enemy beside you"

"Hey…" Endymion frowned and lifted her face slowly to meet his eyes "You are strong, don't forget that"

Serenity's eyes began to gleam with tears, shaking her head she let out a soft sob and bit her lip, trying to contain herself from crying "No I am not…I am not strong Endymion…and if I lose you…"

"Serenity" he interrupted her "Look at me" his voice deepened; the princess stopped sobbing and looked at him, his eyes were slightly darker than usual; that was something it only happened when he was dead serious about something "Serenity…what do you see in me?"

Serenity blinked a couple of times confused "What?"

"What do you see in me?"

Serenity frowned "I do not understand…"

Endymion narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms "Just answer the question, please"

Serenity tilted her head to the side slightly "I see passion, I see strength…I see a warrior and a loyal Prince"

Endymion arched his brow "You say I am a warrior"

Serenity nodded; the prince angled his face down a little "Every warrior has a partner in battle, a perfect match so this person can always fight beside him. It is not easy to actually find that partner because it is very difficult to trust your life to somebody, some warriors take a lifetime to find it…many never do and they just fight alone for the rest of their lives…" he held her hand "…I found mine not too long ago"

Serenity widened her eyes "I am your partner in battle?"

Endymion brought her hand to his lips "You are my partner in battle and life; if you weren't strong enough we wouldn't even be together, but you have the same passion you see in me, I can see it in your eyes"

"You think I am strong?" Serenity blinked.

"Of course you are, very much" Endymion answered, bending his head he rubbed her nose with his "You just need to believe more in yourself…you need to open your eyes and see how precious you are" his voice became a whisper, making her blush "Serenitati I would be lying if I tell you I am not worried but it is only natural, just like you I want all this to be over and be able to tell everybody how much I love you"

Serenity widened her eyes even bigger and moved her head back a little "Endy?"

"When I come back Serenitati I will do whatever I have to do so we can be together"

Serenity's eyes tried to hold the fresh tears at bay but the emotion was too strong she could not hold them for too much longer and began trailing down her rosy cheeks; Endymion dried her tears with the back of his hand slowly "I love you Luna Bunny"

Serenity smiled widely and wrapped her arms around his waist tightly "I love you so much…my…" she trailed off and opened her eyes, frowning she looked up at him "Hey…"

Endymion tilted his head to the side in a boyish manner "Hm?"

Serenity pouted her lips "Now that I think about it…you do not have a pet name"

Endymion arched his brow, Serenity's frowned deepened "How come I have so many and you have none?"

Endymion chuckled for the first time in the day "You make it sound like I have invented so many names for you when actually all the names I call you mean the same"

"You call me Luna Bunny…" Serenity pouted her lips and began counting with her fingers.

"Yes" Endymion nodded.

"…Serenitati…"

Endymion nodded again "And Beautiful"

Serenity blushed softly and frowned again "See? I have three!"

Endymion chuckled again "Well, I do not have any because you haven't thought of anything…" he sighed softly and bit his lip for a brief moment "You usually shorten my name; I suppose that's my pet name"

Serenity tilted her head to the side "Right…but that is not a pet name, I should call you…mmm…"

Endymion tried to hold his laughter, she was being too adorable to be true "Well?"

Serenity frowned "I do not know, something like…um…well, you say all mine mean the same, right?"

"Right"

"Luna Bunny means Serenity?"

Endymion chuckled "Love, all three names represent you it does not really mean the same…" he bent his head down "You tend call me warrior many, many times, haven't you noticed?"

"Because you are my warrior" Serenity said softly; Endymion nodded "See? That's one"

Serenity smiled "…So I suppose Endy is another one"

Endymion smiled "There goes two"

Serenity pouted her lips for a second "Maybe the meaning of your name…do you know what it means?"

The prince pursed his lips and frowned "Endymion?" he scratched the back of his head "Um…I am not so sure…" he chuckled "I think you should ask my Mother, why do you ask?"

Serenity smiled "I don't know, maybe because it sounds so mystical…it makes me think it has some sort of meaning, your Mother never told you?"

Endymion smiled and continued walking while holding her hand "She has a nickname for me, I suppose it has something to do with it…"

"It should mean Protector" Serenity smiled and looked at him; Endymion stopped and looked down at her "You think?"

Serenity nodded "You are always protecting me…you are always protecting everybody…if it does not mean Protector, to me that is…"

Endymion smiled "Protector it is then"

Serenity's smile faded soon after and lowered her gaze "What am I supposed to do after you are gone?" she looked up at him "How am I supposed to fight this urge to see you, to be with you?" she moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist "What am I going to do, whenever I feel like I need to listen to your voice or look you in the eyes…?" her voice started to quiver "I cannot stand being apart from you…"

Endymion closed his eyes for a moment "Serenity" he whispered and pressed his lips together, then opened them again "Serenity…you need to promise me something, something important"

Serenity widened her eyes, whenever he called her by her name she understood it meant something serious "Promise you, what?"

Endymion sighed "You need to be strong; you need to continue living…I do not want you to be depressed, I need to know you are going to be alright so I can fight with everything I have and return to you soon, I'm asking you as a mortal to his Goddess to listen to my petition…enlighten my path with your silver light"

Serenity widened her eyes a little bigger "Endy…"

"Promise me you are going to be alright, I do not want you to be sad…" he whispered, his blue eyes searching for some kind of security in hers. Serenity felt her heart sink "How can you ask me not to be sad?"

"Serenitati, we both knew this might happen…" Endymion said softly while holding her hand "…But that does not mean I do not know my way back home"

Serenity's eyes gleamed with tears but just before she could say something he intervened again; bringing her hand up to his lips, he caressed it with them and gave her a soft smile "I really appreciate your assistance to the ceremony, I'm so sorry I did not know you were here…otherwise I wouldn't have left you alone…"

Serenity smiled and shook her head softly "I was not alone, Megumi stayed with me the whole time, she even helped me understand what was happening…" her eyes turned sad "I never witnessed something like that before…" she lowered her gaze and looked at their hands together "I have never ever seen you this sad"

Endymion sighed softly "Death is never easy…and they were friends of mine, of all of us…many of them had children…a wife…" he looked at her sadly "This is why I accepted Bunny, because I want to make justice and make them pay for what they did not only to them but to their families…"

Serenity could not hold her tears any longer this time, she began thinking about all those people who lost their loved ones, she began imagining the women who loved their men with all their might and how out of the blue, they were informed they were not going to see each other again; a bitter goodbye, a heartbreaking situation. She put herself in their shoes for a moment and could not help but feel devastated, her lips began to tremble as she fought with all her might the urge to scream in frustration and hurt; who could be so evil to do such thing to innocent people? Who could be so ambitious to only think about its well being and not caring about the children who were now left without a father, people without a friend, and a kingdom without a soldier?

She lowered her head and clenched her jaw for a moment, big tears rolled down her cheeks "This is why I tell you I am not that strong…" she whispered, startling him "Serenity?"

Serenity raised her head and looked at him "I could never be a good soldier…it hurts so much, all this…I cannot understand how this can actually happen, who allows it?"

Endymion pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arms around her in a protective embrace "You are a good soldier… I ask myself the same thing since I was first sent to fight…but it is something that happens, that is real and that needs to be stopped" he felt her hands tighten against his jacket as she began sobbing softly "Please come back home as soon as you can Endymion…please, be safe…please…"

Endymion closed his eyes and rested his chin on her head, he took in her sweet scent and sighed softly "I will Serenity"

Serenity moved her head back and looked at him "Promise me Endymion" a tear rolled down her cheek; Endymion nodded and kissed her lips softly "I promise"

Serenity closed her eyes and put her hands on each side of his face, bringing him closer to her; the prince opened his and looked at her, his eyes turning darker "Serenity" he said in a low voice, making her open her eyes in response.

He rested his forehead against hers and sighed "Never ever forget how much I love you"

Serenity shook her head slowly "Never…" she moved away from him slowly and held his hand, she turned and began walking back to the palace not showing any concern of being seen with him. Endymion blinked a couple of times before he questioned her sudden change and hurry; the princess turned to look at him and stopped, in a swift move without saying nothing she put her hands on each side of his face again and captured his lips with hers in a deep passionate kiss that could melt the coldest of winters. Lasting only a fraction of a minute she parted and bit her lower lip shyly, realizing what she just did.

Endymion looked at her dumbfounded for a few seconds before carrying her in his arms back to the palace, searching desperate for the nearest secret door that will lead them to the only place where they could be together and completely alone.

o.o.o.o

"I just sent the final invitations to their destination this afternoon" Queen Narella said while cutting her meal with her knife and fork "Everything is almost ready for the ball. The decorations are almost done and so is the complete menu for the party, it is going to be a memorable night" she noticed the lack of enthusiasm coming from her daughter in law and frowned "Gaia?"

Gaia looked down at her plate while she absently played with her food. Her mind was everywhere except in Narella's conversation; the mother queen frowned and cleared her throat startling the queen "I'm sorry…what?"

Narella arched her brow "You are not paying attention…"

Gaia lowered her gaze "I'm sorry…I was thinking in something else"

"About today's events" Narella said softly.

"About everything, about my son" Gaia said and turned to look at her "I am starting to think Endymion is right when he says this is not the best time to have a celebration…people have died…what are we supposed to celebrate?"

Narella sighed and put her glass of wine down "Dear, you are worried about the fact that he is leaving once again"

Gaia frowned "Aren't you?"

Narella licked the remain of her wine on her lips "Of course I am, I have never liked the life of a soldier…I hated when Eros had to leave for the same reasons and I know Obelix hated it too…but he was the King and he had to make decisions and I had to support him and be by his side…"

"Then why are we celebrating?" Gaia asked.

Narella sighed and stood up, walking toward her she sat on her son's place at the table, next to Gaia and held her hand "We are celebrating their bravery, their commitment and their strength" she moved back a little and smiled "And who knows? Maybe somebody gets engaged…"

Gaia widened her eyes "What?"

"Remember? You too got engaged on a winter ball, it did not end the way it was supposed to be since…" Narella made a pause and looked away "Well…we know how it ended, Eros just introduced you to us…it was all a surprise…"

Gaia narrowed her eyes "Before Charmindy would pull my hair like a beast" she shook her head in confusion "But who is getting engaged this time? Why are you mentioning this?"

Narella smiled "Oh, I don't know… maybe Endymion himself, the perfect girl is out there…waiting for him to decide…"

Gaia arched her brow "Narella, I highly doubt that with all the events happening right now he has someone in mind…" she trailed off and bit her lower lip softly, but of course he had someone in mind, her lips curved into a soft smile, yes, the girl with the pale blue eyes.

"The same was happening when Eros announced your romance" Queen Narella said softly and looked at the terran queen "You never know…"

Gaia watched her mother in law with the urge to say so many things but nothing actually came out of her mouth. Looking down at their hands joined together she let out a soft sigh and stayed like that for a little moment.

"He will be alright" Narella interrupted her thoughts "Endymion is too sharp, to intelligent…" the older queen smiled softly "Odell would be so proud, he always knew the kind of man he would become…since he was a little boy he said he had fire in his blood, courage, character, and now I understand…" she looked at Gaia "Why are you so afraid?"

"It is because the high gods want him lifeless Mother…" Gaia looked at Narella sadly "Endymion has surpassed the power I ever had…I do not even know how or why but he has… I never thought that was even possible…how can a power that great be increased?"

Narella knit her brows together "Dear…" she moved her head closer "Exactly, what kind of power are we talking about? I never dared to ask because I have never seen it…"

"Sure you have" Gaia said.

Narella frowned "I witnessed too many things dear and I saw you fighting with divine power…I have never seen that coming from my grandson"

"Have you ever looked him in the eyes?" Gaia arched her brow proudly "Have you ever paid attention to what happens?"

Narella pursed her lips in thought then widened her brown eyes "You mean…"

Gaia nodded "My eyes don't change anymore, his does…his eyes have a deep but prismatic shade and when he is upset they go even darker, like an ocean in the middle of a storm…" the queen sighed and stayed silent for a moment, patting the mother queen's hand she licked her lips slowly "Endymion has the power to put this planet to extinction and not just this planet…but the whole galaxy in a blink of an eye…"

Queen Narella's eyes widened in shock "Don't scare me like that"

Gaia's grip on Narella's hand tightened "The Golden Crystal has that kind of power…it is pure energy, Helios, my grandfather was the only one capable to control its full power… he chose me to be its guardian but I was never chosen by the stone itself to release its full power…"

"But you are the Goddess of this planet…that makes no sense" Narella said still shocked; Gaia shook her head "One thing is to be able to use the crystal, other very different is to be one with the crystal…" her green eyes became worried "If that stone is used by forces of evil…it could cause destruction…many have fought and killed for that stone…"

Narella watched the pendant on Gaia's neck and pointed it with her hand "So that…"

Gaia grabbed the teardrop shaped crystal "The real crystal is now inside my son's body…he has the key to unleash its majestic power…" she sighed "You understand now? Why I have been so protective over him? Why I am so afraid? I do not want them to capture him…" she lowered her gaze "All I wanted since he was born was to give him a normal life…" she looked at her mother in law again "I did not have any childhood because I had to train…I had to be a good senshi, my life changed the moment I met Eros…and I wanted my son to experience the joy of this tranquil life away from all the problems and uncertainties from above"

Narella pressed her lips together and lowered her gaze "All this is still so unreal to me…" she looked at her and shook her head "There are times when I still believe all of this is a dream…"

Gaia gave the older queen a small smile "It is not a dream" she patted her hands "You have given me so many things…you changed my life, you have been a mother to me all this time and for that I will always be grateful"

Narella arched her brow "Well, if that it's true, I think it is time for you to put your worries aside for a moment and help me think of more things for the ball, it is almost here!"

"Am I a good mother?"

Narella widened her eyes "What?"

Gaia lowered her gaze and looked at her wedding ring gleam with the soft lights of the candles "Have I been a good mother?"

Narella frowned "You should not ask me that…of course you have!"

Gaia looked at Narella with sad eyes but the older queen spoke first "I asked myself that question too many times before…" her voice turned serious "I always wondered if I was doing the right things for him, time went to fast and Eros was soon ready to assume his responsibilities as Prince and I was still uncertain if I have done what I was supposed to as mother…" the queen tilted her head and smiled "But then I realized I was worrying too much…Eros turned out to be a very good man, a very good Prince and now, he is a very good King…and Endymion my dear…" she patted Gaia's hands softly "Endymion will be greater than his father"

Narella shrugged her shoulders proudly "He comes from a legacy of fine people…" she eyed at Gaia "Endymion is going to be a very good King one day soon, he is prepared…and you it my dear…" she patted the queen's hand again "You my dear, have been the best mother he could ever have…he is who he is because of you, he is that noble and strong young man because of you, you and my son have always been there for him and supported him…You are an excellent mother"

Gaia smiled with more confidence "Thank you, mama"

Narella's smile widened "You are the daughter I always wanted to have" she tilted her head "But I am sure, your real Mother thinks about you every day"

Gaia huffed "I'm sure…" she said in a sarcastic tone of voice, Narella arched her brow "It does not matter all that happened, they love you I am sure of it"

"You could never know with my Mother…and my Father…" she trailed off and remembered that moment when she saw him one last time "…My Father ceased to believe in me…"

"You are a mother, you could never doubt your son or would you?"

"…No"

Narella smiled "Well, there you have it…"

"They are not like us"

Narella sighed "A mother is a mother here and up there…the feelings are the same, she can be the Goddess of the underworld to me but, she is going to love you forever, no matter how many mistakes you have made in the past…what decisions you have made, it doesn't matter…she is your mother, above all things and loves you, I am sure of it"

Gaia pulled her hand back and pursed her lips, sighing she looked away "You do not know her"

Narella frowned "Gaia…"

Gaia turned to look at Narella with teary eyes "My mother…" she lowered her gaze, the image of her always trying to please her came to her mind, her tears began falling slowly down her cheeks "Nothing was ever good enough for her, nothing I did was ever good enough…" her voice quivered.

_Flashback_

_Queen Nut was sitting on the couch in one of the large living rooms of the moon palace; it had been one of those days when she visited Queen Selene. Both women were having tea while they chatted pleasingly; the lunar queen smiled and put her cup down, the soft sound of the china contrasted the peaceful environment "I think it is time for me to start looking for a proper suitor for Serenity…"_

_Nut arched one delicate and well defined brow "Oh? Do you have anyone in mind?"_

_The queen with white hair pursed her lips "Many suitors have come but I believe Serenity has chosen the one for her"_

_Nut smiled and took another sip of her tea before putting it down "Who is he?"_

_Selene smiled softly "A soldier from Andromeda, I heard he is the promise of the Andromedian Galaxy"_

"_A soldier?" Nut frowned._

_Selene tilted her head "What? Is something wrong?"_

_Nut pursed her lips and sighed softly "I don't know…why not a Prince, why does it has to be a soldier?"_

_Selene shrugged her shoulders with delicacy "He is a good soldier, well prepared. Serenity needs to be with somebody who can protect her, she has met many royals from so many galaxies…none of them captured her attention like Athan did" the lunar queen arched one brow "You do not seem to be too much convinced"_

"_You know what I think about soldiers…" Nut looked away. Selene frowned "Your daughter is one"_

_Nut turned to look at her and sighed "Yes, unfortunately…" she turned to look outside the window "Father ruined her life by giving her such task, such burden…"_

_Selene widened her eyes "Forgive me Nut, but being a soldier is not a burden…"_

"_Gaia was not supposed to be what she is"_

"_But she is magnificent in what she does, she knows as much as Ares and many others…she is a jewel" Selene said startled "She has so many prospects…"_

"_Gaia was destined to be a lady not to be a soldier…" Nut sighed again "Every man fears her and it is very sad to think they only want her because of her power and not because she is a wonderful woman. Her beauty is being wasted…Father was unjust…Serenity is so peaceful, you look at her and you can see she is delicate…but Gaia, she looks too strong…no man wants a woman that strong and it is not because I do not love her, but… they only want her power…"_

_Her hands began to tremble while she tried to compose herself from what she just listened; Serenity widened her lavender eyes and turned to look at her "Gaia…"_

_Gaia lowered her gaze and shook her head, her eyes burning with tears as she tried to contain herself. It made sense to her, how Nut constantly asked her to be more lady like and less much a warrior; something she could not pretend. She raised her head and let the tears begin run down her cheeks "It's alright Serenity…" she turned to look at her and gave her a sad smile "She is right you know? I am too much to handle…that is why I can't find somebody who can love me for who I am…"_

"_You are not too much to handle…" Serenity said softly "You know how Nut can be…she just want you to …"_

_Gaia shrugged her shoulders "She wished she could be planning a big wedding for me, she wished to be the woman fluffing my wedding gown…but that is not going to happen anytime soon" she let out a soft chuckle "I don't care…"_

_Serenity looked at her sadly "You will find somebody and he will be so special that will change your whole life…you will see"_

_Gaia smiled sadly "I wanted Ares to be that man…"_

_Serenity shook her head "Maybe you are destined to meet somebody greater…there is a reason for everything…"_

_Gaia chuckled "You are such a romantic Serenity"_

"_You know me" Serenity blushed "And because I think I have found the one…" Both women turned on her heels and walked back to the gardens to continue talking about the news but Nut's words echoed in Gaia's mind._

_End of flashback_

"I was always too much" the terran queen let out a soft chuckle "She wanted me to be delicate and I just couldn't, that was not me…"

Narella smiled and grabbed her hand "Your friend was right you know?"

Gaia widened her eyes "What?"

Narella tilted her head "You were indeed destined to meet somebody greater…that life you chose put two wonderful men in your life now and changed everything in you"

Gaia blinked a couple of times and smiled "Yes…" the tension in her face softened "Yes it did"

Narella smiled sadly "Every mother would like to have a porcelain doll for daughter and I won't lie, many have them…but I do not think your mother loved you less because of who you were…I think it hurt her how you were given such an important mission at such a short age, she wanted the same thing you wanted for Endymion…a normal life, she wanted to do your hair, fluff your wedding gown and organize a huge party and she couldn't do it because you had to fulfill your duties as soldier…" the older queen looked at her with a serious face "Gaia…" she held the queen's hands "I am sure she loves you with all her heart…I am sure, she misses you as much as you miss her"

Gaia bit her lower lip "She called me worthless"

"She was confused…and hurt…" Narella said softly "You were giving everything up for a mortal dear…she was hurt because she knew what it meant, she knew she was not going to see you again…"

And there it was, at last, what the beautiful terran queen always tried to understand and never could find an answer. It was not because she was angry at her, it was because she was angry at the fact that she had to take a path she did not even choose; she did not argued with her father because she was jealous, she did because she wanted him to stop all that training, all that madness of pushing her to be what her son was supposed to be and was until a certain point. She widened her eyes and turned to look at Narella but the older queen already knew what she was thinking "We are mothers… we are like that, we make mistakes as well…"

Gaia frowned "I am not"

Narella chuckled "You are doing that to Endymion…"

Gaia widened her eyes again "But…"

"But nothing… just like you, he was destined to be a warrior and you wished he could be normal, like us" Narella interrupted her "I won't say everything she did and said was fair because she could have done things differently, just like I should have done…and you…" she patted Gaia's hand "She loves you and so does your father and you love them, I know it. Underneath that strong character is an incredibly loving woman, I'm very sure that if she looked at you right now, she would be very pleased and proud"

Gaia gave her mother queen a warm smile "Thank you…mama Narella"

Narella smiled and held her daughter in law's hand tighter; she was well aware the woman next to her was one of the strongest and beautiful goddesses in the universe, she admired her with all her might and could not deny the fact that was still amazed by her determination of deciding to stay and have a life with all of them, their own goddess, their protector.

Maybe because of all that beauty in her, all that exquisite, delicate and at the same time strong personality, she was once a girl who wanted to fit into a place where she could be appreciated for who she was, now, she was the most adored, respected and admired woman ever and for that, she was proud. Narella's smile widened and tilted her head.

"No, thank you…little Dea"

* * *

_A/N: Mothers will always be mothers...while I was re editing this chapter I found it funny how it matched with what was happening to me this last weekend. I'm sorry for taking so long but when a member of your family is in the hospital you have to be there by their side at all times. I know how for some this story has been going very slow but like I said before, I do it because to me this is a series more than just a story and I try to explain everything as much as I can. The action will start probably in the next chapter when the winter ball starts. Anyways, I just wanted to apologize and reaffirm that I am not giving up the story I just have so little time for myself...it means a lot for me your understanding and your kind messages. Thank you again and enjoy.  
_

_I will see you very soon.  
_


	106. Chapter 106

_Divinity: A question of Honor_

_Chapter one hundred and six_

* * *

She opened her eyes and looked around in silence, adapting them to the darkness of the room. The balcony doors were slightly open, allowing the cool breeze from dawn enter and send shivers all over her nude body. It was a night where there was no moon, making it darker and slightly scary; it was probably the first time Serenity did not see her home from where she was at and it astonished her.

She felt him move slightly next to her and move his arm around her waist making her turn; her fingers began tracing the muscles on his arm and began caressing it in an absent pattern. The shyness of being that close and without any clothes on was now gone and with a soft smile on her face she let out a soft sigh of content because she felt happy to be able to have this kind of trust and intimacy with the person she loved with all her might.

Endymion cleared his throat catching her attention "Luna Bunny" he mumbled softly "I thought you were asleep"

Serenity smiled softly "I just woke up…" moving closer to him she sighed and cuddled in his arms. After a moment of complete silence she could not keep the question that was tormenting her for too long "Are you scared?" she whispered.

Endymion opened his eyes and looked down "What?" he frowned slightly.

Serenity did not move "Are you…scared?"

Endymion stayed silent for a moment, letting the question fall into place. Her voice was calm but he could tell she was worried or better said terrified. He sighed and looked up to the ceiling and hesitated for another moment "Scared…" he mumbled "No"

Serenity opened her eyes wide and looked up at him with a face of surprise; Endymion looked down at her "I do not have time to be scared Bunny…I cannot allow myself to be scared, I am worried…but I already know what I am going to do…"

"What you are going to do…" Serenity repeated, realizing what he meant "I will talk to them…" she said more determinant and tried to sit up, confusing the prince.

"What?" he asked, still not understanding.

Serenity sat straight and covered her body with the thick cover "I will talk to them, I will find my way to Olympus and talk to them…"

This time, Endymion frowned and shook his head "Talk to who exactly?"

"The gods, any god…whoever is available…"

"No"

"They need to listen!"

Endymion's frowned deepened "No"

"They need to understand!" Serenity raised her voice in frustration "Why…"

Endymion sat and wrapped his arms around her, his lips searching hers and captured them in a soft kiss that lasted only a few seconds, after parting he looked into her eyes, even when it was dark, they could see their faces and he noticed the worry and the pain in hers "You promised me"

Serenity widened her eyes "I do not want you to fight anymore…"

Endymion moved his head closer to hers "You. promised. me"

"Endymion…"

"No" Endymion hushed her "You promised me Bunny"

"I am scared" she whispered and hugged him; Endymion held her close and let out a soft sigh "Don't think about it now…right now we are together, that is all that matters, this moment…I told you what I was going to do once I get back…"

Serenity widened her eyes when she remembered his own promise to her, she lowered her gaze and tightened her grip on the covers around her "When I am with you…" she said softly and blushed "…Time is never enough…" she raised her head and turned to look at him "If you just let me help you…"

Endymion reached for her face and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand "Pulchra Serenitati, you already have"

Serenity looked at him puzzled "I have?"

The prince gave her a smile "You are doing it now"

"I am?" the princess widened her eyes.

Endymion nodded "You see…" he grabbed her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers "You think the only way you could help me would be talking to those people up there…" he tried to say it as lightly as he could and with a smirk on his face; he was trying to distract her from her worries and the fear clouding her mind "But why would I want their help if they have never ever made me smile the way you do?" he looked down at their hands together "I do not need them, they do not even know I exist…to the gods I am just another mortal" he gave her a softer smile "You are the only one who actually believes in me, that is all that matters, that is all I need to know"

"A smile cannot stop an enemy" Serenity sweat dropped.

"No. But it can stop me from feeling worried and bad" Endymion kissed her hand.

Serenity looked at him sadly "When is the winter ball?"

Endymion rolled his dark blue eyes in annoyance, Serenity tilted her head "What?"

"I still think it is stupid to throw a celebration in the middle of a crisis" his voice fell a few decibels sending chills down her spine "It is true what they say about that ball? That is magical?"

Endymion sighed and ran a hand through his hair "I only remember a few…I was too young when I last attended one…" he made a pause and pursed his lips "My grandmother has always loved them, it always snows…" he smiled "You haven't seen the snow, right?"

Serenity widened her eyes and shook her head; Endymion gave her a boyish smile "It is when little flakes of ice fall from the sky covering everything" he turned to look out the window "Imagine everything covered in white"

Serenity widened her eyes "Like a white blanket?"

"Exactly like a white blanket dear" Endymion said softly; wrapping her arms around her waist, he pulled her closer to him and kissed her bare neck. Serenity giggled softly as she felt his lips caress her skin "I wish I could be able to see it"

Endymion smiled against her skin "You will, winter is around the corner"

Serenity smiled and snuggled in his chest and closed her eyes as she began feeling lulled by the sound of his heartbeats "We do not have anything like it on the Moon"

Endymion caressed her back up and down and smiled "But I'm sure it is a very beautiful place…"

Serenity smiled "It is…you would like it" she moved her head up and looked at him "Would you like to go?"

Endymion tilted his head "I would but we both know that is impossible for me"

Serenity pouted her lips "We will think of something" she sighed and closed her eyes again as she leaned on his chest again "We will think of something…"

Endymion traced random patterns on her back with the tips of his fingers not realizing he was cooing her, her soft and slow breathing soon caught his attention and looked down at her cuddled in his chest. She looked like an angel and it simply delighted him to see her with her hair down because it was like silver aura, matching her skin.

The prince looked away, outside the balcony doors and noticed it was soon going to be morning, meaning only one thing: It was almost time for them to be separated again. His dark blue eyes became even darker as he thought how little time he had left in this place; to him it was not too long ago when he returned from his training and war.

He never thought this would happen a year ago, he never imagined he would be in the middle of too many social events, he never imagined how many problems would resurface so soon and like this and he never imagined he could ever find love.

He pursed his lips as he thought all the things he needed to do before leaving but the most difficult for him right now, was to leave her. He looked down at her again and moved a few strands of hair away from her angelical face and sighed as a feeling of guilt began curling up in his chest "This is hard for me too Serenitati…" he whispered while continuing caressing her back "Just the mere thought of leaving you is killing me…"

Endymion sighed again and leaned his head back "It is killing me…" he whispered and closed his eyes.

O.o.o.o.O

"You wanted to see me?"

The older man kept looking at the golden doors in front of him with an inscription around its frame. The sand inside the large crystal clock next to it continued falling slowly catching his attention. The room was light, contrasting with his dark garments and hair; it was not until the soft feminine voice brought him back from his deepest thoughts.

"Yes…" the man answered softly and looked down at his hand.

"Papa…" Pluto tilted her head and looked at her father with worry "Is something wrong?"

Chronos opened his fist and watched the keys in his hand and then turned to face his daughter "I think you are fully prepared to take my place Pluto"

"Papa" Pluto widened her eyes.

"Over the years you have been learning how to master the garnet rod I gave you, its talisman will always give you power, the power you need to protect these doors" Chronos said softly.

Pluto shook her head "Papa, I do not understand…"

"You are the senshi of revolution, you are wise and collected. I know I trained you well"

"Why are you talking like that?"

Chronos began walking toward her and stopped, his hand caressed her cheek "Only you and I know what is behind those doors…" he put the keys he had in his hand on hers "There are things we cannot prevent from happening not even when we fight with all our might…"

Pluto widened her eyes "Papa…you are worrying me"

"Hades and Persefone have announced the awakening of their child, like we all feared, she has been chosen to be a senshi" Chronos said startling Pluto "Why is it a bad thing?"

"Saturn, is the senshi of death and rebirth…a power not any other senshi can have in their hands as she is the soldier of destruction" Chronos said and narrowed his burgundy eyes "Her awakening only means that danger is coming our way"

"Papa…" Pluto whispered.

"I have only one more mission to accomplish, Pluto…I trust your good judgment…" he looked at the keys in her hand "Those keys you hold are the keys to the time-space corridor…do not ever let go of them"

"You have seen it right Papa?" Pluto asked softly "You have seen what's behind those doors" she turned to look at the golden gates in front of her "You know what it is going to happen"

Chronos tilted his head "Destiny can always change that is why you need to be prepared for anything that might happen" he caressed his daughter's cheek with nostalgia "I am always going to be your guardian Pluto but there are times when you just need to step aside and let things happen by their own will"

"Father…" Pluto said in a more serious tone; Chronos sighed and shook his head "It is breaking…" he trailed off and looked away. The dark haired senshi frowned "What is? Father?"

Chronos turned to look at her "The seal…it is breaking"

Pluto shook her head "I do not understand…what seal?"

The wise man lowered his gaze "Pluto…" he sighed and looked up at her again "You were given powers to fulfill your duty as senshi of time and space…" he trailed off and began walking slowly around the large throne room, his dark cape flowed on his back as he moved "…Enough to help and serve strong warriors among the galaxy"

"Father…you mentioned a seal, what is that?" Pluto frowned "And if it is breaking…why don't we stop it from doing so?"

"It cannot be done by us…not anymore" Chronos said bluntly "It is too strong and only somebody with the same or even greater power can actually fight against it" he stopped and turned to look at her "You are going to meet this person one day"

Pluto blinked a couple of times "Is this person a High God?"

Chronos gave his daughter a small and reassuring smile "You will see"

"Are the other senshi prepared for this Papa?" Pluto's tone changed to one more subtle "We do not even know what it is happening…I cannot see anything"

"The outer senshi are informed, you included. Whatever happens you are permitted to attack" Chronos frowned "But no matter what happens Pluto, for whatever reason, do not ever dare to break the most important rule…do not ever, stop the course of time"

Pluto looked at her garnet rod gleam with a soft purplish light "Stop…time" the idea was too tempting, to know she had the power in her hands to actually stop and manipulate everything but it was also very frightening "I know Father…Queen Serenity also warned me about that"

The mention of her name softened Chronos' serious facial expression and smiled softly "She is right"

Pluto vanished her rod in thin air and walked over her father; her dark dress matched her olive skin beautifully making her look so poised and regal. Her burgundy eyes stared her father's figure "You are very good friends with her, right?"

Chronos sighed softly "She is very special. I've known her for quite a long time"

"Is she aware of everything that is happening?"

Chronos nodded "She is" he sighed softly "She is not alone in this"

Pluto bit her lower lip "Papa…" she trailed off, hesitating "Where is Queen Serenity's husband?"

Chronos lowered his gaze for a moment, taking the question in as he remembered the tragic scene where the lunar queen was holding her husband's lifeless body, her white dress all covered in his blood "He…" he raised his gaze "He died, the Moon Kingdom was attacked many years ago…and he died. His soul now rests at the valley of the brave" the lord of time put his hands on his daughter's shoulders and looked at her in the eyes "You have to be very brave, the life of a senshi is not easy and your task is very different from the others"

Pluto watched her father with worry, why he always talked in riddles she didn't knew, it was a part of him, but this time his voice and eyes showed nothing else but pure melancholy, like if this time he was really passing all his knowledge to her, like if he was saying goodbye.

Back at the moon palace, Queen Serenity walked slowly to a part of the palace where only she and her advisors were permitted to cross. The sheer fabric from the tail of her gown followed her like an angelic shadow; her hand soon reached for one of the handles and pulled it, allowing the large white door to open slowly by itself.

The immensity of the room was breathtaking and also tranquilizer, it had no furniture but only glass windows and an altar on its center supporting a crystal box. The queen took a deep breath and walked toward it and stopped when she was only inches away from the object; her lavender eyes mirrored the soft glow of the stone incased on that transparent container.

Her hands rested on each side of it and continued gazing the majestic stone floating inside, letting a soft breath she pressed her lips together and lowered her head slightly "I must continue protecting you, no matter what" she whispered. Closing her eyes she frowned "One day, my daughter will be your next guardian to continue our legacy of peace…" she opened her eyes again "I do not want to use your power…" her voice began to quiver "But even I am scared…I do not know what to do…I do not want darkness to approach us…not again…"

That day again came to her mind like it usually did, haunting her peace of mind, haunting the memory of her late husband. The way her red nails dig in her skin while holding her, the way her golden eyes looked at him with treachery and desire and what she could also recognize as hurt.

"_Darkness will rise once again and death will chase the Princess's life. The heir of the White Moon shall meet darkness and will never get to wear the royal crown as Queen. That is my curse, that is my present for you… little cousin" _

The queen sobbed and leaned her head on the crystal protecting the sacred stone "Not again…" she whispered.

"Serenity"

His male voice brought her back from her pain and worries and opened her eyes recognizing the low tone of it. Moving away from the crystal she turned her face and saw Ares standing a few feet away from her, wearing his usual warrior attire.

Queen Serenity frowned and shook her head with confusion "A-Ares…"

"I'm sorry to intrude this way, I know I am not allowed to be here. Your advisors told me so as well…but I needed to see you"

Serenity sighed and lowered her gaze "I needed some clairvoyance and I was hoping to find it here"

"You haven't been present in the last meetings…" Ares frowned and crossed his arms "Why?"

The queen raised her head, the fear evident in her lavender eyes "Her words cannot stop haunting me Ares…her laughter and his death…"

Ares let out a sigh "Serenity…"

Queen Serenity could not hold it anymore and let her tears fall freely from her eyes "I just miss him too much…I need him here, I want him _here_…" she sobbed and brought a hand up to her face "…I wish he could be here to be with our daughter…"

Ares angled his head low "Serenity…" he walked toward her and wrapped his arms around her "Little Flower, you are not alone… you are surrounded by people who love you. You have Chronos and me… Aphrodite, Athena…" the lord of war lowered his gaze "…And Gaia…"

"Gaia…" Serenity opened her eyes "What would she do in my place? She was very good at knowing what to do…she always had an appropriate comment; she always helped me when I was in doubt…"

"She…" Ares pressed his lips together for a moment "…She would have told you to be strong, how loved you are, how you should fight for what you believe and she would have given you a hug"

"Do you still love her Ares?"

Ares let out a soft sigh and closed his eyes "Very much" he rested his chin on the queen's head in a protective way "I will always love her, her face is still in my mind and sometimes…" he trailed off.

"Sometimes?" the queen asked in wonder.

"Sometimes I want to go there in secret so I can see her face one more time…" his voice was low and full of longing. The lunar queen moved away, breaking the hug and looked at him "Why don't you?"

"What?" Ares frowned.

"Why don't you go there? Go see her!"

Ares gave the queen a soft smile "You will never change…"

Queen Serenity tilted her head "What?"

Ares chuckled softly "Underneath all that power, you are still that sweet young Princess with endless dreams" his smile faded seconds after when the surroundings hit him, making him realize where he was standing at. Widening his grey eyes he looked around and then at the altar behind the white queen "Is…that…?"

Queen Serenity nodded.

Ares could not dissimulate his astonishment "The stone of mystical powers…" he whispered "Oh how many have wanted to get a hold of that stone…"

The lunar queen turned to look at the stone floating inside its crystal case "As much as the ones who have wanted the Golden Crystal"

Ares blinked a couple of times; still in amazement "Its glow is…" he trailed off, then frowned "Serenity…are you letting the Andromedian get a hold of that stone?"

Queen Serenity turned to look at him over her shoulder "My daughter is the rightful heir of the crystal…"

"Yes, but you want her to marry him"

The queen sighed softly "Ares…"

Ares raised his hands "I still do not trust him"

Serenity narrowed her lavender eyes "You know he is a good soldier"

"Yes, yes he is. But being a soldier is not enough…especially when this stone is involved" Ares' frown deepened "The more time passes by, the more I worry…you are still thinking he is like Athan…but the truth is Serenity, not even Athan was as good as you think"

Queen Serenity shook her head "Don't tell me that…" she looked down "How can you tell me…" she trailed off and looked at him again "You have no right to disturb my husband's memory"

"Your husband was no saint Serenity… he made you cry, he made you suffer and I know how cruel he was with you sometimes…" Ares snapped in frustration, then his face turned to one of hurt "Any man that makes a woman cry is not worthy"

"You made Gaia cry countless of times…" Serenity said "You knew she had feelings for you…but you were too busy pleasing other women, including your now wife"

Ares frowned "And for that, I am paying. I regret every minute of it…when I admitted to myself that I was in love with her it was already too late, she had given her heart to somebody else…I hurt her greatly, threatened her life, including her child's by listening to Geb…but I am paying for those mistakes with Eris…" the blonde warrior lowered his head "I am not worthy of Gaia's forgiveness…or love. I have accepted it, but you my dear… you are leading your daughter into the same destiny you lived with Athan…"

Queen Serenity shook her head; Ares held her hand "Serenity...you were always too much for him and that is why he did what he did" he patted it softly "Gaia would have agreed with me"

The lunar queen widened her eyes and looked at the blonde soldier "Love is stronger than malice"

Ares looked at her friend sadly "I really hope your daughter can be with the man she really deserves to be"

"It's been several days without any mortifying information…could it be that…?" the queen said changing the subject. Ares sighed and nodded "Yes, which is another reason why I am here. Now that we are alone and nobody can actually hear us; apparently the plan we put into action is working perfectly fine, even when we still might be under threat we can be more relaxed, this malicious energy disappeared from Neptune's talisman mirror"

Queen Serenity let out a sigh of relief "Really?"

Ares nodded "That is why I was also worried, you didn't come to the last meeting…I care for you too much little flower, even when I cannot come and visit you as much as I used to I am always looking after you"

The lunar queen smiled "I know Ares and I appreciate it so very much" she sighed again in relief and put a hand on her chest "You just gave me very good news…"

"It does not mean we are free from all threat, that evil creature is still out there and probably waiting to attack us…but, right now we are safe, we must continue this regimen and stay as alert and informed as possible"

Queen Serenity frowned "Do you think it can attack us?"

Ares nodded "We have to be careful, very careful. All soldiers, sailor senshi and warriors are informed and in alert; even Polemarchos"

The queen widened her eyes "But then that does not mean we are completely free of any danger"

"That is for extreme measures, so they can be prepared for anything" Ares said "We have to protect you and that stone…no matter what"

The queen sighed and nodded "I understand" The blonde warrior put his hand on the queen's shoulders and watched the glowing stone with wonder in silence.

o.o.o.

Princess Serenity walked out of her bathroom wearing her silky bathrobe humming a soft tune, she went to her dresser to pick a clean dress for the day when soon was startled by the blonde senshi seating on a chair near; Serenity widened her eyes and gasped "Venus"

Venus stayed silent for a few minutes, before frowning "It would be useless for me to ask you where you spent the night, when I already know the answer"

Serenity contained herself from saying anything; instead, she turned on her heel and went behind the screen to change. Venus lowered her gaze for a moment "How much longer are you going to continue with this?" The blonde stood up and walked over to her princess and waited for her to come out; as soon as she did Serenity widened her eyes "How long are you going to continue with this Princess?"

"Until everybody understands how much we love each other"

Venus narrowed her eyes; something was odd in this conversation, her princess was not reacting like she usually did and that worried her. In another time, she would cry and even dared the blonde to do whatever she wanted always reassuring how they were not going to be separated. But instead of that, her princess was calmed and looked happy; she felt secure about something and this time, she could not help but to put her inner powers to work.

Her aura was glowing more than usual and it had a stronger color, like if everything she felt intensified. Her eyes widened and gasped, bringing a hand to cover her mouth.

Serenity turned to look at her and frowned slightly "Venus?"

"You slept with him" Venus said, startling the silver haired princess.

Serenity widened her eyes "W-What?"

Venus took a step closer to her "You slept with him, you slept with the Terran Prince" she shook her head and brought her hands to her face.

Serenity frowned "You make it sound like if it was a bad thing…and it is not"

"Why did you do it?" Venus asked with frustration, her eyes gleaming with tears "Why Princess, why?!" she raised her voice, trying her best not to let those tears roll down her face.

"Because I love him!" Serenity raised her voice as well "Because I love him and he loves me back!"

Venus shook her head again "All these nights…" the blonde said softly "All these nights I've been coming here to look for you…all the times we have searched for you and you have been telling us how you fall asleep in the gardens…you have been there, with him under the sheets in his bed!"

Serenity's eyes gleamed with tears as well "You better than anyone should know how important love is for everybody…you should understand that when two people love each other their greatest desire is to be together…" her tears began to fall "When there is love, anything else matters…"

"Can't you see what you are doing?" Venus asked hurt.

"We did it for love" Serenity said dryly "You can't understand it because you do not know what it feels like to love and be loved in return, you are too afraid of what could happen…you are too afraid of falling in love…"

"What am I going to say to Her Majesty…?" Venus began to panic and shook her head "Princess…" she bit her lower lip and lowered her gaze "What am I going to say?" this time, her tears could not hold any longer and began rolling down her cheeks "We have done anything else but being there for you Princess…we asked you nicely to break that relationship with him as soon as possible because it could only complicate things…" she raised her face.

"We are going to find a way to be together and if we have to fight everyone in this realm, we will. You know it Venus…you have seen it, you have seen the love between us…"

Venus shook her head "What you did is wrong…" she wiped her tears with the back of her hand "This romance has gone too far and you are not measuring the consequences…"

"You do not understand…" Serenity said in between tears; to Venus those words felt like shards of ice piercing her heart because she knew how it all felt, she knew what it was to feel something for somebody and not being able to express it.

She raised her face and looked at her straight in the eyes "You are not to see him again Princess, even if you hate me for the rest of eternity, I do care for you too much, I do love too much to put your life in danger because of this…this has to stop" she turned on her heel and began walking toward the door.

"Venus!" Serenity called her and ran after her "Venus!"

By the time Serenity turned around the corner Venus was nowhere to be found "Venus!" she called out again and ran toward her room where she hoped she would be. From behind a pillar, Kilmakos tried to listen to whatever the Princess and her guardian were arguing, this time, whatever it was it had to be important because he knew how much those girls meant to the young and beautiful princess and to him, knowing more about her was freeing him and his family from Athamas' threat "I have to know what is happening…_I have to_…"

O.o.o.o.o.O

A couple of days after, the people all over Elysion and all its surroundings began to show their excitement for the winter ball, you could see lines of people waiting outside the shops. Several seamstresses were fitting and selling their creations; it was the celebration of the year and it was finally a few days away.

Inside the golden palace everybody was in a rush, putting all the decorations, cleaning and doing the final touches for the event. Everybody was excited except for the people who knew what was really happening; King Eros continued staying up until very late in meetings with the generals and soldiers, including the three kings and the prince.

After the funeral, things have gone serious, even more. The meetings extended and so every soldier's training; including the shitennou and the prince's who began to revive their days as soldiers in training, waking up very early so they can begin with their day afterwards.

Even when everybody felt the tension was being minimized by the security plan the prince proposed and the constant visits from the three kings they knew this was only momentary and that could happen any time, any day.

Kunzite was walking towards the garden where the shitennou and several members of the army were training; since the date was only a few days close they needed to stay as sharp as they could all be because they knew it was going to be very different from other fights. The white haired man was about to cross the large doors when he heard that familiar voice; _her _voice.

"Kunzite"

Kunzite closed his eyes for a moment and then turned around, his eyes taking in her beauty he missed so much "Venus…" he said softly, then frowned in confusion "What are you doing here? Your Princess is not here if that is what you want to know…"

Venus blushed softly as soon as she noticed he was not wearing his usual uniform but something lighter, just a plain shirt, his pants and boots but what really made her blush was the fact that the shirt was damp from what it appeared was his sweat and it clung in just the right places letting her know, that underneath his impeccable uniform was an amazing toned body.

Venus nodded "I know" she said softly "I know she is not here"

Kunzite pushed his damp hair back with his hand and frowned, taking a step forward "Venusian girl…tell me what is wrong? If you are aware your Princess is not here then I do not understand what is that you are looking in this place…"

Venus' eyes met his "I need to speak to Prince Endymion"

Kunzite frowned "Endymion? Why?"

Venus pursed her lips "I need to speak to him…"

Kunzite crossed his arms "Why?"

"Kunzite…" she said softly.

"I am not asking you as his friend, I am asking you as his guardian. It is very strange for you to come and look for him…" his voice was low but very clear. Venus felt her heart pound in her chest "Things are getting complicated Kunzite, I know he will understand what I have to tell him…"

"Endymion is in the middle of his training…I cannot interrupt him"

"Kunzite please, it is very important and it is for his own sake as well…this is not only a wimp of mine; it is because I am protecting my Princess as much as you are protecting your Prince. You told me I should do what I needed to do…and that is what I am pretending to do" Venus sighed softly "Please Kunzite…please, even if I have to wait for him to finish his training…but I need to talk to him…"

Kunzite sighed and narrowed his eyes "Come with me…" he turned on his heel and entered the garden they were using as training field. It was large enough for all of them and as soon as they saw Kunzite walk in, several soldiers noticed he didn't came alone "Where is he?" he asked to one of the nearest soldiers; the blonde man took several breaths before responding "He just finished a while ago"

Kunzite nodded and spotted him right away; Venus watched in awe at all the clean moves the prince made with his sword, proving he was much more than just a plain royal; Zoicite turned to look at him and stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw her walking next to him "What?" Jadeite was next to react but didn't say a word for a few minutes "Where are they going?"

Kunzite opened one of the doors that led to one of the studies and stepped aside for her to walk in first "He has a meeting in half an hour, I will ask him to come in here first" he was about to leave when he felt her hand taking his "Kunzite…"

Kunzite turned "Venusian girl…I have the feeling that something is going to happen…and I honestly do not know how to react…I know what you visit means and I know I have to be prepared"

Venus intertwined her fingers with his and looked up at him "I have nothing against your Prince…but I have to do it"

Kunzite stayed silent for a moment then brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it softly "I have to go…I need to change my clothes as well and ask the Prince to come here"

Venus held the urge to hold him and kiss him with all her might but understood his position. Lowering her gaze, she nodded and let go of his hand "Thank you, Kunzite"

Kunzite nodded and began to walk away; he opened the door but didn't turned "She doesn't know you are here, am I correct?" Venus sighed softly and shook her head "No…" and that was all she said before she watched him close the door behind him.

After a little while, Kunzite finally found the prince walking toward the study where his father was probably waiting with the generals; he took a deep breath and continued walking "Endymion" he said out loud, making him stop and turn "Kunzite…" he frowned "Can you be present at this meeting, tell the rest, I want them to help me with some issues that are still unresolved"

Kunzite nodded; the prince's frowned deepened "Something tells me there is more I need to know"

"There is somebody here looking for you; it is very important" Kunzite said slowly.

Endymion arched a brow "I cannot attend anyone else I have several meetings today…could you reschedule?"

"This cannot be reschedule" Kunzite said.

"What is it Kunzite?" Endymion frowned again but since he did not get any other response from the general he let out a soft sigh "Where is this person?"

"At the library"

Venus walked around the large room full of books and read some of their covers, amazed by the complexity of their subjects. She could not deny the fact that she admired them because she did and very much and it hurt her everything that was happening because after all, she was aware that the love between those two was pure and real. But again, her duty as guardian had to come first.

Minutes after she heard the door open and turned; Endymion closed it and stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw her standing there in the middle of the room; his eyes slightly widened "Venus…" he said with his deep voice.

Venus looked at him "Prince Endymion" she stood there, her face was unreadable "You may be wondering what I am doing here…"

Endymion took a few steps forward and stopped; worry started to become evident in his face "Serenity…is she alright?"

"Yes" Venus answered softly.

The prince frowned and crossed his arms "What can I do for you Sailor Venus?"

Venus hesitated for a moment, but then, realized she had to do it in order to keep her princess safe "You probably find strange that she hasn't come to see you in the last couple of days…" she took a step closer "Yes, I know about her night escapades"

Endymion didn't show any surprise; a reaction she was definitely was not expecting from him. This was probably the first time she crossed more than defiant words with him and even though she knew about his strong character, she never imagined how serious and collected he could be when talking to him.

"Aren't you surprised?" she asked, puzzled.

"You already know how much we care for each other, that is out of the question and the mention of it is nothing new"

Venus sighed "We did not know she still escaped from home much less that she spent the whole night here with you…"

Endymion sighed and looked at her "You can go straight to the point with me Venus…"

"You two cannot be together" Venus snapped "This romance of yours has gone too far…and it has to end…you are not…" she trailed off.

Endymion frowned "I am not…what? An immortal like you?" he let out a soft chuckle "Unbelievable…" he shook his head and began to walk around the room "I am going to tell you the same exact thing I told Kunzite and the rest" he turned to look at her with a warning stare "This is our life. Our decision, it wasn't planned, it happened. I fell in love with Serenity, I love her more than anything and either they or all of you cannot break us apart, and I do not care if I have to fight half Olympus to prove it, I will do it for her"

"Do you think it is easy?" Venus frowned, finally exposing her frustration.

"No, no it's not easy…" Endymion frowned and crossed his arms "And I never said it was, but I would give my life for her if it is necessary, to keep her safe"

"Then let her go" Venus said.

Endymion narrowed his eyes "I won't let her go"

Venus widened her eyes, this reaction from his was something she was not expecting at all; he was being intimidating and for what she read in his aura he was telling the truth "Do you think I do not know? I know everything that happened while she was here every night. You think I do not know you slept together?" she took a step closer to him.

"I would never take advantage of her, _ever_…why is it so hard for you to understand that I love her?" he said.

"If the High Gods learn about this, they will harm her and kill you… her life is in danger every time she is here, every time she is with you, you…you are a threat to her…if you love her so much, let he go"

"I am not afraid Venus if that is what you think…I am not afraid of you or any other god up in the heavens…I know you think I am an insignificant mortal…but I really could care less"

"Exactly" Venus snapped "A mortal. A mortal who cannot give my Princess what she needs"

Endymion arched his brow "Do you even know what Serenity needs? What she _really_ wants? Do you even listen to her? Do you know about her dreams and fears?" he shook his head "You think the only thing we do is to sleep together, but the truth is that we are much more than that…"

Venus took a deep breath and braced herself for what she was about to do "Princess Serenity cannot be with you, not only because you are a mortal…but also because her hand has been given to somebody else" she cut him off.

Endymion froze, then frowned "What did you just say?"

Venus turned to look at him "Her hand has been given to somebody else…she is engaged to somebody else and there is nothing you can do about it"

Endymion felt his heart sink in his chest, not sure of how to feel or what to say. He felt he could lose his ground any minute, like if air was taken away from his lungs "That is not true"

"His name is Athamas. He is the Commander of the Moon Kingdom's army. He is the one chosen by the Queen to be my Princess' husband"

Endymion shook his head and tried to keep his posture intact "She would have told me…she…" he turned to look at her, the once blue shade of his eyes turned darker "You are lying"

"She did not tell you because she did not think that was important. She was not expecting to find love in this place…she was only coming here because she wanted to break the rules and see with her own eyes what this planet is about"

Endymion's eyes darkened "Are you saying I am a joke? An excuse to come here and explore…to do whatever you want because we do not share the same life quality? Is that what you are telling me?"

Venus noticed the tone of his voice became lower but after what she just said, she knew there was no turning back "She was engaged to him, there was a life planned…he is the one chosen to be the next King…"

"I don't care to be King or not!" he raised his voice, startling her "That was the last thing I ever cared about…I am with her because…"

"It is time to realize the truth of things…" Venus said softly, feeling extremely bad for what she was doing "But have you ever thought of what is going to happen once you cease to exist? What is going to happen to her? He is a man who can give her what she needs…and she is well aware of that"

Endymion ran a hand through his black hair "This cannot be happening…"

"You have to let her go, if you love her, let her go, let her continue with her life… it was because of you that all those plans stopped, she postponed her wedding because she was entranced with you…but do you even think it is fair?"

Endymion felt like if his heart was ripped off of his chest; he was not sure at what moment the blonde's voice began to turn a loud blur to his ears and mind. All he could think of was in the idea of the princess engaged and promised to be married to somebody else, a man, he was sure he heard about before. He could not believe Venus' words but what it hurt him the most was the fact that she lied.

"You said he is the Commander of your Army…" he said in a low tone.

"Yes"

Endymion nodded and lowered his gaze "Right… I see…Athamas is his name then, the man who does not believe in idealism"

Venus lowered her head and closed her eyes "You are right when you said I knew about the sincerity of your love…" she took a brief pause "And I know, I do know that she cares for you but that is not something you can call love, she is promised to somebody else…but you needed to know…why this could not continue any longer…"

"Then why are you the one doing this? Why is not her?"

Venus bit her lower lip "Because she is trapped in this dilemma, it's been almost a year…this just has gone too far"

"If she broke the engagement it is because she never loved him…" Endymion said, still not believing the blonde's words.

"She thought she did but then met you and felt liberated from her obligations, she thought coming here was fun…" Venus said "Her whole world changed…but this man was the one chose by the Queen and he asked for her hand first…" Venus sighed "Prince Endymion… it is because I know you love her and look after her, is why I am doing this…" she lowered her gaze "If the gods knows about this, they are going to hurt her…there is no point in risking your lives any longer…and if he learns about all this he will be very upset and who knows what he can do to her in anger…" she lowered her gaze "Prince Endymion he…"

Endymion shook his head and rubbed his temples "This is all too much…I…"

"Prince…" Venus said.

"It is a disgrace to play with people's feelings like this…" Endymion frowned "You think you can do whatever you want just because you hold divine power…that is the difference between you immortals and us… we live, we fall in love and we give everything for that person, even if it is our life…unlike you who laugh from everybody else's disgraces and feelings…" he sighed and ran a hand through his hair "I believe you said enough Sailor Venus…and…" he trailed off "I have to attend another meeting…" he turned to look at her "Is that all?"

Venus looked at him with sad eyes "Yes…"

Endymion clenched his jaw and nodded "Then there is nothing else to talk about" he looked at her and shook his head "There is anything else to say, excuse me" he turned on his heel and walked out of the room; Kunzite was already waiting for him in the hallway and frowned as soon as he saw Endymion's distorted face "Endymion?"

The prince turned to look at him "Where is everybody?" he asked coldly.

Kunzite's frown deepened "What happened?"

"Where _is _everybody?" Endymion raised his voice slightly, showing his annoyance.

"They are already in the study"

The prince turned and began walking towards the study in silence, but Kunzite wanted to know what happened; walking back to the library he opened the door and was surprised to see her still there and closed the door "What did you say to him?"

"Kunzite…"

"What did you say to him?!" Kunzite asked frustrated.

"I had to do it…" she began sobbing "I had to end this…it was the only way…"

Kunzite frowned "If this…affects us in any way during war, I will never forgive you…"

Venus widened her eyes "Are you going to defend him now?"

"I am always going to defend him Venus, always. He is my Prince and I swore my loyalty to him"

"And I swore mine to my Princess"

Kunzite's breathing became hoarse and heavy but he tried his best to maintain himself collected. The man shook his head and turned to leave but Venus tried to hold his hand in panic "Kunzite…you said I had to do whatever I needed to do to protect my Princess…"

Kunzite lowered his head "Please leave Venus…"

"Kunzite…" Venus said softly, still holding his hand, something that it didn't last for much longer. Kunzite frowned and moved his hand away "I said leave, leave Venus…you have nothing else to do here" he raised his voice slightly "It's over…whatever this was, it's over" he sighed and walked away, leaving her alone in the room. As soon as she heard the door close, her tears could not hold in place any longer and began rolling down her cheeks; her hands covered her face and began crying with deep feeling and great guilt.

She opened her blue eyes, slightly red from crying and bit her lip for a second "What have I done?" she whispered and turned panicked at the door where both men, the Prince and the man she loved crossed minutes ago "What have I done?!" she repeated.

Kunzite closed the door of the study where everybody was already discussing new plans and strategies for war; walking closer to the table where the king was speaking to some generals he searched for his prince and looked around with great worry until he spotted him, standing near a window and looking outside.

Jadeite came up to him and frowned "What the hell happened?" he whispered to the tall man, Kunzite shook his head and frowned slightly "Why?"

"What was she doing here?" the blonde asked, this time Zoicite and Nephrite joined the private conversation; Kunzite sighed "She came to speak with him…"

Zoicite widened his eyes "About what?"

Kunzite shrugged his shoulders "She wanted to have a word with him alone"

"We do not need to know much to tell it was not a good thing…" Nephrite said softly.

"What do you mean?" Kunzite frowned.

"His face is pale…" Zoicite said.

"This is not what we need right now…" Jadeite said.

"The recent plans are going to take action as soon as you see any difficulties, I talked to Rumalos here and he agrees" King Eros said and turned to his son "What do you think son?"

Endymion had his arms crossed and stood away from the rest of the men, his stare was lost in the distance, his mind reviving the conversation he just had with Serenity's guardian _[Her hand has been given to somebody else…and there is nothing you can do about it…his name is Athamas, he is the Commander of our Army…the one chosen by the Queen…] _

King Eros frowned with confusion "Endymion?"

Endymion widened his eyes and looked over his shoulder "Yes Father?"

Eros arched his brow "Is something the matter?"

Endymion frowned and shook his head "No Pater, you were saying…?"

The king sighed softly "I was telling our men here what it would be best for you to do in case the situation gets complicated; I was asking you what you thought about it?"

Endymion took a deep breath and walked over to them "We first need to see how are we going to fight this enemy…we do not know how big is the mob attacking us. The plan is set and I agree with Rumalos' and your suggestions" he cleared his throat as if he tried to regain his sanity "The soldiers have been training hard and nonstop, they are ready and so are we"

Rumalos nodded and turned to the king, the King gave his son a reassuring smile and nodded as well "Alright, then we just need to settle the departure date…you said you wanted to wait for something…"

Endymion frowned and shook his head "Me?"

Eros nodded "You said leaving after the winter ball was too soon, I thought about it and agreed with you"

Endymion lowered his head for a moment "I changed my mind" he looked at his father again "I do not know what I was thinking when I said that…"

Kunzite, Nephrite, Zoicite and Jadeite frowned and turned to look at each other with shock, then back at the prince. Endymion shook his head "You said we should leave after the winter ball and that is what we are going to do. Period"

"The ball is in less than a week" the king said "Are you sure?"

"I know that" Endymion said bluntly.

Eros frowned "Why the sudden change?"

"We cannot wait any longer…this has gone too far" Endymion said "And I do not have anything that stops me from going…"

King Eros arched his brow and crossed his arms "Very well, it is settled. You are leaving after the winter ball"

Endymion nodded and took a seat in silence, letting the rest of the people present give their opinions and ideas for the plan. The four shitennou moved closer and sat next to the prince in silence as well, Kunzite being the one who noticed the strange and drastic change in Endymion.

From time to time the prince opened his mouth just to say a few words and agree with some of the things his father commented, answered some questions and tried his best to keep himself calm even when inside he felt like he was about to explode.

The meeting continued all afternoon until the king thought it was enough for the day; standing up he stacked the papers he had sprawled all over the large table and sighed "I believe we covered pretty much everything today. It is settled, now we need to think of how we are going to keep the surroundings safe while the ball is on its course, but that is something we can settle tomorrow"

All men nodded and stood up from their seats and began leaving the room one by one; King Eros watched his son stare at the window in silence again and let out a soft sigh "Son, are you alright?"

Endymion widened his eyes and turned to look at his father "No, why?"

"You were unusually silent today at the meeting"

The prince shook his head "I think everything that we needed to cover tonight has been said…there was nothing else for me to add, the soldiers are ready and so am I"

King Eros crossed his arms "I know this is difficult son…"

"We need to do something Father, I need to do something" Endymion interrupted his father and stood up, walking toward the window again and looked away "…Is Mother still upset?"

Eros sighed and shook his head, walking around his desk and heading toward him, he shrugged his shoulders "Your Mother is worried…she is overwhelmed by everything that is happening…" he patted his shoulder "She is worried about you and so am I"

Endymion turned to look over his shoulder for a minute and then again out the window "I will be alright…I am used to this"

Eros pressed his lips together and nodded; turning to look at the shitennou as if he tried to ask them to talk to him because it was clear he had something troubling his mind "We should go and get ready for dinner…"

"I'm not hungry…" Endymion interrupted "You go on…"

Eros frowned "Son…is something wrong?"

Endymion shook his head and turned to look at his father, his eyes were dark and stormy. Millions of words crossed his mind, too many memories, too many words said; taking a deep breath for a minute, he let it out and shook his head again "No"

The king had an evident face of concern for his son but he knew that if he tried to convince him to speak, there would be a discussion; he knew very well that just like his mother, his son was not a person who liked to be constantly questioned. Nodding, he patted his shoulder again and headed for the door, as soon as the echo of it was heard; Kunzite was the first to stand up from his seat and walked over to his prince. He stood there next to him in silence for a few minutes, trying to formulate the perfect question, when he realized there would not be any perfect timing or perfect question he just asked it bluntly "What happened?"

Endymion stayed silence. Zoicite frowned and turned to look at Nephrite then back at the two men standing "Master…did something happened to the Princess?"

Endymion's jaw clenched, Kunzite was not sure if it was in anger, pain or frustration, but he noticed his body stiffened as well "Endymion…"

"I wish to be alone" he said slowly.

"Master, if there is…" Nephrite began but the prince turned and gave the man a cold look "I just wish to be alone"

"It is not a good thing if you keep things to yourself…it will only…" Jadeite began as well but again, he was soon interrupted by the prince "I do not want to talk, I don't want to give any explanations…I just wish to be alone!" Endymion said, his voice growing louder.

Kunzite turned to the three men behind and nodded his head letting them know what he was about to do. Zoicite answered the same way, already knowing what was about to happen; if there was anyone who was not afraid of confronting the prince when it came to this kind of situations was Kunzite, being the closest of the four, he was the only one besides Serenity who knew his most honest state.

Jadeite pressed his lips together and widened his eyes; Nephrite nodded and stood up, both following Zoicite outside the study. Kunzite took a deep breath and was taken aback by Endymion's cold voice "Why are you here?"

"Because I want to know what happened" Kunzite answered the same way "Endymion, I want to know what happened. I want to know what she said"

Endymion lowered his head "That is not of your concern"

Kunzite frowned "What?"

"You heard me Kunzite…" Endymion said between his teeth "But I will repeat it to you, that is not of your concern now…" he rested his head on the window "Leave me alone, get out"

Kunzite frowned "I won't"

"Get the hell out!" Endymion turned and growled in anger "To all of this…why do you care so much?"

"Because you are my friend Endymion, that's why!" Kunzite raised his voice "Because I've seen you being from here…" he raised his hand above his head "…To here…" he lowered it down to his waist "You were just fine this morning…worried, but fine…and now you are acting strange, it is obvious that you are angry and the only way that you could feel better is if you talk about it" Kunzite took a step forward "We cannot afford having you in this state right now, you are our leader and if your mind is not clear to think straight…then what are we going to do?"

Finally, his words made sense and began cracking Endymion's cold and silent shell. Sighing, he ran a hand through his midnight hair and looked outside the window "I'm angry because I have been stupid…"

Kunzite frowned "What do you mean?"

The prince lowered his gaze for a moment "I have been living a lie as a truth…there is nothing I hate more in this world than to be lied and to feel stupid…and I am going through both things right now"

"I don't understand… lied how?" Kunzite shook his head with confusion.

"Serenity is engaged…" Endymion let it out, and turned to look at him "…To somebody else"

Kunzite widened his grey eyes in shock "What?!"

"Her hand has been giving to another man, the Commander of their army…" the prince turned on his heel and walk over the desk, not really sure of why or what he was doing, he just felt like he needed to move to make the words come out more easily "…That is what she came to tell me, to give me another reason of why we cannot be together"

Kunzite's frown deepened [Venus…] "That cannot be possible…it doesn't make sense!"

"She was already engaged when we met…" Endymion said slowly "…My mortality was dragged into the conversation again, how I could not give her the kind of life she deserves, how he is the one chosen to be King...and how mad he could get if he finds out"

"Pff…like if you care about his feelings" Kunzite waved his hand.

"I don't" Endymion turned and looked at him "…But he can hurt her and that is not something I can permit, even when she lied to me"

Kunzite shook his head in disbelief "She…never mentioned him?"

"A few times, but she never mentioned him as her fiancée" the prince sighed "I am angry because I love her, I am angry because I am not capable of giving her the life that man probably will give her one day…" he shook his head and let out a long sigh "So there you go Kunzite, you all wanted me to be away from her, you can be tranquil"

Kunzite frowned and shook his head "You know we had nothing against her Endymion…"

Endymion shook his head again "I do not want to talk about this anymore…" rubbing the bridge of his nose, he took a breath and let it out "You are all excused, we will continue talking tomorrow about whatever is still unsettled" he turned and began walking towards the door; Kunzite still could not believe what happened but now he understood why Venus was so anxious and why she asked him several times not to hate her. This was why and he was not sure what to feel.

The prince closed the door behind him, leaving the leader of the shitennou alone. Sighing, he lowered his gaze and shook his head "You broke them apart Venus…" he whispered sadly to the nothingness.

O.o.o.o.o.O

Serenity turned to her side on the bed, her face showed worry, great worry and desperation. Since that talk with Venus, the girls haven't left her alone making it impossible for her to escape once again to Earth; Mercury stood next to her with a silver tray on her hands, her Prussian gown contrasted her fair skin but matched her short hair, her icy blue eyes could not mask the worry she was feeling, again, she was making her princess sad and that tormented her because she loved her dearly. Giving the silver haired princess a soft smile, she tilted her head "I brought you some tea, Princess"

Serenity opened her eyes and looked at her with no emotion, so unlike her. When she normally would give her a smile and a nod in response now all she could do was to look at her in silence, her lips curved into a frown "I do not want tea…" she said softly but coldly "What I want is to be left alone, to be respected"

"You are being respected My Princess" Mars said softly "But you just do not see it that way"

"Whatever Venus told you…"

"Princess…" Mars interrupted her and stood up from her seat "Venus loves you very much and so do we, you may not understand any of the things we are doing but it is for your own good…we are here, because we care for you"

Serenity turned to look at Jupiter then back at Mercury who, was still holding the tray in her hands "Have I gone mad, Mercury?" she whispered, her eyes searching into hers for some kind of answer. Mercury bit her lip softly and shook her head, sitting next to her on the bed, she put the tray aside and brushed back the princess' bangs with her fingers , revealing her lunar symbol "You are not mad Princess…you are only in love" she whispered back "But the situation is very difficult right now…we are not doing this because we do not care, or because we do not want you to be happy… but on the contrary"

Mercury could see in her princess the ghost of an understanding smile but it all disappeared once the door was heard again. Venus walked into the room with her face showing a mix of some sort of relief and what it seemed…remorse. Mars frowned and after a second arched her brow "Where were you?"

Venus turned her face from Mars to Serenity who was still seating on the bed; she hesitated for a moment before taking the courage to spill what she have done "I went to Earth" she answered dryly, as dryly as she could. Like magic words, it captured Serenity's attention and widened her eyes in shock; her hands began to shake softly. Mercury noticed Serenity's sudden reaction and watched her move away from the fluffy white bed where she was sitting next to her and frowned "What?" she managed to ask.

The girls widened their eyes in shock but let the scene develop by itself, what was going to happen it was now inevitable.

Venus looked at her "I went to see Prince Endymion"

Serenity's frown deepened "…Why?" she asked softly, scared…worried.

Venus stayed silent.

"Why?!" Serenity asked again, this time, with more desperation in her voice.

"I had to do it…" Venus said.

"What did you do?!" Serenity's cheeks began to flush.

"I spoke with him…" Venus took a deep breath "…It's over, Princess"

Serenity shook her head in disbelief "What are you saying?" she asked with trembling voice, Venus pursed her lips a little "What are you saying?!" she heard her princess ask again.

"I told him about Athamas. I told him you were engaged"

Mars widened her amethyst eyes in shock and turned to look at Venus with a panic expression, so did Mercury and Jupiter "I told him your hand was taken before you two met"

Serenity widened her eyes and shook her head "No…" she covered her mouth with both hands and could not help her eyes gleam with tears "No…no…" she whispered "NO!" she screamed, frustrated and walked over to her "What have you done?! How could you? That is a lie! That is a lie!"

"It is not a lie, Princess!" Venus raised her voice "That is the truth, you were engaged before you met him…and you broke that commitment"

"I broke it, because I did not love Athamas" Serenity said between her sobs "I did it because he broke my heart…he was seeing somebody else and I found out…"

Venus widened her eyes and then lowered her gaze "I told you this was something that was needed to be over…I told you this was going to be painful…" she raised her gaze and was shocked by Serenity's pain.

Venus bit her lower lip for a moment "He…"

"I could have expected this from anyone…" Serenity interrupted her "From anyone Venus…" she trailed off and tilted her head "…Except from you…"

She turned on her heel and walked toward the door, slamming the door behind her; Venus widened her eyes "Where are you going Princess?!" she asked out loud and followed her and so did the rest of the girls.

Serenity wiped her tears brusquely with the back of her hand and continued walking toward the staircase "I am going to see him…to tell him it is a lie made up by you"

Venus shook her head in panic and widened her eyes "Are you mad!?" she asked anxious.

"I do not care anymore!" Serenity raised her voice.

"Princess…please, lower your voice…" Mars said softly and looked at both sides of the corridor.

"I do not care anymore Mars, let them know! Let everybody know!" Serenity raised her arms up in the air "Love should not be something to be kept a secret…"

Jupiter began to panic as well and looked around to make sure there was nobody close and then turned to look at her princess "Princess please, you need to calm down"

"What Venus did…" she trailed off, new tears began to roll down her cheeks "…I am never going to forget you for this…you knew he loved me back…you always did…"

Venus stood there without any more words to say, she felt guilty because what Serenity was saying, was nothing else but the truth. He did love her, very, very much. Princess Serenity began feeling weak and all of the sudden everything for her went black; Jupiter acted quickly and caught her right before she hit the floor and carried her back to her room with Mercury following her behind.

Mars rubbed the bridge of her nose and shook her head "Venus…"

"I had to do it Mars…I had to…" Venus said with a voice so full of sadness; Mars sighed "But not like that…that was abrupt and cruel…you lied to him…"

"They stayed together all night…" Venus said "She managed her way down there and stayed with him all night…every night, since…I do not when…"

"How are we going to explain this to Her Majesty?"

Venus shook her head "I do not know…"

Mars sighed and rubbed her temples "He might be a mortal…but his love was true…you know it"

Venus turned "I know that Mars…but they come from two different worlds…he is a mortal, the Terran Prince…their love is forbidden…"

Mars lowered her gaze "How did he take it?"

"Bad…" Venus said softly "He was…" she trailed off "…His face was one of disbelief…then changed to one of hurt…we didn't speak much, he left right after I told him that…"

Mars shook her head and sighed again "This is just too sad…too painful…"

"She is never going to forgive me…" Venus said sadly, still holding her tears; Mars took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around the blonde "Let's give her some time…let's be with her…Come on"

Venus nodded and dried her tears with her hand "Yes…"

Mars gave the blonde a soft smile and nudged her softly, with her hand still around Venus' shoulders they began walking back to the princess' room in silence. The echoes of footsteps gave Kilmakos his cue to step away from the pillar where he was hiding, his lips curved slightly into a strange smile "So that is Princess Serenity's secret…now I know…" he whispered to himself.

The two senshi silhouette's were mirrored in his brown eyes "I have to tell Athamas…" he trailed off and took a deep breath "I have to tell him that…Princess Serenity's lover is nothing more and nothing less that the Prince of Earth…"

"…In order to save my family…"

* * *

_A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and messages. I hope you like this chapter, enjoy._


	107. Chapter 107

_I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters. Thank you._

_Divinity: A Question of Honor_

_Chapter one hundred and seven_

* * *

Endymion walked into his chambers not really realizing somebody was there; sighing he rubbed his temples and continued walking all the way to his bedroom.

"Endymion…"

The prince widened his eyes and stopped in mid track, turning to his side he found his mother seating on a chair with her hands elegantly resting on her lap; her burgundy gown lighting up her gorgeous and ethereal face.

"Mother…" he answered, startled "What are you doing here?" he asked.

The terran queen tilted her head, her brows knitted very slightly showing concern "You sound like if you were not so happy to see me…"

Endymion shook his head and ran a hand through his hair "No, it's not that…I thought you were having dinner with my Father, that is all"

Gaia took a deep breath and looked away "I did"

The prince arched his brow, crossing his arms he leaned himself on a wall next to the hearth "You are still mad at him, am I correct?"

Gaia arched her brow "That is something you should not be asking…when you obviously are feeling the same way…"

"What do you mean?" Endymion frowned.

"You tell me" Gaia said softly "Why are you so upset?"

Endymion stood there, frozen, thinking many things he could tell her of why he was so troubled, but it would be in vain to tell her a lie when he already knew what the main thing of his frustration was; he lowered his head and sighed softly "I am not upset"

Gaia looked at him, still with her brow perfectly arched "You are not?"

"Mother…" Endymion ran a hand through his hair again and turned to look at her "I would like to be alone…I am going to bed" he began walking away and just when he was just about to open his bedroom door, the queen stood up slowly and frowned "It is about Serenity…"

The prince widened his blue eyes and parted his lips slightly in surprise and turned to look at his mother; the queen began walking toward him in slow steps "It has something to do with Serenity, am I right?" she said softly, once she was standing in front of him; her hands caressing his chest in a motherly way.

Endymion frowned "How do you…" he blinked in amaze when his mother shushed him as she put her index finger on his lips "…Know it would be something related to her? It is very simple: I am your mother. I know everything about you" she put her hands on each side of his face and looked at him straight in the eyes "Your eyes show sadness to me…you have always kept your pain and worries a secret, since you were a little boy"

The prince looked down and stayed silent for a moment; Gaia caressed his cheek with one of her hands and tilted her head "Endymion?" she whispered "Look at me"

He stayed with his head low for another set of minutes before looking at his mother like she asked him to do; Gaia felt her heart break in millions of pieces when she saw his son with teary eyes. It was quite a surprise for her to see him in this state since he always knew how to keep himself collected and learned how to mask his emotions very well. But this time it was different, this time, he was not being the prince everybody knew and admired, he was being a man who happened to be in love and with his heart broken.

The terran queen looked at him sadly "What happened?" she asked again, softly in a whisper.

Endymion stayed silent for another moment and held her hands, shutting his eyes for mere seconds and pursing his lips he let out a soft sigh while bringing her hands up to his lips and kissed them tenderly "I really need to be alone Mother" he whispered, turned on and opened his bedroom door. Once he was inside he turned his face to look outside the window, remembering how many times she appeared in the beam of that soft light with that beautiful smile of hers, telling him how much she loved him.

This was going to be much harder than he thought. He walked to his bed slowly and sat on the edge, resting his head on his hands he took another deep breath and let it out.

Queen Gaia followed him and on the edge of the bed next to him and ran her hand through his dark hair. She could not help to feel a sense of guilt for what her son was going through, the more time it passed and the more she tried to protect him from any harm, the more she realized he suffered, but even if he knew the truth about him and her it was not going to make any difference, they were vetoed from Olympus and seen as traitors.

Endymion let out another breath, his bangs covered his eyes "It's over…" he said softly.

Gaia turned to look at him "What is?"

"Whatever Serenity and I had…is over"

The queen widened her eyes in disbelief "What?"

"I should have listened from the very beginning…I should have gone with my sense of logic and think this was never destined to have a happy ending" he chuckled sarcastically "It is absurd…now that I think about it, I acted like a stupid…I defended something that was impossible…because how can I…" he trailed off.

Gaia frowned "How can you what?"

Endymion pushed his hair back and looked away "I am a mortal Mother"

The queen lowered her gaze "You did not act like a stupid… when it comes to love; there are no boundaries" she let out a soft sigh "She loves you…"

Endymion chuckled the same way again and rolled his midnight blue eyes "Sure, of course she does…"

"She does" Gaia said again, this time with more certainty.

"Mother, please" Endymion turned to look at her "Do not tell me you are going to speak for her"

"I am only stating something I know and witnessed"

Endymion shook his head and stood up "I thought I knew as well"

"Why are you talking like this?" Gaia frowned.

"She is engaged"

Gaia widened her hazel eyes again with the same sense of disbelief "What?" she shook her head "What did you say?"

Endymion looked at his mother "Serenity is engaged"

"But…no…" she shook her head again "That is not possible"

"The point is that, she is engaged to somebody who is more prepared…more capable of giving her what she deserves" the prince said, this time with great sadness in his voice. His words made the queen furious "What are you telling me? That you are not?!" she raised her voice slightly "That you are inferior to him?! Is that what you are saying?!"

"We were not supposed to be together, I should have stopped it…" Endymion said, almost angry.

Gaia frowned "Who told you she was engaged?"

"Does it matter?" Endymion frowned "She lied to me"

"Of course it matters!"

"Why are you even defending her?!" Endymion asked with sudden rage "Why are you taking her side?"

Gaia narrowed her eyes "Who, are you?" she shook her head upset and slightly dissappointed "Since when you have become so judgmental? You are acting like if you did not know her!"

"Apparently I don't" Endymion snorted "I am angry because I hate to waste my time…more than broken hearted I am angry because I was being fooled with lies; I am angry because that time…could have been put to a better use instead of falling in love or whatever this is"

"I did not raise you to be like this" Gaia snapped "I raised a boy with a kind heart…a noble, fair man, not a madman"

"Mother"

"I understand you are hurt" Gaia walked over to him and placed her hands on each side of his face "But you are not thinking straight…your heart is a mess right now but I know that deep inside you know it is not true, you know she did not lie to you and you know how much she loves you…" her eyes showed that comprehension he only could get from her "Open your eyes Endymion…listen to your heart not just your mind…not everything in this life can be resolved by thinking with a cold head, you need the fire in your heart to fight for what you want, you have to fight, you are a fighter Endymion, I taught you to be a fighter"

"How do you know for sure? You just met her once…" he said.

The queen gave him a soft smile "That was enough for me to know her"

Endymion frowned, confused; the queen shook her head "I recognized that look in her eyes…that smile…I've seen it before. That is proof enough for me to know she is madly in love with you..."

"Where?"

Gaia smiled again and caressed his face "Do not let your heart be clouded by deception. Do not hurt yourself this way…do not torture yourself anymore" she tilted her head "Don't you love her?"

"Of course I do" Endymion said and went to sit back on his bed, running his hands through his hair "But this is too much for me…she could have told me there was another person…it is not just the fact that she is engaged Mother, is the fact that she kept that from me…she could have told me and I could have understand it…we both knew this was not going to be easy…but we were willing to find a way to be together" he looked at her "That is what hurts me, the fact that she never mentioned it, now, I know she won't be coming back…I made myself very clear when I spoke to this person and I am sure she will inform her what happened" he sighed and looked away "I am angry at myself…I should have been preparing myself for…" he trailed off and turned to look at his mother, with a look that recognized he just said a little too much.

Gaia crossed her arms and sighed "War"

The prince nodded and looked down "I have so many things to do…I have an enormous responsibility on my shoulders, I do not have the time to think about this and here I am weeping like a little boy who just lost his toy"

"You sound so much like your Grandfather…" Gaia looked away.

Endymion looked at her startled "What?"

Gaia shrugged her shoulders and kept looking away "…It's in your genes to be this prideful…" she looked at him again "I know it, because I am that same way…"

"Mother?"

"But the truth is Endymion…" she turned on her heel and walked to the bed where she reclaimed her previous sitting spot "That even the strongest warriors are allowed to cry once in a while and admit their feelings, I've learned that over the years and you should too"

Endymion frowned "Mother…?"

"Yes dear?"

He turned to look at her with a puzzled face "You did not say anything when I said I was a mortal…you did not ask me what it that had to do with all of it"

The queen arched one brow and raised her hand in expectation "Does it?"

"Mother, there is a reason why this is so complicated…"

Gaia sighed and looked away "I know dear" she turned her face, her eyes finding his and showed reassurance "I know why"

Endymion frowned "You do?"

Gaia nodded "I have known since the moment I met her"

"Then why can't you understand my point?"

Gaia sighed again "Because you, are as capable of giving her anything she needs as that man…and even more"

"I am a mortal" Endymion arched his brow.

"You are a warrior" Gaia stated.

"So is he"

The queen frowned and crossed her arms "Since when you like to play the role of a victim? It does not suit you…"

Endymion widened his eyes "I am not…"

"Oh yes you are" Gaia rolled her eyes "Those are not the words of a warrior"

"Why do you keep saying that? I am a soldier, just like anybody else"

"You are a Polemarchos Endymion" Gaia said, with a stronger voice. Secure of herself, proud of her and her son's legacy.

"According to who? Yes, you have called me that many times…and some of the soldiers but…who…"

Gaia arched her brow and looked at the sword on his belt "Remember when I gave you _that_ sword?"

Endymion looked at it "Yes…"

"Do you remember what I said to you that day?"

The prince pursed his lips for a moment "You said that it was a sword made for warriors…that it belonged to my great grandfather, my grandfather and you…"

She nodded "That sword is sacred" she gave him a small smile "To be a warrior Endymion…you need much more than just courage to face all the obstacles life can put on your path, it needs heart, passion, belief…since you were born you let us know you had all those qualities. Being who you are now it is not a matter of need or wanting, it is faith and that makes you a Polemarchos"

Endymion sighed in defeat, the little boy she knew he still had deep inside began to resurface. Walking slowly toward his bed he sat next to her and slowly rested his head on her shoulder while wrapping his arms around her waist "Without you I would be nothing" he whispered.

Queen Gaia was moved by his words and all the scene developing between them; it had been such a long time since they shared a moment like this, reminding her of those days sitting under the cherry tree. Her eyes began to gleam with tears and it did not take long for one to roll down her cheek.

She put her arm around his shoulders and kissed him softly on his head "No dear, without you…I would be nothing, _we all_ would be nothing…"

Endymion sighed "Please don't stay mad at Father…he is just doing what he has to do in order to keep everybody safe"

Gaia looked up at the ceiling as if she was trying to hold her new tears from falling and took a deep breath "I know that dear..."

"I promise I will be back"

Gaia closed her eyes and tightened her arm around his shoulders "I know dear…and I will be here waiting for you"

"Promise me you will continue taking your medicines"

Gaia opened her eyes and bit her lower lip "Endymion…"

"…Mama"

The queen sighed "Alright, I promise… it is not like I have another option. Aurea is after me all the time"

Endymion smiled sadly "I will miss you all"

Gaia looked down at him "Come home soon" she pressed her lips together "When are you leaving?"

"After the ball"

"After?!" Gaia widened her eyes.

"The next day" Endymion moved away and sat straight, regaining his posture as a collected man.

"Why so soon?"

Endymion turned to look at her "The sooner we get there, the fastest we all come home. Father proposed it"

"Ah…" Gaia pressed her lips together and looked absently.

Endymion raised her brow "And I agreed"

The queen turned to look at him again immediately "You?"

Endymion nodded "I signed the papers"

"But the ball is in less than a week…"

"I know"

Gaia frowned "When were you going to tell me such an important matter?"

Endymion sighed "If you weren't upset with my Father…you would have known"

The queen bit her lower lip "One day…you will understand…" she patted his thigh softly "I will talk to him…" she said in defeat. The prince gave his mother a warm smile "Thank you"

"Even if it is against my will"

"When you mentioned you were prideful…you were not lying" Endymion arched his brow.

Gaia sweat dropped and pursed her lips "Yes, and you are just like me"

Endymion widened his eyes; the queen smiled warmly "I know she will come…"

The prince threw himself back on the bed and fixed his eyes on the ceiling "You are defending her…" he said softly, slightly amazed; the queen recognized his tone and arched a brow "What?"

"Nothing…it is strange for you to defend somebody…"

Gaia widened her eyes and lay down next to her son, her long dark hair sprawled around her head like a crown "I have my own reasons…I am not defending her; I am trying to make you understand"

Endymion sighed "There is too much in my mind right now…I do not know if I can handle it"

The queen nodded "You can…and you will"

"How do you know that?" Endymion frowned; his mother smiled softly "Because…you are stronger than you think"

Endymion moved his hand trying to find hers and held it, intertwining his fingers with hers he let out a soft sigh and closed his eyes "I missed this" the queen smiled and blinked slowly until she closed hers as well "Me too"

Without even realizing it, they both fell asleep.

O.o.o.o.o.O

Followed by a sigh, Kunzite closed the door of his room and walked in until he reached the nearest sofa and sat. His hands covered his face as he tried to absorb all the information given to him by his prince; sighing again he did not even realize he was not alone in the room until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Kunzite"

The white haired man widened his eyes and moved quickly "Who the…?" he trailed off as soon as he saw Zoicite, Jadeite and Nephrite standing a few feet away from him "…Hell…what are you doing here?"

Zoicite crossed his arms "We were worried about what happened today with Endymion"

Kunzite lowered his gaze and sat again on the sofa; pursing his lips for a moment before speaking "Yes…" he sighed. Jadeite arched one brow "Did you talk to him?"

Kunzite nodded and rested his chin on his hands, Nephrite frowned "What happened?"

Kunzite raised his head and looked at them, Jadeite sighed and sat across from him on a chair "I would not be surprised if that girl had to do with it…"

Kunzite widened his eyes "Venus…"

Nephrite sat next to Kunzite "She did?"

The man sighed and ran a hand through his hair "The Lunar Princess in engaged…to somebody else, she came to tell this to Endymion"

Jadeite widened his eyes "What?"

"Engaged?" Zoicite blinked several times in shock "How can that be possible?"

Kunzite shrugged his shoulders "Apparently it is…that is what she came to tell him"

The blonde bit his lower lip and shook his head "Do you think it is true?"

"Does it really matter?" Kunzite asked "One way or another this romance had to be ended"

"Then why are you so upset about this?" Nephrite asked.

"Because…" Kunzite lowered his gaze and sighed again "He really cares for her and whether we like it or not, she has become a very important person to him…and even when we are aware of the difficulty of the relationship they used to have…we had nothing against the white Princess"

"How is he?" Zoicite asked softly.

Kunzite shook his head "Angry…frustrated…concerned" he looked at him "Hurt"

"Do you think it is true?" the blonde asked again, narrowing his eyes "Maybe it is something she invented to break them apart"

"Endymion does not have the time for this kind of soap operas… we are about to leave for war and he is our leader…this news…came at the most inappropriate time…" the first in command said with a worried tone in his voice; he sighed again "I do not know if it is true or not…it is hard for me to believe she managed to lie to him so easily..."

Jadeite sighed again and put his arms behind his head as he leaned on the back of his chair "What is going to happen now?"

All four men fell silent for a moment, giving Kunzite the time to think and formulate the most appropriate answer for them to hear "Endymion is smart enough to put this drama aside and continue with the plan…but, we cannot deny the fact that this is affecting him greatly"

Zoicite rubbed his temples for a moment and looked away "I cannot believe this is happening…"

"We still need to keep our guard up" Nephrite's words startled the rest of the shitennou "It is now clear that the Princess was not the danger approaching our Prince"

"Are things remaining the same? Are the stars continuing telling you how he is in danger?" Kunzite asked concerned; Nephrite sighed and nodded "The star of Leo remains the same…"

"We never thought the Princess was the treat" Jadeite said.

"We did, once…" Zoicite said softly "But it was perfectly clear the passion those two had for one another that the possibility of her being the one hurting our Prince became null"

"I could say it might be this enemy…the one we are going to fight" Jadeite said and shrugged his shoulder "But we do not even know who this person is…and what does it wants"

"This war…" Nephrite said softly and trailed off, walking over the window, he looked up to the sky that became to shine with thousands of stars like diamonds in a black velvet canvas "This enemy…has something against him…I am sure this enemy is different from the rest we have fought in the past…"

Kunzite narrowed his eyes "What do you mean?"

Nephrite turned to look at Kunzite "It feels different…we must keep our guard up"

"What is going to happen?" Jadeite asked to the silence that suddenly fell in the room like a deafening blanket, his voice was full of worry and confusion, something you did not get to see from the soldier very often considering he was known to be sarcastic and with a bubbly personality. Nephrite sighed and turned to look at the blonde then at Kunzite "Whoever or whatever is coming our way…it will change our lives…apparently forever…"

"You've seen it, right?" Kunzite asked.

Nephrite lowered his gaze, making the older soldier grow even more worried "Nephrite…?"

Zoicite frowned "What did you see?"

The chestnut haired man pursed his lips and turned to look at them with a worried look "Our stars are no longer shining…"

Zoicite widened his eyes "What do you mean by that?"

Nephrite looked outside and bit his lower lip for a moment "There are four stars next to the star of Leo...they are no longer shining…" he turned to look at them "Not like they used to…"

"So it means something will happen to us…" Jadeite said in a defeated tone.

"It is telling us that we, must be careful and do whatever we can to protect our Prince because what is coming is something very strong…powerful…" Nephrite said softly and looked away "They are telling me something is about to start…a long fight, a war very different from others…"

"Do you think it might have something to do with the Gods?" Zoicite asked and turned to look at Kunzite who was already shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders "I do not know anymore…" he sighed and scratched his nose, then looked down "If they already knew something, they would have done something already…why waiting so much to act? It does not make any sense…"

"We are alone in this…" Zoicite said slowly "They are not going to help us…" he looked down "The only one who can…" he trailed off; Kunzite nodded and pressed his lips together before nodding again "…Is Endymion"

"Will he ever know?" Jadeite asked out of the blue.

The three other men looked at each other then at him "What?" Zoicite asked.

The blonde sighed and ran a hand through his hair "The truth… will he ever know? He is practically one of them and he doesn't even know…"

"There must be a good reason the Queen does not want him to know…" Nephrite said "We are not to question her…"

"What really bothers me…" Jadeite stood up and walked around the room with a hand curled on his chin in thought "Is how he has been treated all this time…when he is clearly something else even though, we haven't seen him doing something immortals would do…"

"I have"

Jadeite stood with his mouth open in surprise "When? What did you see? Does he have divine power then?"

Kunzite rubbed his hands and nodded "The first time I witnessed it was one of those nights we fought and got hurt" he raised his head and looked out the window "He summons the power of this planet, he channels that energy and can see and feel things through touch"

"Unbelievable…" Zoicite muttered in shock.

"But he also is a superb fighter…the way he does it is very different from us even when we had the same training…" Kunzite said "We have to protect him and because in case we fail…he is the one that needs to still be standing, even if he goes against us. He is the Protector of this planet…"

"It is almost time…" Jadeite said while looking outside the window "…To fight again…"

"This is why we trained so hard" Zoicite said softly.

"Are we ready?" Jadeite asked, startling the other three men; Zoicite frowned "Jadeite?"

Jadeite turned to look at Kunzite with a serious face "Are we?"

Kunzite sighed "We have to…" he looked down at his hands "…We have to…"

O.o.o.o.O

The room was quiet, it was almost like being in a bubble; everything sounded like a blur. She could hear voices in the background but she could not really put them together.

Serenity opened her eyes slowly and tried to adjust them to the soft light of the candles, frowning she felt like if she had been trapped in this nightmare where she couldn't get out no matter how many times she tried. She felt tired, her body ached and so did her head; she moved her head to the side and saw nobody around and then tried to sit straight while putting a hand on her forehead as a way to try to diminish the pain.

Her body suddenly stiffed as she felt somebody sitting on the bed next to her; moving her hand away she felt her heart sink in her chest as she saw her blonde guardian watching her silently. It was until she looked into her eyes when she realized what was happening and reality hit her; it was not a nightmare…it was real.

She couldn't look at her for too long before she moved her head, looking to the other side right where her balcony doors let her see the blue orb hanging in the night sky. Her hands began to tremble and so did her lips as she tried with all her might not to break into sobs again.

She could not say a word, she could not express anymore than she already did. Serenity understood where the pain did come from and why she felt so empty and so hurt, confused also and frustrated. A single tear started to roll down her cheek catching the blonde's attention, she tried to move closer and wipe it off her delicate face but the princess moved away again.

Venus lowered her head, trying to hide her teary burning eyes and stayed silent for a moment. She felt the hurt and coldness from her princess and bit her lower lip as she tried to reason in her head, too many questions echoed in her mind as she tried her best not to break in front of her, what done is done and there was no turning back. Kunzite probably knew by now what she told the prince and might be as angry at her as the prince with her princess and then again, the million dollar question came to her mind again _'Did I do the right thing?'_

'_Will she ever understand that it was not because I had something against him…but for her own safety?'_

'_Will she ever forgive me?'_

'_Will he ever forgive me?'_

Venus bit her lower lip with more force and knit her brows together _"Will I ever see him again?"_

They stayed like that for what it seemed an eternity, each minute that passed felt colder than the last one and none of them knew what to do next or what to say. They were both hurt at this time; they both hurt each other very much.

Serenity was too tired to argue, too tired to cry and all she could do right now was to stay still and wait for the right time to come for her and take her to the nothingness of the underworld. She felt betrayed, like if she was stabbed with crystal shards on her back and chest and there was nothing else for her to do or say, something that was strong inside of her began to break into tiny pieces.

Without any more forces to even do a thing against her guardian and friend she turned to look at her and waited for her to look her in the eyes as well. Venus raised her head and looked at her with sad eyes and it was just before she could say anything the rest of the girls came in breaking whatever was about to happen in that moment.

Mars was the first to come into the room and felt the uneasiness between those two as she tried to come close to the princess who, just as she did with Venus moved away. Mars pressed her lips together and sighed softly as she saw Venus sitting next to the white woman.

The princess lowered her head and slowly lay down again on the bed and stayed quiet as if nothing ever happened, as if she never met them, as if she did not know they were there next to her watching her sob.

Venus was about to move closer but felt Mars' hand on her shoulder and stopped; closing her eyes she nodded and stood up slowly and walked away from the bed. Her cornflower blue eyes looked into Mars' amethyst ones and sighed sadly; Mercury hugged herself as she saw her princess on the bed as if she was lifeless, her bubbly and kind persona has been usurped by another spirit. She could not help to tear as she tried to come closer to her but just like Venus, Mars stopped her.

Jupiter was the only one that waited in the living room; it was too painful for her to watch her princess this pale and almost invisible. Minutes after the three joined her as Mars closed the door slowly behind her and sighed; they all stayed in silence for a couple of minutes before one of them could really say something to break this awful and heavy silence.

"She is…" Mercury said softly "…Disappearing"

Venus crossed her arms and hung her head down, her hand soon came up to cover her eyes as she began to cry softly; the girls went up to her and hugged her "Venus…" Jupiter said softly "It is not your fault…"

The blonde raised her head and looked at the ceiling "It is…I broke them apart…I am the one who did this…"

"You did it for a reason, not because you had something against him. Not because you did not see any love surrounding them" Mars said softly "Do not torture yourself this way…"

"What am I going to say to the Queen?"

"Maybe this is probably the time to tell her the truth…" Mercury said "To tell her what really happened…she will understand"

"We failed…I failed as guardian…" Venus said softly "Look at her!"

"She needs time…" Mars said.

"She needs time to recover… Mars is right" Jupiter said softly.

Venus shook her head "With Athamas here…"

"He will have the road free now…" Mars said slowly.

Venus lowered her gaze "I hope he will stop investigating now that our Princess is no longer seeing _him_…"

Jupiter sighed "It is Athamas we are talking about…he is not going to stop until he wins Princess Serenity's heart"

"Like if he ever will…"

Mars, Venus and Jupiter widened their eyes and turned to look at Mercury who was leaning on the door with her arms crossed "He is never going to be the man she wants in her life…not after everything that happened" she turned to the girls and then to Venus "We eventually, will have to tell Queen Serenity the truth about everything that happened or she will…"

"Mercury…" Venus mouthed.

Mercury shook her head "This is not a question of honor anymore but a one of love…we are resting importance to that man who was the one capable of making her happy" she lowered her gaze and sniffed softly "I can't stand to see her like this…I prefer a million times more to let her be with the mortal prince and see her happy than this miserable"

Venus sighed and rubbed her temples "We will just have to wait some time…we need to give her time…"

Mars was about to say something when she noticed Jupiter's eyes widened and turned widening her own eyes as well in surprise. Queen Serenity was walking their way, obviously towards her daughter's room and frowned slightly when she saw them standing outside in the hall "Girls?" she asked softly, once she stopped in front of them.

The girls bowed their heads in respect and felt their hearts race at an incredible pace. The lunar queen tilted her head and shook it slowly "What are you doing gathered here at the hall?"

Venus widened her eyes and bit her lower lip. Queen Serenity frowned "Is something the matter?"

Venus was about to give in and tell the queen what happened and let destiny and the gods decide what to do to her soul, for a moment she felt weak and like she could not longer continue fighting against something so strong. Her heart was racing and her hands almost sweated, this was it. It was time to tell the woman in white everything she knew and everything she have done. Mars felt desperation and turned to Venus and gave her a worried look, somehow she knew what was about to happen and shook her head and turned to look at the queen "No"

Venus widened her eyes and turned to look at Mars; Mars on the other side was not sure what to tell the queen next but one thing was for sure, Venus was not going to blame for everything that happened. She had suffered enough.

"No, Your Majesty" she repeated, this time more calm and collected "We just left Princess Serenity alone, she was extremely tired so we thought it was best if we left her alone for tonight"

"Is something the matter with my daughter?" the queen asked, showing concern.

Mars blinked a couple of times "Your Majesty?"

Queen Serenity sighed softly "I know I haven't been as much as I would like to with all these meetings and audiences…the only time we have for us is when we have dinner but these past few days I've been sensing my daughter is a little absent…worried…" her face changed into one of worry "I have this constant feeling…like if she wants to tell me something…something important…but there is always something the stops her from doing it…" she lowered her gaze "I feel like I am not listening to what she has to say…" she raised her gaze again and looked at the girls "Has she ever mentioned anything to you?"

"Has she ever mentioned anything Your Majesty?" Venus asked softly.

The queen sighed softly and hugged herself "Serenity has shown a maturity she did not have...she had become more independent, stronger… sometimes defiant and defends her beliefs with all her might, it is astonishing but I don't know what made her change her mind, she constantly defies Athamas…she speaks like if she knew somebody who could actually do Athamas' work better…" she sighed "She needs to understand that he only wants to look after her…"

"Your Majesty…" Venus trailed off and bit her lower lip "…Is General Athamas the only man for Her Highness?"

The queen looked at the blonde and took a deep breath "Not the only one Venus, Athamas…" she trailed off and looked away "He is not the man I had first in mind…"

The four girls widened their eyes in surprise; the queen's words were extremely unexpected. Mars frowned "He was not?"

Queen Serenity shook her head, Venus shook her head in disbelief "But then…who was Your Majesty? Can we know?"

The white queen smiled sadly and lowered her gaze "Athamas has the preparation and the skills to one day become a warrior"

"Warrior…" Mars widened her eyes "Queen?"

Queen Serenity gave Mars a soft smile and turned to her daughter's door "Go and get some rest…" she turned to look at Venus and the rest of the girls "I will be here"

Mercury turned to look at Jupiter who, turned to look at Venus who, was licking her lower lip in a nervous fashion "Your Majesty…"

Queen Serenity shook her head "I know she is asleep…I just want to be with her for a little while…"

The blonde guardian pressed her lips together for a moment and had no other choice but to nod in defeat, maybe this was the time Princess Serenity needed with her mother, the time to tell her the truth about everything that has been happening all this time. Her heart began beating fast in her chest, scared and desperate to know what was going to happen to her and the girls after the queen learns about their fail; she felt Mars' hand on her shoulder reassuring her everything was going to be alright whatever her decision was.

The four girls watched the queen walk in to the room and as soon as the door closed, they all sighed in defeat and worry.

Queen Serenity looked around the princess' room and was startled to see it in shadows, it was strange to come in and be welcomed by darkness, especially in the room of the lightest and most beautiful being in the universe, _her_ universe. She walked slowly, trying not to trip with a chair and wake her up until she reached for her bedroom door and pushed it aside slowly.

There she was, her precious flower, laying on her bed in silence. The soft light coming from the small white candles on her nightstand gave that warm touch that made her look even more beautiful. The queen didn't even bother to say something to try to wake her up but she only smiled softly and went to sit next to her on the bed. Her fingers slowly began combing her long silver blonde hair and took a deep breath as she watched her back.

Serenity opened her eyes slowly as soon as she felt her mother's hand on her head and stayed like that in silence for several minutes.

The queen sighed and kept looking down at her hand while she combed her hair "I know I haven't been with you as much as I would love to…and I am so sorry my dear…but I am doing the best I can…I need to keep this place safe from any harm…any threat"

The princess blinked a couple of times and bit her lip. Queen Serenity tilted her head "I am doing what your Father would have done for us if he was here..." she trailed off and then took another breath "I miss him so…"

"I wish I knew what is happening my dear… why your eyes don't hold that gleam…why you are so distant and defiant toward Athamas…toward me…"

This was enough for Serenity to turn her head slowly and meet her mother's eyes. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes and then moved to a sitting position on the bed; the queen looked at her and frowned "Why my dear?"

Serenity sighed softly and lowered her head; she was tired so very tired. On one side she wanted to scream in desperation and to see if that was going to set her free but on the other side, the thought of her guardians and friends came to her mind.

The princess had very present what could happen to them in case she opened her mouth to speak, she thought about them and about the people on Earth, she thought about the shitennou and she thought about Endymion. Her eyes moved as if she was trying to find something in her mother's; as if she tried to make a connection with her and make her understand everything without having to tell her anything but it was futile.

She licked her lips slightly and lowered her gaze in defeat then sighed softly "I suppose I am tired…"

The queen frowned "I do not understand"

Serenity kept looking tired "I am tired of feeling trapped…" she raised her head and looked at her mother "Like I am being watched all the time…"

Queen Serenity widened her lavender eyes slightly "But you have everything here…how can you feel trapped?"

Serenity turned her head to the side and watched the blue planet in the distance "I have been living in a place where nothing is completely real…beautiful, ethereal yes…but, still a cage…" she turned to her mother "A silver cage"

The queen frowned with worry "Why are you telling me this dear? What is happening?"

Serenity pushed her bangs away from her face and opened her mouth but again, restrained herself from saying something that could harm her guardians. Even when they acted the way they did, especially Venus she loved them and they were the closest people to her since a very long time; she did not only considered her guardians or senshi, they were her friends and it also frustrated her how their relationship had to be affected by their duty, by their obligation concerning her safety.

She sat on her bed, her elbows rested on her knees as she looked down again in defeat; she did not know how to hold all what was echoing in her mind at the very moment and let her tears take over her eyes and heart again, no longer sure how much she was going to take it.

Queen Serenity moved closer to her daughter "I feel like this is my entire fault somehow"

Serenity widened her eyes and looked at her mother "Mother…"

The queen shook her head "Have I been a terrible mother to you, Serenity?" her voice quivered a little, startling the princess "Mother" she whispered.

Queen Serenity wiped her tears with the back of her hand "I know this have been difficult for us dear, it has been only us two facing the universe…and I know I haven't been there as much as I should, as much as I would love to be but everything I do is in order to prevail our legacy…and keep alive what your Father started"

Serenity bit her lower lip softly and wrapped her arms around her mother in a warm embrace "Mother…I know and I understand that…" she whispered "But what I do not understand is how I am not allowed to go away from these walls" she moved away slightly "Why am I being kept here? After all these years why is it I cannot leave this place even for a couple of hours?"

Queen Serenity pressed her lips together for a moment and held her daughter's hands "Because…you are my precious jewel…" she looked at her "You are a treasure to this universe and I cannot let anything happen to you"

"Is there something wrong with me?"

The queen widened her eyes "Wrong? Dear, of course not!"

"Then…why?" Serenity narrowed her eyes.

Queen Serenity sighed and looked away for a moment "We come from a very respected dynasty, one different from many others…we are probably just one of the few that hold a special kind of power…" she turned to look at her daughter who, had a face of confusion "Power?" she asked; the queen nodded "For centuries, our family has protected a sacred stone that has the power to unleash a very strong power...The Silver Crystal"

Serenity widened her eyes "Silver Crystal"

The queen nodded "That stone has belonged to your great grandmother, your grandmother and me, but soon…when you take the throne as Queen, you will be the next carrier, you with time will learn how to use it and free it's power….but with only good intentions. That stone must never fall into the wrong hands or it could cause a catastrophe"

Serenity narrowed her eyes this time "What kind of power posses this stone?"

"One incredibly strong, wanted by too many"

The princess narrowed her eyes and frowned "How come you never mentioned it to me before? That I was the heir of it…that I needed to learn how to use it one day"

"Because you were not ready dear" said the queen "And your time to use it is not here yet…"

Serenity frowned "My time?" she shook her head "What is the purpose of this stone Mother? Why is it wanted by many? Why is it very important?"

The queen turned her face away and looked outside the large window at the blue planet in the distance and stayed silent for a few seconds before licking her lower lip softly "The Silver Crystal is very powerful, it has a purifying energy…but if it is used with bad intentions it could be disastrous" she sighed "The stone must be used to protect our people, the Alliance and the galaxy…"

Serenity lowered her gaze "Then it is because of that stone that I am not allowed to leave this place…"

Queen Serenity frowned "Why do you say it with so much resentment?"

Serenity held the urge to start crying again with all her might, her delicate hands grabbed the silky covers in a tight fist "Because I want to leave this place…" Serenity raised her head "Because I know there is so much more to see…real life, real trees…real breeze"

The queen narrowed her lavender eyes "Real life?"

Serenity widened hers realizing she was saying more than she wanted. The queen looked at her daughter in silence and then grabbed her hand "You will understand one day…" she whispered "I love you dear with all my heart and soul…and I do not wish anything more than to see you happy…I've seen you turn into this independent and regal lady but you need to cope with me and see for the interests of your people, of this kingdom and your life as well"

The princess sighed and lowered her gaze "By interests you are trying to say I should give Athamas another opportunity"

Queen Serenity looked at her "Dear, open your eyes…do not be so stubborn…realize that he means no harm…he wants to be with you and he is the best man we can have as leader of this kingdom once I am gone…he is the one capable of protecting you, the one who can reign fairly by your side, the one who can help you protect the crystal once you become it's guardian…the one who will built with you a new reign, a new world…a crystal world, made of dreams"

Princess Serenity felt as if air was escaping her lungs, her lips began to tremble and as she tried to maintain herself collected, her feelings were starting to betray her as soon her eyes began to shine with tears. Turning her head away, she let out a soft sigh and stood up slowly and walked toward her balcony doors "A new world…" she whispered and closed her eyes, letting her tears starting to fall slowly down her cheek.

The queen watched her daughter's back with sadness, tilting her head she sighed softly "Sometimes…we have to fulfill our duties before anything else in order to be happy afterwards…sometimes we must sacrifice things in order to be alright" she stood up and walked over her daughter and wrapped her arms around her "I do not know what you are sacrificing…but something or _someone_ is impeding you to move on and to take the next step, whatever it is…let it go"

Serenity widened her eyes and bit her lower lip, then closed her eyes [_Endymion…]_

Queen Serenity pressed her slender fingers against her daughter's shoulders and kissed her head softly "Love will find its way just…" she took a deep breath "…Be patient…open your heart…"

Serenity kept biting her lip and soon felt her shoulders cool down by the absence of her mother's hands around them. without turning her head, she heard the queen walk slowly toward the door and closed it softly after her; as if it that was her cue to let everything she had been containing in her chest, she let out a soft sob and fell to the floor and began crying again.

A mixture of silence and noise hammered her head as the pain crawled in her chest, banging her heart. Her hands touched the soft material of her carpet, her nails digging into the fabric. She felt like her eyes could not take any more tears and her heart could not take any more pain; she loved the man and she knew he loved her back the same way "I have to do something…" she whispered to herself "I have to tell him everything was a lie…"

Her mother's words began to work their way into her mind, like a constant echo her soft voice became stronger as her words became clearer _"I do not know what you are sacrificing…but something or someone is impeding you to move on…whatever it is…let it go…"_

"_Let it go…"_

"…_Something…Someone…"_

"_Sacrificing…impeding you to move on…take the next step…"_

"…_Let it go…"_

Serenity put her hands on her head and shook it softly "No…" she whispered again; her eyes widened in realization and turned to look outside at the blue planet in the distance "The winter ball…"

O.o.o.o.o.O

Her hands moved from one side to the other as she continued taking the young woman's measures in silence, a young assistant was at her side writing down the numbers she was saying slowly.

"I want it to be the best gown at the ball" Charmindy said while having her usual glass of red wine on her chair near the hearth.

The seamstress smiled and turned to look at Charmindy and took some pins out of her mouth and then turned again at Beryl who still had her arms extended "I will do my best" she said softly.

"How long will you take to finish the gown?"

The seamstress sighed softly and turned to Charmindy "I will try to finish it as soon as possible"

Charmindy arched a brow "For what I am paying you…you should be done right away"

The comment seemed to make the woman uncomfortable and sighed softly "You could have asked another seamstress to do her gown"

"You are the one who make the Queen's gowns…I do not want anybody else"

Helena, the seamstress sighed again and continued pinning the fabric where she was supposed to sew the final touches of the long deep green gown "You must be very excited" she said to Beryl softly and pinned another needle on the fabric under her arm; the redhead smiled softly and nodded; biting her lower lip she looked at the woman in front of her and tilted her head "Have you finished Her Majesties' gown?"

The seamstress smiled softly and nodded "I just sent them to the Palace before I came here"

"Is it true you sew Queen Gaia's wedding gown?"

Helena smiled again softly and nodded "With golden thread. Beautiful gown…just as the one she wore at the engagement ball"

Beryl widened her green eyes and blushed "How was it?"

Helena sighed with satisfaction at the memory of the Queen wearing her gown, one of her first's masterpieces "It was pale gold with crystals on its waist, the fabric I used for the skirt was so sheer it sparkled in the light…it flowed in several layers, she looked ethereal"

Charmindy frowned and put her glass on the table, making a loud sound "You should know she is our Mother Queen's favorite to marry the Prince"

Helena widened her brown eyes and turned to look at Beryl "So I heard…" she said softly.

"So this is not going to be the last time you will be designing dresses for her" Charmindy said dryly "And for me" she stood up and walked toward them "As my protégé…I have to be present in every moment"

The seamstress licked her lips delicately and took a few steps back "Alright…I will take the gown to make its final touches and I will send it to you as soon as possible for the ball"

Beryl nodded and walked behind the screen where the assistant was already waiting to help her take off the unfinished gown. Helena began packing her things and closed her bag; turning to look at Charmindy she casted a smile, a knowing and somewhat defiant smile.

Charmindy noticed the look in her eyes and frown "What?"

"What are you trying to do?" Helena asked defiant.

The blonde woman narrowed her eyes "How dare you…?"

"I was there that night…and I have heard many things of you…whatever you are trying to do it is not going to work that way"

Charmindy's frown deepened and felt a knot in her throat "If it bothers you so much…why are you here?"

"Because I am doing my job" the seamstress said "The girl does not have the fault of this…"

"You are a seamstress and that's all, limit yourself from everything else"

Helena held her bag and shook her head "Nobody forgets that night…"

Charmindy narrowed her eyes "That night was mine…he was mine, everybody knew that. She humiliated me"

"Don't do to her…what you did to yourself"

The blonde clenched her jaw "You are nothing but just a seamstress…being present that night does not change things…you are still a peasant, a poor insignificant peasant"

Helena shook her head in shame "Don't do to her…what you did to yourself" she repeated and turned to look at her assistant then back at the blonde woman in front of her "The dress will be delivered to you as soon as it is finished" with nothing else to say, she began walking away, leaving the two women alone. Beryl stood there with a startled face, looking at Charmindy "My Lady…?"

The blonde turned to look at Beryl "This is going to be your last opportunity. I have invested too much money on you…if you fail; you go back to the streets to be what you were…a forgotten prostitute"

Beryl widened her eyes and watched the older woman walk away, leaving her alone in the room again, with the feeling of deception and frustration. The same pain that has been haunting her since the very first night she spent in that place, her hands began to tremble again as she curled them into fists as if they were trying to contain all her feelings mixed with rage.

Lowering her head she could not hold it and let a few tears roll down her cheeks and took a deep breath "It is no longer an option…my love for Endymion must be my way out of this place…" she whispered softly "Endymion…" she raised her head and turned to look outside the window, watching the majestic palace in the distance "I will be yours and you will be mine…I can feel it"

* * *

_A/N:_

_I want to thank, all the people who have taken the time to read this story. You know, I am always very grateful and that your encouraging words always give me cue to keep on writing and posting. I am glad for those who like the story so far and that every time I post I always get some great feedback. I like it, I try always to respond back and I appreciate it, I feel lucky to have so much reading traffic...it was something I never imagined I would have, readers for this project._

_And I call it 'project' because it is exactly what it is...is is an adventure I dared to take a year ago and that has given me a lot of satisfactions and experience. I love and enjoy writing every tiny bit of it and with your help I have managed to change quite a lot of things that I did not know I had or could do. I've met incredibly people through this site and it is amazing. But I want to be clear on something; I am not a professional writer, I did not study literature, I am not a novelist and I am not intending to be one. I am, just like you a reader and an occasional author for fan fiction. I know, this story is so freaking long...but it is something I specified since day one; I know that there are things that you may not like but it is what it is, fan fiction. I am just another fan who liked this story so much when I was a teen and who had a story in my head after reading so many stories in the past and thought that maybe writing it wasn't a bad idea; but, I know that it has tons of flaws and that sometimes it can get a lot boring but in the end, I enjoy what I am doing...it clears my mind from all the stress and drama of my daily basis and that's pretty much it._

_I thank you all who take the time to give me good reviews and strong constructive criticism, I read them all and I take it all in mind and try to do my best to improve. But it kind of hurts my feelings when I get private messages telling me how bad of a writer I am and how boring the story is in general, really, if you do not like what you read...just, choose something else, don't hate._

_Thank you for your time._

_Take care and until next time._


	108. Chapter 108

_I do not own sailor moon, just this plot and some of the characters. _

_Divinity: A question of Honor_

_Chapter one hundred and eight_

* * *

You could tell when it was going to be a special evening; specially the all so famous terran celebration known as the winter ball. That specific celebration, where all people from all around the world joined the royals from the golden kingdom for a once in a lifetime experience of music, dancing, food and magic. The streets had a harmony of colors, chimes and lights from the people who joined the celebration by decorating the small city. It had been months of planning and preparing everything so nothing could go wrong, because, honestly…what could go wrong in such an expected night like this? – Everything.

It was probably the night every girl did everything in their power to look their best; it did not matter how much they spent, it was the opportunity to shine and now they all had more reasons with the prince being present and with the knowledge of the true meaning of the ball. It has become a tradition year after year since the actual king introduced his future spouse to the world that this was the ball were the heir to the throne would be introduced to hundreds of ladies in order to help him find the right one to be the next princess and in the future, the next queen of Elysion.

Inside the palace every maid and butler were walking one side to another while arranging the final touches of the decorations in the throne room and the adjacent gardens. Queen Narella was known to be the head behind of it all and this day was no exception. Giving the final indications to the people in charge of the distribution and design explaining precisely how she wanted everything to look while Aurea already gave the proper instructions to the people in the kitchen of what the queen wanted to give the guests to taste.

The older queen smiled in contempt as she rubbed her hands with excitement while watching the garlands in the hallways scent the corridors with a sweet freesia aroma "Tonight is going to be special" she said softly and turned to look at Aurea who just joined her and watched the garlands with amazement "I've seen this for so many years now and it still takes my breath away…"

Queen Narella sighed happily and patted Aurea's shoulder "I've waited for this moment for such a long time…I have the feeling that something special will happen on this ball"

Aurea pressed her lips together and let out a soft breath "Your Grace…are you saying it because…?"

"I have my hopes up…" Narella said again with a smile on her face and bit her lower lip playfully "It was in a winter ball where Eros introduced Gaia to all of us…it just brings up so many memories, every year…and this is the first winter ball with Endymion being present, after so many years…"

"Ah…I see" Aurea said softly and turned to look at the softly lightened dome ceilings.

"Speaking of…" Narella frowned slightly "I haven't seen him in these past few days…" she turned to Aurea "Have you?"

Aurea shook her head and remained silent.

Narella's frown deepened "Could he have forgotten?"

Aurea shook her head again and sighed softly "I highly doubt that Your Grace…with all the preparations and people walking around the palace I highly doubt he forgot about the ball. I believe he is just busy, that is all…tomorrow he will be leaving us again…which it explains why My Queen is quite depressed"

Narella widened her eyes "Endymion is leaving?" she blinked "Tomorrow?"

"Yes Your Grace, well, after the ball" Aurea said softly "It was arranged weeks before today…King Eros signed the papers, he is sending him to lead the war against this mysterious enemy"

"War?" Narella frowned "My grandson is leaving again then…" she sighed.

"I thought you knew he was preparing to fight again Your Grace" Aurea said puzzled and turned to face her "He has been training and in countless of meetings, maybe that explains why he has not been very much available"

Narella nodded "I did, I did Aurea…but, time just goes by so fast…I knew he was going to leave us again I just did not know when and I certainly never imagined it could be this soon" she sighed again "That is another important reason why he must get married soon…to give this kingdom a new heir to the throne of this realm"

Aurea bit her lower lip "He is worried about other things right now Your Grace"

Narella sighed and shook her head "I just wish this special evening can do something to change things…" she turned to Aurea "Like I said, I have the feeling that something special will happen"

Aurea smiled at the queen but her heart was still worried about Endymion, just like Gaia, the fact of him being away again troubled her, it made her feel sad, like she had a hole in her heart. She had cared for that man before he was born and when he finally came to this world, he changed hers _"Endymion…" _she thought sadly.

She still did not know well, but she knew he had something troubling his mind. Maybe it was because he was leaving his family again, maybe because of the enemy or maybe because he was sad about something, something related to the girl he introduced to his mother and her "_The goddess' daughter"_

Sighing tiredly she turned to the mother queen and gave her a soft smile "All we have to do now is wait"

Queen Narella clapped her hands with excitement "Yes, Gaia might need some help with some final touches..."

Aurea nodded "Yes, I will go see if she needs anything" the now, lady and wife of the king's right hand waited for the older queen to turn on her heel and leave the area; the more she watched her in the distance smiling with content and satisfaction with her ideal of having the ball this year again the more she felt the melancholy in her heart "She says something special will happen tomorrow night…I say, we better brace ourselves for what might happen" she mumbled and shook her head as she went the opposite side of the corridor.

o.o.o

His silence startled everyone in the study as he was giving a final glance at the papers in his hands, the order his father signed to send him and the royal army to search for the one that has been causing so many deaths was the proof he needed to realize this was not a dream but a living nightmare and that it was happening in the middle of an opulent and unnecessary party. The shitennou were right next to him reading the papers he signed for the security plan for the evening; Kunzite did not have to imagine much why the prince was acting so cold toward the matter of the ball, since day one he was against it but still had to agree to think of a plan because the king asked him to do it, for the millionth time.

Without any much left to read, the white haired man sighed and gave the paper to Endymion "Everything is all set and under control. We have everything covered, everyone's prepared for that night"

Endymion put the parchment in his hands down after a few more minutes and turned to look at the one Kunzite left next for him on the table, sighing he folded it and put it aside "The guards should start taking their positions already…I do not want any surprises"

"Something we do not want much to happen any night, not just tomorrow" Kunzite said softly.

"Mhmm…" Endymion hummed and sighed "With my grandmother leading this unnecessary celebration…" he trailed off, leaving the rest of his sentence to the general's imagination.

"You are still bothered about this ball?" Kunzite frowned.

"I still think it's stupid and unnecessary" Endymion stood up and put his pen down "It is a waste of time…time, we should be using in something else, in protecting our people, this family and this kingdom…the ball is only a distraction and it will give our enemy an alibi to study us and see another way to attack us…the more we waste our time like this the more they use it to empower themselves…"

Jadeite sighed and leaned his elbows on the table "You sure are mad"

"I'm not mad, I am just stating a truth"

"Perhaps you are mad at something else" Jadeite said softly and looked away "A certain Princess is occupying your mind once again"

Endymion felt a tug in his heart and tried to ignore the comment, but for much as he tried to he couldn't and turned to look away "That is water under the bridge Jadeite"

The blonde lifted his brows in surprise and let out a chuckle "Please, that cannot be water under the bridge…not with the feelings you have for her"

Kunzite widened his eyes in surprise at Jadeite's boldness; it was probably the first time other man besides him dared to speak to him like that. He turned to look at the prince standing near a window and noticed his hand tightened his grip on the window frame. Jadeite sighed softly and stared at the prince's back "We know what happened…even though you did not want to tell us anything…we know why her guardian was here…she told you something about the Princess"

Zoicite and Nephrite watched him with a blank stared, surprised by his bold move, while Jadeite kept his eyes fixed on Endymion's back "It had only been days since she came to speak with you…that cannot be water under the bridge"

"It is useless to keep talking about this matter Jadeite when she already made a decision" Endymion said dryly "It would be an enormous waste of my time to keep thinking of why she lied to me. I am not thinking about her"

"Stop lying to yourself En…"

"Jadeite!" Kunzite turned to look at the blonde and shook his head.

"I'm not angry at her or you Jadeite I am angry at myself" Endymion's voice deepened, he turned to look at the shitennou still sitting on their respective seats on the table "For believing in stupid things…for fighting for impossible things…I lowered my guard and for what? I was better when we were all in training back at camp…now, I'm seen as some kind of trophy a man to marry, the key to the dynasty of this family, this kingdom…" he sighed and lowered his head "I won't lie to you, because you are my friends…I still love her, and it is killing me to think she belongs to something and someone else…but…" he took a deep breath "…She lied to me…"

"What are you going to do then? Marry just a random girl?" Jadeite asked "Marry Beryl?"

Endymion's blood froze sending an uncomfortable tingling sensation through all his body; his blue eyes darkened at the thought and then managed to mumble her name in a low tone "Beryl…" he turned to face Jadeite "Marry Beryl, you say?"

The blonde shook his shoulders "She is Her Grace's favorite and this is the winter ball we are talking about…you know what this all means…"

Endymion felt his heart race in anxiety then, felt the sense of failure and defeat, he sighed and ran a hand through his midnight hair, annoyed and tired he let out those words he never thought could escape his lips "Maybe I will"

Kunzite widened his grey eyes "What did you say?"

"Maybe I will ask Beryl's hand in marriage" Endymion said in defeat and turned to look away. Nephrite frowned "Are you sure of what you are saying? You do not love her, you do not like her, by all heavens Prince... do you even _care_ for her?"

"What is love anyways Nephrite?" asked Endymion, still staring at the distance. Mentally accepting the fate he was about to take, he knew it was stupid and wrong but that would cease the waters his grandmother insisted to agitate. Figure speaking.

"Are you really considering it Your Highness?" Zoicite said, as always incredibly polite.

"If that is what is going to leave everyone here at the palace at peace, then I should consider it" Endymion turned to look at the long haired blonde "Beryl has shown interest…I do not have to love her, just…" he trailed off and shook his head, running a hand through his dark hair "I don't know what I am saying anymore…"

"I was starting to get worried" Kunzite said dryly "Marrying Beryl would be the biggest mistake of your life"

Endymion frowned "Why are you so defendant now? When I asked for your understanding you were against it now, that I am no longer seeing Serenity you are telling me not to give up on the love I have for her?"

"We once said Your Highness that is was not because we did not like her, but because of the situation you were currently in. Although Beryl is from this realm and very pretty we know it is not her who you want"

"It is not my issue anymore Jadeite. She made a decision, she chose and I was not her first option" Endymion's voice sounded hurt "And to be honest how could I? When I am nothing but a simple mortal" the prince shook his head "I do not want to talk about this anymore…I have other things to be worrying about, other things to do…" he walked toward the door, his hand rested on the golden and intricate knob and twisted it slowly; Kunzite frowned and watched him with worried eyes and the need to do something else to help him "Endymion?"

"I need to be alone. I need to plan things and prepare everything for tomorrow" the prince's voice was slightly hoarse and tired. Defeated maybe, Kunzite could tell.

"Endymion…I am sorry…" Jadeite felt the tension and realized what he had done and quickly stood up, the prince turned to look at him and shook his head, dismissing the comment "I just need to be alone" he turned on his heel and closed the door behind him, leaving them alone and with a sense of guilt. Jadeite closed his eyes and hung his head down, Nephrite sighed and stood up "It is probably the first time you spoke to him that way" he began walking around the room.

"He did not flinch" Zoicite said softly "Considering how mad he gets when we talk about her"

"This has turned out to be the cherry on the cake" Kunzite crossed his arms and closed his eyes as he lowered his head.

Nephrite frowned and turned to look at him "Why?"

"He feels defeated" Kunzite muttered "I understand that feeling" he opened his eyes and looked down; the memory of Venus became vivid in his mind, her smile, her scent and her touch. The way her lips caressed his in that passionate kiss, how her blue eyes looked at him with admiration and care "He has strong feelings for somebody he cannot have because he is a mortal"

"But he is not a mortal" Zoicite said softly and then frowned "Not an ordinary mortal"

"Yes, well, he does not know about that, does he?" Jadeite rolled his eyes "There goes another truth kept from him"

Kunzite sighed and shook his head while still looking down with guilt curled in his chest, knowing the blonde was probably right. They had a strong warrior at their side and could not do or say anything about it by orders of the queen.

"Maybe if she knew…" Zoicite said softly.

Nephrite widened his green eyes and turned to the blonde "Zoicite!"

Zoicite sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose "It would be much easier…she would understand, she would do something or maybe her guardians…"

"We were asked to follow a simple order from our Queen…" Nephrite said softly "Even when we do not understand her reasons…"

"We do Nephrite"

Nephrite widened his eyes and turned to Kunzite, Jadeite arched his brow as he also turned to look at the white haired man. Kunzite remained in the same position as before "Queen Gaia wants to protect her son from the ones living above us because of the power he has" he sighed "We are not considering the whole scenario here… Endymion is much stronger than we think, we are talking about Queen Gaia, the Goddess of this planet…the one who once defeated a demon, what kind of dynasty does Endymion might be following? The blood that runs through his veins…"

The man stood up and began walking around the room "If the Princess knows…that vow the Queen made to herself will be broken…they will have the perfect excuse to attack us"

Jadeite frowned and growled in frustration "He is the only one who could actually save us from all this mess…and he is unaware of his own truth…"

"Maybe the Queen is not only protecting him because of the gods above us but because it might happen something to him…something that could put his life in danger…" Zoicite said softly.

"The stars are becoming more eager with time…" Nephrite interrupted the blonde and turned to look outside "They keep trying to warn us"

"We already know the star of Leo is the one in danger" Jadeite said.

Nephrite shook his head "I'm not talking about the Prince Jadeite, I'm talking about us"

All three men turned to look at Nephrite with a confused face "What are you talking about?" Jadeite asked.

"What do you mean?" Zoicite asked with much more worry than Jadeite; Kunzite frowned "Us?"

Nephrite nodded "They are trying to tell us something…" he sighed "Something is going to happen and we are part of it"

"Well…it has something to do with us leaving to fight" Jadeite said again.

"Nephrite?" Kunzite asked, not listening to Jadeite "What is it that you see?"

The brown haired man hung his head low and took a deep breaths "The more I read them…the more they insist, the more they show the danger that is upon us…betrayal…dead…" he shook his head and covered his face with his right hand "We are part of that mass destruction"

All three men looked at him with worry then denial "We cannot betray what we are trying to protect. It makes no sense" Jadeite said "We are here to help our Master protect this Kingdom…are you saying that…we…" he trailed off, still not believing.

Kunzite's frown deepened "The stars are maybe trying to warn us to be careful…we cannot trust anyone but ourselves…"

Nephrite sighed "I really hope that Kunzite…" he raised his head and looked at the men "These visions…this truth…is becoming askew…" he turned to look outside the window "Somebody…or better said something is out there…waiting for us…"

"What are we getting ourselves into?" Zoicite asked with concern.

Nephrite looked away and shook his head "I don't know anymore…but we have to be very careful because for what I have seen…this enemy is stronger than we think…"

"We don't even know who we are fighting" Jadeite said confused.

"We are fighting whoever we have to fight…or whatever…the point here is to find the root of all these deaths and finish it" Kunzite said slowly "We must be careful…"

Nephrite turned to look outside the window "This day does not feel like any other… tomorrow something is going to happen"

"Something like what? You are always giving us clues…" Jadeite snapped with annoyance "I want to know everything, the complete news"

"Not even I know all of it Jadeite" Nephrite "But there is too much happening…the energy is different, we must be prepared for anything"

"Time went too fast…" Zoicite said softly "We just got back and now we are leaving again…"

"Almost a year" Jadeite said.

"All this happened in a year…" Zoicite said and let out a soft breath "Who knew…"

"Too much and no love for Jadeite" the blonde said and sighed "Even Endymion, the one who did not want to distract himself with a woman found love…"

Kunzite sighed and ran a hand through his hair "Then who knows, maybe you find the one you want tomorrow…there is nothing much left to do but to only enjoy our last hours in this place before leaving" he noticed the worry in Nephrite's face and walked over to him, patting his shoulder "Let's just enjoy the moment, enjoy tonight, whatever it may be let it happen tomorrow…"

Nephrite turned to look at him and nodded "Alright…"

Kunzite knew Nephrite was not too much convinced with what he just said to him, his face showed more than what he told them, the man knew more he thought there was something else besides worry: his eyes held fear.

o.o.o.o

The next morning a small carriage arrived at the entrance of the mansion where two maids and Filemina were already waiting at the doorway. Charmindy was waiting inside with her hair half done, her lips curved into a slight smile knowing what the older maid was receiving; as soon as she watched the carriage part away she walked towards the door and surprised Filemina "Is it?"

The older maid nodded, Charmindy extended her hands and moved her fingers as if she was trying to hurry the woman. She took the lid of the large white box aside and nodded "Hurry up and help her get dressed"

"Yes, My Lady"

Charmindy bit her lower lip with excitement "This is the night, the night of my triumph"

Filemina looked at her with a face of surprise, but before she could ask anything the blonde woman turned and frowned "What are you still doing here? I said, go and help her get dressed!"

Filemina widened her eyes and nodded "Y-Yes My Lady"

Beryl was sitting on her bed; her hands grabbed the soft comforter with anxiety and excitement at the same time. She could not believe the day has finally come and that she will be attending to a party at the palace, and not just any party but one with the man of her dreams present.

Her heart began to race as his image began to occupying her entire mind, his voice made his way to her memory and closed her eyes, blushing. She bit her lip and smiled "Endymion…" she whispered and giggled. Opening her green eyes again she threw herself back on the bed with a large grin on her face "I will win your heart tonight" giggling and kicking the air like a child, she heard her door opens and stopped abruptly.

Filemina walked in with a large white box on her hands and put it on the bed and turned to look at the girl sitting next to it "It's your dress, it just arrived"

Beryl widened her eyes and blushed "My…dress…"

She moved the lid away and rummaged through the delicate white tissue covering the elegant gown. Her fingers finally found the texture of the dress, making her smile. Felimina watched her with tenderness; this was probably the first time since she was brought here with this joy and excitement for something.

Beryl pressed her lips together and turned to look at the older maid "Can…I?"

Filemina nodded "Patient…I still need to do your hair…" she smiled softly "But let's see how it looks" she looked inside the box and took the gown out slowly, the long skirt sliding down slowly surprising Beryl in the process. It was dark green with precious stones all around the waist in a turquoise color, it had a round collar with a rim with that matched the same stones, it was round enough to leave her shoulders exposed. The skirt was full and fluffy and a small trail fell behind "This sure is something impossible to ignore…its beautiful"

Beryl blinked several times and grabbed the skirt of the dress "I cannot believe this is what I am going to wear…"

"You…do not like it?" Filemina asked.

Beryl shook her head "I love it…it is very beautiful…much more than I expected…it is just that…I have never used anything like this in my entire life…"

"We must finishing getting you ready… when we least expect it, the time for you to leave will be here" Filemina grabbed the hair comb and began combing her fiery red hair. Beryl frowned "Are you not invited?"

Filemina gave the young woman a sad smile "Even if I am invited…I am not allowed to go"

"Why?" Beryl frowned, confused.

The older woman kept brushing her hair "You are going to be in a place full of people from all around the world...with the highest court, I don't belong to that place…"

"She does not want you to go…am I correct?"

Filemina pressed her lips and shook her head "I am just a maid Beryl…I am here to serve, not to attend parties"

"But I heard everybody was invited to this ball"

Filemina sighed and hung the gown near the screen when Beryl was going to get dressed "Yes. By orders of the King and Queen…but only with the ones from the court and a high status can go and talk to the royal family…" she turned to look at her and gave the young woman a soft smile "You have that status"

Beryl widened her green eyes and blinked a couple of times "Status…"

Filemina nodded "You still do not realize what is happening here Beryl, if you continue being our Mother Queen's favorite, your faith might change…tonight" she walked over her and held her hand "Your life is going to change forever…you could be our next Queen of Earth"

Beryl could not help the excitement running all over her body, her palms started to become sweaty as she imagined everything that could happen if she takes the queen's throne and crown. With a man like the prince on her side, she would be the living proof of a Cinderella story considering the fact that in this story, her fairy godmother was a bitter witch.

She turned to look at herself in the mirror, still wearing her silky robe and blushed "Me…Queen of Earth"

"This is why this night is important… it was in one of these balls when the King made public his romance with the Queen. Tonight, that story might repeat itself… you have been a favorite since day one…" Filemina walked behind her and smiled, her hands resting on her shoulders "After all…it was not that bad everything what she made you go through"

"Why did you stay here?" Beryl asked softly.

Filemina widened her eyes "What?"

"Why did you stay?"

"What do you mean?"

Beryl frowned "You know what I mean…with _her_…why did you stay with _her_?"

Filemina let out a soft chuckle full with sadness and regret, Beryl could tell and turned to grab the brush to start combing her hair "Because…" after a moment of personal struggle and giving up for not finding the right words to say she sighed in defeat "I served her parents for many years…her mother was a fair Lady, she helped me go through very difficult times when I was a young girl like you…I was expecting a child and I was homeless...my mother had passed away and she was the only relative I had left…until one day, I was trying to find a job so I could eat something and I saw this woman looking at some trinkets at a small business in the village. I admired her simplicity and elegance and then soon noticed there was a young man holding her arm and as it was a choice of faith, she turned to look at me and smiled, noticing I had a large belly…" the woman stopped for a few minutes and continued brushing Beryl's hair "She asked how advanced my pregnancy was and when she noticed I had no shoes on my feet and my clothes were torn she began asking me for my family, the father of my child and if I had eaten recently…"

"Her eyes became teary when I finished telling her my story and without saying a word, wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug…I soon found she had a miscarriage a few years back and knew how important was for me the life of my child; touched by my story she was surprised when I told her I could not take care of my child she turned to look at her husband and then at me and offered me a job as her personal maid, food, clothes, a bed where I could sleep every night, stability… in exchange of only one thing…" Filemina trailed off and lowered her gaze for a moment "My child"

Beryl's eyes widened in shock and looked at Filemina's reflection in the mirror "Your child…" she said surprised "That child…" she turned to look at her, shocked.

Filemina sighed "My Lady could not bear any more children…so she took Charmindy under her wing and raised her as her own…" the older woman sighed again, this time with more melancholy "If she grew up with me, I was not going to be able to offer her anything…I did it for her and I stayed to look after her...as her nana"

Beryl turned her body to face the woman brushing her hair and looked up at her "Does she know?"

Filemina shook her head "It is better if she does not" she looked away for a brief moment then back at her "She was raised as a Lady from the court…and she must stay with those beliefs…her mother was good to me, so was her father…and I will be here until my time on this land comes to an end"

"But she treats you badly…"

"She is my daughter…"

Beryl sighed and looked down at her hands for a moment, the blonde's words making their way onto her mind "Am I like her?"

Filemina frowned "What do you mean?"

"Like _her_…heartless, cruel… by wanting the crown, by wanting to be with the Prince…does that makes me like her?"

The older woman shook her head in denial "She may have told you before how similar you are to her…but your story is very different from hers…just do not let your love for the Prince cloud your judgment"

Beryl stood up and held Filemina's hands "When I become Queen…I want you to come with me"

Filemina's eyes widened in shock "What are you saying?"

Beryl nodded "You have been the closest example of a mother in my life…and once I become Queen…I want you to come with me, I want you to leave this place…break free from this prison…"

"You have an agreement with her…one you cannot break" Filemina said "If you do…she can pull you down and let everybody know you are not what you pretended to be and be charged as a traitor for lying to the royals"

"And so is she…it is not a risk she will want to take" Beryl said determinant "After tonight, everything will be different"

Filemina pressed her lips together and nodded "Let's continue then, we must hurry" she turned her head and began brushing Beryl's fiery hair again; Beryl looked at her reflection in the mirror, imagining her future as the next crowned princess.

O.o.o.o.O

Mercury put down a tray with a glass of water and a small porcelain teapot with a cup; as silent as she could, she moved closer to the princess who was sitting on the edge of her bed, her eyes fixed into the absence of light that was starting to overcome the large room "My Princess?" she called slowly in a whisper and tried to reach for her hand; Serenity felt the warmth of the young bluenette's hand and turned to look at her "You have always understood the sincerity of my feelings toward him, you have always believed in the love we have for each other…" her brows knitted a little "Haven't you?"

The blue haired senshi looked at her princess "Princess…as much as I believe in the love you have for one another… I know Venus is only trying to protect you from any harm…" lowering her gaze and took a moment to continue "We all wish things were different but we cannot change them now…"

"I just…" Serenity turned to look away "She did not have to say anything to Endymion…" she closed her eyes slowly and it felt like they burned, they were so swollen from crying "Now all he believes are lies…"

"It was the only way My Princess" Mercury held her hand but soon was startled when she felt her moving. Standing up, Serenity walked around her room with her hands covering her lips "I won't give up Mercury…" she turned to look at her "I need to tell him the truth…I need to speak to him"

"It had been days since that incident Princess…" Mercury shook her head "You cannot go there, the Prince already made up his mind…talking to him will only complicate things…"

"No…" Serenity shook her head "No Mercury, no" she stopped abruptly "I love Venus…I love her like a sister, I love all of you as my sisters…but she lied about me, and she lied to the only man who has ever seen me for what I am not for who I am…" she turned to look at her "I cannot hurt him that way…Not him"

"Princess…please, let this matter go" Mercury said with the calmest voice she could ever give to her, without the necessity of raising her voice she let Serenity know it was an ultimate decision and that it was no longer possible for her to do something. Serenity felt her heart sink in her chest and threw herself back on her bed "Then…this is it. This is how my story with Endymion, my dream of sharing my life with him comes to an end…"

"It was no longer possible my Princess…and I am deeply sorry because you are right…I did know the kind of love you two shared" Mercury tucked a strand of hair behind Serenity's ears "I could see it in your eyes" she took a deep breath and let it out "Princess…I think…"

"Your Highness…" a young maid interrupted their conversation "I am so sorry for the intromission…I did knock on the door but…"

Serenity shook her head softly "What is it?"

"Her Majesty is expecting you at the tea room for lunch"

Serenity sighed and turned to look at Mercury then back at the maid "I will be there in a couple of minutes…thank you for letting me know"

The maid nodded and bowed her head in respect and left the room; Mercury turned her face to Serenity and gave her a sad smile "I really wish things could have happened in a different way…"

Serenity sighed and lowered her gaze before standing up "There is not much for me to do…but to follow everyone's wish" she walked over the large mirror and took a last glance at her appearance and walked slowly out of her room; Mercury sighed sadly and stayed there for a few more minutes "I am so sorry Princess…so sorry" she whispered to the nothing.

The princess began walking the long staircase one step at a time, her humor was not in its best and had no excitement to go and talk about the same things over and over again. She knew Athamas was going to be the center of the conversation alongside her duties as princess and her responsibilities as heir to the lunar throne and the newly knowledged silver crystal.

It was right before turning around the corner of the hall when a few murmurs captured her attention, and it was not because she liked to spy on people but because the two men were looking quite suspicious and it was probably something she could use on her behalf.

Frowning she moved slowly and as silent as she could she leaned on the wall behind one of the pillars of the hallway, turning her face she could recognize Kilmakos, the one she knew as Athamas' right hand and another soldier she could not quite remember but for what they were wearing it was clearly they were up to something.

"The order has been given, it is only a matter of time…we just have to wait for _his_ sign to proceed" Kilmakos said in a whisper "He does not want us to fail this time, it has to be quick and a clean fight and by clean he means killing them all, you know who specially"

Serenity's frown deepened "Kill…"

The soldier, who clearly seemed to be a stronger ally of Athamas' army was wearing a dark grey armor; his hand resting on the tilt of his sword "I understand"

"The rest of the soldiers going with you are almost ready, this is only now just a matter of time…"Kilmakos angled his head "Just be sure to do an excellent work, bring back what he wants"

The taller soldier nodded "I already guaranteed a clean job; he won't get any bad comments about my work"

Serenity shook her head in disbelief "Athamas…what are you up to?" she tried to come closer but did not realize there was a vase with flowers on a tall table she was pushing slowly with her back, the vase felt heavy on her back and widening her eyes she turned quickly to prevent it from falling making a subtle noise, enough for Kilmakos and the other soldier to hear.

"Shhh" she heard the soldier say; biting her lower lip she put the vase on the table with care and walked as fast as she could trying not to make any other noise.

Kilmakos frowned and turned to the soldier "We must be very careful about this, nobody is allowed to know"

"Understood" the soldier said in low tone.

Serenity stopped in front the door that led to the tea room where her mother was waiting for her to have lunch, her hands began to tremble as she tried to put the pieces together of what she just heard "Something about killing everybody…something about time…" whatever it was just the fact to know the monstrous thing her mother wanted her to marry was despicable "The only Master they have is him…" she whispered to herself and frowned, trying to understand, trying to calm herself down so her mother would not suspect.

She entered the room, the skirt of her gown dancing beautifully as she walked and immediately looked into her mother's lavender eyes "Mother…there is something I…" she stopped talking abruptly as she saw Athamas coming back from the back of the room with a tray of tea, his lips curved into a smile as soon as he saw her "Princess" he moved toward her and kissed the top of her hand.

"I invited him to join us for lunch dear, after a long morning with too much work" the queen said softly "I hope you don't mind?"

Serenity looked at her mother then at the man in front of her and moved her hand away without any delicacy or politeness, the small conversation she heard moments ago still echoed in her mind and she could just not believe how good he was at mastering the art of pretend, then she began to consider the possibilities of what could happen if all his façade came down once she talked to her mother about what she just heard, she was about to do it once she walked into the room but her plans became frustrated as soon as she saw him there, as always with his eyes expectant, hungry and malicious.

"Too much work…" Serenity said dryly and looked at the man before sitting down, ignoring his attention of moving the chair for her "I can imagine…"

Queen Serenity frowned and took a sip of her tea "Is something the matter dear?"

Serenity lowered her gaze for a moment and took a deep breath "Mother…is everything alright with the Alliance?"

The queen widened her eyes and so did Athamas. Queen Serenity blinked a couple of times and put her cup down "No…well…"

"Are we at war?" the princess asked again, interrupting her mother; the queen widened her eyes once again "We talked about this darling…"

"Being under serious circumstances is very different from being at war…" Serenity frowned "War means to send people to fight…"

"We are not sending anyone to fight" Queen Serenity said in a serious tone "That matter was already settled, yes…" she put her cup down and crossed her hands "We were under threat but it has been resolved; it was actually because of Athamas that everything is under control again"

Serenity arched her brow; Athamas could not help feeling slightly anxious and curious, frowning he tilted his head as he tried to reach for her hand "I only followed Her Majesties wishes and of course, followed Lord Ares' orders"

"Did you?" Serenity turned abruptly to look at him, narrowing her eyes "Is there something we should be aware of?"

Athamas frowned "What?"

"Serenity, what is the matter?" Queen Serenity asked with concern "Why are you making all these questions?"

Serenity turned to look at her mother "Mother…there is somebody sending soldiers to kill innocents"

Queen Serenity widened her eyes "What?!"

Athamas widened his eyes as well but stayed silent; Serenity put her cup of tea aside and extended her arm to reach her mother's from across the table "Mother, why is soldiers being sent to commit murder?"

The lunar queen shook her head and frowned "Who sent them, what are you talking about, sending who?"

"Who is sending them?" Athamas asked.

Serenity frowned and turned to look at him "Exactly, _who_ is sending them and why? You should know, you are supposed to be in charge of all these matters. As our Commander you have too much to explain to us"

Her voice was stern and it shook his ground, Athamas narrowed his eyes and shook his head as he tried to excuse himself before the queen but Serenity acted faster, let go of her mother's hand and stood up "You should know everything about this matter, I command an explanation now"

"Serenity" the queen said in disbelief and then turned to Athamas "What is she talking about Athamas?"

"Now" Serenity demanded again.

Athamas widened his eyes and stood up "I do not know what you are talking about, Princess"

"You are the leader of this army….how can it be possible for you not to know what is happening?" Serenity frowned, raising her voice "I command you Athamas…to tell me what you have done! To tell me what you are doing!"

"I haven't done anything Princess" Athamas responded with the same boldness and turned to the queen "Your Majesty, I do not know what the Princess is talking about…you and Artemis have seen the reports, Lord Ares has seen them!" he turned to the princess again "What you are saying Princess cannot be possible, this surely has to be a misunderstanding"

"Where…how do you know this Serenity?" the queen asked, ignoring the soldier's words for a moment.

Serenity felt a beacon of light in the middle of a dark hallway, at last, she felt she could finally break the spell Athamas has been casting on everybody with his constant lying and lack of ethic. The princess walked over to her mother's side "Mother…I need to speak with you…" she whispered.

"Of course dear" the queen nodded softly.

Athamas felt his plans melting away and began feeling the desperation of losing all his handiwork. He quickly moved closer to the princess and tried to get a hold of her hand "Princess, this is important…I need to know who said it and when…" he turned to the queen once he failed to catch the princess' attention. She was determinant.

"Your Majesty, this must be a very good reason of why it all began…we could have a spy in our people…this person can be the link between us and the enemy"

His words made sense to the queen, and in her great desire of not to believe it was because of Nehellenia she took it like the bait it was to distract her from the matter, so easy for him to do. Athamas had the enormous ability to change things to his convenience and this was one of those moments he thanked his twisted luck.

"It makes sense of course…"

Serenity's mouth went dry "What?"

The queen stood up "Dear, this is important…and Athamas is right, we were under threat and this person sending people to fight without us knowing can be the reason of it. As soon as we find the one who has been working behind our backs everything will be solved" she turned to the general "We need to speak to Artemis as soon as possible…he might have some news"

The princess shook her head "No…" her heart began to race with desperation "Mother, he should know everything, he knows!" she pointed at Athamas; her lips showing the tension in her body and the anger curling up inside of her, burning her like she was thrown into hell.

Athamas looked at her, his face no longer showing the same face of worry and instant desperation as before; she knew. He had it all under control, once again. His lips curved up in a smile and angled his head forward "You are jumping to conclusions my dear Princess"

Serenity's frowned deepened "I know what you are doing"

The general shrugged his shoulders, oblivious of what the princess tried to prove to the queen and chuckled "Maybe you had a bad dream, maybe you are just imagining things Princess, it happens"

"Serenity…it does not make any sense…he has been helping us all along, please stop this" the queen said in a tired tone "You have been under too much stress lately, these past few days you have been acting very strange and now all of the sudden you are coming with this conclusions, what is the matter with you?"

Serenity stood perplexed at her mother's words. She could feel her heart breaking in tiny pieces "I cannot believe this…" she began to walk away; the queen widened her eyes "Serenity!"

The princess stopped and looked over her shoulder "I cannot believe you, being my mother can trust his words more than mine!" she pointed at him, her finger trembling but accusing "He is nothing but a traitor, a dirty man and he is sleeping under our roof"

"You need to stop talking like that!" The queen raised her voice.

"I am going to prove my words…I do not know how or when…but I will prove it to you and when that happens, brace yourself because you will not like what your eyes will see" she turned and walked out of the room leaving a very startled queen. She turned to Athamas she shook her head "I do not understand, why is she being so violent toward you" her brows knitted for a moment "What does she know that I do not?"

Athamas licked his lips "Your Majesty…let me handle this situation, let me prove Her Highness I am not doing anything wrong…that I am not the enemy" he sighed "Sadly, she had this idea of me wanting to cause evil…but my work speaks for itself"

The queen sighed softly and nodded "I know" her tongue traced her upper lip in thought "I thank you for always being willing to help" she sighed "Always thinking about my daughter even when she pays you with rudeness"

Athamas gave the queen the same kind of smile "It is because I care for her greatly Your Majesty, Princess Serenity is everything to me, I love her and I would do anything for her"

The queen pressed her lips tight in a fine line and nodded "I know…but she is really acting very strange, she has been very…" she trailed off and wondered for the perfect word to say "Absent, stressed. Angry...not like her"

"It is the situation, maybe one of her guardians mentioned something…Mars maybe" Athamas said "But whatever is causing her trouble I will look into it and solve it, do not worry Your Majesty" he bowed his head in deep respect and dared to kiss the queen's hand "I will go and investigate this matter at once, excuse me Your Majesty"

The queen blinked in surprise with his familiar action and nodded, watching him leave the room. The whole situation of losing control over everything in her life was beginning to make her wonder if she was doing the right thing. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath "Mother please help me…"

o.o.o

Serenity walked towards the study where she knew Artemis was working, if her mother was not going to listen to her either she needed to talk to somebody close to her to help her investigate; she was about to turn around the corner of the hall again when she felt a hand on her arm that stopped her.

She turned and widened her eyes, immediately showing disgust "What are you doing?"

"No my dear, what are _you_ doing?" Athamas said dryly "What do you think you are doing?"

"I am trying to prove you are behind that war"

Athamas chuckled "Please…"

"You are then" Serenity said not surprised at all "Of course, you always wanting more that you can actually have"

"It does not matter if I am or not, we are on the same road dear…if you say something I will bring you down with me"

Serenity frowned, her crystal blue eyes narrowed "I do not understand"

"Of course you do" Athamas smirked "You are trying to taint my name…but you think I do not know of your little love affair? Of how your senshi have been helping you all this time?"

Serenity widened her eyes, her mouth went dry "My senshi…" her breathing began accelerating, nervous she tried to put a hand on him but it was all futile.

"You leave them alone!" Serenity raised her voice, making Athamas chuckle a little louder "My… something must have happened, you are acting very sensitive…has this lover of yours abandoned you already? Or have you realized he is no better than me and you are frustrated because there is no other way but to be with me in the end?" he smiled, widely "I am _dying_ to know…" his sarcastic voice came to show. He was enjoying the moment; he was savoring her trembling body and desperate ways to unmask his plans.

Serenity felt her eyes starting to burn with tears "There is always a way"

Athamas laughed this time "No dear, there is not. I am the only one who can marry you…and someday soon…you will"

"I rather die" Serenity said dryly making Athamas' grin disappear immediately "If I open my mouth the ones who are going to pay for your little romantic mistakes are your lovable little senshi"

"Don't you dare to touch them" Serenity snapped as she tried again to hit him in the face with the back of her hand, again, something futile. His hands were already holding her wrists; his long fingers curling around her skin like snakes on it's prey.

"Then stop the act and marry me" Athamas pushed her against the wall slowly "You are nobody's but only mine. There is no other way"

Serenity moved her head away from his face but could feel his lips trailing the sensitive skin on her neck, she could feel his breath on her ear sending shivers down her spine, feeling the disgust in her stomach "Who are you trying to kill Athamas?" she managed to whisper.

Athamas chuckled in her ear "The one that will bring me eternal admiration…the one who can turn me into a Polemarchos" he moved away and looked into her cleavage with a burning desire he was not sure he could continue holding against his will "And if you dare to do something against me…" his finger began to trail her neck in a rough way, leaving a bruised mark on her alabaster skin "I will make sure your precious sailor senshi leave this place like the traitors they are"

Serenity closed her eyes and let her tears roll down her cheeks "I will prove my words" she said in trembling whispers.

Athamas laughed and moved away "Well…I will give you credit for trying…but you never achieve it. You will never have any proof for your words" he crossed his arms "I will step aside this time ravishing Goddess…because, well…there is no place for you to go, you belong to me…and I will make you mine soon, very soon…"

Serenity looked at the man in front of her, her eyes moved faster one side to another as she looked into his, fighting the urge to cry, showing her anger and pain she had been keeping to herself all this time "You are going to pay for everything you have done so far…"

Athamas chuckled and tilted his head in a child like manner "We will see"

Serenity wiped her tears brusquely with the back of her hand and walked away from him as fast as she could.

As soon as he saw she was no longer closer to him his proud smirk soon turned into a frown, his eyes narrowed in thought and studied what he had to do next to patch whatever lose ends were left for her to find "I am close, so very close…and nobody will step in my way…"

Frustrated and hurt, Serenity walked straight to her chambers and closed the doors behind her and locked them preventing from anyone to follow her and see her in the state that she was. The pain at the pit of her stomach was too intense to bear; it was the anger and the need to end with all this at once. She disgraced him, she despite him and she wanted him to lose everything. It was a war of good and evil, and she had to take the role of the one defending the good side that was, her life, her kingdom, her family and the love she had for Endymion.

Her tears began falling uncontrollably, clouding her sight. Leaning her back on the doors she slowly began to slide down to the floor and let her pain out "Why…why….?!" she asked to the nothingness "Why does it has to be this way…?!" she sobbed painfully and raised her head, the memories of her time with the terran prince began to hunt her mind again "…Endymion…" she shook her head and sobbed, her face was red and swollen, for crying so much. These past few days had been a complete torment for her that it was almost impossible for her to reason or to do something in particular.

Something that could lead her to freedom.

Covering her face with her hands she continued crying with the deepest pain she ever experienced in her life so far, her mother did not believe in her words, Athamas was slowly winning his place on the moon, her senshi were in danger because of her and the prince was no longer with her, probably as broken hearted as she was.

"Endymion…" she sobbed again "I want to see you…I need to see you…" her body curved in a fetal position on the floor, her fingers dig in her hair and pulled it slowly with force as she tried to rip the sound of the general's voice haunting her mind, tainting the only good remaining in her.

"_There is no place for you to go, you belong to me…and I will make you mine soon, very soon…" _His voice was so loud, she could not stand it any longer; she stopped moaning and sobbing on the floor after another while and lay there in silence. Her thoughts rested again in the idea of taking position as a soldier against the evil Athamas represented. She sniffed a couple of times more and raised her head slowly then, unwillingly stood up and walked toward her balcony.

She looked up and stared at the night sky, getting herself lost in the deep blue shade of earth and felt a tug in her heart. That fire inside her heart ignited, telling her what to do, like answering her demands and questions.

_Flashback_

_Serenity watched as the ocean waves made their way back to shore every time before leaving again in an endless romantic dance. Endymion walked over to her and held her hand, after kissing it softly "Is something wrong?"_

_She smiled as she felt the warmth coming from his always tender hands and looked up at him, shaking her head no she turned back to look at the ocean again, the light coming from the setting sun blinded her sight a little bit, the experience marveled even more._

"_I was just thinking of how difficult all this is...of how unfair it is for us being separated and how nobody understands how much we want to be together…"_

_She heard Endymion sighed softly and felt his long fingers intertwined with hers in a loving manner "Everything that is worthy it comes with many obstacles"_

_Serenity widened her eyes and turned to look at him, the breeze of the ocean played with a few loose strands of her silver hair "What does that mean?"_

_Endymion smiled at her and caressed her face with his other hand, his luscious lips always trapped her in millions of sensual thoughts and made her heart beat like a drum, faster, stronger in her chest. His voice was one of those sounds she could not get tired of hearing, so melodic and strong, low and warm. It was sweet, it was his and he was hers._

"_It means my dear Princess, that it is very difficult for us to be together but not impossible if we keep our faith and if we stay strong…and true to ourselves"_

"_How are we going to do it?" her voice showed curiosity and a terrible need for an immediate answer. Endymion turned to see the sunset in the distance and narrowed slightly his eyes as he tried to adjust them to the light coming from the burning sun. "Do you see those waves?"_

_Serenity blinked her eyes in wonder and turned her head and watched the water move slowly back and forth and nodded confused "Yes…but…"_

"_Those waves have travelled the world…they come and go…and maybe it will take a while to come back, but they will always find their way…" Endymion said softly and turned to look at her and smiled, reassuringly just like she wanted "Just like we will"_

_The princess widened her eyes as she watched Endymion's finger coming closer to her and tapped her nose gently "We will find our way to be together Beautiful"_

_Serenity smiled "Do you promise?"_

_Endymion trailed his finger down her jaw "I promise. I will never stop fighting for you…"_

_End of flashback_

Her hand rested on her chest and felt the beating of her heart intensify with each pounding. Her answer was there, right in front of her eyes and if she was going to be strong a fight for what she believed and what she wanted she had to leave everything behind and go after it. This was the time, it was her time and she was ready.

Her tears dried as she found the confidence in her she long have lost in that sea of remembrance and despair. She was tired and all she wanted to do was to go home, and that was where he was. His arms.

A smile caressed her lips, her teeth played with her lower lip as she bit the idea of seeing him again. Nervous, excited and determinant she took another step and closed her eyes.

"There is always a way…I will never stop fighting for you…" her voice reached her inner power and in a sudden flash, she was finally gone and free.

* * *

_A/N:_ _tgif.\_

_I hope you all enjoy this new chapter. I appreciate your messages and your reviews as always, you know you are always more than welcome to write me, thank you for all your support._

_Have a nice weekend._


	109. Chapter 109

_Divinity: A question of Honor_

_Chapter one hundred and nine_

_I do not own SM just this plot and some of the characters, thank you._

___A/N: If you see I posted a new chapter and it is still this one is because I remembered I did not write what Endymion asked the Count's daughter and what she answered him and took the opportunity to fix a few misspelled words._

* * *

In the immensity of the royal chambers and warm golden aura given by the flickering light coming from the countless candles arranged around the room where the queen and her friend were getting ready for the winter ball.

Aurea's fingers caressed the queen's chestnut hair every time she passed the fine brush through the long strands; she admired in silence how her body reacted to her mortality and remembered the first time they met and how she could forget, her golden green eyes. The woman sitting on that golden, elegant chair was still the same she held a sword and saved them from oblivion; even when her once raven hair had turned slightly ashy and chocolate colored and her eyes had changed from golden to honey, she was admirable to watch.

She finished brushing her long and silky hair and proceeded to do a french twist when she heard her sigh again for the third time and stopped; her brows knitted together in both, wonder and worry "Alright…tell me what it is"

Gaia widened her hazel eyes, not realizing she had been sighing for who knows how long and turned her face to the mirror to meet Aurea's reflection on the mirror "I beg your pardon?"

"Tell me what is it" Aurea, as brutally honest as always said to the queen, her brown eyes fixed on her friend's reflection.

"I do not understand"

The maid put the brush down and walked around the queen. She leaned her back on the quite big and intimidating vanity made of the finest oak; she crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side "It is because of Endymion…"

Gaia arched a perfect brow, not too startled by what she said "Is it a question?"

"No. It is a statement"

The queen sighed again and grabbed the brush Aurea was using just minutes ago, she lowered her gaze and trailed the panel on its back, her fingers following the lines of each engraved rose and bit her lower lip for a second before exposing what has been torturing her for the last 24 hours "I am worried about him…"

"Because he is leaving" Aurea arched a brow "We all are Gaia…I am too…"

Gaia raised her head, her eyes meeting her friends and nodded. Still when she acknowledged the main reason of her sighing, it appear that there was something else "Yes, I am worried about Endymion, I am worried because he is leaving and because of this ball…I do not want him to make a wrong decision"

Aurea frowned, her comment caught her attention even more "A wrong decision? What do you mean?"

"He has been thinking stupid things, like considering asking for Beryl's hand in marriage" the queen looked away and sighed "He is acting stupid and out of rage and frustration…" she shook her head and closed her eyes for a moment "I am afraid he might do it tonight…"

The maid's frowned face changed to one of surprise; could her godson be that impulsive to even consider something like that? She thought, she cleared her throat and leaned closer to the queen "But…I thought he was madly in love with that girl…your friend's daughter…"

Gaia turned to look at her and nodded, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly as if she was trying to calm herself down "And he is…he is in love with her, but something between them happened and Endymion is acting out of spite…" she shut her eyes again and rubbed the bridge of her nose in frustration "I did not raise him to act like this…to be this impulsive, this blind, this…_stupid_"

"But…what happened?" Aurea asked worried, sensing the queen's anger. She shook her head and tried to understand and digest what she just heard "They looked so happy together…he was so happy…"

"Something I know it is not true…" Gaia said softly and bit her lip; she slammed her fisted hand on the hard vanity table and opened her eyes "I know it is not true"

The maid's face relaxed and gave her friend a sad smile "You like her, don't you? Is it because she is your best friend's daughter or because you really think they are meant for one another?" Aurea asked as she grabbed the brush again and went to stand behind the queen to finish doing her hair; Gaia shook her head softly "It is more than just that Aurea…what I saw between them was more than just a silly romance, it was _love_…it was understanding, they complement each other perfectly"

Gaia sighed softly, almost defeated "I am afraid that my son will make drastic decisions in order to try to heal the pain he is feeling…and I am afraid that he will listen to Narella…he mentioned Beryl several times last night at dinner and I am starting to get worried…he went as far as saying it might not be such a bad idea to marry her after all"

"You really do not think that Beryl is right for him, right?"

Gaia shook her head and threw her arm dismissively "No…and it has nothing to do for what she is or who she is, but…I do not see the kindness I saw on _her_…" she looked out the window "I really wish she could come…she loves him…she _must_ come…"

Aurea shook her head and began pinning her hair in a nice chignon "What if she cannot come? What if she is trapped somewhere? What if all of them know about them? Remember the last time it happened…"

"And I am still here" Gaia saw Aurea's face reflect in the mirror and smiled sadly, her face showed melancholy. It was as she was apologizing for how things came out to be. Her smile did not reach her eyes like it usually did and her eyes did not have that playful gleam that proved she was still the same woman she met years ago "Sick and dying…but I am here, with the person I chose to love and with a family that did not care to take all those risks for me…"

"Please don't say you are dying" Aurea said sadly, her voice immediately quivered.

Gaia pressed her lips together for a moment and smiled again with _that_ smile "It's alright Aurea…but my point here is that I chose how to live my life…and I am happy for it. I have no regrets" she turned and held Aurea's hands "If she loves him…she will come, that is my point"

Aurea stared at their holding hands; hers were cold against Gaia's warm ones. She no longer knew if she was being philosophical or if she was preparing them for her eternal departure, she did not know and it frightened her because in all her life she never had a friend like her; so caring and passionate but more importantly, that humble and loyal. She felt like she was not going to be able to hold the tears forming in her eyes any longer and tried to divert the conversation for a moment so she could calm down and wipe those droplets out of her sight.

She nodded and moved towards a chiffonier next to her vanity of long and heavy drawers and opened one slowly, taking a black velvet box she walk back and put it on the vanity; she sighed softly and removed the lid with care. Hundreds of tiny diamonds and crystals began to gleam as soon as they caught the light in the room, Aurea's lips curved in a satisfying smile "Well…in that case…" she took the majestic crown out the box with extreme care and slowly very slowly she placed it on top of Gaia's head "This crown might have found its new owner…but until that day comes…you are still our magical Queen"

Gaia looked at the gleaming crown and then at her "There are still times when I feel strange wearing this…"

Aurea chuckled and made sure it was well placed "I remember Obelix giving it to you" she stepped back and looked at her queen "I always have thought it looks like an aura made of stars…"

The queen chuckled too in response of her friend's comment "This crown _is_ special…but it still overwhelms me" standing up, she walked over the large mirror and looked at herself. She was wearing a long sleeve deep royal blue gown with a golden crystal broach on her chest. It was simple but exquisite, her makeup was subtle and classic; she did not need much to denote the royal and divine blood in her.

Aurea stepped aside and smiled widely, trying to forget the bittersweet conversation they just had minutes ago "It is almost time"

Gaia sighed and drifted her attention to her friend again, stepping aside from the intimidating mirror in front of her "Have you seen my son?" she asked hopeful; Aurea pouted her lips slightly and shook her head in denial "No…but, he must be getting ready as we speak…"

Both woman looked at each other in silence and sweat dropped "…No, he is not…"

Gaia turned her head and looked the dark sky outside, slowly she began walking towards the balcony and sighed again, this time more heavily; Aurea looked at her friend with sad eyes "Gaia? Is something the matter?"

The queen shook her head and looked over her shoulder "I will wait here until it is time…I have to wait for Eros and he probably is still arranging some things…"

Aurea nodded as she saw the queen being illuminated by the soft gleam of the moonlight "I have to go see if everything is alright with the preparations…it is almost time for the guests to arrive…Do you need anything else before I leave?"

The queen shook her head slowly giving her a negative answer; sometimes words were unnecessary when they already knew what was happening and she could tell Gaia was crying in silence, thinking of her son, thinking of her life and what she could do to change things time already took under its wing. She could not help the feeling of sadness beginning to nest in her chest more often as she saw the queen in that state almost every day. With one last glance at her friend, she turned on her heel and walked out of the room in silence.

o.o.o.o

At another side of the palace, the shitennou were already fully dressed in their formal uniform waiting for the prince's instructions according to the plans made for that night. Even when the incidents have ceased they could not give themselves the privilege to let their guard down, not now that they were getting ready to leave.

Jadeite rummaged through the pages of a book Endymion had in one of the tables in his room's foyer and sighed "So, this is it…the most awaited event of the year has finally come…this is our first winter ball so let's see how it goes…" he mumbled as he turned another yellowish sheet of paper from the book "How can he read these things?" he snapped out of the blue.

"Do you think he will do something…?" Zoicite asked as silent as he could, he did his best to raise his voice so the prince could not hear they were again, talking about him and his decisions.

Kunzite frowned and pushed his cape back "Something like what?" his icy grey eyes looked at the blonde sternly, knowing already what he meant but maybe, _maybe_ he could be talking about something else.

Zoicite turned to Kunzite "Something like…taking Beryl's hand in marriage…"

Jadeite put the book down and widened his green eyes "Do you really think he will do it?"

"He was thinking about it…but that would be a very stupid thing to do…" Zoicite muttered "Stupid, oh so very stupid" at the other side of the large space, next to one of the windows Nephrite leaned on the wall with his arms crossed as he heard the whole conversation quietly, still this was something that worried him greatly "I am thinking about the same thing…it would be stupid…"

Kunzite's frown deepened "He has been mentioning it over the past few days and you heard him yesterday…unfortunately at how things are right now…he might do it…"

"He hasn't been himself since that incident" Zoicite said softly.

"But he said he was just babbling…that he was not talking serious…he knows that if he marries her, he will be miserable for the rest of his life…" Jadeite said "We should try and talk to him…you know, to make sure he won't do anything stupid"

"And what exactly we could say? When we were not in favor of his relationship with the Princess" Zoicite said.

Nephrite sighed "We must be alert and very careful…remember the stars have been shining differently these past few days…as if they were trying to warn us about something…" he lowered his gaze "There are dark shadows tainting their shine…"

Kunzite looked at Nephrite in silence and then turned to the closed doors that lead to the prince's room and sighed with worry "There are times we forget that after all he is just human" he lowered his head and stared at the carpet beneath his well polished boots "He is human after all…" he closed his eyes, imagining and understanding how his friend might be feeling suffocated between everyone's wishes and expectations while putting his sentiments aside for later or maybe never. They both were having the same sense of loss and deception, of failure at protecting and guarding what they considered a treasure.

At the other side of those heavy doors and away of the whispering Endymion was finishing getting ready, his face did not showed any kind of excitement or emotion for this ball; his eyes were stormy dark and as if he was not looking at himself in the mirror while he loosely combed his hair back with his fingers. He had the need of not looking like himself tonight, he had the desire of not being noticed, he wanted to be invisible for just one time in his life. One after another he ran his fingers through his hair until all his hair was styled back, revealing his handsome face.

Megumi came from inside his walk in closet with a large velvet box in her hands and put it over the drawer next to the mirror where Endymion was standing. She stopped for a moment and stared at the man next to her with a face of astonishment, she could not help the feeling of embellishment that took over her as she looked at him with his hair all pushed back. She parted her lips slightly as if she was savoring every minute she had to admire him and felt her cheeks flush in what she imagined was an intense shade of pink.

She shook her head slowly to clear her mind from whatever it was beginning to imagine and proceeded to open the box she just brought. Slowly she took his formal red sache with all the medals of Honor that indicated his high rank and achievements. She looked at it closer as she walked over to him while wondering how they could wear something so heavy and for such a long time. The young girl raised her face to meet his in the mirror and smiled politely "My Prince…do you need any help?"

Endymion kept looking at his reflection in the mirror with a stern expression, taking a few seconds to respond to her question and slowly turned to her "I'm alright, I will do it…" his voice was soft and barely audible, it was like if she was talking to somebody else not him, not her prince; her cheerful, secure and playful prince.

The prince took the sache from her hands and proceeded to place it it across his chest; Megumi stepped aside deciding it was better if she did not get in his way and preferred to watch him from behind in silence while the prince finished tying it up but something caught his attention and sighed.

He frowned, moved his hand up to reach whatever was troubling his mind and unpinned and took a good look at it; it was the intricate and exquisite star locket the lunar princess gave him for his birthday.

Sighing, he looked down at it in silence _"Serenity" _he thought and closed his eyes for a very short moment. Megumi noticed his sudden change of expression and noticed there was something wrong with him "My Prince, may I ask if everything is alright?"

Endymion stared at the locket with longing as if he tried to search for her face in that fine piece of jewelry, as if he was trying to find the answers he plead to hear, as if he was waiting for some miracle to happen and clear all the mess caused. "No Megumi, not quite…but it will be" there it was again, that void in his voice. That not existent sound she was not expecting to hear "I am sorry for making you feel worried"

Megumi widened her eyes and blushed softly at his humble apology "My Prince…" she trailed off and took a step closer to him "Is there anything I can do to help?" she looked at him with pleading eyes.

Endymion looked down at the golden star in his hand again and pinned it back on his sache. He looked up and into her eyes; the ghost of a smile haunted his face "What do you mean Megumi?"

The young maid lowered her gaze and hoped she would not be too bold and imprudent "There has been this rumor…"

Endymion watched her struggle with her emotions and curiosity and raised a brow "What rumor?"

"Forgive me Your Highness…I should not be this bold…"

Endymion cleared his throat and crossed his arms "I am amazed by how rumors can be done and travel at the speed of light in this place; but you know you can tell me anything…you are more than just a maid, I consider you my friend. What rumor?"

Megumi swallowed and let out a loud sigh "That you may follow the tradition…and…"

"Choose somebody to be my wife?" Endymion finished Megumi's question; the young maid blushed a little deeper and nodded slowly making the prince sigh, in slight annoyance "This damn ball…it affects everyone" he muttered bitterly. He turned to the young girl and shrugged his shoulders.

"I do not know Megumi, I do not know what I am going to do…but, it is probably for the best…it is probably time for me to settle down just like my grandmother wants and stop doing things differently from my father or any other king has done in the past…" Endymion said slowly, with an unexpected sense of defeat to Megumi's surprise.

"Do you really think she is gone, My Prince?" Megumi asked softly.

Endymion sighed again and looked away "She…" he trailed off and frowned as he thought his set of words "She does not belongs to a person like me…" he turned to look at her and gave her a sad smile "There were too many things that kept us apart constantly and it did not matter how much we tried to find a way to be together…it was going to be difficult…so I suppose that is why she made a decision and decided to do things differently"

"My Prince…" Megumi looked at him sadly.

"I have to carry on with my life Megumi…fulfill my duties…" Endymion turned to give himself one last look in the mirror "I was born with many privileges that come with many obligations"

Megumi shook her head "But she loves you… I could see it in her eyes and the way she smiled every time she talked about you…you are really not going to fight for her My Prince?"

Endymion let out a soft chuckle and shook his head "She stopped fighting for me Megumi, the moment she got engaged to that man…" he frowned again, this time deeper and with more confusion "Why should I continue a battle alone?" he patted her cheek in a brotherly way and turned on his heel, leaving the young maid behind "I've been fighting all my life for something, never lost a single thing…why should I continue fighting for something that I already lost?" his question was thrown in the air as he continued walking until he reached for the door and walked through it once he opened.

The four shitennou turned at the door to see the prince standing there wearing his all black formal uniform with golden lining, the red sache and the red lining of his long black cape contrasted with the dark color of the fabric of his clothes, so dark you could barely notice the line of his black boots.

"Endymion…" Kunzite said, taking a step forward and taking the chance to try one last time.

"The guests are almost here, we need to be assured that everything is ready and covered. I do not want any kind of incidents, it is enough with the ball itself" the prince said dryly.

"Master…we need to talk about the rumors…" Zoicite said.

Endymion rolled his eyes "Ah, those famous rumors…" the sound of his sarcasm startled them all "What about them?"

"It is about you…taking somebody's hand in marriage" Jadeite said "Everybody is commenting it"

The prince sighed with annoyance "What if I do? Is that a bad thing?"

"Then, those rumors are true?" Kunzite asked "Endymion…you are making a very rushed decision"

Endymion looked at Kunzite "You are going to prevent that too?" his sarcasm sliced the dense vibe between the five men like a sharp knife on warm butter, and it felt alien to all of them since this was probably the first time they were not in the best of terms with this issue in hand.

"We do not want you to make a mistake by marrying that woman. You don't love her" Jadeite said in a worried tone, his once playful and usual jokes were now gone like a gust of wind.

"You have deep feelings for somebody else Master, _please_, don't do it" Nephrite said softly; his always calm and collected character was in the verge of breaking in hundreds of shards like if it was made of crystal at this point.

Endymion shook his head in anger, in frustration…he no longer knew. This was cathartic for him and it was gnawing his mere soul and the remains of his reason; he moved his hand slowly to his temple and rubbed it like if it was going to be of any help, sadly it did not do the charm his time. The feeling of loss and defeat was still there and if it had any flavor, Endymion could say it was like eating a lime with salt.

"Now you are telling me this?" he began to walk towards the door in his usual secure and stoic self and tried to cover the pain in his voice with sarcasm, but at this point he was not sure if it was working and kept trying to convince himself of whatever was going on in his mind, on which he was aware was a complete mess "Serenity has chosen somebody else to continue her life... it was only a matter of time for her to realize that I was not enough. She made a decision and now it is my turn to make mine"

"But make smart decisions…" Kunzite said, his grey eyes did not leave Endymion's back as if he was trying to prevent from crossing that door because once he did so, there would be no turning back in whatever he was about to do "Endymion…" he sighed tiredly "Don't do this. Don't. You have to think things, give yourself some time…"

"We don't have any more time Kunzite!" the prince finally reached for his patience limit, he turned to look at him over his shoulder and shook his head; he cared for that man like the brother he never had. He cared for all three men like family and he was very much aware of their true intentions, they were only trying to protect him but he had gone to that point where he didn't know if it was still worth it, because he did no longer knew if there was something else to save from him. He already lost his reason and with that his heart; he had given more than he ever imagined to give to someone and it felt like there was nothing else to give from him, except for his crown and that was something he was about to give as well.

Endymion hesitated for a moment before speaking and bit the inner side of his cheeks in thought, frustration, whatever at this point was and let the remains of his usual sarcasm self take over; a smile that did not reach for his eyes covered the sound of his warm voice "We have to go before everybody gets here" he shrugged his shoulders "We do not have time Kunzite… not this time" he turned his head and walked again towards the door, disappearing into the dim light of the corridor.

The shitennou watched him vanish in the distance; Jadeite sighed and shook his head "He is still angry…" as always he broke the ice again.

Kunzite pursed his lips; his eyes still fixed in the dark silhouette "He is hurt…" then turned to look at them and sighed tiredly "Time to work…"

o.o.o.o.o

A smile on her face was enough to show her admiration "Let me look at you" Filemina stood up and stepped aside once she finished arranging the long skirt of Beryl's gown "You look beautiful…" she breathed happily. Beryl smiled and walked towards the tall mirror; she turned and widened her eyes once she took a good look of her overall appearance, her face showed genuine amazement at her own reflection.

"Is this…me?" she whispered, her hands traveled up and down her waist; the tips of her fingers felt the soft texture of the fabric tight against her body and breathed again in pure heavenly bliss.

Her deep green gown contrasted with her pale skin and it matched the fiery red shade of her hair that was styled in a half ponytail with luscious curls and crystal pins with emeralds. Her makeup was dramatic; smokey burgundy shadow enhanced her green eyes, soft blush and a light pink color on her lips, her earrings were minimal but it matched the color of her gown that strategically hugged every curve in her body.

She blinked several times, still not believing that the girl in front of her eyes was actually her. This was far from what she imagined she could look and from the girl she was months ago "I…" she trailed off.

"You are fit for the winter ball alright" Filemina said "You look like a true Lady"

Beryl blushed and smiled as she turned her body side to side to admire the gown's back "This is the first time I wear something so elegant…this is the first time in my life I look like this…"

"You should be thanking me…"

Beryl widened her eyes and turned to see Charmindy standing at the door in her deep blue gown. Impressed by her sudden change in looks since it was a color she never saw her wearing before. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a long braid with crystal pins while her makeup was classic; her fuchsia lips standing out as always.

She walked slowly towards Beryl as she eyed her up and down, analyzing her appearance and stopped in front of her "If the rumors are true…you are to be the next Princess of Elysion…" her voice came out soft from her lips softly and turned to look at Filemina "You did a good job with her…" then turned her stare at Beryl again, her tranquil face was disturbed by a slight frown "But if you ruin it…if you dare to do something that ruins the plan...do not bother to come back"

Beryl widened her eyes and preferred to ignore the blonde's threat "You said rumor…?"

Filemina also widened her eyes in surprise and licked her lips "So it is true My Lady, the Prince is choosing her as Princess?"

Charmindy cleared her throat and smirked "That is what everybody is saying…" then turned to look at Beryl; her lips turned to a frown, the sudden flash of joy vanished in a nanosecond "I hope you marked my words"

Beryl swallowed slowly and turned to the mirror again to look at herself and still found it difficult to recognize herself "…This is it…" she whispered to herself "Time has come"

Charmindy chuckled dryly and rubbed her hands with excitement "I cannot wait to see Gaia's face when the Prince calls Beryl and I walk by her side" she turned to Filemina and clapped her hands a couple of times "Go see if the carriage is ready…it is getting late, I do not want to miss a single minute of it"

Beryl turned and waved her towards Filemina "My Lady… but, Filemina is not ready yet"

Charmindy arched a brow and arched her brows "_I beg your pardon_?"

Filemina turned to look at Beryl and shook her head to make her stop talking but Beryl ignored whatever the old woman was trying to prevent, she had a right to witness her triumph and this was probably the first time she could request something from the blonde without having any sorts of consequences, taking her chances and grasping for air she walked towards the blonde "Filemina isn't ready yet…we must wait for her…she is also invited to the ball"

Charmindy threw her head back as she began to laugh for a couple of minutes before the comment stopped being funny when Beryl continued talking despite her very loud laughter "Are you being serious? A maid? A servant? Please…"

"The invitation says that everybody is invited to the ball" Beryl said "And she lives here too, she has all the right to go"

Charmindy stopped laughing abruptly and went straight to Beryl and grabbed her by her emerald necklace, pulling her closer to her she let out a soft growl "Just because there are rumors that you might been the chosen girl to be Princess, does not mean you can take advantage…you are still a nobody and whore and without me you wouldn't be nothing…if I say she won't go is because she won't"

"Then if I become Princess…you will pay for the consequences" Beryl snapped, startling both Charmindy and Filemina. The young woman stood still and proud of what she just said, maybe it was the fact that she felt the royals were on her side this time and that in fact she was going to be the next princess of Elysion or maybe it was just because she knew the truth about the blonde and in the end, they did not share too many differences after all, except for the money of course and the fake title she and her were given at one certain point of their lives.

Charmindy arched a brow and crossed her arms; the surprise in her eyes was masked by the blush in her cheeks that showed no other thing than anger "Oh? Are you threatening me?" narrowing her eyes she moved closer, like a snake studying its attack "Why do you defend that servant so much?"

"It is true, if it wasn't for you…I wouldn't be here…but if it wasn't for _her_…you wouldn't be here" Beryl said dryly and turned to look at the older woman "And if I become Princess I want her to be my personal maid, I want the royals to know her and identify her"

Charmindy pursed her lips and frowned. She moved her hand away from the girl's necklace and turned her face to Filemina, her lips felt chapped and dry; eyeing her up and down she caressed her upper lip with the tip of her tongue, disguising her discomfort as she stared at the nervous woman "Do not embarrass me with your filthy clothes…" she waved her hand in dismissal and rolled her eyes "Go change those dreadful clothes into something more appropriate for the ball"

Filemina widened her eyes and then turned to Beryl and gave her a thankful stare before walking out of the room as fast as she could to get ready for the ball. It was the first time after the incident with Charmindy and the king she was allowed to go to another ball and she could not believe it was happening again.

Charmindy watched the older woman walk with a hopeful look and pursed her lips as she turned slowly to face Beryl "You think you have everything under control…this is the last time you dare to talk to me like that in front of the serfdom"

Beryl tried to retain the braveness in her body but the more time she spent with that woman alone, the more she felt that air of confidence slowly vanished away. Her green eyes showed more concern for what was going to happen on that evening, if she was going to be the chosen one or not, if she was going to return to this mansion or not. Right now, her future was uncertain and that terrorized her more than the woman in front of her, with all the intentions to slap her across the face. She responded with silence to the blonde's threat and turned her face away as she waited for their departure time.

Charmindy watched her with daring eyes, knowing how she still had her under her control. Like a piece of paper, so easy to manipulate or destroy…having this kind of power gave her that ecstasy she lacked all this years and knowing that her plans indeed worked and lead her to the golden palace once again was the cherry on the top of her imaginary chocolate cake.

"Soon…soon…" The blonde woman whispered with delight.

o.o.o.o

The sound of the wheels of many carriages alerts the many guards at the palace's entrance. They began to come closer to the palace as soon as the sun began to set, just in time like the invitation said. The front gates of the palace where open side to side allowing them to enter without a problem, by orders of the prince and king they doubled the amount of guards and soldiers which made it more easy to watch and keep the area clear of all threat.

The majestic front door finally opened to the first guests to arrive who could not deny their surprise and admiration at the stunning building, more guards were standing in the hallway up to the throne room where the royals were eventually going to make their apparition and give faith and approval to start with the celebration.

All the golden chandeliers where sparkling and lit and gave that golden glow illuminating the entire corridors, on each small table there were tall vases full of roses of all colors and its perfume gave that touch of sophistication everybody knew the royals offered in every event. It did not matter how many times one would attend to a winter ball, every time you stepped a foot on that palace it gave you that magical feeling of being part of a dream.

Hundreds of guests arrived one after another as they walked with their hearts full of expectation and excitement to the ball, there was not a single person without a face of amazement, just like always, the winter ball was the most perfect and most awaited moment of the year.

The throne room, the grand salon and the garden were all decorated with thousands of red roses in the queen's honor; bigger chandeliers gleamed softly imitating the same golden illumination from the ones in the corridors. Gold and red silk and shimmery fabrics made or what it looked like organza hung from the ceiling falling exquisitely over the floor to ceiling windows. At the other side of the large room near the glass doors that connected the grand salon with the main garden there were three large buffet tables with all kinds of treats and fine snacks and their respective fine wine fountains.

Once you joined the crowd at the salon you could hear the chatter and the soft music coming from the band in the distance; people of high ranks were gossiping while others were catching up. Excited girls waved their fans, hoping with trembling hands as the prince made his grand apparition all waiting to be 'chosen one'.

In a very dim lighted room, hundreds of silver sparks gave form to a very excited and nervous Serenity. With a hopeful stare she looked around hoping to find the man she longed to see and realized she was standing in his chamber's foyer. It was calm, very calm and quiet, the cracking sound of the fire eating the wood inside the hearth was the only sound that kept her from going completely desperate. She turned and saw the doors of his room closed but took the chance and see if he was in there like he always did.

Her fingers curled over the long handle of one of the oak doors and entered letting it close slowly behind her; her eyes gave a quick glance all around the room only to find it exactly the same as the previous room, empty, silent and cold.

She put her hands over her chest and felt her heart pounded with force. She could not help to feel that sense of loss and resignation once she accepted she was already too late; she felt her palms began to sweat cold and let herself get trapped in the depression that was obviously trapped within the walls of that room; the room that still had his scent floating in the air. She closed her eyes and took in the scent of his cologne and could not help the tears forming in her eyes roll down her flushed cheeks.

With trembling hands she hesitated for a moment but went to open the bathroom door, hoping to find him there brushing his teeth or something. Still hopeful to be surprised she walked towards his large closet and looked around, but with no luck "Endymion?" she called with a soft, trembling voice and with defeat walked towards the bed and sat on the edge. With trembling hands and a broken heart she covered her face and began to cry in the solitude of the room that once was witness of their love; sadly for her and frustrating enough she did not know how to get to the study or another place where he could be alone, it was too late for her, it was too late for their love to be rescued and that killing her inside.

After a while, her weeping calmed. Serenity moved her hands away from her face showing her eyes swollen and red from crying. With a lost stare she looked around the room again and began to remember all the things they did every time she managed to come and visit him every night. The first time they had dinner together near the hearth, when she found his drawings of her, when she used to find him working until very late, the first time they spent the night together… and the first time they let themselves go to the passion of their love. Her eyes were starting to gleam with fresh tears again and sniffed a couple of times when she suddenly heard the door opens revealing a very surprised Megumi "My Lady!?" she said after she gasped in surprise "What are you doing here?" she looked at her with a face of pure surprise.

Serenity gasped and raised her head, _"A beacon of light…" _she thought and saw Megumi standing closer to her with a face of great surprise "Megumi…" she whispered sadly.

"My Lady!?" Megumi stopped in front of her "What…How…? You are here!" she noticed the tears on Serenity's eyes and frowned "My Lady?"

Serenity opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out, her lips were chapped, her throat dry and all she could do was to feel more tears burning her swollen eyes. She sat there like a lifeless body, waiting for her senses come back to her again and react to the situation. A tear finally rolled and touched her lips, which she immediately tasted with her tongue and closed her eyes slowly "I…" she trailed off and made her best effort to speak her mind.

"…I needed to talk to him…" she whispered and opened her eyes "…But I was late…" she turned her face to the young girl, who was wearing a more formal attire "He is gone…" her fingers curled and tug the fabric of her dress "I do not know how to get to his study…I need to see him…I need to tell him everything he heard was a misunderstanding, that anything he was told was not true" Serenity frowned and covered her face again with her hands and began to sob again.

Megumi blinked and could not help to feel transmitted by the pain the woman in front of her was expressing and remembered the way the prince was looking himself in the mirror; he had the same vacant stare the princess had moments ago, both felt empty and abandoned by themselves. She felt the urge to do something, this could not end this way "My Lady…" she called softly and touched her bare shoulder "My Prince might still be at the study…if you want I can…"

Serenity shook her head still crying "I am too late… the shitennou are probably there with him, they won't let me talk to him…"

"The ball will be starting soon…" Megumi said and soon realization hit her as she remembered Endymion's words and widened her brown eyes in panic.

_It is probably time for me to settle down just like my grandmother wants and stop doing things differently from my father or any other king has done in the past…_

"…Beryl…" she whispered and looked down at the white Princess "You _must_ to go to the ball…My Prince has to see you!"

Serenity moved her hands away from her face and turned to the young maid "I cannot go like this…look at me, I am a disaster…they will think I am crazy and escort me out of the palace…"

Megumi felt her heart race and even when she had feelings for her prince, she knew he cared for her as a little sister and considered her his friend and right now his friend was in pain. Frowning, the girl remembered Beryl's threatening words and how she constantly tried to catch the man's attention, in the state he was right now it was very probable that he ould take her hand out of despite and that was something she could not let to happen, her eyes lit up with hope and a big smile adorned her face as a plan began forming in her head "We can still make it Princess"

Serenity widened her eyes when she felt Megumi's hand taking hers "What…?" she blinked confused.

Megumi turned to look at her "Follow me" her smile reaching her eyes. It was a hopeful smile.

They walked as fast as they could all the way down the long corridor that seemed endless, Megumi looked all around hoping to find somebody to ask for help and just when she was about to feel frustrated her eyes lit up with gratitude as she saw Aurea walking towards the Queen's chambers; turning to the Princess she smiled "Please, wait here My Lady" and ran towards the older woman.

"Lady Aurea, Lady Aurea!" she called out to the queen's friend and waved her hand; Aurea turned to look at her and frowned "Megumi! Why are you screaming like that? What is the matter with you? This is not the place and time to be doing those things"

"I know My Lady, but please…I need your help" Megumi panted.

Aurea frowned with annoyance "Whatever it is can't it wait?"

Megumi shook her head "It is _very_ important My Lady…please, come with me"

Aurea sighed "Megumi…I do not have time for this…"

"It's for the sake of My Prince…please…" Megumi interrupted her, her eyes held an untold truth Aurea could not deny "Please My Lady, before it's too late"

Aurea's frown changed to a surprise face and nodded "What is it?" she followed Megumi walk towards one of the pillars in the corridor and sighed "Megumi what is this, I do not have time for…"

Megumi held Serenity's hand and brought her from behind the pillar, startling Aurea "Oh my…" she gasped and widened her eyes "It is you, the girl. _That_ girl…" Aurea whispered.

Serenity recognized the woman as Endymion's godmother and nodded; Aurea took a few steps closer and held her hand "She was right…" she marveled "You came…"

Serenity blinked "I beg your pardon?"

"My Queen…she," she trailed off and made a pause "You came to see Endymion" Aurea said, Serenity nodded and sighed softly "But I am too late…I know…" she looked at her day dress "And I do not know where to find him…"

Aurea gave Serenity a warm smile and patted her hand "I do not think that will be a problem"

Serenity was startled "Wh-What?"

Aurea tilted her head and caressed the princess cheek with the back of her hand "It is alright, do not worry…There is somebody that will be very glad to see you…come with me…" she turned to Megumi "You too Megumi, I will need your help"

Megumi nodded excitedly and walked behind them; Aurea turned the door knob and opened the large door and entered, as soon Serenity walked in, she recognized the elegant room "This is…"

Aurea walked pass the elegant foyer towards the bedroom without saying another word and found the queen sitting in front of her vanity waiting for her, to accompany her to the throne room where Eros was probably waiting.

"My Queen" Aurea said softly, oddly to Gaia she frowned and turned to look at her "Aurea, where were you? It's time…"

Aurea stood next to Gaia and smiled "I know, but…"

Gaia frowned again and shook her head "It's late, Eros is probably waiting for me…Endymion must be there as well…"

"I know, but I need your help"

Gaia arched a brow "My help?"

Aurea nodded "Yes. This is important"

"Can't it wait?"

Aurea shook her head "You were right Gaia…" she whispered.

Gaia sighed and stood up slowly from her chair "What are you talking about?"

Aurea raised her hands in front of her and turned to the door of her room "Megumi…please, come in"

Seconds later Megumi walked into the room and bowed her head in deep respect holding Serenity's hand. Aurea turned to see the queen's surprise face and walked slowly over to the young princess "Serenity" the queen said with her warm and motherly voice.

"Queen" Serenity said softly, her voice breaking.

The queen shook her head and caressed her face softly, the same way her mother would do in a situation of stress. The princess reacted to her touch and closed her eyes, letting herself feel loved and protected by the woman in front of her who shared the same warmth Endymion had in his touch.

Minutes after, she slowly opened her eyes and watched in awe at the beautiful queen wearing her formal gown and glorious crown; she was mesmerized by the way it looked on her; it was like a crown made of stars "Your Majesty…I am so sorry for the intromission…and" she looked down at her wrinkled day dress "…My appereance"

Gaia chuckled and waved her hand, a warm smile greeted her, calming her worries "Oh child, do not fret about that, I have looked worse" she said it remembering her first appearance at the winter ball. The same motherly smile reached her eyes and patted her hands in assurance "I knew you were going to come…I knew you loved him"

Serenity watched the queen with wide eyes and then shook her head with a desperate need to explain what happened "Everything has been a misunderstanding…Your Majesty…I need to speak to him but he…"

"He is not in his room anymore, I know dear…" Gaia said completing her sentence "He's in charge of the security of the event so he is probably at the study or waiting for me with his father" she sighed and pressed her lips together "He has not been in the best of moods, it has been almost impossible for me to establish a conversation without arguing" she frowned "He is being unreasonable"

"I wanted to talk to him, to clear all this misunderstanding…but I know it is too late" Serenity said in the verge of tears again "My senshi…she meant no harm, she was only trying to protect me and…"

Gaia smiled again and put her index finger on her lips and shook her head "I know dear, you need to talk to him…" she turned her face to Aurea and nodded, Aurea understood right away what she meant and sat Serenity on the queen's vanity. She slowly began undoing her hair, letting it flow down her back like a silver cascade; Serenity blinked a couple of times and blushed "I…Your Majesty?"

Gaia arched a brow "Do you really think I will let you go unnoticed?" she chuckled again "If you are going to talk to him it won't be behind closed doors. Not anymore dear"

Serenity blinked surprised at the queen's words and hospitality "Queen…"

Gaia shook her head and caressed her cheek "You are _too_ beautiful to be left unnoticed"

The queen stood behind her and began doing her hair once Aurea finished brushing it; Serenity watched her in awe as she knew exactly how to do the hairstyle. She watched how her fingers slid strands of hair around them to form the famous buns at the top of her head with precision; Gaia smiled once her hair was done and began placing golden crystals on her buns in the shape of tiny stars.

"You have come from a world made of silver and entered to one made of gold" the queen whispered as she continued placed the final pins around her buns.

Aurea turned her face delicately and began doing her makeup; after cleaning her face softly with a damp cloth to wash away all the trails her tears left on her porcelain skin. Her beauty was so impeccable she did not need too much to look perfect; as soon as she was done she put her a pair of earrings with golden tear dots.

Serenity looked amazed at her reflection "Thank you…so much" she smiled and turned to look at the queen.

Gaia tapped her chin "Something is still missing…" her eyes widened slightly and snapped her fingers with excitement "I have exactly what you need!"

She walked towards her dresser and opened the first drawer, taking a large velvet box she walked back to the room and set it over a table next to a large golden mirror, taking the lid and rummaging through the soft silky cloth, she took out a long pale golden gown with crystal embedding.

She could not hide her smile of excitement and satisfaction as she turned on her heel again and walked towards Serenity. She smiled and handed it to Aurea who immediately knew what dress this was, and turned to Megumi with a small smile "This is where I am going to need your help"

Megumi smiled and nodded; quickly taking the princess' hand she led her towards the large screen to help her get dressed. Aurea went to stand next to the queen and gave her a knowing smirk turned "That gown…"

Gaia nodded "I knew I would find the perfect moment to use it again…"

Aurea tilted her head and crossed her arms "It is not the one from your engagement party…"

Gaia shook her head and smiled "No. This is a special gown"

Megumi walked from behind the screen with a huge smile on her face and waited for the princess to come out; minutes after Serenity walked from behind the large screen and turned to look at a the queen and the two ladies by her side. Aurea gasped in amazement making the queen's smile widen with excitement.

Serenity looked down at the dress she was wearing with admiration; her fingers trailed the beading and crystals with delicacy and turned slowly to look at herself in the mirror. It was an empire cut long dress in pale gold with off shoulders; the crystals adorning the part of her chest gave the illusion of little stars caught by the soft light and the sheer fabric that went from her back to the bracelets on her wrists gave the illusion of translucent wings every time she opened her arms.

Her blue eyes widened and gasped in surprise and covered her mouth with her hands; Gaia patted Aurea's shoulder softly and walked over to the very shocked princess. Serenity blinked a couple of times more before recover her breath "Is this…me?" she said softly.

Gaia stood next to the princess and nodded, placing her hand under her chin delicately she turned to the mirror and looked at Serenity's reflection "You are much more beautiful than you think, the beauty of your heart surpasses everything and it shows"

Serenity blushed "Your Majesty…"

Gaia smiled "This dress has an invaluable meaning to me, it is very special…I wore it at my best friend's wedding…"

Serenity "It is so beautiful…" she turned to look at the queen "But this is too much…this is very special to you and…"

Gaia placed her index finger on her lips delicately and smiled "I am very glad this dress fits you perfectly, I am very happy to see it catch the light again…" the queen could not hold her emotion and took a deep breath "This dress is yours now, I want you to have it"

Serenity widened her eyes "Your Majesty…"

Gaia caressed Serenity's cheek "I knew you were going to come…I know you love him for who he is not for what he is, that is why I am not afraid"

Serenity frowned slightly and tilted her head "How did you know?" she trailed off, Gaia chuckled "You remind me of someone who did the exact same thing you are about to do right now…"

The queen turned to Aurea who was already waiting to take her to the throne room "It's time My Queen" said her friend and then turned to Megumi "When you finish helping her get ready…walk her to the ballroom"

Megumi nodded and smiled; Serenity watched the queen walking slowly towards the door. Her regal presence was magnificent; she transmitted the aura of a goddess and with that crown upon her head left very clear the fact that indeed, she was a superb queen. Her heart felt like if it was going to escape her body "Your Majesty…" she called out softly, but perfectly clear for the queen to stop and look at her; Serenity took a step forward and bit her lower lip "May I ask…who is that person?"

Gaia gave the princess a warm smile and tilted her head slightly "Me" turning on her heel she walked out of the room with Aurea by her side. Serenity widened her eyes; her thoughts were interrupted by a smiling Megumi "Your heels My Lady…" Serenity widened her eyes at the sight of those gorgeous golden sky high stilettos that came in the same velvet box with the dress "Oh…"

o.o.o.o

Eros walked back and forth as he waited for his wife in his impeccable pitch black uniform, Leonidas sighed and let out a soft chuckle "After all this time you still are still the same anxious man"

Eros stopped and frowned "Why is she taking so long? Could it be she felt sick?"

Leonidas shook his head "Women are supposed to be a little late to these kind of events…they have to look their best, you know how this is"

The king sighed "I feel like the very first time I introduced her to the court, in this particular ball"

Leonidas nodded "I remember that night alright, how could I forget? Many unexpected things happened…" he frowned and moved closer to the king "Eros, have you spoken to Endymion?"

Eros frowned again "About tomorrow?"

Leonidas shook his head "No…about taking the girl's hand in marriage"

The king sighed and looked away "If that is what he wants, I cannot stop him Leonidas"

"But he is not acting straight; he is just taking drastic measures"

Eros shook his head "I still do not know what came into him…I still don't understand"

_o.o.o_

_Endymion walked into the dining room the morning after he had that talked to his mother and greeted them with distorted face as he sat on his usual place at the dining table; placing the napkin cloth on his lap he took a sip of his black coffee. Queen Gaia was already there, sitting next to her husband she watched him with a worried expression "Dear…"_

"_Good morning" the prince said softly and took another sip; Queen Narella noticed the lack of enthusiasm in her grandson and dared to ask "Good morning dear, are you alright?"_

_Endymion sighed softly and turned to look at his grandmother "Yes, I'm fine"_

"_I was just talking to your Mother and Father about the last arrangements that needed to be done before the ball, you must know I invited everyone from the court of each kingdom, it is going to be memorable" Narella said happily._

_Endymion sighed and leaned on his chair, waving his hand to the maid so she won't serve any food to him "Right, yes, that's what I imagined"_

_The mother queen smiled "Of course…it is going to be memorable because it is our first winter ball with our dear Prince present, after so many years" she took a sip of her tea, her smile widened "It would be very lovely if the tradition repeats itself once again"_

_Eros cleared his throat "Mother…" he said in a warning tone._

"_Every girl from every kingdom will be here, wanting of course to meet my grandson" Narella said defending her point "Oh, it would be lovely if you chose your bride at the ball"_

_Endymion frowned and looked down at his cup of black coffee while continued listening to the queen; Gaia pursed her lips and let out a soft sigh "Mother, that is not necessary…it is only a ball"_

"_The most awaited celebration of the year, of course it is necessary" Narella said and looked at her son and daughter in law "And it is because of him every girl is coming with much more excitement"_

_Endymion's frown deepened but remained silent and took another long sip of his coffee. Gaia shook her head and turned to her husband as if pleading him to do something to stop her mother from continuing. Eros raised his hand "Mother, please…"_

"_This kingdom needs to follow its legacy, it is time for Endymion to start thinking in marrying a nice fine woman and start a family, one day he will be the King to the throne and I want to be able to meet my great grandchildren" Queen Narella took a sip of her tea again "I strongly believe Beryl is that woman, she is willing to follow you whenever you are"_

_Endymion kept his eyes fixed on his coffee with a stern face and still without saying a single word. Gaia frowned and turned to look at Narella "That is enough Mother, stop with this"_

_Narella arched her brow "Can't you see Gaia? This is not a joke! This kingdom is not a joke…and its future is either!"_

"_Mother…please" Eros joined the discussion "Let's not be drastic about this…"_

"_This young man is acting the same way you did when you were his age, untroubled and rebellious. You only wanted to do whatever you wanted to do…how many times we wanted you to meet somebody special, somebody great for you?" Narella snapped not realizing she was hurting Gaia in the process, as soon as she did, she took a deep breath and rested her forehead on her hand "Endymion has to think not only for him but for this kingdom as well"_

_Gaia frowned "He has done much more than he should for this kingdom"_

"_Endymion has many other matters to attend first than marriage" King Eros said dryly. It was becoming evident the distress and annoyance he was feeling._

_Queen Narella shook her head "This is unbelievable… what would Odell think if he hears your words…he would have agreed with me in this matter…"_

_The name of the late king moved something in Endymion's heart, making him frown. Like a stab in his chest with a knife he remembered the memory of his grandfather always wanting the best for him and always giving him the right advice when he was young; was it really what he would have wanted if he was here, still alive? To see him married? He thought. _

"_Don't speak of me as if I was not here" his voice was cold and interrupted any possible future comment. _

_The king and two queens stopped arguing and turned to look at the prince, who was still looking down at his coffee "Don't speak of me as if I were invisible or incapable of doing something right"_

_Queen Gaia shook her head "No dear, that is not what we meant…what we were…"_

"_I have given to this kingdom my entire loyalty, I've served it and have done the best I can" he raised his voice and shook his head "But it seems it's not enough, it is never enough…anything…" he trailed off. His right hand held his cup of coffee with a stronger grip, not able to raise his angry gaze yet "Is…" he took a moment "Is Beryl invited to the ball?"_

_Queen Narella widened her eyes and nodded "Yes, yes of course"_

_Gaia frowned "Endymion?"_

"_I'll ask for her hand…" Endymion raised his gaze and turned to look at his grandmother "I will ask for her hand in marriage at the ball"_

"_What?" Gaia widened her eyes and gasped; Eros frowned "Son, what are you saying?" he sighed "Please don't be unreasonable"_

"_I was born with privileges but also with many obligations, the most important one is to serve my kingdom as Prince…and if marrying a woman to bring an heir to this kingdom is what I have to do in order to keep fulfilling my duties then I will" Endymion said, still looking at his grandmother. His stare did not hold any spark or excitement, his voice was monotone and cold. He had been losing too many battles lately and that was literally crashing against his pride. _

_Narella watched her grandson perplexed, it was something she was not expecting at all and could not say any word because of the surprise of his words. Gaia shook her head and placed her hand on Endymion's arm "You don't know what you are saying…stop with this nonsense"_

"_It's not nonsense Mater" Endymion turned to look at her with a dark and serious gaze "My grandmother is right, I should stop thinking too much about myself and serve this kingdom as a real Prince…I've been avoiding this matter for too long now and time does not stop; I've known Beryl for quite some time now and she seems to be a good candidate, she has joined us many times before and even stayed here at the palace…she has my grandmother's approval and is the one with I have spoken the most. My grandfather would have agreed with me"_

_Gaia stood up and hit the table with her palm extended "Your grandfather would have agreed if it were a relationship based in true love. You don't love her. Are you going to be a cruel and cold hearted man now? I did not raise you to be like this!"_

_Endymion followed suit and stood up as well, meeting his mother's eyes "What is love anyways Mother? It is only an illusion and nothing more. I have been a cold hearted man since I knew all I did was to cause pain and danger to this family, why do you think I became what I am now?"_

"_Endymion" Gaia said in a hurt and warning tone._

_Eros frowned "Endymion I forbid you to speak to your Mother that way"_

_The prince narrowed his eyes as if he was trying to contain what it looked like tears, his stare never leaving his mother's "Love is a feeling that rips your soul apart and leaves you hollow inside" turning to his grandmother he nodded and threw his cloth napkin on the table "Everything is ready for the ball, just like you wanted to"_

_Narella blinked a couple of times and saw the prince turn to his mother again "I need to move on with my life…this is my way, respect it, please" turning on his heel he walked out of the dining room without saying anything else, leaving everybody startled, worried and surprised._

_o.o.o_

Leonidas sighed and pursed his lips for a moment, while he waited with the king for the queen to appear "He is going to ruin his life if he marries her…"

"Leonidas…" Eros turned to look at him "I cannot stop him from doing anything he has in mind…he is not a child anymore"

"You think the same way I do…he is not asking just any girl to marry him but Charmindy's protégé. The woman you were going to marry almost 26 years ago…" the general shook his head "Endymion is not acting like himself..."

"He is pleasing Mother…" the king lowered his gaze "Which is very strange…he is not the kind of person who gives in so easily"

"You need to talk to him, before he ruins his life" Leonidas frowned and soon widened his eyes when he felt somebody near him; turning to look over his shoulder he was surprised to see the prince standing there with his mother "I believe that is something I will have to deal with, if I ruin my life or not…it is a business of mine and nobody else's"

Gaia shook her head and took her husband's arm "Dear…"

"Endymion, think clearly…what is the matter with you?" Leonidas said, trying to reason with the prince "This is not like you. This is not how you resolve things, you know it better than anyone"

Endymion gave the man a sarcastic chuckle "Who said I was resolving something?" realizing he was being disrespectful to his godfather he sighed "Leonidas…I have to do whatever I have to do to keep this place in balance, and if it means to sacrifice some things, then I will have to do it…I am the Crown Prince of Earth and with that comes specific obligations" he frowned and looked both sides confused "Where is Aurea?"

Before Leonidas could respond the prince, the guards began to take their places and prepared for the royals to come out. Endymion lowered his gaze and for a moment closed his eyes _I still don't understand Serenity_… he thought_ I still don't understand…_

A final carriage arrived at the main entrance and stopped, indicating they were at the palace. Charmindy moved the curtain on the small window aside and smiled knowingly; oh how she missed walking down those long and elegant corridors. Filemina watched the blonde woman smile with excitement knowing how important this moment was for her; after so many years she finally came back to a ball with her daughter by her side even when she still had to pretend she was just a maid.

Turning to see Beryl, she noticed the nervousness in the way she held the fabric of her dress and smiled softly "You will do fine…" she whispered, for only them to hear. Beryl widened her eyes and turned to look at the woman "Am I really here?" she asked softly; Filemina nodded and stretched her arm, she moved the small velvet curtain from their window allowing the girl to be caught up in the beauty of the palace at night.

Her green eyes widened even more when she saw the lights illuminating the entire path that led to the large and imposing door; soon a guard opened the carriage door and helped Charmindy step out first who waved her black feather fan with excitement across her face to maintain herself cool. Filemina was next to step out and finally Beryl who, was very much awaited to be seen by the other court girls as they heard about the famous 'rumor'.

Beryl looked all around as if it was the first time stepping into the royal grounds. With her lips parted in amazement she tried to put up some words to describe what she was seeing and feeling, remembering the time when she waited outside looking at this particular entrance hoping to be part of all these people who were now very curious to meet her.

Catching the attention of the guards and many people who were still arriving, Filemina finished arranging the tail of her deep forest gown and began walking behind her. The guards at the corridor lead them slowly to the grand salon where the many guests were expecting the royals to show up "Just in time" Charmindy whispered.

The guard stopped and stepped aside allowing the three women to come into the large (very large) ball room. Beryl gasped softly and widened her eyes as she was taken by the exquisite decorations and the gleam of all the chandeliers hanging from the tall stained glass dome ceiling.

Many glances were on her direction, making her feel slightly intimidated. Charmindy giggled as she continued waving her fan in an exaggerated 'lady like' manner and moved closer to the redhead woman "You better not embarrass me tonight, this is our night, put everything you learned into practice"

Beryl swallowed and nodded, her hands trembled a little and she was not even sure why; maybe it was because it was the first time she was in an event like this, maybe because of the 'extra' attention she was receiving, the glances or just maybe because she could not wait to see the prince.

Anxiety and expectation started to curl up in her chest and decided to look around the room to distract herself from the glances and whispering. Like a miracle to her pleads, she spotted the wine fountain and went to fill a glass of the luxurious beverage. She took the glass and gave it a quick look before taking a small sip; once she let the liquid slid down her throat she noticed there were a few girls waving their fans behind her and could not help to hear their conversation.

"_Have you seen that girl? She is supposed to be the Queen's favorite to marry the Prince"_

"_No…" said a girl in a red dress "Her?"_

"_Who is she?" another one in a deep purple gown asked while waved her feather fan "I have never seen her before"_

"_Is that her?" A brunette wearing a yellow gown asked perplexed._

"_She is very pretty…" the girl in the purple gown commented._

_The one wearing the red dress rolled her eyes "She is not that pretty…"_

"_Where did she come from?" The first girl, who wore a baby blue gown asked "Well, the coin is in the air…we still do not know who the Prince will choose"_

_The girl in the red dress smirked "Why, me of course" the other girls giggled._

Beryl tried to ignore the whispering and many questions thrown in the air from the girls who were waiting for the same moment as her. She glided beautifully trapping many men's attention on her way towards Filemina and Charmindy.

Her heart pounded in her chest, making her feel as if it was going to rip her chest and come out, the sound of it so strong she swore it echoed in the entire room making it the main reason of why everybody set their eyes on her for at least three minutes.

"This…is the night…" she thought to herself "This is _my_ night…" she took another look around and bit her lower lip "All this will be mine…I will be Princess to all of _this_…"

Minutes after, the orchestra began playing again, this time a fanfare, indicating it was time for the royal family to come out from behind the heavy doors behind the thrones. Beryl stood next to Filemina and Charmindy and saw everybody gather closer to have a better look of them.

One of the guards knocked the floor three times with his staff, getting everybody's attention "Our Royal Majesties King Eros, Queen Gaia, Our Mother Queen… Queen Narella and His Royal Highness Prince Endymion"

Beryl widened her eyes and moved her head as she tried to see the Prince walk out; whispers and sighs began to be heard as the prince came out of the door, holding his grandmother's arm in a supportive way.

"Endymion…" Beryl whispered, her heart skipping a beat.

As the four royals stood in front of their respective thrones, they all bowed their head in salute while the two queens waved their hand slowly and with much elegance. King Eros took a step forward and greeted the audience with a smile "Good evening, Ladies…Gentlemen; it is a pleasure for us to be reunited here in this, annual celebration known as the Winter Ball…"

The four shitennou soon appeared and stood behind the prince in silence "This is…amazing" Jadeite whispered, soon hushed by Zoicite who was standing next to him.

"It goes without saying why this ball is special to many of us" Eros smiled and turned to look at his son for a brief moment "It has been many years since my son was here joining us in this celebration which is why we could not help to throw this ball in his and all of our soldier's honor who, will leave tomorrow to undertake a new journey"

A maid guided by Aurea stood with a tray next to the royals and gave them a glass of wine; the king nodded his head and raised his glass "I would like to make a toast, in honor of our soldiers, in honor of my son and of course, in honor of all of you joining us here tonight; cheers"

Every guest raised they wine glass in the air and echoed "To our soldiers and our Prince"

The king took a sip of his wine and turned to his mother who always gave a brief speech before the ball began. Taking a place next to her son she smiled warmly "Good evening, on behalf of my family…my son…" she patted Eros arm softly "My daughter…" she turned to look at Gaia and then back at the crowd "And my grandson, I would like to thank you for being here; I am very glad to see you all in this very much awaited night…a night, I have the feeling we won't forget. Because it is tonight, that I want to share with you some great news" she raised her glass and smiled widely "Cheers and welcome!"

"Cheers!" everybody said in unison.

The queen turned to her son and nodded, taking him the final word "Let the winter ball begin"

Everybody began clapping and cheering excitedly, and as soon as the music began to play many girls began to find their way to the prince who was now regretting being present at this particular time. The shitennou knew very well how much Endymion disliked all this protocol and soon walked over to him "Prince" Kunzite spoke first "Everything is settled and under control, every man is in its respective place"

"We checked everything and there is not a single problem, everything is going according to the plan" Jadeite said.

Endymion sighed and nodded "Very well" his blue eyes searched among the crowd for her against his own will, deep inside his heart he really wanted for everything to be just a dream, despite his anger and disappointment he wanted to see her there, he wanted her there. Nephrite noticed the look in his prince's eyes "Prince, is there anything you need?"

Endymion shook his head softly and frowned "Yes, you…have some fun. I may not approve this party but it is already happening, so we better get the best out of it" he took a sip of his champagne.

Zoicite chuckled "My Prince…we will if you do the same"

"You know how I feel in these kinds of things…" Endymion pursed his lips; Kunzite frowned and cleared his throat "Are you still taking her hand?"

Endymion turned his face at Kunzite but did not have to answer to let him and the rest of the guys know he was going to actually ask for the girl's hand in marriage "I may have" he muttered and turned to look at the crowd "I could ask her" then he nodded towards another girl "Her…" he turned his head to the other side and did the same gesture "Or her"

The white haired man shook his head "This has to be some kind of a joke, please reconsider"

The prince was about to say something when suddenly a few men and ladies from the court walked over to salute him, interrupting their short but serious talk. Charmindy watched the queen walking next to her husband while they saluted some of the guests, her unusual and beautiful crown reflecting the light of the chandeliers making it look like she had sparkles all around her.

"She is so beautiful"

Charmindy arched a brow and turned to look at Beryl who was admiring the queen's beauty "She looks like a goddess" the girl admitted.

The blonde pursed her lips and turned, waving her fan while she paid close attention to the king "He still has the same charm he had when we were young…" she sighed and turned to Beryl "Remember what I told you…if he does not choose you…don't even bother to come back"

Her words, a warning for Beryl made her collect all her might and pride and began walking towards the large crowd of desperate girls trying to speak with the price and smiled hoping he might find her soon enough.

Endymion tried his best to pretend he was alright and greeted every girl around him with a polite smile but the mere pressure of having so many people around him, all wanting to know everything, all wanting his attention it was overwhelming. It was until he tried to free himself from the conversation he was having with a lady from the court and his father about how much she was thinking of finally settle down when he noticed a familiar face in the large crowd "Beryl" he said softly and turned to the count and his daughter "It is very nice of you to think of starting a family…" he smiled.

The count played with his shaggy mustache and chuckled "I would not mind of having you as my son in law, Prince"

Endymion cleared his throat once he gave a good look at the girl in question. She was slender, had light brown hair and big teeth. Every time she said something or giggled he could not help to pay attention to those big pearly whites; pressing his lips together he tried to find an excuse to finish their conversation but the man continued.

"Pardon my indiscretion Your Highness but, have you thought of someone you know…to take to the altar?" he turned to his daughter and rubbed his belly.

"I…" Endymion was about to say but the man brought his daughter closer "She is very prepared, has been studying Latin"

Endymion took another sip of his champagne and realized it was the last sip he would have before emptying his glass and sighed softly "Is that right?" he pretended interest "Interesting"

"Yes, yes" the man smiled "She is very advanced in her studies"

Endymion smiled at the large teethed girl "Quanto studio es?" _(How advanced are you in your studies?) _he asked her softly. To her surprise, the girl widened her eyes and bit her lower lip "Um… Ego denique, quam vobis" _(Nice to meet you)_

Endymion widened his eyes slightly and arched a brow; the man put his arm around his daughter "Surprised?"

Endymion nodded "As a matter of fact I am" he looked at his glass and sighed "Oh boy…" he muttered, and like an act of magic a new glass of champagne appeared next to him. His blue eyes widened again and looked at the owner of that well manicured hand "Beryl" he said softly.

The red haired girl smiled and gave him the delicate crystal glass "May I offer you a beverage?"

Endymion took it and nodded his head "Thank you" he then turned to the count and his daughter "Could you give me a moment?"

The man flushed and gave Beryl an annoyed look and had no other option but to pretend he was alright with the situation "Certainly Your Highness, we will be…right here"

Endymion smiled politely and raised his glass at the girl with large teeth "Enjoy yourselves"

Turning his head to look at the woman in front of him, he decided to take a sip of his beverage to deaden the uncomfortable moment he just had.

Beryl gave him a charming smile "Good evening My Prince"

Endymion could not really respond to that smile but only nod "Good evening Beryl" he looked her up and down and shook his head "You look…very lovely"

Beryl blushed "You are very kind, My Prince"

"How did you…?" he raised his glass.

Beryl chuckled "I supposed you needed it to absorb all the information from that man"

Endymion arched his brow "That man is a Count"

"Yes, and he has a daughter with rather large teeth" Beryl said softly "Besides, the title does not matter…am I correct?"

Endymion gave her the first sincere smile of the night and took another sip of his champagne "Very much correct, yes"

Beryl smiled "About the title not being important or the girl's rather large teeth?"

Endymion tried to suppress his chuckle and raised both brows "Both"

At the other side of the room Queen Gaia felt a tug in her chest and immediately felt the need to look for her son; she spotted him soon talking to Beryl and pursed her lips in displeasure "Endymion…" she whispered unaware her husband was standing next to her "Gaia? Everything alright?"

Gaia turned to look at the king and nodded "Yes, yes dear…" she turned again to look at the couple in the distance "I just do not find…" Charmindy waved her fan and walked closer to her, interrupting her conversation with Eros "My Queen, what a lovely surprise" startled, Gaia turned to look at the blonde standing behind her "Charmindy…" said the queen dryly.

"It is such a pleasure to see you tonight" Charmindy smiled.

Gaia frowned and arched her brow but the blonde spoke first "I has been quite a while since we last met My Queen, how have you been?"

"I've been excellent" Gaia said dryly "What…"

"Queen Narella invited me of course" she giggled and waved her fan "Me and my sweet little Beryl"

"Yes…I know" Gaia responded simply and tried to locate her again.

Charmindy smiled widely as soon as she saw the king turn around "Good evening _My_ King, Eros"

Eros sighed "Charmindy…I was not expecting to see you here tonight"

The blonde giggled "Oh, Queen Narella invited me and I came to accompany my sweet little Beryl" Charmindy waved her fan again "It has been a long time ago, since we last met…I was just telling My Queen that, you still look the same…just as I remember"

Eros narrowed his eyes "Remember where you are standing Charmindy…you owe my wife and me some respect"

"But of course" Charmindy nodded "But, it is not like we did not know each other…you mother and father were very good friends of mine, so basically we are not strangers to one another" she smiled and waved her fan a little bit faster, turning to look at Beryl who was still talking to the prince and smiled. This was her way for retuning the queen all of her humiliations and she was sure enjoying it "Don't they look lovely together?"

"Good evening Charmindy" Eros said while walking away with Gaia.

"Don't you think so, _My Queen_?" Charmindy said emphasizing the feeling of triumph. Gaia tried to maintain her poise every time she was around the blonde, but this time something was helping her greatly and made her smile "Do you believe so?" she stopped, startling her husband "Gaia?" he whispered.

Gaia smiled at him and patted his hand "It's alright dear, let us catch up with Charmindy here" she turned to the blonde "You were saying Charmindy?"

Charmindy widened her eyes slightly "I was saying Beryl has been present in every event and has spoken to His Highness more than any other girl from the court, I think they make a very beautiful couple"

Gaia smiled and nodded, startling the king even more "Well…yes, they look lovely together, but we will let him decide"

Eros frowned and held his wife's hand as trying to understand her sudden change towards the blonde; Gaia responded him tugging at his hand softly. Charmindy waved her fan and giggled "His Highness is known for his good eye on things, he knows very well what is best for him"

"I agree with you Charmindy, completely" Gaia said softly, this was new to the king. He frowned confused at his wife "You do?"

Gaia nodded "But, of course! I know my son is very selective; he won't choose any random girl…" she arched her brow "Endymion knows what he wants"

Gaia turned to look at Eros "Don't you believe so dear?" her free hand rested on his chest. Eros blushed softly and nodded "I do, yes" Gaia smiled and turned to look at Charmindy who understood the queen's sign perfectly.

Charmindy clenched her jaw and cleared her throat not really sure of what to say to bother the queen anymore. Long before she would made a tantrum and have her parents do something to force Eros to stay but this time she just had to watch the man she wanted for herself walk away with the women he chose as his wife right in front of everybody; mostly all of them still present here this evening. Eying her, from time to time.

Once the king and queen were away from the blonde; Eros turned to look at his beautiful wife "What was that all about?"

Gaia blinked a couple of times and looked up at him "What?"

"I agree with you _completely_?" Eros raised his brow "Since when?"

The queen sighed "I agree with what she said. Endymion knows what is best for him"

Eros frowned "Endymion is about to ask for that girl's hand in marriage…do you really think that is best for him?" he sighed and arched his brow. It was a family gesture "Gaia…am I missing something?"

Gaia blinked her eyes "What makes you think that?"

"I have the feeling that you know something I don't" he frowned "You are not nice to that women just because you like her"

"I do not"

"Exactly"

Gaia looked at her husband and patted his hand "Eros, I believe in my son and I believe that he will make the right decision"

"I don't understand" Eros sighed "This ball is as confusing as the one when we got engaged"

Gaia smiled and held his hand close to her "You don't need to understand…you just, believe in him"

"And what about the hand on my chest and the looks" the king asked softly; Gaia arched her brow "What?"

"Were you trying to…" he trailed off and widened his blue eyes, a big smile lightened his handsome face "You are jealous"

Gaia blushed and frowned "What?"

Eros gave her a playful smile "You are jealous"

Gaia chuckled sarcastically "Of course not!"

The king pulled his queen closer to him and moved softly to the sound of the music; moving his lips close to her ear "I like it, to know that you still want me for yourself"

Gaia smiled and closed her eyes as she slowly let herself be guided by her husband's lead "Always, Always…my dear Terran Prince"

Eros smiled and rested his forehead on his wife's and sighed "I love you mi Dea Della Terra"

The queen sighed in content and followed the lead of her husband on the dance floor. Not really paying attention to the crowd watching them anymore, she just let her enjoy her dance with her husband, slowly at the rhythm of the waltz. Queen Narella watched the couple dancing happily from her throne and smiled; it has been a long time since she saw her daughter in law dance with her son so carefree looking. She had to admit that was something she loved about them, their spontaneity and their passion for each other; to be strong enough to fight every obstacle in their wait just in order to be together made her feel like never in her life have she has seen a love so strong and pure like the one her son shared with his ethereal wife.

O.o.o.o.O

In the darkness of the study, the lights coming from the outside printed gracious patterns on the walls and floor. Iit had been a long day and since the discussion he had with the young princess, Athamas came to his office and stayed there doing practically nothing else but to think about her and his plan for what was left of the day.

His hand played absently with his crystal glass half full of liquor while his eyes looked absent and at the same time full with desires and anger "Serenity" he muttered in a dry tone "You beautiful vixen…what have you done to me?" frowning he leaned on the back of his chair and continued watching to the nothingness of the room "I have everything prepared to make you mine but I still can't cut those wings of yours…"

He sighed and rested his head on the hand that was holding the glass; he was starting to feel desperate and the woman he bedded every time he went back to Andromeda was starting to become dull and boring, no longer enough. His need and desire of having the white princess in his bed was starting to become an obsession of his, anything was no longer enough, not even the power he was gaining, the respect he had from the army and the queen herself. He was finally conquering everything he had in mind to achieve; being the princess the hardest of them all, he began focusing his attention on her and the mysterious person she cared for.

The senshi were not as helpful as he thought they would be and he could not find anything that could help him find who this person was and where did the princess escaped every time she had the opportunity and that impeded him of making the next move on his plan.

As he was immersed in his own thoughts, he didn't realize there was somebody knocking on the door "General?" a male voice called to him but had no response. Kilmakos opened the door slowly and was surprised to see it was pitch dark inside and imagined Athamas was not there; he was about to leave when he heard a noise coming from the desk, the soldier frowned and walked inside before he closed the door behind him "Athamas…are you here?"

He walked slowly towards the desk and soon recognized his silhouette from the filtering lights from outside "What are you doing here in the dark?"

Athamas frowned and looked at Kilmakos standing in front of him "What are you doing here? What do you want?"

"It's dark in here Athamas…what are you doing here in the dark?" Kilmakos asked again.

Athamas narrowed his eyes and knit his brows together "How dare you to disturb me?" he growled "What I do here is of my concern only"

Kilmakos took a deep breath and shook his head "Athamas…"

Athamas moved quickly and grabbed Kilmakos by his collar and pulled him closer to him "Who the hell gave you the right to call me by my name? I thought I made myself clear…" his growling voice startled the soldier "Atha…General…"

The blonde let go of Kilmakos' collar and stood still "What do you want?!" he growled louder.

"I just wanted to inform you that I already talked to the soldier you wanted to send to fight" Kilmakos said, rearranging his uniform collar "Everything is settled, we just need your sign and approval"

Athamas smirked and let out a soft chuckle "I will finally have the recognition I deserve" he looked at the man in front on him "I don't want him to return until the work is done"

Kilmakos hesitated for a moment and went to light a candle near the window "General…" he trailed off and looked down at the dancing flame for a moment "…Is my family free from harm?" A chuckle in response was not the answer he was expecting to get from the blonde general, widening his eyes he turned to look at him "Why are you laughing?"

"You dare to ask for your family after all this time?" Athamas walked away from his desk and went to serve himself another glass of liquor "I find very hilarious how you ask for them when you know you don't have the right"

"The right?" Kilmakos frowned.

"You ask for something you simply do not deserve to know"

"It is my family we are talking about Athamas!" Kilmakos raised his voice "They are back there in Andromeda and I do not know how they are or where…" he lowered his gaze "You said you would make sure nothing happened to them"

"I know what I said" Athamas took a sip of his scotch like drink "But why should I do something in return for something I haven't got yet?"

Kilmakos widened his eyes and looked up at Athamas "What?"

"You think I forgot?" Athamas arched his brow "I asked you, no, I _ordered_ you to bring me the name of the person Serenity is seeing behind my back… I _ordered_ you to bring me a full report and you have done _nothing_. I told you Kilmakos that if I didn't get what I wanted, your family would suffer the consequences"

Kilmakos took a step forward "Don't you dare to touch my family!"

Athamas cracked a laugh "Oh?" he kept laughing at his comrades frustration "Andromeda is under my control now and soon the whole Silver Alliance, you underestimate me Kilmakos…after all this time, you still underestimate me" he moved closer to the soldier "But I will tell you this, many soldiers from there are wanting to have a private 'meeting' with your lovely daughter and wife" he laughed, making the soldier shake his head in frustration "Don't you dare!" he raised his hand but soon his fist was caught by Athamas' hand "What do you think you are doing?" he tightened his grip on the soldier's hand "No, don't you dare to fight against me…because you will never win"

Kilmakos watched the man before him with angry eyes "You are nothing of what I used to remember of you"

Athamas smirked "You are right. I am not and because of that, I no longer be considerate with that poor family of yours…" he threw him against the wall and turned to leave.

Kilmakos flinched in pain and sat, trying to focus the general and chuckled "You know…you haven't won yet" he tried to stand up "You don't have the Princess' heart everything you are doing it is pointless you know? Because her heart it is another man's hands…terran hands"

Athamas stopped abruptly "What?" he turned to look over his shoulder at the man on the floor. Kilmakos found his way back up and leaned on the wall "You heard me. The man Princess Serenity is in love with is the same man you have been trying to kill all this time and still, you haven't achieved" he smirked "So technically, you haven't won"

Athamas shook his head and widened his eyes "YOU ARE LYING!" he panted in rage "That is only a poor excuse you have to save your family"

"I heard her Athamas, I heard her scream it out in frustration…" Kilmakos took a step forward "You may have control over all Andromeda and this army…but you cannot control her, you don't have _her_ because she is already _his_"

Athamas shook his head in anger and threw his glass against the wall, breaking it into millions of pieces "NO!" he growled and went to his desk "NOOOOO!…SHE IS MINE! SHE IS MINEEEEEE" he threw the papers over the large table and began throwing everything against the wall, scaring Kilmakos "Athamas!"

The blonde general turned to look at Kilmakos with a crazy dead glare "She is mine, _MINE! _And I will rip his damn soul right in front of her eyes!" he turned on his heel and stormed out of the study, leaving the door open. The light coming from the corridor bothered Kilmakos' eyes and tried to adjust them to it, lowering his head he sighed in regret "I am so sorry Princess…but I have to save my family from that monster…"

He closed his eyes.

"…I am so sorry…"

* * *

_A/N: __Thank you for waiting, this is probably something many of you have been waiting. Thank you for reviewing and taking the time to read my story. Have a great weekend, see you soon._


	110. Chapter 110

_Disclaimer: I do not own SM, just this plot and some of the characters. Thank you._

Divinity: A question of Honot

Chapter one hundred and ten

* * *

The ball was going on perfectly. Hundreds of people were gathered and expectant to the great news the mother queen said she would give later in the evening; while some were trying to get a word with the king and queen others went from the grand salon to the gardens to enjoy the cool breeze, have a snack from the large buffet tables or a glass of luxurious red wine that was given in endlessly. The music was still playing in the back, inviting everybody to dance or just to enjoy it while walking around the large gardens.

The decorations outside were similar to the ones inside the throne and ballroom, it maybe gave a more romantic and ethereal atmosphere because of the paper lamps hanging from the trees and the many crystal jars with small white candles illuminating the stone paths and the creek under the small wooden bridge that led the guests back to the palace. Some trees had glittery fabrics hanging from their branches similar too, to the ones hanging in some of the windows inside; its soft shimmer caught the light and gave the illusion of being in a field full of fireflies.

After the brief but promising conversation she had with the handsome prince, Beryl walked alone the garden after Endymion was interrupted by another father and his excited daughter. _One more odd than the last one _she thought and continued staring at the people, mostly women waving their fans, fixing their hair or fixing their lipstick. There was something about all of these people that gave her a strange feeling of winning, maybe it was the idea of knowing that if she was the one chosen as the future princess of this kingdom, she would be the role model of all these women criticizing her this evening. She would be superior to all of them, their untouchable queen.

It took her two glasses of red wine to have the courage to go back and look for the prince and regain what she already started with her charms, determined this time to finally have him under the spell of her beauty and figure. She wanted too desperately to catch his attention with her looks; she wanted too desperately to have him with her, to be in his arms, tangled in between his sheets; to have him spellbound.

She walked back to the ballroom alone, still catching all the attention from the damsels and men invited. The main topic of their gossip was her name, her status and her provenance; she could hear them whispering, she could feel their eyes piercing her soul, she knew she was the one under their microscope but tried to continue with her plan as her green eyes kept searching for that black haired Adonis of her.

Endymion was near the dance floor talking with some men from King Isra's court while having his fourth glass of champagne. He gave himself to the bewitching crisp taste of the sparkling drink cooling his throat while listening to the men's conversation, waiting desperately to fall under the soothing effect of the alcoholic beverage.

"I heard you are leaving this kingdom soon, Your Highness" a man with dark beard commented while taking a sip of his glass of wine. Endymion cleared his throat and nodded politely "Yes, political matters"

"King Isra has been keeping us informed about your plans" another man with red hair joined the conversation shortly after the first man stopped talking.

The prince nodded "I think it is best if you are all warned and informed, that way we can help each other when required"

"Your Father must be very proud; to have a son with the ability you have is fabulous" the bearded man said with admiration. He raised his glass of wine and turned to the southern king "Not everyone has that nerve to take these kinds of challenges"

Endymion bowed his head in a humble gesture "I am just doing my job"

King Isra moved closer to the prince and nudged him "Oh, don't be so modest! You followed your Father and Grandfather's steps with intelligence" he turned to the men in front of him "I have to admit that I had my reserves about this man here but he proved me wrong, he is one great example to follow. I am sure Odell would be very proud of his grandson"

Endymion gave the old king a sad smile "I appreciate your words Isra"

"When are you leaving?" The king moved closer and whispered to the prince; war was not the topic Endymion was looking forward to talk about this evening but apparently he had no other choice, either was that or keep trying to excuse himself from every girl wanting to have a dance with him, taking a sip of his beverage he looked at the older man "Tomorrow early"

Isra widened his eyes "What? Eros told me you were leaving soon but never thought of this soon…this is…unexpected, what made him decide that? Did something happen?"

Endymion shook his head "No. we got to the conclusion that it was better if we get over this matter soon, the sooner we leave the sooner we can come back" there was something in his voice that made the king feel uneasy.

Isra frowned "Are you alright?"

"What do you mean?" Endymion slightly frowned.

"How are you feeling? Are you feeling a hundred and ten percent ready to do this? Is everybody ready?"

Endymion nodded "The army is prepared and I am ready to finish this as soon as possible"

King Isra was about to say something when he saw a woman stand next to them and widened his eyes in amazement; Endymion frowned and turned to find Beryl next to him with a smile on her blushing face "Forgive me, I did not mean to intrude…I am sorry if I interrupted your conversation…"

Isra blinked a couple of times and shook his head "N-No…of course not, My Lady, you are free to interrupt us anytime" he chuckled as he looked at her closely "A pretty girl like you is welcome to interrupt us anytime"

Beryl blushed and giggled softly "Thank you Your Majesty, you are so very kind"

Endymion stayed silent as he took another sip of his champagne and thought about this woman and the probability of taking her hand. He paid close attention to her, to the way she expressed and talk to the rest of the people surrounding them. As he felt the cooling effect of the alcohol on his throat he thought about the obvious sexual tension between, or was it chemistry? He wondered but still, chemistry should feel _like 'I feel whenever I am around Serenity; a warm feeling. It should be that need I have to protect her, to look after her…to love her for the rest of my life'_; he could not deny that she looked very stunning, he could not deny her attractiveness, the way her dress clung to every voluptuous curve in her body and how her fiery hair fell down her back; after his brief private moment between him and his brain, his mouth managed to say her name "Beryl…"

"Your Highness?" she smiled again, this time with more excitement. Not sure if he was glad that the alcohol was finally making its magic, Endymion took a deep breath and nodded "Enjoying the party?" he asked politely. She recognized that tone of voice and could tell it was the same monotone he used to every girl who tried to have a conversation with him.

Isra smiled and cleared his throat, as he knew where this encounter might lead he turned to the other men and waved his hand "Let's give them a moment" he turned to the prince and gave him a knowing smile "If you excuse us, I have some things I want to mention to your Father…" he turned to face Beryl "Have a lovely evening, My Lady"

Beryl bowed her head in respect and smiled again "Thank you, Your Majesty"

When the men were finally away from them and they were in their own sexual tensioned world, Beryl took a step closer to the prince and gave him another smile, this time with more roguery "It has been a long time since I last saw you my Prince"

Endymion pressed his lips together and knew what little game she was intending to play "Just an hour maybe" his voice was warm, but it had a playful hint. His tone was beginning to change again she noticed and giggled "It is very difficult to have a word with you, with all these desperate parents trying to catch your attention with their lovely daughters"

Endymion threw his head back and chuckled, then looked down at her again "It has been long since I have been in a ball like this. I have to talk to them"

Beryl smiled again "With their lovely daughters as well?"

"Of course" Endymion raised his glass up to his eyes and cheered in silence before taking a sip of his drink "It is part of the protocol"

"The protocol says that you have to choose one of these girls as your future wife" Beryl said softly, still in her playful tone. Endymion chuckled "No, those are just rumors"

"Oh?" Beryl widened her green eyes and bit her lip in a sensual way "And…are those rumors true Your Highness?"

Endymion looked at her and arched a brow and smiled softly "I do not know, maybe" he looked around "They all want an opportunity"

Beryl moved closer to him and gave him a flirtatious smile "And, what about me Your Highness…do I have an opportunity?"

Endymion took another sip of his champagne and decided to play the game "I do not know, maybe"

Beryl felt her heart skip a beat and bit her lip; her proximity to him was evident to everyone in the room and of course, began to cause a commotion. The tension was there and they both were falling for it, like two blind moths following a burning light in the middle of darkness.

At the other side of the room, the four shitennou were watching the scene develop with a puzzled look; Jadeite took a large sip of his wine and made a face "I think I need more wine…" he turned to look for a maid with a tray with filled glasses "…This is not enough…"

Zoicite arched his brow and turned to look at him "Why is that?"

"Look at them" the blonde moved his head in their direction "I cannot see how that is developing without being drunk, it's obvious he has chosen her"

Nephrite sighed and swing his glass in a circular motion, as he aired his wine "He has made a decision then…there is nothing we can do about it but to only respect him"

"We still have time" Jadeite said and turned to Kunzite "Right?"

Kunzite finished his glass and sighed with defeat "I already tried to reason with him…but still, any girl he would have chosen we would have said he is crazy because we know the truth behind his intentions"

"Crazy is the way to call the decision he is about to make" Zoicite said softly "The woman is very attractive…we cannot deny that fact"

"But she is not the one he wants" Nephrite said and turned to look at them "We have to admit and accept that"

"And the white Princess doesn't even have a clue of what is happening right now…" Jadeite gritted his teeth and grabbed another glass of wine, startling Zoicite "If you continue drinking like this, tomorrow you won't see the light of day"

"I'm frustrated…He needs to think straight!" the blonde took a long sip and growled "This wine is too strong"

Zoicite sighed and shook his head, Kunzite watched the couple talking and even when they always had some kind of attraction between them, there was something wrong with that picture. She did not fit, even when she was very attractive, they did not look good together, something was wrong, like a misplaced piece of a puzzle "This isn't right"

o.o.o

Beryl smiled again and looked up at him "Is it the girl of the large teeth?"

Endymion chuckled "Leave that poor girl alone…"

"She has been staring at you all night…well, she and her father"

The prince turned to look over his shoulder to confirm the redhead's words "The Count has known my family for years, he is friends with my Grandmother" he turned to Beryl again "He has known me since I was younger"

"I see" Beryl said dryly, still not letting that get in her way and looked at the medals pinned on his sache, paying close attention to one in particular "You have so many…but that is one exquisite piece"

Endymion frowned puzzled and saw her index finger pointing at the star locket "How did you achieve this precious piece?" she asked with big interest.

Endymion felt a tug in his heart, one that made him remember the significance of the star on his red sache. He hesitated to answer for a moment and took his time to find a good set of words that did not give away the pain behind the meaning of the locket; he cleared his throat and cursed under his breath once he realized he did not have any more champagne to drink and sighed softly "It's a gift" he answered simply.

Beryl's eyes widened as she tried to take a closer look "A gift?" she asked again. Endymion nodded "Birthday gift"

Beryl licked her lips with anxiety and tried to ignore the uncomfortable feeling "May I ask from who Your Highness?"

The question was very simple, plain actually but the meaning behind it all was too deep, to extensive and too painful for him. It sent him back to that moment when with she gave him that star; the flirting slowly died as he slowly began to regain his composure.

Endymion sighed softly "Beryl…" he trailed off and hesitated for a moment, he shook his head and tried to look away and have a quick private session with his brain and reconsider what he was thinking to do but was betrayed the thought of Serenity being with another man. The thought made his blood boil in anger and could not deny his jealousy was beginning to take over him again, tempting to cloud his reason again.

Here it go again, that fire that ignited the series of stupid thoughts he have been having for the last few days, that same spit of anger made him turn to look at the woman in front of him and had the need to discharge his frustration and pain with whatever could make him feel better, he would take anything at this point, anything to make himself feel better.

"Beryl…" he extended his hand out to her, startling her completely.

Beryl blinked a few times in shock and blushed as she stared at his gloved hand, her heart began racing impressively fast "Yes?"

Endymion tried his best to smile but could not come up with something that would excite him that would make him feel happy or tranquil. He was not even sure what he was doing at this point, _Hell, I need a drink… _he thought and fought the whirlwind that was going on in his head. Everything did not seemed to make any sense and at the same time he felt like it was something he needed to do.

He finally admitted to himself he did not care for the woman in front of him and that he was only falling under the effect of the undeniable attraction between them making everything worse. He sighed and gave a glance around the room as an excuse to search for some kind of incident he could go on and take care of.

Beryl turned to the orchestra and then back at the prince and smiled "My Prince…if you want to leave this crowded room…" she trailed off "…We can always go somewhere else more private so you and I can…talk"

Endymion looked at her and stayed silent for a few seconds, at this point he was cursing himself for being succumbing to the idea she was giving him. There he was, not sure if he should take her offer or not. He frowned and leaned his head forward.

His cologne mixed with his personal scent reached her senses and made her desire him even more "What is it what you want Beryl?" he moved even closer, enough to make the people around them wonder what was happening between them; everyone was staring at the couple standing near the dance floor with anticipation and curiosity.

Beryl looked into his eyes and smile confident "To be yours, Your Highness. To be whoever you want me to be, to do whatever you want me to do"

The prince narrowed his deep blue eyes in thought, falling slowly into her bewitching taunting; not sure if it was just an illusion or just the hollow feeling he had in his chest that he desperately tried to erase the pain with anything or in this case anyone available. He studied her green eyes and delicate skin, her well shaped eye brows and perfectly nude lips; he tried to envision a life with the woman before him, imagining how would be his life with a woman like her.

He tried to make a quick mental study as he tried to picture her as mother, as queen and wife. Was that what he really wanted for him? He shook his head slightly; _does it really matter now_? He thought with annoyance.

"_You cannot supplant her, not her" _

Endymion frowned and cleared his throat as if he was trying to distract the voice of reason in his mind that was saying _No, no…this is not what you want_.

His eyes looked down at Beryl again and tried to go against his wishes and give her a smile, anything that could sweeten the moment that was beginning to turn into a fail attempt of a romance.

Beryl on the other hand was kind of enjoying the attention she was receiving on both parts, the crowd and the prince. For the very first time in her life all eyes were on her this time, looking at her like they should, a threat to them, like a woman capable of accomplishing anything she wanted and to take seriously.

The rumors began to become more evident and true with every minute passing; giving that boost of confidence she needed to seal the deal. This was it, this was the night she was going to be proclaimed as the new princess of the golden kingdom and the more that thought dig itself deep into her mind, the more she felt the excitement of the night and a good sense of triumph.

Charmindy was watching in the distance with Felimina by her side; a wide grin crossed her features as she waved her fan with glee "It is done" she chuckled "She finally did it"

Filemina blinked several times and turned to the blonde "My Lady?" she turned and looked for Beryl, her eyes searching for her red mane, she widened her when she saw with whom she was talking "The Prince…" she whispered in awe.

The blonde giggled and turned to grab another glass of wine from the silver trays the maids carried in their hands while offering the guests; she decided on champagne to celebrate her triumph and she took a sip of the sparkly wine and turned her head to see the royals; she nodded her head at Queen Narella who, could not believe what her eyes were witnessing "He really is settling down" she whispered.

Gaia heard her and turned to look at the crowd, her eyes widened when she watched her son holding the redhead's hand "No…" she whispered and turned to the main doors "_Please hurry…_" her heart began racing in her chest.

Away from the ball room and the enormous crowd, Obelix watched the warm lights coming from the palace from his place at the temple with melancholic eyes. A few sighs escaped his body as he watched the people walking from the gardens back to the throne room where the whole celebration was taking place.

His hands rested on the rail of the small balcony he had at the temple's entrance near the large marble fountain where he shared many talks with the queen and prince. He sighed again and remembered the many events that has happened in all his years as high priest of the golden kingdom and could not help but to feel a little blue.

Little he did now; that he was not alone with his thoughts "Is there anything else I can do for you High Priest?"

Obelix widened his brown eyes and turned to find Helios standing a few feet away from him wearing his white tunic that matched his platinum hair quite well. The once little boy had finally become a very prepared young man, something the priest knew he would become one day; nodding he turned again to look down at the distant palace "No Helios, you can go to rest now"

Helios took a step closer and frowned "High Priest…how come you do not go to the ball?"

Obelix remained calm, with his back at him "Why do you ask?"

Helios blinked a couple of times and shrugged his shoulders "Because…it has been the same since I became your pupil, you have never been on one of the balls"

Obelix sighed softly and nodded in understanding "There was a time when I used to go to those celebrations…" he chuckled as he remembered being with Gaia by her side when she was still a princess and without a clue of what to say to all those people in the court and then when she became queen "But I am becoming old Helios…I am too old for those parties" he smiled sadly and turned to look at the young priest "Our place is not there, but here"

Helios frowned "Our place?" he took a step forward, curiosity shown in his amber eyes "High Priest…just how important is our place?"

Obelix looked at the boy and remembered himself being his age "Our duty is to pray for the one who protects us, we are the link between divinity and mortality" he arched his brow "Why do you ask?"

"Is it because we do not fit with them? Is that why we must have our distance with them?"

Obelix shook his head "It is not a matter of status Helios, you should know that already"

"Then I do not understand…" Helios shrugged his shoulders; his voice was still in a calm and soothing tone "I am supposed to protect somebody I do not know"

"You are not _supposed_ to protect" Obelix crossed his arms and arched a brow as he scolded the boy "You help protect this kingdom every time you pray for the Protector of this planet, you have the power to pray to the gods above us for our safety and this kingdom"

Helios lowered his head for a moment "Priest…" he widened his eyes and looked up at him; Obelix shook his head and put his hands on his shoulders "I was once destined to protect the former guardian of this planet, now you have the mission to guide and protect our new guardian"

"Why I am not allowed to meet the Prince, High Priest?" Helios frowned slightly "If he is our Protector and I am am supposed…" he trailed off when he saw the priest was about to scold him again and rephrased "Err… pray for his safety, why I am not allowed to meet him?"

Obelix sighed and shook his head "Because is still not the time, young priest" he moved away and looked around "The time for you to step in and take my place is not that far but still, it is not here. You have to be patient young man" he turned to look at the young priest "You know everything you need to know to help him fulfill his duty but it is still not the time" he chuckled softly "You need to clear that mind of yours, your spirit is troubled"

"Why do you speak as if you are planning on leaving?" Helios looked at him worried.

The question startled the high priest and stayed silent for a few minutes "One never knows what the gods above us have planned for us…but you…" he trailed off and smiled "…You will do just fine"

Helios sighed and walked over the balcony, leaning on the rail the same way Obelix was before he surprised him "Sometimes I do wonder High Priest, if I am going to be as good as you" he looked at the distance "If I am going to serve my Prince just right"

Obelix smiled at the young man and stood next to him "If you were not good enough, you wouldn't have been chosen to be a priest"

Helios widened his eyes and looked at the older man like if he knew what he was thinking; he nudged his shoulder in a fatherly manner and smiled softly "You will do just fine" the man turned to watch the party and listen to the sound of music in the distance and so did the young apprentice.

o.o.o

Queen Narella was enjoying the evening too much and could not help herself from smiling every time she could, she remembered with glee and excitement her grandson's word and thanked to the heavens that he finally listened to her many petitions of getting himself a wife and settle down. With a wide smile on her face she turned to her daughter in law and held her hand with excitement while they were sitting on their throne together "They look lovely together" she said happily.

Gaia bit her lower lip and tried to diverse her attention to something else hoping something majestic could happen to interrupt the uncomfortable moment.

"I can already imagine her walking down the aisle with her white gown…she will look so pretty" the queen continued; Gaia only rolled her eyes with diplomacy and smiled at the crowd that came close to her and bowed their heads in respect "You are jumping into too many conclusions Mother…we still are not sure about whatever he is going to decide"

"What do you mean?" Narella frowned and turned to her daughter in law.

"Him, marrying _her_" Gaia said and looked at them "It is too soon to be taking it for granted"

"He already accepted his fate, you heard him…he is going to ask for her hand in marriage" she stood up startling the queen "Mother, what are you doing?" she frowned "Please sit down"

Queen Narella shook her head "I think it is time, everybody is here, it is the perfect timing!"

Queen Gaia turned to her husband and called him out "Eros…"

Eros turned and put his conversation with Leonidas and Isra on hold and went to his wife; her face did not know to say much to let him know what was happening. Immediately he turned to his mother and frowned "Mother, what are you doing?"

The queen turned to her son and smiled, waving her hand absently "I am letting the world know my grandson's intentions, I think it is something everybody in this room wants to know"

Gaia gasped and shook her head "Mother…" she turned to Eros but the woman was being beyond unreasonable "I think it is too soon!" she raised her voice a little, making her mother queen turned to look down at her "I beg your pardon?" she asked.

"Why don't we wait a little longer?" Gaia faked a smile "The party just started…"

Narella narrowed her eyes "That party began an hour ago and this matter needs to be celebrated, the rest of the night, until dawn if it is necessary! Not every day your only grandson takes a girl's hand in marriage!"

"Just wait a little longer…" Gaia put her hands together and watched her mother in law raise a brow in curiosity, Gaia smiled softly "Please?"

"Mother please" Eros said "Do not be so insistent; if you want to tell the news fine but at least do it when Endymion is ready to do so"

Narella sighed in defeat and sat down on her throne "Alright, alright…I will wait" she pursed her lips and frowned "But eventually I will tell the news…"

"Whatever you say Mother, whatever you say" Eros sighed "Father was right…you are too impulsive"

"It is called spontaneous dear" the mother queen rolled her eyes and waved her hand. She was too happy to let a small discussion ruin her evening and decided to let it go and give Endymion a little more time; even when it was killing her.

Gaia bit her lower lip and looked away "_I just hope my son changes his mind…please Endymion…open your eyes…" _she thought while she kept staring at the couple talking in the distance.

O.o.o.o.O

He walked in rage; his hands touched the cold marble walls, his nails digging into the hard stone while trying to release the anger curled up in his chest. He walked with his jaw clenched and eyes dark with what it looked like desperation. As he walked closer to his destination, he opened the door and walked in slamming it shut once he was inside the room.

Several man stood up immediately with a strange look in their eyes "Commander!" one said.

Athamas angled his face, his eyes showing nothing else but anger and hatred, dark and with thirst for power. Another soldier took a step closer and frowned "Commander?"

"Where is the secret army?" he asked with a hoarse voice.

"Where you ordered, Master" another soldier answered.

Athamas turned on his heel and walked towards the large table with glasses and a tall bottle of scotch; his trembling hands took the crystal cap and began pouring some of the deep golden liquid into the short glass without any precision, very unlike him and making the men in the room more and more confused about what was happening.

"Master?"

Athamas turned to look at the window and fixed his gaze to the blue planet in front of him "I want him dead" he said deadly serious "I want to rip his bones out of that body…I want to send his soul to the damn underworld, I WANT HIS HEAD!" he slammed the glass on the table, spilling half the liquor on the table and floor.

"Commander?" one of the soldiers in the back asked confused.

Athamas waited a few minutes to calm down and sighed, then took a sip of the beverage and narrowed his eyes "You heard me"

"Does it mean…?"

Athamas arched a brow and turned to the small crowd "I WANT HIM DEAD!" he raised his voice "…AND I WANT HIM DEAD NOW!"

The soldiers looked at each other and then at their leader with panic "But… what about the plan?"

"The plan has changed"

"What if Artemis catch us? What if God Ares learns about this?"

Athamas took another sip of his liquor and frowned "They won't"

"Commander?"

"The plan has changed…send the soldiers down there…" he turned again to look out the window "…And come back with the monster's head in your hands" he turned "Did you hear me? I WANT HIM DEAD!"

The soldiers nodded and turned to leave, except for one who dared to stay "Commander…" the young soldier took a step closer "…Why a mortal…?"

Athamas narrowed his eyes and bit the rim of his glass for a minute "Because he dared to take everything that was initially mine…" he looked over his shoulder "…I have waited for this moment and now it is time…I want him to suffer and I want him to bleed and the only way of taking my belongings from him is to wipe him off the map…"

The soldier swallowed and licked his lips nervously; Athamas took another sip and turned to look at the young man, his eyes dark with ambition "Don't you dare to come back without his head. Because it is that what will give us total victory over this realm and a rank on your titles"

The young soldier nodded "I will give the alert right away, Commander" he turned to leave, closing the door behind him.

Athamas' hand held the crystal glass tightly and turned to look at the blue planet again "I have waited long enough…" he growled "…And you have lived more that you were supposed to…" he grinned with malice "…Let's see what are you going to do now Serenity now that you will no longer have your mortal Prince by your side…" his hand began to tighten around the glass, breaking it into hundreds of pieces; the sharp shards of glass pierced his skin letting his blood make its way to his long and calloused fingers "…Once I am done with him…you will be mine…" his smile widened in a maniac manner as he could not control the laughter that came from within.

He leaned on the wall and continued laughing, not sure why, maybe because it was finally the time he always waited for or because his plans were finally going the way he planned. Soon his laughed began to die leaving the ghost of a smile in his handsome face; his sandy blonde hair was disheveled from so many times he ran his hands through it and he brought his hands up to his temples, smudging some blood on the left side of his face.

Soon his smile turned into a grin as he kneeled on the floor and screamed his lungs out, then curled his hands while holding his hair in between his fingers and let all the anger, ambition and frustration turn into complete madness. After a few more suffocated screams against the floor, he sat and watched the nothingness of the large room with a lost stare; the image he portrayed was no longer the one of a man who wanted to be loved, or the one of a once humble soldier who dreamed to be a great warrior. Just like Kilmakos said once, he was not even the ghost of someone who was once good and fair, and even when he did not want to accept it, he knew he lost his reason because he fell in love with a woman, who now he learned fell in love with somebody else and that was the thing that hurt him the most, he had his heart broken and because of it he acted in this kind of demonic rage.

"You are mine Serenity…" he whispered to the nothingness between hoarse breathings and raised his head, his lost eyes stared at the night sky "…You…are…mine…"

Near the room where Athamas was hiding, Mars could not help hearing the screaming she was sure she just heard moments ago; her face turned into a frown as she felt a wave of strange energy surrounding the corridor. She continued walking until she noticed the door of one of the guard's offices slightly open and peeked in.

She pushed the door a little to have a better view and was surprised to find it empty or at least she thought it was empty because of the darkness inside; it was not until she was about to leave when she saw shards of glass on the floor and pushed the door wider to get a better view. Her eyes narrowed in confusion and she followed the pieces of glass until her eyes landed on something near the window, or better said someone.

She frowned and took a defensive position "Who is there?" her eyes widened when she realized somebody was there, still hidden in the dark "Who are you? Show your face!" she demanded.

The shadowed silhouette moved towards the window and chuckled "You sure are quite a demanding woman..."

Mars recognized the voice and frowned "Athamas…"she snarled.

"If you continue with that attitude you will never find a man"

"That is not of your concern" Mars narrowed her eyes, the tip of her fingers began to spark a little fire as they moved together, the blonde noticed and chuckled "What? Are you going to try to ignite your fire against me?" he moved slowly and leaned on the wall "Just because you are the daughter of one of the strongest Gods of this realm does not mean you can do whatever you want"

Mars arched a brow "But I can go against you…"

"Especially me" Athamas snarled, his figure still hidden in the dark "As your future King…you should be more respectful…"

"My future King…" Mars repeated softly, the words felt dirty on her mouth and made a face of disgust "You are no fit to be King"

Athamas chuckled again "Of course I am and I_ will_ be…right after I move that nuisance out of the way"

Mars frowned "What are you talking about?" she tried to come closer and take a look at him; it was uncomfortable enough to be alone in a room with the man to be in complete darkness. She could hear his hoarse breathing and his slow movements but still she was not sure where he was.

The blonde slowly began moving towards her way "The man your little Princess is seeing behind everybody's back"

Mars widened her eyes as she felt the energy in the room become dense and cold as the man kept moving closer to her with each step "What are you talking about?" she repeated and began backing up.

Athamas cracked his fingers as he moved, just like a snake preparing to capture its prey "The terran Prince…" he gritted his teeth "What a clever girl…"

Mars tried to find his eyes in the dark and widened hers as soon as half of his handsome face was cleared by the light coming from the corridor "…What she does not know…is that she won't ever see him again, _ever_…"

The fire senshi frowned "I still do not know what you are talking about"

"Of course you do" Athamas narrowed his eyes "All of you do" he cleared his throat and stepped back into the dark again, this time really scaring Mars. His energy was too dense and dark for her to bear "I will take a stand in this matter and move him out of the way"

Mars shook her head and remained silent; her eyes this time began to take notice of her surroundings and frowned as soon as she saw a stain on the floor, something that seemed to be _blood?_ Panic began to take over her and widened her eyes once she realized it was in fact blood coming from him and turned her face up to his direction trying to find his "Have you gone mad?" she whispered.

His chuckles became thicker and louder, shaking his head he leaned on the wall again and fell silent "Your Princess drives me insane..._He_, drives me insane…and as soon as I get my hands on him, I will send his soul to Tartarus where it belongs"

Mars took another step back "You are saying nonsense…"

Athamas laughed this time "Think whatever you like Fire Senshi…" his laughter began to die slowly, turning into a chuckle "…All this time…escaping to see him…" he looked out the large window; his eyes fixed on the planet "That planet has become a nuisance to me…and it shall be destroyed"

Mars took another step back, scared of what this man could do to her at this precise moment. He didn't sounded like his normal arrogant self, and even when he was hiding [strangely] in the dark and away from her she could notice that something was not right with his usual clean cut appearance. The senshi looked down, with tiny hesitated breaths and saw more blood stains on the floor "What happened in here?" she dared to ask.

Athamas did not move "I took charge"

"Of what?"she asked confused. Her eyes trying to find a trace of his face; Athamas shrugged his shoulders and chuckled in response "I am becoming King as we speak"

"I always had my doubts when it came to you…"

Athamas stood straight "And what are you going to do? Go and tell the Princess that? Precisely now? Ha! It's too late now…things are done and there is no turning back, your Princess will have no other option but to marry me…I am just letting her bid goodbye to her weak lover…"

"You are not making any sense" Mars frowned.

"You really believe she is here?" Athamas began walking towards her, this time not stopping at the middle. Finally he showed his sweaty and bloody face, startling her "She escaped again, right under your nose"

Mars looked into his grey eyes and saw a red stain in his face, gone all down to his neck _It is blood… _she thought; without noticing, her hands began to tremble as she tried with all her might to stay complete and not to lose control "I trust her" she snapped.

Athamas let out a chuckle "It is no longer about trust…"

"Then what it is about?"

The blonde began to chuckle more effusively and leaned closer to the raven haired senshi "You trust her bad decisions? Her lack of responsibility and leadership? She is acting like a little girl and you trust her?"

"She has learned to be braver"

Athamas smirked "We will see…"

Mars could not take the density of the energy surrounding them anymore; the man before her was no longer acting normal at this point and she was starting to worry for her princess' safety as she no longer knew what to expect from him. Without any more words said, she turned on her heel and walked out of the dark room; Athamas watched her and then turned back to look at the window "We will see…" he repeated pleased to himself, with an air of triumph.

Mars' heart beat fast in her chest, the feeling of fright and worry began to take over her body as she kept walking quickly out of the west wing of the palace. The tall smithy doors that led to the main court's entrance were finally seen in the distance giving her some kind of a feeling of safeness. She finally crossed them and felt like she had crossed from the dark side of the moon to the one with light; it was not until this moment when his words made perfect sense to her and fell into the right place "Princess…" she gasped and ran up to her chambers only to confirm the man's words. She was gone, again.

In desperation she went to look for Venus first, still hoping Athamas words fell to the ground as lies. She opened her door with force making a loud noise as she walked in, startling the blonde senshi who was found near the window reading a book "Have you gone mad?!" she asked, her blue eyes wide "What are you…" she trailed off and noticed something was not right with her friend "Mars, are you alright?"

"Please tell me she is here" Mars snapped.

Venus frowned "What?" her heart started to pound faster, she immediately closed the book in her hands.

"Please, tell me she is here…" she walked inside the bedroom and looked around, then turned back to the foyer panicking Venus "Mars!" she raised her voice and tried to make her explain what was happening.

Mars looked at her and shook her head "Maybe she is with one of the girls…right?"

Venus frowned. This was not something you could never see from the raven haired beauty, since she was known to be the one with a stronger character and for never losing her stand but right now for what Venus could see, she was desperate and worried, incredibly worried as if she has seen some kind of a ghost "Mercury was with her earlier today, they must be together…"

Mars pressed her lips together and looked down "She cannot be here"

Venus narrowed her eyes "Mars, I do not understand what you are saying"

Mars shook her head "She is not safe here"

Venus shook her head and frowned "Mars?"

Mars looked up at her "Athamas…we must keep her away from him"

Venus put her hands on Mars' shoulders "Did you have a premonition?"

Mars shook her head "Athamas knows about the Princess' affair…"

"I know he does Mars…that is another reason why I had to lie to the Prince and break them apart"

Mars could not hold it anymore and broke free from Venus' grasp "I found him in a dark room…he has done something, I do not know what it is yet…but it involves Princess Serenity…"

"Everything involves her" Venus said.

"There was blood in the room Venus!" Mars looked away for a minute and then back at Venus "It was all over the floor, I could see the stains…this is already out of our control…we have to do something"

Venus sighed and sat on a chair, rubbing the bridge of her nose "I know Mars…" she sighed sadly "But I cannot do anything about it…He is the Commander of the Army and I do not have any proofs to show Queen Serenity about him…And I haven't seen him doing anything that could help me prove my words…" the blonde stopped and frowned, her friend's words catching up with her, she raised her head and gave her a strange worried "Did you say blood?"

Mars nodded "The energy in that room was incredibly dense…" she trailed off and began walking around the bedroom in a way to try and calm herself "And it was as if I was attracted to it…as if the darkness was calling for me…it was pulling me in" she turned to look at Venus "The enemy is closer than we thought"

Venus widened her eyes "Artemis does not trust him at all…he has tried to talk to the Queen but with no success…she trusts him"

"We need to do something…even if it goes against our Queen wishes…" Mars said.

Venus sighed and nodded "I know…we must not leave the Princess alone at any minute…as soon as she comes back from her stroll with Mercury…we will keep her under our watch"

Mars lowered her gaze and came up with an idea "What if we send her with _him_?"

Venus widened her eyes "What are you saying?! Are you out of your mind?"

"The aura I perceive from him is really amazing…" the raven haired woman said softly, hope began to light her senses "He does has the aura of a warrior"

"I do too Mars, but if Athamas is acting like a lunatic…all we can do right now is to keep our Princess under our watch at all times…until I can find something to expose his true intentions" Venus said "It was not my intention to break them apart…I really did not want to make my Princess cry Mars…" her once chirpy voice sounded so mellow this time, her blue eyes showed nothing else but guilt and sadness "Sometimes I do not know what I am doing anymore…if I am acting right or wrong…but everything, trust me, everything I have done it has been in order to protect her…"

Mars could feel the sadness and frustration in her friend's voice; sighing she walked over to her and wrapped her arms around her "I know Venus…"

"We all have found what we always have wanted in the most unexpected place…it is so unfair…" her voice began to break, startling Mars. Her amethyst eyes widened in surprise and pulled herself a few inches from the blonde "Venus?"

"Even you…" Venus whispered, her blue eyes not taking it any longer; her tears began rolling down her cheeks slowly, startling the tough senshi even more "Venus…" her words fell in understanding.

"I do not even know how it happened…" Venus sniffed "…But I hurt the same way my Princess is hurting because I know the feeling of not being around somebody who can really understand your feelings…" she lowered her gaze, her tears not holding any longer "The way his eyes turned dark when I told him the Princess was engaged…the way his voice went dry…" she looked up and sniffed another time "…The way he looked at me when he learned what I have done…"

Mars rubbed her friend's arms slowly "Venus…I did not know you…" she trailed off and took a deep breath "…You had feelings for the General…"

"I feel the same you do…"

Mars widened her eyes "…"

Venus sniffed softly again "Remember I am the senshi of love…I can see it in your eyes…I know…" she trailed off as she heard her door opens and watched Mercury walk inside with Jupiter by her side "…How is Princess Serenity?" she asked.

Jupiter frowned slightly "What do you mean?" she asked.

Mars blinked a couple of times and turned to look at both girls, panic written all over her face; Venus turned to Mercury and tried to clear the misunderstanding, it there ever was one "She was with you…wasn't she? You were with her"

Mercury nodded "Well yes, but then she went to have lunch with Her Majesty…"

"Queen Serenity is in a meeting as we speak…she cannot be with her…" Venus said, her heart began racing in her chest. Mercury widened her eyes "Maybe she is in her room…" she tried to calm her down.

"No, no no no no…" Venus began to repeat over and over again in both, anger and mortification.

Jupiter looked at Mars confused "Has something happened?"

"She is not in her room…I just came from there…I searched for her everywhere and I did not find her…I came here hoping she might be with Venus and we both thought she was with you…since you stayed with her in her room" Mars said and turned to look at the blonde.

"No…" Venus gasped again and turned to Mars "Could it be…?" she shook her head "We have to bring her back! We have to bring her back!" she said, the second time with panic.

Mars put her hands on her shoulders "We will look for her all around the Palace"

"And what if we don't find her" Venus said and sighed, her eyes began shining with tears once again; Mars put a hand on her shoulder "You know, we have to wait…"

"We cannot stay here and wait! What if Queen Serenity wants to see her?!" Venus raised her voice "I have to go and bring her back!"

Mars pulled her back when she tried to walk away and put her hands on her shoulders "Right now Venus that is the only safe place for her, at least for tonight. We cannot disappear; it would be too risky and too obvious"

Jupiter shook her head and frowned "Something happened, isn't it?" she turned to look at Mars "You saw something…" The raven haired girl sighed and nodded.

"I was coming from seeing my Father and saw the door of one of the offices open, I was about to close it when…" Mars began telling the frightening encounter with the general.

O.o.o.o.O

In the midst of music and laughter, dancing and talking Endymion found himself in the middle of a debate with himself, yet again. He have done everything he planned to do in his mind and now it was the time where he had ran out of ideas by this point. Between his teasing game with Beryl and his actual feelings and no alcohol, he was going insane.

There he was standing in front of her with his hand extended, waiting for her to take it. A gesture that was so alien for her but exciting; what more proof did she want to know she had won this battle against the whole kingdom, including Charmindy. Beryl licked her lips and moved her hand, just when the tips of her fingers were about to touch the fine fabric of his gloves she heard a male voice joining their private and rather intimate moment and stopped.

Endymion turned to find Jadeite standing next to him, a glass of wine in his hand "Your Highness" he said in a warning tone; the prince arched a brow and blinked his eyes as if he was coming back to reality; his reason winning this round and moved his offering hand out of Beryl's grasp "What is it Jadeite?" he said authoritative, but thankful.

The blonde moved closer and murmured something in Endymion's ear; Beryl watched the two men exchanging several words she understood as codes and crossed her arms, slightly annoyed by the interruption. Endymion nodded and turned to Beryl with an apologetic look "If you excuse me…"

Beryl widened her green eyes "Your Highness…what?"

Endymion shrugged his shoulders and raised his hands in defeat "Forgive me Beryl" his voice held the previous polite tone "There are some matters I have to attend"

"But…" Beryl tried to reach for him, but he was already gone and surrounded by a multitude of women, once again. Clenching her jaw in disgust and anger she had no other option but to pretend it didn't affect her and waved her fan. Her eyes never stopped following every move he made, and she could see him talking to the shitennou, his parents, and some other guests and to more girls.

The shitennou had won this round, they have been keeping a close eye on the prince and whenever they saw them getting too cozy they would go and interrupt them; bringing the prince back to his senses but this was becoming a tiring game and the ball still had a long way to go.

He could go back and forth, inside the ballroom and out to the gardens with a wave of women behind him, with the hopes of having more than just one word with him, he could talk with people from the royal court but it didn't matter, he would always turn back to Beryl who always was there waiting for him with excitement.

The more time it passed, the more the guests noticed there was something more happening between them; the attraction was evident and it was becoming to make the ladies from the court feel more and more panicked about his decision.

Beryl lost and regained her confidence every time Endymion returned and left to attend his obligations but always had the wins every time he returned with a new glass of wine or just to continue where he had left of on their conversation. This time he had returned for the hundredth time this evening and stayed silent while she continued with her teasing game; it was not until she asked him something when she realized he was lost in deep thought.

"A penny for your thoughts?" she asked softly and went as far as to touch his arm.

Endymion's countless thoughts stopped abruptly at the sound of her voice and turned to look at her; he frowned slightly as if he was still confused for what was happening "I beg your pardon?"

Beryl chuckled "I am so sorry Your Highness; you were lost in deep thought…" she frowned with slight concern "Is everything alright? Anything you need?"

Endymion sighed and turned to look at the audience dancing in the distance and took a sip of his sixth glass of champagne, Beryl turned "It seems fun"

The prince arched his brow and turned to look at her "I'm sorry…my mind is elsewhere…you were saying?"

"Your Highness, we can go at any time you want" Beryl took a step closer, the same confidence she had a while ago was starting to take over her again "If you do not wish to be here any longer…just say it and I will go with you…"

Endymion turned to look at her, this time with more clarity. As if a window chattered in thousands of pieces around him, as if he walked in a blind alley or in a one way street. He had to admit how miserable he was feeling. She was adorable, very attractive and could not deny the strong sexual tension that tied them together somehow; his body began to react to her curves as his eyes trailed the details of her intricate gown stopping at the broach between her breasts while cursing his nature under his breath, cursing him for being so stupid…cursing him for letting _her_ go that way.

It had been hours since the ball began, since all the guests were introduced to the royal family, since many of them and other people from the court approached to him and talked about immortality and other random subjects and he still felt like the very first moment he stepped into the room; asphyxiated.

"My Prince?" Beryl called him again with a sultry voice.

Endymion sighed and admitted his miserable faith; he began visioning his return to the palace with an expectant grandmother and a very troubled and angry mother next to a very excited fiancé.

_Fiancé…_

The word he thought, it did not fit right, it didn't sound right, not on her. His eyes never left hers as he admitted once again her attractiveness but still, she did not make his heart feel like a feather in the wind or like a happy child; he was about to get engaged to someone who still made him feel empty and who only responded to his sexual needs.

Like a bad joke from destiny, the orchestra began playing a waltz in the background "Ironic…" he muttered.

Beryl blinked confused, wondering what he meant "Your Highness?" she asked.

Endymion looked down at the bubbly beverage in his glass and took a moment to think what he was about to do, he had to give himself an opportunity _Just like she did I suppose… _he thought.

"My Prince?"

He sighed and gave his glass to a maid who was passing by with a tray with empty glasses and turned to the woman in front of him "Beryl…"

Beryl blinked excitedly "Yes?"

Endymion lowered his gaze for a moment and took a deep breath, there was no other way and he had to move on with his life, his role as prince began to remind him his duties and obligations as royal _I have to let you go…the same way you did…why is it so hard for me to move on from you?_ he thought with annoyance.

He turned to look at Beryl and gave her a faint smile, he was about to say something to her when he heard Kunzite call for him "Your Highness"

Beryl rolled her eyes and turned to look at the general "Is this some kind of a joke?" the words escaped her lips without really thinking it through. If it wasn't for them she would have danced with him since the first glass of champagne.

Endymion turned to look at her and then at him and frowned "Has something happened?"

Kunzite shook his head "No"

Endymion's frown deepened "Then, what is it?"

"Her Majesty, Queen Narella wants to have a word with you"

The prince nodded and turned to Beryl "I need to attend some other matters…please, excuse me"

Beryl bit her lower lip but she really didn't have another option, after all he was the crowned prince and he did have to attend whatever surfaced. With a defeated sigh she nodded "Do not worry Your Highness, I will wait" she watched him leave and sighed again "Yet…again…"

As he walked towards his grandmother he felt Kunzite's hand on his shoulder and stopped mid track "Master" he turned to look at the general but did not say a word. Kunzite sighed "You do know why is she calling you, right?"

The prince looked at him and nodded slowly "I have to do it" with nothing else to say, he turned and walked away; the white haired man sighed and turned to look at the redhead a few feet away from him and nodded his head in respect before continuing following the prince.

Beryl watched both men moved into the crowd in silence not realizing Charmindy was now standing next to her with Filemina by her side "You are finally doing something right" her voice cut Beryl's dreamy moment.

Startled, she widened her eyes and turned to Charmindy but said no words. The blonde chuckled and waved her fan "You are in everyone's conversation" she looked around with pleasure "Everybody is talking about you and your somehow _close_ relationship with the Prince"

Beryl blushed and turned to look at Felimina nodding; Charmindy let out a sigh of triumph and joy "Finally, it is happening…all the time invested in you is finally is rewarding us" The redhead widened her eyes again and looked at the people dancing, her green eyes searching for the handsome man in the multitude.

Endymion finally came into Narella's view and smiled at him "Oh dear!" she extended her hands at him; the prince bowed his head in respect and took them, he turned his attention to his mother who was not moving from her seat and frowned; the look in her eyes showed what he could interpret as disappointment and that hurt him.

"You wanted to see me Grandmother?" he asked, his eyes not leaving his mother's for a few more seconds. Narella smiled and nodded "Yes dear, I believe it is an appropriate time to let everybody know about the good news!"

Endymion widened his blue eyes and felt panic shake his whole body, like an earthquake "What?"

"We have been waiting this moment for quite a long time now and everybody is expectant and intrigued to know what it is about what I have to say…I think we should let everybody know about the good news, to continue the tradition of this winter ball" the queen said with excitement and clapped her hands like a little girl that just got a new toy "There is no point in keeping it a secret when you two are in everyone's lips already"

Endymion turned to look at his mother, who had not said a single word to stop his grandmother. The prince let go of her grandmother's hands and went down on one knee next to his mother and held hers, her golden green eyes looked down at him but still not said a single word.

"Mother…" he whispered.

Gaia shook her head slightly "What do you want me to say other than 'Don't do it?'" she sighed tiredly "I have tried to reason with you but you have been impossible…I am tired dear"

Endymion pressed his lips together "I am confused…but…"

"Don't do it Endymion…That is not who you love…that is not what you want…" Gaia pleaded, one last time. She thought that something must have happened to stop the princess; it had been hours since she left her in her room and hasn't made her apparition. With defeat she shook her head "This is not what I wanted for you"

Endymion sighed softly "She moved on Mother…and I have to do it as well…" he lowered his head for a moment and looked at her again "Please don't judge me"

The queen tried her best to hold her tears and bit her lower lip instead, recovering her stoic and regal poise seconds later "Never, I love you and you are my life…but I will forever see this as your greatest mistake"

Endymion sighed again and stood up, turned to look at her grandmother and nodded "Very well…you can give the announcement"

King Eros joined the conversation "Is that really what you want Endymion?"

The prince turned to look at his father "I want to serve my kingdom…I was born with privileges and with that comes specific obligations, I have said it before and I will say it over and over again"

The king sighed and nodded "Very well…we won't interfere anymore with this matter. It is your life and you are an adult now"

Gaia covered her lips with her hand, trying to hold her coughs with a tissue and turned to look for Aurea who immediately went to the queen's aid "Are you alright?"

The queen shook her head "What could have happened?"

Aurea understood her words right away and shook her head "I do not know my queen, maybe she…had to leave…"

"They belong together…" Gaia said sadly "This is all my fault…I should have…" she pressed her lips together, trying to hold her tears. Aurea sighed sadly as she watched her friend trying her best to contain herself from screaming and cursing the moment she decided to protect her son the way she did. She cleared her throat and regained her poise once again "Help me stand up, please. The madness is about to begin"

"Aren't you going to tell him something? He is about to announce to the world his betrothal to _that_ girl" Aurea hissed in whispers; Gaia shook her head and stood up slowly with her help "There is nothing else for me to say or do, he has made a decision and I have to respect it"

Aurea widened her eyes and turned to Leonidas who was slowly walking in her direction "He is really going to do it?"

Leonidas nodded "They will give the announcement in a few more minutes"

Aurea sighed and shook her head in denial, Leonidas frowned "Is something the matter?"

"He cannot marry that girl" she whispered to him "Not when his heart belongs to somebody else"

Leonidas widened his eyes "What?"

King Eros raised his hand out to the man leading the orchestra and motioned him to stop, getting the crowd's full attention, he cleared his throat and gave them an apologetic smile "Please forgive the interruption, we will continue with our celebration in a few more minutes, after our Mother Queen shares some news for all of us"

Charmindy widened her eyes and held the redhead's hand "They are announcing the engagement, this is it!"

Beryl also widened her eyes in shock "The…engagement…" her heart began thumping in her chest until her heart beating was the only thing she could hear besides the queen's voice. She licked her lips and waited to have all the attention on her wondering how she should react; what it is going to happen after the balls ends, if she is going to finally sleep with the prince. This was driving her insane.

Charmindy turned to her "You are becoming a Princess"

Beryl blushed and looked at the prince standing next to his mother with his arms back and his head slightly down as he waited for the queen's announcement "This is it…?" she whispered "I am becoming a Princess" all her memories of how she struggled, of how she was emotionally abused and how much she dreamt to be in this place came to her mind in a flashback, how many times she slept looking at the palace hoping to one day, meet the prince and being like the royal and beautiful queen "I am becoming a Princess" she whispered again to herself, excitement creeping in her chest.

The sound of heels echoed in the hall as she tried to walk as fast as she could, her heart beat faster and stronger as she felt she finally was getting close to the place where she could see him again.

The thought of being seen by a multitude and be exposed to everyone present at that ball began to worry her, but what worried her the most was how he would react when he sees her there. She did not know what to expect, what to see and how to act exactly, this was the rawest moment she has ever had to experience in her life.

"This way, My Lady" Megumi turned to look back at the princess "We must hurry!"

Serenity lowered her pace until she stopped, startling the young maid "My Lady?" she walked up to her "What is the matter?"

Serenity pressed her lips together "What if he…" she looked at her "…What if he does not want to see me?" she shook her head and looked back "I cannot do this…I cannot"

Megumi felt her heart shrink, she understood the princess position but also remembered the many nights she saw her prince strolling like a soulless man, with no excitement in his voice and now expression in his eyes. She frowned "Do you love him?"

Serenity widened her eyes and turned to look at her "What?"

"Do you love him?" Megumi asked again.

Serenity looked at Megumi "With all my heart"

"There is your answer… nothing else should matter"

Serenity took a deep breath and nodded "You are right…" she bit her lower lip and continued walking "I have to tell him that I love him"

Megumi smiled and nodded, happy to see the princess was challenging all the odd that could happen that night "Now is the chance" she turned and kept walking, the princess followed behind and watched the surroundings and the elegant decorations; after several minutes Megumi stopped and turned to look at the princess "Are you ready? We are here"

Serenity nodded and took another deep breath. Megumi smiled and turned to the guards at the large doors "There is one guest left"

The guards frowned "Is she on the list?"

"She has been invited by Queen Gaia herself" Megumi said defiant "If you do not believe my words, allow me to go and ask her"

The guards looked at the beauty standing a few feet away from them and bowed in respect while opening the doors for her; Megumi nodded and stepped aside "You may come in, My Lady"

Serenity nodded, and widened her eyes as she saw the magnificence where she was stepping into. Everything was so beautiful to absorb at one time and right now all she cared was to find and rescue her handsome prince. She stood at the door and noticed everybody was paying close attention to a woman who was talking up front; frowning she knew this was not Gaia speaking and tried to find the face in the multitude while listening what she was saying.

"This has been a wonderful night for all us as we are all gathered here to enjoy of the company, I am very grateful to all of you for coming and join us in this magical celebration. As you know…the winter ball has been a party thrown for many years now as part of our tradition, but this particularly has to be the most special of all because my grandson has finally had the opportunity to join us after so many years…" Queen Narella smiled widely and turned to look at her grandson "This is a very special night…"

Serenity excused from many girls that were trying to take a good look at the queen and the prince who was being addressed as the 'guest of honor' and continued making her way towards the front section of the salon. Many glances of admiration and amazement went on her way as she moved slowly in the crowd.

She knew this was going to be practically impossible with all this hundreds of people gathered at one same place and stopped mid track, not really sure if it was with defeat or just, annoyed at herself for being so polite to ask everyone to move the hell out of her way. She stopped at the center, a decent place that let her see the royals standing in front of their respective thrones; she immediately spotted Gaia and of course, Endymion and her heart, skipped a beat as she silently tried to call for him.

Endymion felt the need to look at the crowd as if he still held a tiny hope of finding a good reason to stop this particular moment. He raised his head and looked into the crowd with a hopeless heart. His eyes didn't searching for anything or anyone in particular, his mind was already set and he was ready for what he had to overcome next; he sighed softly and looked at the center of the enormous room where, Beryl was standing with her fan. He was about to have another quick session with his conscious when something caught his eye.

It was a gleam; his lips parted and could not his eyes to widen with life and anticipation "A gleam…" he muttered and blinked.

Queen Gaia noticed the change in demeanor in her son and frowned with curiosity; she turned and tried to coincide with what her son was staring with such interest and then widened her eyes "She came…" she whispered.

Queen Narella unaware of what was happening, continued talking to the crowd with the same joy she had when she began "…And it is my great pleasure alongside the King and Queen here present, to finally announce that my grandson, Prince Endymion has finally chosen the woman to share his life with…"

Charmindy's smile widened with excitement and held Beryl's hand tightly "This is it Beryl! This is it!"

The mother queen's smile widened and looked at Beryl, standing several feet away from her. Extending her hand she tilted her head "Be…" Beryl widened her eyes and blushed; Charmindy bit her lower lip and tried to contain her happiness.

Endymion widened his eyes; his lips were parted in shock. He continued looking at that gleam that parted him from his grandmother's voice and the crowd; without asking for any excuses he began to walk towards the crowd in silence, interrupting his grandmother. Queen Narella stopped abruptly and watched with surprise at her grandson leaving his throne "Dear?" she asked confused "Endymion?"

Charmindy frowned "What is he doing?" she whispered, confused.

As Endymion continued walking the crowd parting them in his way; Charmindy's eyes widened as the handsome man passed by her without excusing himself "What is happening?!" she asked in frustration.

As he walked, the figures of everyone present began turning a blur; his steady and secure steps lead them to a whirlwind of emotions he thought he had lost the moment he learned he was not going to see her again. With his heart beating faster in his chest, he let out a deep breath as he passed right in front of Beryl without even looking at her.

Nothing really mattered, nothing except for the woman a few feet away from him. The prince finally stopped in front of her and shook his head slowly not believing what his eyes were seeing "You…" he mumbled and trailed off in surprise.

Serenity looked at him with teary eyes and nodded, her heart was beating so hard in her chest she remembered the feeling of being alive, she licked her lips in anticipation and worry to how he might react after all these cathartic days; the prince frowned and shook his head confused, he still could not process what was happening, all he could see was what he wanted to see and he couldn't believe, he wondered if it was a dream of his or one of his countless private sessions with his conscience with a more realistic touch; he tried to speak but the shock was too great to formulate the perfect reaction, his lips parted slightly and the idea he had for a question came in a simple "What...?" before trailing off, his face showed amaze and confusion "What are you doing here?"

Serenity took a deep breath "I came to see you…" she whispered "I had to see you…I had to…" she paused and held her breath, scared of his reaction; her biggest fear right now was to be rejected by the man she loved.

"You are engaged…" Endymion interrupted, softly enough for her to hear; Serenity shook her head "You were misinformed…Venus…" she hesitated, tried to be as accurate and clear as possible but without too many words for the crowd to hear "…It is not true, she did not tell you the truth…" she looked at him with a pleading stare "It was all a misunderstanding..."

Endymion felt his throat becoming dry; this was all a malfunctioned plan probably without any evil intentions but still, it hurt them both. He accepted his fault and looked around for a moment before turning to the silver haired princess in front of him "Serenity…I…"

She tightened her grip on his hand, desperate to make him believe the truth of her words "How can I be engaged to somebody when I only have eyes for you, when you are the owner of this heart of mine?"

"I have been blind…" he whispered; everything making perfect sense again.

Serenity shook her head softly "No…"

Endymion felt as if his soul returned to his body again, the warmth he always felt when she was around him, supported him "You never gave up on us…" he whispered and shook his head, blaming himself for the decision he was about to make "You…" he sighed and closed his eyes with guilt "I have been so stupid"

Serenity shook her head and intertwined her fingers with his "No, you were hurt…I understand" she whispered "You have fought for me and rescued me from darkness so many times before Endymion…it was my time to do the same for you…I had to be strong for both of us; I am now. That I am sure and it is all because of you"

"You never gave up" he whispered and opened his eyes; his voice was warm and thankful.

"Never" Serenity answered the same way "I love you…" she lowered her gaze for a fraction of a second "I was desperate to see you… to tell you it was all a lie, an absurd way to protect me"

His mind drifted to the earlier events of the night, his frustration from the previous days…he was acting out of pure anger and jealousy, he was being blind and now he knew what his mother tried to make him understand all this time "How did I not see it sooner?" he mumbled.

Serenity widened her eyes and blinked a couple of times "What?"

Endymion widened his eyes and looked at her determinant "I do not want it to be a secret anymore…"

Serenity blushed "I do not understand…"

Endymion held her hand "I want the entire world to know…"

"Know what?" Serenity blinked a couple of times again.

Endymion held her hand and began walking back to where the king and queen were standing near the thrones with her behind him. The multitude murmured in surprise wondering who the angelical and beautiful woman was, since she was a girl no one ever seen before. Queen Narella widened her eyes at the scene that was developing in front of her eyes and shook her head confused "Endymion, I demand an explanation of all this"

Charmindy widened her eyes and gasped "No…" her hands held her fan tightly and gritted her teeth "No, no…this cannot be"

Beryl turned pale at the turn of events, not sure of how to feel as she watched the prince holding the mysterious woman's hand in public and with such care. She shook her head not really understanding what was happening and remained silent, waiting to hear what the prince might say.

Queen Gaia smiled at the girl in pale gold and then back at her son with great pleasure; King Eros frowned and turned to look at his son and then at his wife with a confused look "What is this?" he asked; Gaia smiled at her husband "This, is what should have happened since the very beginning"

Eros frowned "What do you mean?"

The queen smiled and held his hand, a sigh of relief escaped her body making her feel a ton lighter "Our son has opened his eyes, finally"

Eros widened his eyes "Do you know who she is?"

Gaia smiled and nodded "I do" she turned at him "And soon you will too and understand what I am talking about completely"

The entire ballroom fell silent, it almost was as if it was empty; but it was such a surprise to see the prince with much excitement and with a girl no one has ever seen before. It didn't take long until the whispering began to fill the air with curiosity and mocking towards the girl with red hair and her godmother.

The four shitennou watched the scene with a surprise look on their faces but also could not deny their great relief; Jadeite crossed his arms and chuckled softly "My my, what have we here?"

Nephrite nodded and smiled softly "Against all odds…"

"This is probably the first time I feel happy they broke the rules, again" Zoicite said with irony; a warm smile on his face.

Serenity was surprised by Endymion's reaction, more because she knew the kind of man he was. One he liked to keep his life private, his feelings to himself and his love reserved for her. This was something she did not expect.

She has never felt her heart beating the way it was; at the expectation of all the people gathered in that enormous room, wanting…no, dying to know who she is and what did she do to have the prince at her feet. She tried her best to hide the nervousness accumulated in her body; she could feel the stares and wonder and most importantly the curiosity plastered on the older woman and man she imagined was part of Endymion's family.

Endymion bowed his head in respect to his grandmother and pulled Serenity closer to them "Grandmother…" he said softly, still holding the white princess' hand.

Queen Narella blinked a couple of times with great shock. Endymion turned to look at his parents and smiled "Mater, Pater, Avia…" he intertwined his fingers with hers and turned his face Serenity for a moment and then back at his family "…I want you to meet the woman that has captured my heart, completely…"

Queen Narella widened her eyes and covered her lips in shock with her hand; Serenity blushed and felt her eyes fill with tears as she heard him speak in front of everybody about his feelings for her.

"But…how…?" Narella trailed off.

"We've met a long time ago" he turned to look at Serenity again and smiled when remembered the first time they met "We started as friends but love did not take too long to come to our lives, changing everything…" his look softened and turned to his grandmother "Avia…I love _her_…" he smiled "You wanted me to find a girl that could make me happy…this is _her_"

Narella gasped softly and put her hand on her chest as the same scene that happened so many years ago was repeating itself again, it was like looking at his son promising his everlasting love to the mysterious and beautiful goddess next to him; she recognized that look in his eyes and that same warm smile; the queen shook her head "But…I thought you…" she shook her head, still amazed by Endymion's confession "But…you never…"

"It is complicated" he said softly.

"I thought…I was sure you were going to choose another girl…" Narella mumbled.

Endymion shook his head "I was being stupid, blind…helpless; that was not even a fact. I was confused…It would have been the greatest mistake of my life" he eyes his mother, who had a knowing smile of her face as he quoted her exact words.

Narella widened her eyes and could not hide her smile any longer; this was too wonderful to let it pass by "It is…like history is repeating itself…"

Eros blushed and felt his wife's hand take his, catching his attention. Gaia nodded and smiled widely "It has happened, all over again" she said softly startling the king, he turned to look at his son and at the girl next to him "She…" he trailed off; he understood what she was trying to say.

Narella smiled widely, putting her hands together close to her heart she chuckled with joy. With that chirpy character she was known to have she could not hold her excitement any longer and stepped down to take a closer look at Serenity. Her brown eyes looked at her closely and felt so satisfied by her grandson's decision; her eyes began to gleam with what appeared to be tears of joy and smiled "I believe there is nothing else for me to say…my grandson has finally found love" she raised her glass and turned to the crowd "For the new couple!"

Serenity blushed and looked around her with wide eyes as how everyone in the room held their glass up high "For the new royal couple!" they all cheered in unison and took the sip of wine; she smiled and listened to the sound of clapping and happy congratulations filled with good wishes for them. The prince turned to look at his silver haired princess and kissed her hand, the first time in public and made her feel like she was in a dream "I love you…" he whispered.

Serenity felt free and incredibly happy; they have overcome a big obstacle between them and it had turned out right. Their love was set free and gave her the strength of do anything; she took a chance and defied Athamas and everybody who opposed their union, she felt strong and that was something she could only feel when he was there with her.

In between the sound of laughter and clapping that slowly began to become a blur, Charmindy looked at the couple splurging happiness all around them and felt how her entire world began crumbling down.

"No…" she shook her head with wide eyes "No…! It cannot be happening again!" she turned to look at Beryl who was no longer standing next to her and frowned when she looked at her making her way through the crowd.

She walked slowly towards the couple; not really paying attention to the women laughing at her and the stares coming her way. It was something she could not really comprehend; since the moment she saw him walking towards that girl and pass by her it was like fire ignited inside of her body. Maybe it was instinct, maybe it was jealousy or maybe it was the fright for her future.

The redhead watched everything happen in slow motion, her blood began feeling cold in her veins as her heart felt like breaking into hundreds of pieces every time she heard in her head the words _'I love her'_; her face turned paler as she watched the couple hold hands and smile at each other in front of everybody and what angered the most was the face of acceptance coming from the mother queen.

Something was not right in that picture, the girl next to him was not supposed to be there, that girl was not supposed to take that place, _her_ place, that only belonged to her.

Beryl clenched her jaw and tried with all her might not to cry, her eyes were starting to burn with tears as she slowly walked towards them like a panther ready to attack its prey; her dreams began melting around her like the wax falling from a candle. All her illusions began slowly to crack one after the other only bringing her the pain and humiliation of being rejected in front of everybody.

As she walked she could hear the whispers and murmuring of all the girls present; her cheeks flushed as sue paid close attention to their mockery.

"_There she goes…"_

"_Isn't she the one that was rumored to be the chosen girl by His Highness?"_

"_Where did that confident smile go?"_

"_Oh? Not so unforgettable then… she had the same chances as her"_

"_Look at her, she is about to cry…"_

"_Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose little girl"_

"_Who is that beautiful girl in gold?"_

"_Did you see her hair, it's silver!"_

"_So beautiful…"_

"_I will tell you who she is not…__**her**__"_

"_Thank heaven"_

_(giggles)_

All the girls she once mocked for not being the chosen ones to be the next princess where now mocking her with every step she took. Karma was burning her alive, and it was begging to happen too soon for her.

The shame and anger of being put aside _again_ began to curl up in her chest, clouding her vision and judgment. She began to lose her reason. This was just too much for her. Beryl had experienced too much in her life, distress, poverty, abuse to only name a few, but most of all…solitude. The idea of becoming a princess was as inviting as the idea of sleeping with something in her bed, the feeling of not being alone, of having a family of never being worried again of what she was going to do that day in order to eat.

Despite the cold shoulder she often got from Charmindy, she had to admit that she was right; she made her the woman she was now, with fancy gowns and jewelry. She got used to the easiness of being rich, of having a title and of being surrounded by fine people; she got obsessed with the idea of being a princess, the woman Endymion would kiss every day and night, and sleep with. Now, all she could see was another woman doing everything she planned to do herself.

Her eyes focused on the girl in pale gold with her long and shiny hair and felt the envy running through her veins. Her body was moving against her reason, as she got closer to her and saw that pretty smile on her face something inside her crashed and took over her, making her reason go black.

She raised her hands as she moved closer, losing all poise and patience she was maintaining all night and growled to the silver haired girl "What do you think you are doing?!" she exclaimed, loud enough to catch everyone's attention.

Endymion turned to look at her just in time before she could get a hold of Serenity's hair and stopped her, holding her hands and pulling them back while he restrained her "Beryl!" he said out loud, startling the royals. Queen Gaia widened her hazel eyes and covered her mouth with her hand in shock as she watched the redhead go insane in front of everybody; Aurea blinked and turned to the mother queen who had a face like if she have seen a ghost.

Beryl began shaking in rage and tried to break free of Endymion's strong grasp; her green eyes were fixed on Serenity and felt the burn of new angry tears "Who the hell do _you_ think you are?!" she raised her voice.

Serenity parted her lips and thought of reason with her but Endymion stopped from doing anything to join the spectacle Beryl was giving to everybody "She has no obligation of answering you anything" the prince frowned while looked down at her "Beryl, stop it"

Beryl shook her head one side to the other in anger and continued eddying against the prince's restrain "Why Endymion…why!?" she pulled again, trying to break free from his now painful grasp and slowly let her tears fall from her eyes "Why…?" she whispered and hung her head "Why do you prefer a nobody over me?" she raised her head and looked at her "You are a nobody! A COMPLETE NOBODY! STARY AWAY FROM HIM, HE IS MINE. DO YOU HEAR ME? _MINE!_"

Endymion shook her softly, trying to snap her out of her trance "Stop it Beryl"

"I WAS THE CHOSEN ONE; OF ALL THESE GIRLS…I WAS THE CHOSEN ONE UNTIL YOU APPEARED…" Beryl looked at her up and down and growled "With your little golden dress…and your lovely silver hair…" she snarled as her green eyes pierced Serenity's soul.

"I never said such thing Beryl" Endymion said dryly; his bangs fell on his eyes as he continued retraining the woman in his hands "Stop it Beryl, you are embarrassing yourself"

"I DON'T CARE! I AM THE NEXT PRINCESS! I AM…NOT _HER_!" she kept looking at the lunar princess "Who are you? Where did you come from?! WHY ARE YOU HERE!"

Serenity watched Beryl with sad eyes as she tried to break free from the prince's grasp "You are a nobody!, I should be the chosen one!" yelling at her, she turned to Endymion "You said I was the chosen one…" her eyes shining with tears.

Endymion frowned "Beryl, stop this…I've never said such thing" his voice was low and calm, but you could feel the coldness in it.

"EVERYBODY KNEW! IT WAS IN EVERYONE'S MOUTH!" Beryl yelled in frustration "EVERYTHING WAS JUST FINE, UNTIL _SHE_ APPEARED, …A WOMAN WITH NO TITLE AT ALL…A COMPLETE NOBODY, NOBODY KNOWS WHO THE HELL SHE IS!" she struggled against the prince's grasp.

"Silence…" Endymion said in a warning tone.

"NOBODY KNOWS WHO SHE IS! WHERE IS SHE FROM!"

This was the last drop of Endymion's admirable patience and frowned "SILENCE!" the prince raised his voice, silencing her.

Beryl taken aback by his cold glare and deep tone of his voice and shook her head "My Prince…you were going to choose me…" she said now in a hurt tone, her hands began to tremble as she slowly knelt on the floor. Endymion kept looking at her with the same cold stare and shook his head slowly "Those were just rumors Beryl, I never said anything to you directly" he sighed "Now, get off the floor"

Beryl shook her head as she continued crying "Beryl…" Endymion said in a warning tone, and looked around feeling sorry for others as she continued sobbing on the cold marble floor; sighing again he took her hands again and pulled her up "Get off the floor" he muttered angrily.

"What is this?!" Narella interrupted, raising her voice "What is this pitiful scene?!"

Charmindy felt her heart on her throat as she heard everyone in the room whispering her name and the events that happened 26 years ago. Agitated, she walked towards the redhead and pulled her closer to her "What have you done?!" she hissed.

"What is this Charmindy. Is this the girl you often presumed to have taken care of?" Eros' voice startled the blonde, making her look up at him "Your Majesty"

"A vivid image of you…" Eros narrowed his eyes as he said the words "Unbelievable"

Charmindy widened her eyes and shook her head, turning to Beryl "Stop crying!" she turned to the royal family and tried to play her last desperate cards; she turned to Serenity and pointed her finger at her "In her defense she is right to question who this woman is…" her long finger continued to point at Serenity, startling her "She has all the right to know what is happening…we have not seen this woman before…" she frowned "Who is she?"

"That is not of your concern, Charmindy" Queen Gaia answered, narrowing her eyes she shook her head "You have no right to demand any explanations from my son or anyone in this room"

"Just like you she came…" the blonde hissed at the queen.

"Watch your words" Endymion said in a warning tone "You do not speak to my mother in that tone" Endymion said dryly "This matter is not of your concern, but only mine and my family's"

The murmurs began eating Charmindy's invisible shell and slowly began showing the shame and anger hidden in her for so many years "This is happening again…" she whispered and shook her head "It's happening all over again…like a curse" she turned to the queen "What have you done?!"

Endymion turned to his shitennou and motioned them to restrain the blonde and her protégé; Eros raised his head and frowned "Guards!"

Charmindy and Beryl widened their eyes as they saw the armored men around them "What have you done to me! to this Kingdom!"

Filemina watched them in the distance and to everyone's gossip "Charmindy…" she whispered with fright "No, my daughter…not again…"

"Nobody speaks to my Mother this way" Endymion turned to Kunzite "Take her the hell out of here! I do not want to see their faces again"

"No…" Charmindy shook her head as she felt the guards holding her.

"The doors of this palace are no longer open for you…you have done it again, you have offended me, my family and everyone present tonight" Eros said in a low tone.

"Eros please…" Charmindy put her hands together "You have been put a spell by this woman next to you…open your eyes"

Eros narrowed his blue eyes "You are a monster…" he turned to the guards "Take them away"

"Eros!"

Narella frowned "Do not address my son by his first name! How dare you?!"

"Queen Narella…" Beryl whispered.

The mother queen raised her brow "This is the biggest disappointment I have ever felt…I thought you were educated, polished and sincere…" she looked down at Beryl "You are no longer welcome here. You have disrespected my family…you have embarrassed me and that is something I will never forget. I do not wish to see your face again" Beryl shook her head as she continued to cry, the mother queen then turned to Charmindy one last time "And you…" she walked down the stairs from her throne and pointed at the blonde "Take your dreadful protégé and leave this place forever I was so stupid to believe you have changed for good"

Charmindy widened her eyes, turning to Queen Gaia "Are you enjoying the moment, Your Majesty?"

Gaia arched her brow and shook her head in denial, she turned her face to see Beryl "What a shame…so beautiful face, to be ruined by the education you were given…" she sighed "I always knew you were not completely sincere, you are like a rotten apple…"

Beryl widened her eyes again as more tears began roll down her cheeks; she looked around her and the shame began to sink in her chest, all eyes were staring at her with her hair disheveled and makeup ruined. Turning to Endymion, she shook her head "Prince…"

Endymion arched his brow and looked at the shitennou who were already behind the redhead "Walk her and her companions out of the palace…I am sick of this childish and exaggerated tantrum of theirs"

Serenity looked at Beryl with sad eyes as the red head was being taken by Kunzite and could not help but to feel sorry for her; she never knew her personally but for what she heard from the queen she could see she was sadly manipulated by the other woman who was also escorted by one of the shitennou "Leave me" Charmindy said to Jadeite and released herself from the man's grasp.

Beryl raised her head, her eyes red from crying and looked at Serenity for a few minutes before she turned on her heel and walked behind Charmindy towards the exit in silence. The court's murmurs began filling the room with shocking comments.

The king began to feel the uncomfortable silence and raised his hand to catch the guests attention "I am so terribly sorry for this…uncomfortable moment" he turned to the leader of the orchestra and asked him to begin playing again "Let's leave this event in the past and continue, the night is still young and we have so much to celebrate" he took a glass of wine and raised his hand "Cheers"

The crowd raised their glass in response and decided to listen to the king; even when the topic was still in everybody's mouth the music and dancing motivated the guests to continue enjoying themselves.

As soon as the night went back to normal, Eros stared at the couple in front of him with a surprised look "I believe I am as surprised as everyone in this room, this is something I did not expect" he looked at the young woman next to Endymion's side "But I have to admit, I am as curious as everyone in this room to know who this lovely Lady is"

Endymion held Serenity's hand and nodded "It is better if we talk about this in private"

The king nodded and turned to the guards standing near the secret door and motioned them to open it; the king turned to his wife and held her hand while walking slowly towards it "Why do I have the feeling that you know about this?" he whispered to her.

Gaia smiled softly and kept walking in silence until the royal family walked inside a small study, Leonidas closed the door behind him and watched the mother struggle with her feelings; being the most confused of them all was she shook her head with disbelief "I…" she trailed off and sighed "I have no words to express my feelings for what just happened…I thought she was a good girl…I really did…" she looked at her son.

The king sighed and crossed his arms "Mother, you did not know this was going to happen…do not blame yourself"

Serenity looked at the king and widened her eyes a little. The resemblance with Endymion was incredible; now that she had both of his parents in front of her she could tell that the prince had gotten then best of both. There were minor differences between them, his hair was ashy brown and his lips were a bit wider than Endymion's but the height, the complexion and even the way of speaking was incredibly similar.

"But…she looked so poised and educated…I never thought she could become such a monster…" Narella shook her head and turned to look at her grandson "Oh my, Endymion…I am so sorry my dear…"

Endymion shook his head "It's alright Avia…like Father said, you did not know this was going to happen"

"But I insisted so much for you to marry her…I…" the queen trailed off and looked at the young girl next to her grandson.

"Gladly he came to his senses and stayed true to his beliefs…" the king said, interrupting his mother, his eyes fixed on his son "…Now, I can see why"

Queen Narella nodded "By all heavens…you are gorgeous" she walked towards her "Look at you…" she whispered "You are a vision"

Serenity widened her blue eyes and blushed "Thank you, Your Majesty" she said softly.

Endymion held Serenity's hand and let out a soft breath "We met almost a year ago…I just got back from the fight with Silas and was monitoring the woods when I found her near the lake…since then we became friends, but then that friendship turned into something stronger…" he turned to look at his grandmother with a small smile on his lips.

Queen Narella took a few steps more and stopped in front of the white princess, paying attention to every little detail in her and smiled softly "And does this beautiful Lady has a name?"

The princess blushed again and blinked a couple of times "Serenity, Your Majesty"

The queen nodded in acceptance, recognizing her poise and name was not of someone who came from a bad family "Where are you from Serenity? What is your last name?"

Serenity widened her eyes and turned to Endymion "My last name?"

"Yes, where are you from, what kingdom?" the mother queen asked again, with more curiosity this time. Endymion lowered his head and closed his eyes for a moment, his grasp on Serenity tightened a little as if he was finding the enough courage to confess everything. He had to confess everything to his family; it was part of their freedom.

"Avia…" he said softly and raised his head "Serenity does not have a last name"

Queen Gaia turned to Aurea and smiled; Aurea was amazed by Gaia's acceptance of their fate and turned to the prince who was finally breaking the shell of his true feelings. Queen Narella tilted her head to the side and kept looking at them with a curious face "She does not have a last name? The only ones who does not have a last name are…" she widened her eyes.

Endymion nodded "Exactly"

Eros widened his eyes as well and turned to Gaia with a surprised look on his face "What is he trying to say?"

Endymion looked down at Serenity and then at his father "That she, just like me is a royal"

Queen Narella's lips parted in amaze "A royal…?" she turned to Serenity and then back at Endymion "She is a Princess? From where?" she frowned confused "None of the four Kings have daughter's your age"

Endymion intertwined his fingers with Serenity's and smiled softly "She is like any other Princess Avia" he turned to look at her "She is the Princess of the Moon"

Eros blinked in shock and so did Narella who immediately covered her mouth with both of her hands "By all heavens…"

Eros turned to Gaia and then to the girl next to Endymion "A Goddess…" he whispered "A Goddess just like…" he felt Gaia's hand on his arm, stopping him from continue his guess. Queen Narella blinked several times as she tried to assimilate the information Endymion was giving her "Oh my…"

"I know this is difficult for you to understand…" Endymion said in their defense "But this is something we did not plan either. We fell in love…"

"But…" Narella trailed off "Oh my…"

Serenity looked at the very much shocked queen and walked towards her "Queen" she said softly "I know this is very surprising and you might be asking how or why, of what my intentions are…but, from the bottom of my heart I can assure you I love your grandson with all my soul. I would never do anything to hurt him"

"But…the gods…" Narella said softly and turned to Gaia who sighed softly "It is their decision. It is their battle to fight now…" she gave her a soft smile "I want my son to be happy, and if this girl is his happiness then I shall always support them"

Her words made sense to the queen and nodded as she remembered that frightened girl who almost 26 years ago appeared out of nowhere by the hand of her son. That girl had the same eyes full of curiosity and endless love for the terran prince, with passion and most of all a kind heart. If the story was repeating itself, then she could not be happier to see her family being surrounded by such special people.

She gave Gaia a knowing smile and nodded, understanding what she meant and turned to the princess in front of her and held her hands "I am so glad he has fallen for someone like you" she gave her a warm motherly smile "I cannot be happier to have you as a part of our family"

Serenity widened her eyes and blushed and turned to Gaia who was now standing next to Narella "I told you, everything was going to be just fine"

Serenity gave her a wide smile and nodded "Thank you, so much…for everything"

Endymion watched his mother with thankful eyes; somehow he knew she had something to do with Serenity being there, she and a smiling Aurea in the back. He went to kiss his mother's hands and cheeks in gratitude, making her chuckle "My, you are so happy"

Endymion nodded and chuckled "I am" he turned to Serenity "I truly am"

Gaia smiled "You are finally complete but remember to never stop fighting for that love" she looked at her son "Never give up"

Endymion nodded and kissed Serenity's hand "I would like to take Serenity to one of the gardens, where there is no people…I would like to have some alone time with her"

King Eros chuckled and let out a soft sigh "Certainly, this has been a night of too many emotions" he looked outside the window "It will be snowing anytime soon" he turned to the princess in pale gold "Have you ever seen the snow before Serenity?"

Serenity surprised by his kind voice she shook her head "No"

Eros smiled "Ah, so…prepare to see something beautiful"

Endymion held the princess hand and looked at his parents and grandmother "Thank you, for understanding..." he said softly and walked out the room with Serenity behind.

A very surprised queen, king and godparents stood there in silence; Queen Narella being the first to speak "The story is repeating itself again…" she turned to Gaia and her son "Just like you two found love, your son did"

"He is right when saying that it is not something you plan" Eros said softly "But…we all know what it means" he turned to his wife "You knew"

"I did, yes" Gaia said softly.

Narella widened her eyes "You knew?! And you did not say a word about it?!"

"I had to Mother…Endymion asked me to keep the secret, I had to comply" Gaia said softly "We know by experience how difficult this might be in the future; one thing is for us to know the truth about them…other very different is _them_ knowing. But that is why their love needs to be strong so they can fight for it" she turned t Eros "Just like we did" she smiled softly.

Eros smiled softly and kissed her hand "And I would do it all over again" he narrowed his eyes slightly "You still kept the truth from him, why?"

"This is their story to live Eros" Gaia said softly "We had ours to live and experience, their fights will be different from ours, their obstacles as well…they will be challenged but I know that they will succeed in the end, they just know to believe in them and to be strong"

"You still could have told him" Aurea said softly.

Gaia turned to her and shook her head "That is another story, and if I ever speak to Endymion…is something I would like to do alone"

Queen Narella's eyes lit up with excitement and clapped her hands with joy "Ohhhh! Imagine how adorable my great grand children will be!" she turned to the king and queen "She is gorgeous"

"She is my best friend's daughter" Gaia said "Of course she is gorgeous" she slowly walked towards the window that led to one of the gardens and smiled as she looked down at the couple holding hands "This is the beginning of a new love story…" she whispered with melancholy and put her warm hand against the cold window "And I can tell, it is going to be grand"

* * *

_A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter, I know this is something you were all dying to read. I've been incredibly busy and under too much stress lately but I just could not let you hanging for too long. I really hope you liked it, thank you so much for reviewing, as always you make my day._

_Thank you and enjoy your weekend. I will see you very soon :)_


	111. Chapter 111

_Divinity: A question of Honor _

_Chapter one hundred and eleven_

* * *

The main corridor has never felt so eternal, her sobbing echoed in the walls and could not help to kneel from time to time pleading he generals to take her back to the throne room to ask for forgiveness. Beryl's eyes burned from crying, her muscles were tense and her knees felt weaker as she saw the large doors coming closer and closer.

Kunzite walked in silence alongside Zoicite while they escorted Beryl, Charmindy and Filemina out of the palace who was being escorted by Jadeite and Nephrite. The redhead raised her tear stained face and looked around at the elegance of the palace as she came closer to its exit; her heart beat fast in her chest as her green teary eyes bid farewell to the beauty of the walls and fresh scent of the flowers arranged in every crystal vase thinking about everything she was about to have and lost.

The white haired man turned to look at his comrade and shook his head as he tried to say something to her; the more they walked the more the music began to fade like if the dream she was dreaming was melting away and how everything fell into pieces in just a matter of seconds. Kunzite meditated about the power of words and how a bad choice of them could ruin your life forever.

They finally reached the wing that would lead them to the front door where several guards were waiting for them "Your carriage is ready My Lady" the guard said to the blonde woman who did not gave a single word in response but a simple nod and a wave of her shaking hand.

Kunzite accelerated his pace and went to open the door of the carriage and waited for the three woman to step inside before patting the back of the vehicle three times "Ready" he muttered and began to walk away.

"Wait" Beryl said to the driver and moved closer to the window, she pulled the velvet curtains aside and cried one last time "General…please, I need to speak with Prince Endymion just one time…this is all a misunderstanding…"

Kunzite arched his brow and stopped in his tracks; he turned and narrowed his icy blue eyes with sarcasm "I beg your pardon?"

"What happened was not meant to be" Beryl defended her actions, her green eyes had never seen son serious and desperate, thought the general but still this was the woman who was bringing the prince to misery and that was something he could not forget and forgive.

"I cannot do anything about what just happened My Lady, I am only following my Master's orders" Kunzite said dryly.

Beryl shook her head "But there has to be something…I…I did not mean to…please General…help me get a private audience with him that is all I ask"

Kunzite frowned and moved closer to the carriage, her insistence was impressive "My Lady, why are you asking me this when you already know I cannot do anything about it?"

"You are the Prince's right hand and advisor…" Beryl said, digging her nails on the wood of the carriage's little door with great desperation, hoping to captivate the general with her pleading "Prince Endymion trusts you more than anyone…"

The white haired general shook his head "I feel flattered by the image you have of me, I may be at my Prince's service as his advisor and right hand, but I am also his friend and I cannot betray him that way…"

Beryl widened her green eyes in panic "General…"

"I do not wish to be rude My Lady…but there is nothing I can do to help you, not me and not the other Shitennou. Our loyalty to our Prince comes first" Kunzite took a step back and sent a sign to the driver, making him shake the reigns of the horse. Beryl watched the general with great panic in her eyes as the carriage began moving away from the palace and towards the entrance. She bit her lower lip and pulled the curtain to the side again, blocking part of the view and took a deep breath as the sound of the wheels against the pebbled road was the only harmony in the air. After a few more minutes, Beryl bit her lower lip again and sniffed "I am sorry..." she whispered, trying to break the deep silence inside the luxurious carriage but she was only answered with more silence and a sense of chill.

Beryl felt her cheeks flush by a sudden sense of shame and regret, maybe fright and dared to look up at the woman sitting at a short distance away from her next to the older woman "I am so sorry My Lady…" she whispered again, fearing the blonde's earlier warning.

Charmindy moved her hand away from curtain and while still facing the window she frowned "Everybody laughed at me…"

"I am sorry My Lady…I…"

"You are sorry?" Charmindy's frown deepened and turned to look at her abruptly "You are sorry?! How dare you?!"

Beryl widened her eyes "My L-Lady…"

"You…embarrassed me! In front of everybody!" the blonde raised her voice, her eyes began shining with what seemed to be tears "You turned me into a joke! And all you can say it is 'I am sorry?!'"

Beryl shook her head "I will fix this…I will go back and talk to…" she tried to reason with the angry woman.

"I picked you from the streets! I bathed you and clothed you, gave you a title and the dignity you never had, you poor whore! And you dare to just say you are sorry for what you have done?!" Charmindy could not hold her anger and grabbed the redhead's wrist "I warned you what was going to happen if you failed!"

Beryl's eyes widened and shook her head "No…please…no! I will fix this! I will do anything in my power to solve this!"

Charmindy shook her head and looked outside, noticing it was too dark to be noticed she arched her brow like if she was planning something then turned to Beryl and spoke between her teeth "You have been nothing but a nuisance all this time and I am tired of you, you are a worthless whore"

"What?" Beryl widened her eyes again. She felt her heart in her throat and shook her head in denial when she heard the blonde continuing with her insults towards her and turned her face to meet Filemina's worried stare and mouthed "Help me…" to her with tears in her eyes; the pleading and desperate look in the young woman was breaking the older one's heart.

Filemina watched the scene with horror and turned to Charmindy as calm and collected as she could "My Lady…you need to calm down…tomorrow will be another day and we all can think of something to solve this matter"

Charmindy shook her head again this time with more anger "This whore will not put a foot near my mansion ever again" she turned to the door and pulled the handle to open it while she held the redhead's hair with her other hand "Get out!" she yelled.

Beryl shook her head in panic and flinched "Please…" she cried in pain. She turned and saw the ground beneath them and tried to get a hold of the blonde so she doesn't fall.

Filemina widened her eyes "My Lady, the carriage is still moving! What are you doing?!"

Charmindy blinded by her anger paid no attention to the older woman's pleading and the young woman squirming in her hands "The same thing she did to my reputation…I am sending her to hell"

Filemina shook her head and tried to stop her "CHARMINDY, NO!"

Beryl begged for mercy but her cries and pleads were no longer listened; Charmindy kicked the door open and pulled Beryl's hair with all her might and threw her out of the carriage violently. Beryl opened her mouth and tried to call for help but the impact came faster than her voice; both women's eyes watched her fragile and once perfect body roll on the sharp pebbles and dirt until she stopped and stayed immobile facing down.

"Oh my…" Filemina watched with a horrified face "What did you do?! Beryl!" her face paled, her hands trembled as she covered her mouth in disbelief; she turned to Charmindy and shook her head in shock "What have you done?" she said between hoarse breaths.

The driver realized something has happened and stopped the carriage abruptly "My Lady, what happened?" he asked worried, looking at her direction.

The blonde stared at the immobile body on the ground and stayed silent while she savored her revenge; she almost felt remorse for the helpless and possible dead girl but her anger was beyond any kind of noble feeling and dismissed whatever was beginning to nest in her heart, guilt maybe? _–No _she thought. She swallowed and licked her lips, ignored the older woman's sobs and shook her head "Nothing has happened…" she closed the door and waved her hand "Carry on"

The man frowned and tried to move from his seat "But I just heard a loud…"

"I said, carry on!" Charmindy raised her voice, stopping him from doing whatever he was thinking of doing; sighing he took a look around and sighed again in defeat.

"Yes, My Lady…" the driver shook the reins of the horse again and the carriage began moving slowly into the night, leaving Beryl's body behind in the dark. Filemina watched with horror through the window and closed her eyes "What you did has no name" she said slowly; Charmindy frowned and leaned on her seat "She is not dead if that is what you are thinking"

Filemina widened her brown eyes "How do you know? She did not make any sound…" she closed her eyes and rubbed her tear stained face with a trembling hand "What you did is horrific"

The blonde turned to look away "I warned her of what could happen if she failed me and she did not only fail me but it is because of her that my reputation is now destroyed! I will be in everybody's mouths for years…"

"You threw a person out of a carriage in motion" Filemina said with a hoarse voice, her distorted expression did not seem to fade away "That is not what your parents taught you"

"Enough!" Charmindy turned to look at the older woman as she hit a soft spot in her heart "My parents have nothing to do with this…they are dead, they died, gone…"

"Your Mother…My Lady, always wanted you to be a regal woman…to marry a decent man…"

Charmindy frowned "I was going to marry a very decent man, I was going to marry the best of this kingdom! And the stupid Queen ruined it all!"

"You ruined it all!" Filemina raised her voice angry, frustrated.

Charmindy was surprised by the sudden action the older woman took, used to her vulnerable and introverted character this was something new but still she did not like it; the blonde narrowed her mascara stained eyes and frowned "How dare you to speak to me like that? After all I have done for you!"

"I have the right to tell you when you are wrong…"

"The only right you have is to be quiet…Since when the servants can talk to their masters that way? The world is losing its mind, first that whore and now you" Charmindy frowned "I do not need your cheap words…"

"Don't you remember?" Filemina said "…How you did exactly the same thing Beryl did a moment ago?"

Charmindy fell silent and widened her eyes when the scene was brought up back to the conversation. That dreadful moment when she savored the victory of becoming a princess to only face the disgrace and shame of everybody once Gaia appeared, she licked her lips giving Filemina the right cue to continue; it was her moment to take the blonde down to memory lane "You pulled the Queen's hair, insulted her and insulted everybody in the room with your actions…you are not angry at Beryl because of what she did, you are angry at yourself for letting it happen all over again…you are angry because it did not matter how much you tried and how much money you spent on her, the story repeated itself and you did not win" the older woman looked away, tears on her eyes began to roll down her cheeks, but the woman was no longer sure if they were of pain or anger "You threw that girl out of this vehicle like if she was nothing, like if she was a pebble on your shoe… that horrific act is another tantrum of yours…" she turned and gasped when she saw her moving towards her, Charmindy's hands were cold when she touched her and her voice reflected it as well "Enough I've said! How dare you to speak to me like that? After all I have done for you…If it wasn't for me you would be in the streets just like her"

"I cannot be silent about this…you have to see what you did was atrocious" Filemina said and watched Charmindy with confusion "What are you doing My Lady?" she turned to look outside with panic.

Charmindy pounded the carriage's door and waited until it stopped; the driver stepped down and opened the door "You called My Lady?"

Charmindy turned to look at Filemina "She is staying at this place"

Filemina widened her eyes "My Lady?"

"I am not going to do to you the same thing I did to her but I do not want to see your face" Charmindy snarled "I had enough of you and your nonsense for tonight"

Filemina shook her head and looked outside "But it's dark…I do not know which path I should take…"

"That is not my problem, you have legs and you can walk" Charmindy said "Get out"

The older woman tried to reason with the blonde but with no use, shaking her head she stepped down the carriage slowly with the driver's help, he watched the scene with wide eyes as he noticed the red haired girl was also gone "My Lady…we cannot leave her here it is very dangerous…"

"I said that is not my problem" Charmindy snapped "Now, let's keep moving…" she moved and closed the door without looking at the older woman again. The driver looked at Filemina and shook his head "It is too dangerous…"

Filemina pressed her lips together and shook her head "Do not fret Sofilas, I will find my way to get to the mansion…"

"Please take this…" the driver went to his seat on the carriage and grabbed one of the lanterns that hung from it and gave it to the woman "So you won't get lost"

Filemina took it and gave him a sad smile "Thank you…"

"I am so sorry…I wish I could do more to help you…"

"You have done enough, do not worry, I will find my way back"

"Please be safe…"

"I will Sofilas…" Filemina looked around before beginning to walk; the driver went back to his seat again and shook the reins of the horses and the carriage began to move away from her, leaving her behind in a matter of seconds. The old woman turned to look back, hoping she would still find Beryl alive and began walking towards the direction she was abandoned. Her steps were steady but her heart shook like a piece of paper against the wind, never in her life imagined she would see this dark side of her mistress, the daughter she had to gave up in order for her to be safe and healthy.

The light against the darkness of the road in the middle of the woods seemed like ghosts following her, she could not deny the fact that she was very scared but her worry for Beryl was stronger at the moment; she could not get the image of the face of the young woman when she was pushed away of the carriage out of her mind, it was probably the most horrible thing she ever had to witness and the impotence of not being able to do anything broke her spirit. She soon began to recognize the surroundings and began walking faster "Beryl!" she called out hoping to hear a response but heard nothing "Beryl!" she called out again but had no response, still she tried one more time.

"Beryl!" she stopped and gasped when she saw she was not around. She turned and gritted her teeth; she thought for a moment that she might have mistaken the place but the further she walked the more sure she was that it was shen she first stopped to look for her.

She looked around hoping to see her walking but found nothing and made her heart cringe with sympathy for the girl "Beryl!" she called out louder and with more worry in her voice "Where are you…?!"

Filemina took a deep breath as she moved the lantern close to her body, she felt a cold breeze with an eerie feeling she could not shake away from her; it was like a dense and dark presence standing behind her, she felt the hairs at the nape of her neck rise and turned to find nobody there, she licked her lips nervously and began feeling adrift and scared. Her eyes began clouding with tears and hoped with all her might for the redhead to be alright before she began walking back to the mansion with a high hope to see the girl in her way.

Deep inside the forest, in between the dark and heavy leaves of the trees Beryl walked with a lost stare and without direction. Her skin was cut and bruised by the gravel on the road; her fiery red was disheveled as her dress was completely ruined by the dirt and blood that pooled from the injuries on her arms and face. Her pace was steady but could not help to limp every now and then. She looked helpless and destroyed, emotionally and physically; since the moment she regained conscious she slowly stood up and was dragged by something into the forest, like a lost soul looking for its way to redemption.

The few things she knew was that she was lost and alone, her aching body reminded her constantly of the previous events of that night and the memory of the prince looking at her with those cold eyes. She finally blinked one time slowly and looked up hoping to see the sky but only realized the forest's foliage was too thick to allow the moonlight filtrate and illuminate the path for her; there was nothing else but pure darkness.

She stopped and rested her body against a trunk and took a few breaths, her eyes felt burned and hot with all the tears she has cried; with a sense of hollowness she hung her head low and let more tears roll down from her swollen eyes. She stayed like that for a long period of time, trying to vent all the pain in her chest; it was until soft music caught her attention and made her turn.

Her green eyes focused on a light in the distance that appeared to be the one of the palace; lifting the skirt of her dress she began walking back hoping to catch a glimpse of the palace and the prince once again. Her face lightened with surprise when she saw the majestic building in the distance and with hopeful eyes extended her hand as if she was trying to reach for it but as soon as she touched the painteresque picture in front of her vanished like smoke between her finger bringing the memory of rejection back again and played in her mind like a bad quality movie.

_Her face like the one of a virgin; her blue eyes looking at her as she was being judged by the royal family; her hair was like no other she has seen before; where was she from? Where did he find her? When did they met and why? Was it before she and Endymion met for the very first time?_

_The look in his eyes was deep and determinant; he was defending her and did not care about what the rest of the court was whispering behind her back. That unceasing whispering that had laughter and sarcasm, bitter jokes and acid like comments, but what hurt her pride and person the most was the pity that hung heavily from every sentence spoken. Their judgmental eyes on her while the prince held the young woman's hand in front of everybody, leaving Beryl in the shadow of disgrace and embarrassment. His fingers where intertwined with hers in a protective and lovable manner and nobody did or questioned anything about it but only her. The way his voice went deep when he silenced her, looking at her like if they never shared any kind of conversation, anything, like a complete stranger. _

_She was a complete stranger to him and that, she felt the most._

Beryl lowered her head and began to sob again feeling all her dream broken, she began to think of how she would survive the humiliation she just experienced and what was she going to do now that she was no longer welcome at Charmindy's mansion. Her sobs began as a whisper but with each one that escaped her lips it turned louder and louder, not caring for anybody that might be listening or at least, that she thought, that somebody might be there listening.

Like a thunderbolt in a cloudy sky, the redhead's cries filtered the wind reaching every inch of the forest, traveling faster to an unknown destination, like an echo it rumbled against the steady silence of the distant lands. In a humid and forgotten cave a pair of yellow eyes opened as the sound of crying of desperation filled like a wonderful and sweet harmony the being's ears.

"Finally…" a hoarse voice said in whispers "The time has come…"

Beryl leaned her back on the tree and continued crying with deep hurt and regret while she listened to the music that barely echoed in the air wishing she could stop time and move that woman out of the way. Out of _her_ way.

"_Beryl…"_

Beryl widened her eyes and raised her head, she stopped crying abruptly and felt a slow breeze crashing against her hot skin and looked around trying to find an explanation to the sound she just heard "What was that?" she asked softly to the nothingness "Did somebody called me by my name?"

"_Beryl…"_

Beryl's green eyes widened bigger and looked around again, moving away from the tree "Who is there?" she asked louder, trying to put a face to the mysterious feminine voice.

"_Beryl…"_

The whisper became clearer to Beryl; the redhead took a deep breath and had the feeling as if she had been found by something mystical, she was too tired and in an incredible need for acceptance that let herself being engulfed by the hypnotizing energy from where she could not escape. Her eyes turned cloudy, she no longer felt like if she belonged to herself anymore and without any explanation or sure where she was going she began to walk across the forest and into the dark again.

o.o.o.o

Back at the palace, Kunzite and the rest of the shitennou walked back to the grand salon after they watched the carriage with the redhead inside. Jadeite sighed and shook his head in disbelief "What a night…" he sighed "Never in my life imagined she would do what she did…"

"Maybe she felt very confident and thought she was truly was going to be chosen…" Zoicite said "We all shared her thoughts, the rest was unexpected"

Jadeite frowned and turned to look at the blonde man with a confused expression "What are you talking about?"

Zoicite arched his brow "About Beryl, who else?"

"I was not talking about her…"

"Then who?"

"The white Princess"

Zoicite shook his head but he had to agree with his comrade "I suppose you are right…we did not see that happening either"

"She exposed herself right in front of everybody, she has some gut" Jadeite said with amaze, while following the three men "I wonder if they are still at the ball"

"They have some explaining to do…" Zoicite said softly "Queen Narella won't leave this matter easily"

"They are probably speaking by now…I highly doubt they are still at the ball" Nephrite said, joining the conversation. The short haired blonde shrugged his shoulders "…So then…what the blonde guardian said…wait a minute…" he widened his eyes and turned his heat to see Kunzite "Was it a lie?"

"Her presence here will complicate things even more" Kunzite said with slight regret, he knew exactly that Jadeite was talking to him and sighed "Although I applaud her bravery for coming here and bringing our Prince back to his senses but her presence here does not mean we have won, she is still a divine being and it is still forbidden for her to be here"

"What do you think it will happen now?" Jadeite asked with a tone of worry, Nephrite sighed and turned to look out through the large windows at the night sky "…The stars keep warning us…the war is far from being over…"

"We are going to find the solution to all these problems we have been having…we are going to fight!" Kunzite said determinant "Right now, love isn't going to take us anywhere! There is danger outside and we have to fight against it"

"Kunzite?" Zoicite interrupted him. Kunzite sighed and lowered his gaze, acknowledging the position he was into at this moment, it did not mattered how much they all believed it was something that was going to be 'take care of and come back' deep down they all knew it was something beyond their own comprehension and that should not be taken with ease "I am worried that he might want to change his mind and stay here because of her"

"Do you really think he would do something like that?" Jadeite asked and frowned "He has done some stupid things in the past, but to leave this matter unsolved…no…" he shook his head "I highly doubt it, come on Kunzite…you should know him better than that"

Kunzite licked his lips and closed his eyes, he stopped in his tracks and rubbed his face with his large hands "I do not know what to believe anymore…I know he is aware of his responsibilities but…"

"That is not going to happen"

The four shitennou widened their eyes and turned to Endymion who was standing a few feet away from them with Serenity standing next to him, both had a serious face. Startled, Kunzite tried to think of something that could excuse his words "Master…I…" his mind went blank; his chest held the feeling of shame for doubting the words of his friend and prince.

"I know you are worried about all this…I am too, but I won't step back from what I was sent to do" Endymion said in a serious voice "I will fight with everything I have, and I know you too, Serenity's presence will not change my decision"

Kunzite turned to look at the princess and tilted his head forward "…Princess…" he trailed off, he could not come with a good argument to defy the prince's words but his concern and slight disapproval of all this was still evident. Serenity felt the need to open up and speak for herself, she was grateful Endymion was there to support her but she felt she had to do something for herself and her friend, who knew had strong feelings for the man before her. Her tears and silent love would not be in vain.

She let go of Endymion's hand and took a step towards him, enough for her to be face to face to him, with great security she looked him in the eyes and nodded "I know my presence here is much unexpected Kunzite…but, I had to come here and clarify things…" Serenity said "You were all misinformed and it was killing me inside to imagine what Endymion might have been feeling and all of you…" she lowered her gaze for a moment and then looked up at the general again, she pressed her lips together and let out a soft breath "…She only did it to protect me…" her words were soft, making sure he was the only one able to hear them.

Kunzite felt his heart beat faster in his chest at the mention of Venus, licking his lip he diverted his grey gaze away from her and took a deep breath "And so we are protecting our Prince…" he tried to regain his pride, but when it came to Venus it was difficult to do so; he was trying too hard to pretend he did not care.

"Kunzite" Endymion interrupted the man and caught his attention.

"No, Master…" Kunzite shook his head and looked at him "What it is going to happen now? Are we all back to where we started? We have very important matters to attend to be mortified by this romance as well…"

"We are not back to where we started" Endymion alleged the stubborn man.

"Master?" Kunzite frowned "As far as I know, your romance it is still forbidden"

"Things will be different once we all return" Endymion said seriously, there was something in his voice that made the four shitennou think it was different this time, they widened their eyes with surprise "Master?" Zoicite was the first one to question him.

Endymion raised his hand and shook his hand "I already introduced Serenity to my family…they know about us, how long have we been together"

Kunzite widened his eyes bigger "They know?"

"Now that my family and the court know about my relationship with Serenity, there is no impediment for us to be together" Endymion looked at her lovingly and with hopeful eyes "My relationship with her does not divert me from my obligations, I know my place and my duties and I am not going to abandoned them…"

The handsome prince smiled to Serenity and sighed softly hoping to spend the remains of the evening well "…But I… just for tonight…" he turned to look at his friends again "…I ask you to please, respect my decision to spend what it is left of this night with her…"

Nephrite looked at the couple and then out the window, up to the starry sky for a moment. The stars began shining one after another like pixie dust, nodding he closed his eyes. There was nothing he or anyone could do at this time, they stars have spoken, their destiny had been settled and he had seen it. As a man who understood and spoke to the stars, he had no other option but to accept the faith they have decided for everyone, he has knowledge of the future yet he still hadn't seen it all, all he had to do was to wait for it to come "What destiny just brought together it cannot be torn apart" he said calmly.

Jadeite arched a brow and turned to look at him, he let out a sarcastic chuckle but his playful grin disappeared when he saw his gloomy face "Another riddle?"

Nephrite shook his head and opened his eyes "I do respect that time Master" he ignored the blonde's joke. Kunzite frowned, looking at Nephrite with a puzzled look but then he understood there was something he just read and knew. Sighing in defeat, he put his position as guardian aside and understood the situation as a man in love. He lowered his gaze and thought about the blonde guardian and on how much he would give to see her even if it was for just a couple of hours. He nodded and turned to his prince "Our departure schedule remains the same?"

Endymion nodded "I will see you at the entrance"

The white haired man nodded again in knowledge and turned to the princess; the host of a smile caressed his stoic face "With all due respect Princess…"

Serenity blinked "Yes?"

Kunzite looked at his prince for a moment and then back at her, his eyes were not as cold and serious as usual "You are the girl with most courage I have ever met" he said with admiringly.

Serenity blushed and blinked a couple of times making the four shitennou chuckle; Jadeite smiled "A jewel indeed"

Endymion chuckled when he noticed the princess was not following what the men were saying "It does take a lot of courage to be with a man like our Prince" Kunzite smiled and bowed his head. As he looked down he came to admit that their fate was decided, it did not matter how much they all tried to separate they were always going to find a way to be back together, like two opposite magnets; as guardian he should have kept trying to keep them away from each other but as his friend, he had to support him. He turned on his heel and began to walk away.

"Kunzite" Serenity's calling made his stop and turned to look at her again "Yes Princess?"

Serenity looked up at him and smiled "Thank you" she extended her hand as a peace offering; it was like they have finally reached for the middle point between this situation and he could not help to feel amazed by her sweet version of braveness. To him and he was sure than to everyone there present, being brave and to have courage was someone who could prove it in battle, someone who could gain respect and honor but this girl, she did it in another way, in another peaceful and adorable way and he finally got it. This was what it has captured the prince's attention the most; her strength was based in peace, love and dreams contrary to the prince's ideology. She was the right amount of sanity Endymion needed.

He blinked a couple of times and took her hand and shook it softly and just when he was about to take his hand back he felt she had something in hers and looked at the silky golden ribbon with wide eyes. Serenity looked at him and smiled softly.

"It belongs to Venus and I want you to have it"

Kunzite could not hide his surprise and blushed slightly "Why…?" he trailed off and looked at the princess "What…?"

Serenity tilted her head and began to tie the silky ribbon around his wrist "I may not be the related to the Goddess of Love but, I do recognize when two have fallen for each other…" she said softly as she began tying a bow "…This is her favorite ribbon and it only wears it on special occasions…"

"Then…why…?" the man stuttered while he watched the silky ribbon slide playfully around the princess' slender fingers. Serenity smiled again and looked at him once she finished the small bow "…She used to wear it every time she came here looking for me, when she knew she was going to see you…"

Kunzite's eyes widened and blinked in a couple of times in surprise "She…did?"

Serenity nodded and rested her hands on top of the knotted ribbon on his wrist; her baby blue eyes searched for his in comfort and gave him a sad knowing smile "I know you understand our situation…very deep inside your heart. You are a man in love just like your Prince and I but it is your duties and nature what is keeping you apart…but things are going to change one day…for all of us. We will make that happen…that is my dream" Serenity said softly and stood on her tip toes to give the general a peck on the cheek "You are a very good man Kunzite, thank you, for always looking after Endymion, thank you for being his friend"

Kunzite's surprise eyes turned to ones full of gratitude and understanding; this was the perfect woman for his friend and his loyal prince there was no doubt about it. A sense of fidelity engulfed his body making him take the decision that was going to change his life forever. He, just as the royal couple was going to fight to defend the true meaning of love, he was going to fight alongside them to achieve his ideals in order to be worthy of his golden girl.

"Please, do not forget about her. That is all I ask" Serenity said softly.

Kunzite smiled, for the very first time in a long time and shook his head "Never, Princess…you have my word"

Serenity smiled and nodded "We all will find the way to be with who we want" she said, referring to the rest of the shitennou, him and her relationship with her prince "You will see"

Kunzite looked at his prince and shared an understanding gaze before Endymion took Serenity's hand and began walking away slowly, this time with all the calm in the world, relaxed to no longer hide their feelings for each other. They looked joyful and in peace, like if a heavy weight has been lifted off their shoulders.

Jadeite scratched the back of his head and walked over the general with a frown "Are you alright?"

Kunzite nodded and turned to Nephrite who was standing next to him and stared at the couple in the distance with resignation and acceptance "You saw what they mentioned, right?" Kunzite's voice made him turn; Nephrite let out a deep breath "Two souls in the universe were destined to be together since the day they were born"

Kunzite narrowed his grey eyes "Two souls?"

"They are destined to be remembered" Nephrite lowered his gaze "It does not matter how many times we all try to break them apart…they are fated to be together" he turned to look at his comrade "The stars have been predicting our fate…and something very grand will happen…"

"So the star of Leo is still…" Zoicite trailed off, his throat went dry.

"…In danger, yes…" Nephrite finished and sighed "That is independent of his relationship with the white Princess" he turned his head towards the direction the couple went and sighed again "…We need to be very alert…"

Jadeite frowned "But we still do not know if 'that' star of Leo is referring to him…it could be anything or anyone at this point"

Nephrite turned to the blonde "We know the nature of our Prince…"

Zoicite sighed and looked away "…What are we going to do now?"

Kunzite frowned and looked down at the ribbon in his hand "…Be strong and fight with all we have…but tonight, until the battle starts, let us leave them alone" he watched with melancholic eyes at the couple walking in the distance.

After the little scene Beryl and her godmother Endymion had no interest to be present at the ball until its ending after talking to his family they understood and respected the time he wanted to spend alone with Serenity before leaving for who knows how long; his face was relaxed, he was happy and at peace; something he hadn't felt for years. Now that the shitennou knew their romance was public he felt a little more tranquility to know they were going to be left alone for the rest of the evening without having them to hide from everybody.

The couple continued walking in silence until they finally stood in front of the prince's room. His hand reached for its heavy handle and pushed the button to open it and waited for the princess to come in. Once she did he closed the door and watched his princess walked towards the balcony doors and opened them slowly, she moved the curtains aside and sighed happily; it seemed a lie how just hours ago this room was so gloomy and cold.

Her eyes looked up at the night sky and landed on the silver moon in the distance "Are you alright?" his warm breath tickled her in the ear and smiled while nodding "I am just thinking about how much I am going to miss you…" she turned to look up at him, her eyes began shining with tears "…I am going to miss you so very much…"

Endymion dried her tears with his thumbs delicately and kissed the top of her head "This will end soon"

Serenity looked at him with worried eyes "Endymion…"

"I will be alright Serenity" he tried to reassure the truth in his words but Serenity could not hold her worry and let out a sob, the prince immediately reacted by wrapping his arms around her protectively and kissed her forehead again "I've done this before my love…I was trained for this…I know what I am doing"

"It still worries me…" she whispered in his chest "…To know nothing about you…" she lifted her face and met his azure gaze "I'm scared…"

Endymion caressed her face with the back of his hand, moving it slowly down to her neck and collarbone in a feathery touch "Don't be…it breaks my heart to see you suffer like this…"

"I wish there could be a way for you to stay" Serenity sobbed and closed her eyes, letting her tears roll down her cheeks, she tried to stay calm for both of them because she knew her state could affect him somehow but it was too hard for her to be _that_ strong, she even dared to wonder where did he find the strength to be so calm and collected in a situation like the one he was in. Endymion could feel the worry that was troubling Serenity, he could feel everything she felt whenever he touched her and even when he was trying to be as calm as possible he felt like he it was not enough. Tired, he closed his eyes and rested his forehead on hers "Serenity…when I said things were going to change once I returned, I was being serious" he opened his eyes slowly but his forehead was still resting on hers "Serenity…" he paused until he was sure she was paying attention to his voice more than to her own sobbing. When the room slowly fell silent again, he took a deep breath and licked his lips nervous "Would you marry a mortal man…like me?" he whispered.

Serenity's eyes snapped open and looked up at him with a face of pure surprise "What…?" she said bedazzled.

"Would you, Serenity?" Endymion asked, like a little boy waiting for an answer.

Serenity looked at him wide eyed and blushed, after a few seconds her frown turned into a smile and her sad tears quickly turned to ones of pure happiness "Yes" she quickly held his hands and kissed them softly "There is nothing I want more than to be with you"

Endymion captured her in a warm embrace, soon his lips found hers and spin around with her a couple of times, he loved to hear her giggle it was like the boost of energy he needed. After a few more playful spins he stopped and looked at her straight in the eyes "I love you Serenity" he kissed her hand and looked at her again "…I will come back for you…once I return you and me are going to be together"

Serenity looked at him with eyes of true and passionate love "Forever?"

"Forever Mea Luna Bunny"

Serenity looked at him dreamily while resting her hands on each side of his face, her lips parted slightly as she moved closer to him to caress his lips with hers in a slow, tender and feathery kiss. His eyes began to slowly close and began to give himself to the kiss; his hands moved slowly down to her bare shoulders, working their way down her back. From time to time they would open their eyes for a fraction of time, only to give themselves to the long kiss again.

Her delicate hands moved to his collar, as they tried to caress his neck. He on the other side began undoing the silky ribbons that kept the beautiful and shimmery gown close to her body; one hand pulled the gown down and the other began undoing her famous buns letting her silver hair cascade like a starry blanket around her making her look more like an angel.

Serenity began by taking his sache off and put it aside and continued unbuttoning his uniform jacket until her hands met the warmth of his skin, his well toned chest sent shivers down her spine and all over her body engulfing her in a wave of desire. His lips took control of the kiss this time and his arms of her now nude body, between soft moans and butterfly kisses he whispered "I love you" in her ear as he carried her to his bed.

"I love you" she whispered back and ran her hands through his raven hair and combed it back to how she was used to see it fall playfully over his azure eyes. She looked at him between breathes and took charge of the kiss again and that was all she remembered before giving herself to the moment and to him.

Their caresses only reminded them of how much they missed and belonged to each other, their lips caressed their necks and their hands warmed every inch of their exposed and barely covered skin with the covers. She opened her icy blue eyes and looked at him when he stopped to caress her face; he was going to kiss her again and gave him a smile. Endymion looked at her with those lovingly eyes she missed and knew so well; so full of emotion, so blue. He smiled softly and shook his head "What?" his voice was slightly hoarse.

"I am so happy" she breathed.

The prince wrapped his strong arms around her back and pulled her closer to him "Me too…" he whispered "You have no idea of how much…"

Serenity pushed his bangs back and looked into his deep blue eyes with a gaze of wonder "Is it true what she said?" she asked softly, her face was full of curiosity. Endymion immediately knew what she was talking about and let out a soft breath "I thought about it…I…" he trailed off and rested on his back, he put an arm under his head and looked at the ceiling "…If I married her, it would have only been because I had to, not because I wanted to…I want to make that clear"

"She is very pretty Endymion…" Serenity rested on her side; her voice was not as chirpy and curious as it was minutes ago, it sounded more melancholic it almost showed _Guilt. _Endymion frowned "I do not love her Serenity" he cut her off.

Serenity bit her lower lip and looked at his stern face "But she is very pretty…maybe with time…"

Endymion turned to look at her and narrowed his eyes "There was an attraction between us, yes, I won't lie to you…but I never felt the urge to protect her, to be with her because I felt loved, with her and all the other women you saw there, I felt like a prey ready to be eaten at any moment…" he laid back again and sighed "…I never told her I was going to marry her…_her_, personally" he rubbed his face with his free hand "This ball was a big blur in my mind…I was trying too much to be as drunk as possible, maybe I already was I do not know, I am not even going to excuse myself, I know what I did was wrong, I played her taunting game by her rules but in the end, she lost"

"Her eyes were full of hurt…" Serenity said sadly "Like if something had broken inside of her body…" she licked her lips and played the vivid image of her distress and desperation "She was so broken…"

"She was going to hurt you" Endymion's voice was sharp and turned to look at her, his eyes darkened "That is no excuse…anything that happened is a good excuse for her actions"

"She was hurt"

"Are you defending what she did?" Endymion arched his brow and sighed "Serenitati…In another time, I would have fallen for her enchantments and slept with her, but most likely never going to marry her, why? Because I wouldn't have fallen in love with her…because marriage was the last thing on my mind" he ran a hand through his hair "And you might ask, 'how do you know?' well…because I am a man…and since the moment we met, she tried to persuade me and we played this stupid taunting game of hers and I enjoyed it until a certain point because I was not looking for something serious, but every man knows that a woman that gives everything so easily leaves too little to desire…"

Serenity widened her blue eyes in surprise "Are you saying that you enjoyed the attention? That you like to flirt with women?"

Endymion arched his brow "It is not something I did on purpose, I just did it"

"Why?" Serenity frowned.

"Because…" Endymion sighed "…I knew it was only because of my crown. If you think about it and I know you will understand my point, when somebody declares their 'eternal' love at the first meeting…it cannot be serious at all, that person does not have a clue of who the hell you are, they only want the crown"

Serenity blinked "Good point" she said thoughtfully "How did you get to that conclusion?"

Endymion smiled softly "Because I learned about the true meaning of love since I was very young"

Serenity rested on her stomach, her elbows rested on the mattress for support and watched Endymion still laying on his back with both arms behind his head "How?" she asked curious, "How can a little boy learn about something so…" she bit her lip while trying to find the right word "…So…significant, so serious?"

Endymion turned his head and looked at her "Nobody taught me…I just witnessed it" he gave her a knowing smile "Everyday"

Serenity understood what he meant; her blue eyes softened "Your parents" her lips curved into a soft smile "You lived by their example"

Endymion nodded "I learned that love is something that goes beyond attractiveness, it is understanding and complicity and I wanted that for me but sadly I knew I was not going to find it so easily in this place so I preferred to entertain myself with nonsense and played along until I believed love was a waste of time and not for me"

"What made you change your mind?"

"You" Endymion caressed her face with the back of his hand "…You dared to contradict me, to speak up for yourself…you simply changed my life"

The white princess blushed "That sounds like nobody was capable of doing that"

Endymion pursed his lips "Actually…no" he nodded "You really changed my life…before you, I did not believe in love or anything related…I had other plans for myself…plans I tried to continue when Venus told me you were engaged. I got angry at myself for not being able to go and fight for you up to where you were, for being a mortal…since that day I felt my soul escape my body, I felt cold and away from reality. I tried to be who I was before I met you but I couldn't…I was too vulnerable…and that is when I decided to marry a girl, any girl in order to fulfill my duties as Prince and give this kingdom an heir…I was going to marry any girl and Beryl was my first option because she was the most I 'barely' knew"

Serenity sighed sadly "I am really sorry for what happened…" she looked at Endymion next to her and shook her head "She was only trying to protect me…from the threats in Olympus…from the gods…from our Commander…"

Endymion frowned, the word somehow bothered him "Commander…" he said slowly "What about him?"

Serenity held his hand and pressed her lips together in a tight line before continuing "I have always thought he is not the one that should be leading our Army and the whole Silver Alliance's security"

"I don't think I am following…" Endymion arched a brow and sat straight, giving his princess his full attention "Why?"

Serenity looked away and exhaled "He has other ideals...he does not listen, he is not prepared…"

Endymion narrowed his eyes in wonder "Why do you think that?"

Serenity frowned and turned to Endymion "Because I have seen you work…I have seen all the things you do for your people and I know he is not the right man for that position, I just do not know it…I am sure of it"

Endymion pursed his lips and lifted her chin with his hand delicately "Why do I have the feeling that part of what Venus said to me is true?"

Serenity closed her eyes and let new tears roll down her porcelain cheeks; Endymion dried them with the back of his hand "Serenitati…open your eyes, look at me…please?"

Serenity opened them and looked at him for a moment in silence, then sighed. She had listened another truth about him and it was time she came clean about Athamas before anything else happens "I met him when my mother was inviting suitors to the palace in order to meet me…I got interested in him but after some time he told me I was going too fast and that he needed time to work and do some other things…several days later still in the midst of my pain, I escaped...and met you…"

Endymion looked at her with a serious face and arched his brow; Serenity noticed how his eyes went a shade darker than usual and sighed softly "Yes…I was engaged to him and broke the engagement when I realized I was in love with you…he has never been then man of my dreams…you are" she bit her lower lip.

Endymion frowned slightly confused "Serenity, why did you never mention this to me before?"

"Because…" Serenity trailed off and looked up at the ceiling, hoping to find the right words to say "…I never imagined this man could be so insistent and go to the lengths he has"

Endymion's lips parted and narrowed his eyes, then shook his head "Let me see if I understand…" he cleared his throat "This man, has he tried to be with you after you broke the engagement?"

Serenity pressed her lips together and looked at Endymion "Yes"

"Has he tried recently?"

Serenity stayed silent, enough for Endymion to know that he had some sort of a competitor "Well…this is new…and interesting"

"I do not love this man; I never went back to him…but the complete opposite" Serenity said softly, she lowered her gaze and bit her lip "Are you mad?"

Endymion blew his bangs and stayed silent for a moment "This is the same man that said you were an idealistic and a crazy woman for wanting to know how to fight, am I correct?"

Serenity widened her eyes, -_How could he remembered that? _ - "Yes"

"Hmm…"

"I am sorry for not telling you this sooner…are you mad?"

Endymion turned his face to look at her and arched a brow "About you? Yes" Endymion winked his eye, trying to sweeten the moment "…No, I am not mad, surprised, but not mad. I am thankful as a matter of fact, if it wasn't for his pride I wouldn't have met you" his hand caressed her belly "About him being pretending you again…well, that is another story"

Serenity bit her lip "He does not know about us"

"He does not need to, I know he knows"

"You are not…worried?"

Endymion took a deep breath and pursed his lips "About what?"

"Him, fighting you. He is vicious…he will want to fight you"

The prince arched a brow "By the way you say 'vicious' I can tell the kind of man he probably is, I remember you mentioning he was ambitious; I am not worried Serenity because I know how to fight, I was trained well and if he ever wants to fight me I will fight him back but if he ever dares and try to hurt you again…"

Serenity widened her blue eyes "Again? How…?"

"Yes _again_, I know that bruise was not caused by a fall…" Endymion said dryly "Serenity, if he ever tries something again, I won't hesitate to kill him"

Serenity wanted to confess all the things he has done over the past year they have been together, all the lies he has told, all the mockery and his secret plan to kill somebody but she was aware that if she did that he would not leave to save his own planet; this was not just about them, it was about saving a planet and he was the one leading that fight. Suddenly she felt amazed by the man she had by her side, by his strength and the courage to do whatever it takes to save his people. She remembered that particular night he mentioned, when he saw the bruise in her arm and how he healed her…he _healed_ her. With eyes wide she looked at him: He, was not just any mortal man, but something else. He was something extraordinaire.

Serenity bit her lip again and lowered her gaze; Endymion tilted his head and caressed her face "Hey…" he whispered and lifted her chin again so her eyes could meet his "I will come back very soon…and after that, there is nothing that will keep us apart again. I will come back for you"

Serenity held his hand and brought it closer to her heart, closing her eyes she kissed it softly "And I will be waiting for you Endymion…" she opened her eyes slowly and fought that familiar urge to cry; she tightened her grip on his hand "I will wait for you"

Endymion felt the worry in her body, the anxiety for having to see him leave for an unknown period of time. Even when he tried his best to sound secure and positive, he was worried too; just the thought of leaving her was torturing him but deep in his heart he knew that their love was that one thing that was going to bring them together soon. Kissing her hand, he intertwined his fingers with hers; his other hand pulled her body closer to his allowing him to kiss her on the neck "I will come back"

Serenity moaned softly at his caresses and opened her eyes slightly "Promise me Endymion…"

Endymion stopped and looked at her with those passionate blue eyes of his, those she knew well and loved with all her might, those eyes so full with love and desire "I swear" he whispered and captured her lips in a passionate long kiss before begin to love her once again before dawn.

o.o.o.o.o

Her steps were slow and steady, as if they were acting on their own will she continued walking looking at nothing in particular; the mysterious whispers calling her name bewitched her like a cold melody and the curiosity of knowing was what was leading her to a place she did not know was too strong to be fought against.

"Beryl…" the whispers again sounded louder in her head.

Beryl arched her brow as she tried to see something in the dark but all she could hear was her own footsteps against the gravel and grass from the forest. She continued walking for a few more hours; not really aware of how much she has been walking in a direction she did not knew when she finally stopped she looked at her surroundings and found nothing but the same thick forest and a rock blocking her way. Frowning she looked around again and shook her head "What…?" she trailed off when she heard that whisper again "Beryl…"

"Who is calling my name?" she finally dared to ask to the nothingness.

Many whispers began clouding the redhead's mind; it was like that same voice divided in several beings and all wanted to speak at the same time. Desperate she tried to cover her ears and closed her eyes _"Beryl…the entrance…Beryl…" _she paid close attention to one.

"_Find the entrance…"_

"_Beryl…"_

"_The entrance…find the entrance…Beryl…"_

Beryl opened her green eyes again and moved her hands away from her ears; reaching for the rock she had in front of her she realized it was a cave rather than an object blocking her path "The entrance…" she whispered "A cave…" she frowned and began walking slowly towards it.

As she entered, she noticed they were many burned flags with the royal symbol on it and her frown deepened "What is…this place?" she asked softly as she continued moving many sticks and stones hoping out of her way, hoping to find something that could explain her presence in that dark and humid place.

Her hands and arms had cuts and bruises everywhere, the magnificence of her once gown was gone by the dirt and gravel from her provoked accident; her fiery hair was no longer styled but completely down letting her curls stick to her dirty and sweaty face as she continued looking for something she was not so sure to find; she was almost in the verge of giving up when she pushed a few rocks out of the way and widened her eyes when she saw there was another entrance "Could it be?" she whispered.

"_Smart girl…"_

"…_Pretty girl…"_

"_Beryl…"_

Beryl hesitated for a moment and then crawled inside the cave, her hands touched the walls inside and frowned when she felt moisture, a very strong and toxic smell began filling her nostrils making it almost impossible to continue "Agh…" she shook her head in disgust "What is this place?

In the middle of darkness she continued walking her way to the deepest part of the cave to see if there was something she could find or at least a place where she could spend the night safely until she finds something more humane to live.

"_Finally…what I've been waiting for has come…"_

Beryl frowned "What?" she turned to the darkness "Who is there?!"

_[chuckles] "The moment I have been waiting has finally come…after all this time…I will be free…"_

Beryl frowned "Who is there and how do you know my name?!"

_[chuckle] "I have heard your cry of desperation…your thirst for power and you abandoned soul…I know you are a troubled soul that needs to be listened…that needs to be respected and admired…"_

"Where are you? Why I cannot see your face?" Beryl asked with fright.

"_Because I am behind these stone walls…and I cannot break free unless…"_

Beryl frowned again "Unless what?"

"_You break the seal for me…"_

"How do you know me? You do not know me"

_The sultry voice chuckled again "Oh? But I do….you are the spirit of a woman that has deep desires…for a man specially…"_

Beryl's eyes widened "What?"

"_I am the one who can help you achieve all that you want and punish those who have embarrassed you…I am the one with enough power to make you invincible…the one that will give you eternity and beauty. I am a divine being with enough power to control this world…"_

Beryl shook her head in disbelief "A…divine…" she began thinking in Endymion almost immediately and the embarrassment the ladies from the court caused her when he turned her down, the face of the angelic and mysterious girl came to her mind, filling her body with rage and jealousy then, the face of Charmindy laughing at her for being a nobody and throwing her out of the carriage like a piece of trash "How can you help me? How do I know what you are saying is true?"

"_You know what I am saying it's true…and you want to believe it is…I can give you unimaginable power and eternal beauty…I offer you the possibility of becoming a Queen to this world and many others…"_

Beryl's eyes widened "Queen…" she muttered.

"_I can give you the power to do anything that you want…but I only ask for one thing in return"_

The redhead turned to the darkness "And what is that?" she asked, defiant.

"_Your energy, your soul that is…"_

Beryl widened her green eyes "My…energy?" she began feeling cold and frowned while hugging herself trying to warm up.

The female voice chuckled again a few times_ "...I can see you, your eyes full of abandon… I can give you what you want, the power you desire, the eternal beauty you deserve…turn you into a rightful Queen"_

Beryl hesitated for a moment but the offer she was receiving was too much inviting and difficult to refuse, licking her lips she began to feel fear and turned back deciding to walk away from that place.

"_If you walk out this place, you will go back to your life full of misery… your cold and broken soul will become a burden that with time will rot like your body and memory….Nobody will remember you, not even your shadow…Not even the man you want in your life…" _

Beryl widened her eyes and stopped in her tracks, her eyes burned with tears as one rolled down her cheek "…The man I want in my life…" she whispered.

"_I can see in your hollow soul the memory of a man…"_

Beryl licked her lips once her tears rolled down into them and pressed them against each other; she closed her eyes and fought the urge to sob in pain "…Yes…Endymion…"

"_Ah…" the mysterious voice translated "The man you want has a sacred name…"_

Beryl bit her lip and frowned "He is the Prince of Earth"

"_I see…" the sound of pebbles and stones moving of place startled Beryl "…The Sacred Queen's heir…The son of Gaia is the man you want…interesting…"_

"It is all over now…" Beryl whispered "He has chosen another woman…"

"_Poor unfortunate soul, don't you want to revenge what has been done to you? Don't you want to regain what has been taken away from your grasp?"_

Beryl's green eyes widened "Revenge?"

"_All the laughter and embarrassment…the look in everybody's eyes…"_

Beryl shook her head and began reviving the moments when Endymion held the silver headed hand and in front of everybody and introduced her as the woman he loved. The whispers and giggles of the court, the disdain and the embarrassment of being denied in front of everyone present. She closed her eyes as she remembered when she was asked to leave the palace alongside the woman that started all this. She remembered Charmindy's judgmental eyes looking at her, mocking her, making her less and throwing her away like a piece of garbage. Her blood began to boil in her veins as she remembered her words and expression of disgust in her face.

"_Don't you want to be praised and respected? To be feared is better to be loved… Love is ephemeral and fear is eternal…you will always be remembered as the Queen of this world, if you are feared you will become respected and eternal, a legend…I can give you eternity"_

Beryl looked down at her hands and watched the filth and blood on them, her once fine skin was now all cut and bruised, she was a broken girl, she was hurt, she had been neglected, abandoned and she was angry. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath.

"_Yes…I can feel it, the anger…the rage…" _the spirit's voice echoed in the cave_ "…Let that pain out, take revenge! Take it!, Take it NOW!"_

Beryl opened her eyes and put her hands on the rocks that kept her apart from the entity behind and saw a golden seal beginning to gleam with a warm light, her eyes watched in surprise as the seal began forming a symbol she knew and recognized "A circle with a cross" she whispered "…The Royal Symbol…"

"_Yes…it's the secret your royals have been hiding from all of you…your precious Queen is nothing else but a powerless being…I knew the seal would not hold for too long, it was weak and easy to break"_

She turned around and watched the thick and dark walls fall in pieces _"Yes…Yes…I can feel it…"_ the voice said in between the rumble of the broken seal.

Beryl covered her face with her hands from the dust and pebbles, when she heard nothing but a hoarse breathing she opened her eyes and turned to the darkness and stared in silence "Hello?" she heard nothing, blinking a couple of times she frowned and took a couple of steps forward and gasped at the haggard face of a woman with yellow eyes, the most demonic being she has ever faced in her life and felt her blood freeze in fright.

The voice had a face and a very distorted one, her skin was pale, very pale, almost white allowing her veins to see thru, she had long dark hair that hid her scary features most of the time, it seemed like she did not have a face at all at times. Her body was not too tall, and it seemed fragile because she was nearly in her bones but the energy that emanated was too strong to believe this was a normal human being. She was wearing a black dress that not accentuated anything in her body, the once lace was torn apart and what it seemed to be a trail it was burned and stained. She directed her yellow gaze towards the redhead; her pale cracked lips curved into a smile "Can you feel the magnificence before you?" she said, hoarsely.

The redhead widened her eyes and tried to say something but the fear she was feeling was stronger than the surprise of seeing a woman nearly dead before her "You…"

"I have been trapped in this dark hole for too many years…" her bones began to crack and churn as she moved slowly towards the exit of the cave and stopped "I was put under a seal because I was a threat to your glorious Queen" she chuckled, an acid chuckle "Queen…that woman is an impostor…a witch…"

Beryl frowned "Who…are…you?"

The hollow woman turned her head and gave Beryl a creepy smile "The Queen of Darkness, Metallia"

"Metallia…" Beryl repeated, in disbelief of what she have done.

Metallia moved back and closer to Beryl, her long fingers barely touched the redhead's fiery disheveled locks "The anger inside you…is exceptional…" she snarled, like a snake hypnotizing it's pray "All I need of you…is your soul and I will give you that you want…"

"Why are you helping me?" Beryl frowned.

"Because, it was your anger what set me free…your disgrace, fed my spirit and helped me break free from this damned spell" Metallia said and looked into Beryl's green eyes "The ones that had betrayed you…are the same that betrayed me, that witch you have for Queen did this to me and that crown she wears upon her head it is not hers…"

Beryl widened her eyes "Then…who is the rightful owner?"

"Me" Metallia frowned "Once I destroy her…I can release the true power of this galaxy and universe…everything will be ours…you will be Queen of this planet, like you should be" she hung her head "All you need to do is to give your soul and loyalty…and I will give you unimaginable power"

"Power…" Beryl whispered and lowered her gaze.

"The Prince will be yours"

Beryl's eyes widened and raised her head, she slowly extended her hand without thinking about it anymore, she wanted the prince and she wanted him now; no matter what. Metallia chuckled and held Beryl's hand with one cold hand and with the other she dig it into her chest, right where her heart is, the black woman curled her long fingers around the beating heart and began suctioning the life out of the young woman's body. Beryl gasped for air and screamed in pain. Her eyes widened and screamed again in desperation; she felt a rush of acid through her veins as her body temperature began to drop in a matter of seconds, her green eyes widened bigger when she could see a light cloud coming out of her body moving straight to Metallia's, a tear rolled down her cheek as she felt she no longer had the life she once had. As she felt, she did not have a life at all.

Metallia laughed with pleasure with the young woman's warm soul "Energy…" she muttered in satisfaction, closing her eyes she opened her mouth and let Beryl's energy filtrate through her body. She stayed with her eyes closed for a few minutes before opening them again and turned to Beryl who had hers closed as well "Granted" she said "Now you belong to me, you serve to me…and in return I will grant you your wish…but first…kill the Queen and bring the Golden Kingdom down to ruins"

Beryl's head hung, her red hair covered her face and only nodded in response; after a few more minutes she raised her head and looked at the place where her heart should be beating and looked at Metallia with a smirk; she angled her face to have a good look at the dark queen and chuckled. Her eyes no longer were green but had turned into a dark shade of red, blood red; this was a new life for her, a new beginning and from here, she felt nothing could go wrong. Not anymore.

"Yes, Queen Metallia"

o.o.o.o.o

The ambient at the kingdom was returning to its normal tranquil state as Helios, the young priest could see from his place at the Holy Tower. Smiling at the palace, he sighed and walked back to where Obelix was finishing his prayers for the night when something made him stop abruptly and opened his eyes.

Turning to look behind him he could not see anything, the water in the fountain was the only thing making noise at the tower, he frowned and shook his head and ran a hand through his hair confused. Helios walked in and noticed there was something odd with the High Priest "High Priest…are you alright?" he asked with concern.

Obelix sighed and nodded, but just when he turned to give his last prayers the entire section of candles lit before him blew out, surprising both man; Helios widened his eyes and walked closer to the older man "W-What did just happen?"

Obelix walked as fast as he could to the entrance of the sacred tower and looked at the palace's direction "Little Princess…" he whispered with worry "What should I do?"

The sky was still dark but dawn was soon to come, the winter ball was finally over and the whole chaos of arranging everything for the iconic party of the year was in the past. The night was calm and silent, a cool breeze came through the prince's balcony doors, waving the thick curtains blocking some of the light coming from the moon.

Endymion was lying on his back with Serenity deeply asleep with her head on his bare chest, his hand absently fell down her nude back. Even though he was resting he could listen the sounds coming from the outside, the leaves of the trees moving with the wind, the curtains moving softly in a melodic rhythm, the soft sound of the crickets; until something caught his attention.

"_You …are mine…Endymion…"_

His blue eyes snapped open in a second and blinked a few times to adapt them to the darkness of the room, slowly he turned to look at Serenity who was still sound asleep and began moving her carefully so he would not wake her up and sat on the bed; he ran a hand through his hair and looked around the room, he clearly heard something, something addressed to him and did not like it at all. He felt a tug in his chest, a wave of discomfort and concern. He took another moment to calm, stood up, put his pants on and walked towards the balcony. His eyes searched for something that could explain what just happened and turned to look outside, the breeze was bringing something eerie, something thick…it was not the same cool and moist breeze that welcomed him in the morning, this time it was different, it smelled different and it was coming from the woods.

"What is it that you are trying to tell me?" he whispered to the breeze but had no response. He looked up at the sky and noticed it was starting to become clearer, indicating only one thing.

It was time for him to go.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, after staying out in the balcony for a few more minutes he began walking back to his room and went straight to the bathroom and closed the door. Soon after the sounds in the room began bringing Serenity back to reality, waking her up from her deep sleep; she opened one eye first and took a glimpse of what was happening and sat on the bed as soon as she heard Endymion coming out of the bathroom wearing a clean pair of black pants slightly different from his usual uniform and her heart sunk as she realized what was happening "Endy…?" she said softly.

Endymion turned to look at her and gave her a soft smile "Morning…" walking over to her he sat on the bed and caressed her face with the back of his hand "You slept well?"

Serenity nodded and sighed "It's time?"

Endymion pressed his lips together and nodded, the water that was still on his hair dripped down onto his handsome face "But it's alright, you can still stay in bed"

The white princess shook her head and pushed his wet hair back and smiled sadly "I have to bid my warrior goodbye the proper way…"

Endymion kissed her hand and looked down "Breakfast is at the living room…you should eat something"

"Aren't you?" Serenity looked at him puzzled; the prince shook his head "I'm not hungry…"

Serenity looked for her dress once she put on her underwear "You should eat something…" she tied the ribbons of her gown and walked over to him "At least have a cup of that awful drink you like…"

Endymion chuckled "Already did, but I can always have another one"

Serenity stuck out her tongue in disgust and began doing her hair in its usual style making the prince laugh softly as he put on a black undershirt to then proceed to put on his uniform jacket; the princess watched with close attention as she bit a strawberry she picked from the plate of fruit that was brought for the prince but again, she noticed it was slightly different from his usual military uniform starting by the fact that it was no longer navy blue but pitch black, like his hair "…It's different…" she said softly.

Endymion adjusted the collar and buttoned up the jacket and turned to Serenity "What is dear?"

"Your attire" Serenity pointed.

Endymion nodded "Because this is the uniform I was given when I became first in command" he explained after he put on his knee high stockings over the slightly tighter black pants, then proceeded to put on his black boots. Serenity turned to look at the velvet box over the desk and frowned "Your medals…You are not going to wear them?" she asked, stunned.

The prince shook his head and walked towards her with the box on his hands "I want to entrust them to you"

Serenity widened her eyes and looked up at him "Endy?"

"I cannot wear them and I do not want to leave them here…it is the first time I am not going to bring them with me…I want them to be in safe hands"

Serenity blinked a couple of times and looked down at the honorific medals "But…" he startled her and grabbed the locket "This one…I am taking this with me"

Serenity smiled and closed the box "I will guard them with my life" she hugged the velvet box "I will give them back as soon as you return"

Endymion smiled at her and nodded, he pinned the locket inside the jacket and turned to one of the tall dresser next to the mirror and opened the dark oak doors and took out what was inside; Serenity widened her eyes when she saw the black and silver armor he was beginning to put on and finally the situation began to sink in, he was really going and for an undefined period of time. The prince placed the shoulder blades and the pieces around his legs and adjusted the part that protected his waist and chest. The princess watched him with close attention at how he put that intricate and intimidating armor; she knew he was close to be done when he put his sword on his left side of the belt and began putting on his long dark cape with red lining.

Serenity pressed her lips together as she saw him fully dressed and could not help but to take a deep breath and fight again her tremendous urge to break in tears. She slowly sat on the bed and covered her face with trembling hands; Endymion crouched in front of her and took her hand into his "Serenity"

"I'm sorry…" Serenity shook her head and covered her lips with her free hand "I just cannot do this…I cannot be alright, to see you go like this…" her fragile body began shaking when she broke into sobs "I do not want you to leave…!" she turned to look at him, her pale blue eyes pleading him to reconsider and stay but his stormy ones were determinant; his grasp was warm and secure "Serenity…" he sighed and looked down "It breaks my heart to see you like this…to leave you like this…" he took a moment and bit his lower lip in thought "…I have to serve my people and my Kingdom…" he trailed off and looked up at her "…I have to protect my family…"

Serenity opened her eyes and looked at his hand holding hers, his voice was not angry or any upset but sad; she knew he was talking about his mother, the same woman that helped her see him again and understood that somehow she was being selfish for just wanting him for her and not really thinking of how important his family is to him, specially his mother the queen. Nodding she patted his hand and licked her lips "You will go…and do your best…" she sniffed and took a deep breath, looking up at him straight in the eyes "Be the warrior I know you are, protect your family…protect your kingdom…" she blinked "…And come back home safely…" her eyes gleamed with tears "Promise me Endymion…"

Endymion tilted his head "Serenity…"

"Promise me"

The prince looked at her and nodded "I promise"

Silence fell between them as they both exchanged a look of desperation and worry for each other, this was a trial they had to overcome, after this, everything would be different. They wanted to say more but words would not come out of their mouths, Endymion throat went dry and tried his best to remain calm; Serenity on the other hand was in the verge of tears again "I am sorry…I am terrible with farewells"

"This is not a farewell" Endymion said seriously "Serenity…" Endymion's voice brought her back from her thoughts "I need you to be strong, I need you to be fearless, trust your guardians, rely in them…let them be a part of your life"

Serenity opened her mouth to speak, but words still could not come out of her mouth. Endymion held her other hand and tightened his grip slightly "I will come back, but I cannot guarantee you when…that is why, I need you to trust me…I need you to be strong because if I leave knowing you are here, crying your heart out…I will feel like I am doing you harm…If you are strong, I will be strong as simple as that" Endymion looked at her straight in the eyes "Do we have a deal?"

Serenity widened her eyes "Endymion…"

"Serenity, do we have a deal?"

Serenity exhaled and nodded "I will be strong, for the both of us"

The prince kissed her and smiled "Thank you"

A soft knock on the door startled them, and turned to find Megumi standing at the door "My Prince…"

Both royals stood up; Endymion nodded and turned to Serenity, his arms wrapped around her in a warm embrace and captured her lips with his and for a few seconds, he slowly opened his eyes and looked down at her "I amo te…Luna Bunny" he whispered.

Serenity caressed her lover's face one last time before he turned on his heel and walked towards the door. He turned to look at Megumi standing on his side and gave her a sad smile "Please…look after her…"

Megumi bowed her head and nodded "You have my word, My Prince"

Endymion looked at his princess one last time and gave her a small smile and left. Serenity's eyes began burning with tears again as she saw him disappear behind the door and laid on the bed and let her feelings take over her; her hands curled up tight against the softness of the sheets that muffled her sobs. Megumi watched her with sad eyes, it was heart breaking to see her like this; she slowly walked towards the bed and sat next to her and let her cry her worries. Megumi hesitated for a moment but then lost any fear to comfort her, this was the woman that made her prince smile, she made him happy and she understood her feelings in some way. Without thinking it any further, she slowly began combing her hair with her fingers in a sisterly way, Serenity found the young maid's gesture incredibly sweet and felt grateful, after a moment of silence, she felt the peace she needed; her sobbing began to calm down as the soft hush coming from the young girl began to make her feel more comforted and at peace "He will come back" she said softly "I have always thought he is different from everybody…he knows what he is doing…I trust My Prince…" she looked at the white princess and smiled "…Trust him, My Lady…for he will come back"

Serenity blinked a couple of times and wiped the tears that were still trapped between her long lashes and nodded, giving the young woman a soft smile "Thank you"

Megumi blushed and shook her head "No My Lady, thank you, for making my Prince happy"

At the other side of the palace, the queen stood near her balcony doors; her green eyes were red from crying as she held the golden drop shaped pendant close to her body "Donum redire tuto" _(Come home safely)_

Aurea walked in with a tray with a teapot and cups meaning only one thing "You have come to put me to sleep again" the queen retorted and looked away. Aurea frowned and put down the tray "Why are you mad at me?"

"I do not like to be put to sleep…"

The dark woman sighed "Gaia…what can we do when his destiny was to be who he is? We cannot stop what it is already done…I've told you that too many times…"

"I thought this was already over…I thought he was no longer going to fight a war…"

Aurea poured some tea on a cup and walked over to the queen "Being this worried will not do you any good…but the complete opposite and trust me, your son does not need that right now"

Gaia shook her head and walked slowly away from Aurea "This is all my fault…" she whispered "…My nature has come to haunt us again…like it did years back"

"…And you stopped that madness…" Aurea interrupted her "You held the power and…" a knock on the door startled the two women, Aurea went to open the door quickly, her brown eyes widened when she saw the prince wearing his battle attire and whatever the queen was feeling, she began to feel it too; Endymion gave the woman a peck on the cheek and looked at her with worried eyes "How is she?" he whispered.

"Upset, worried…panicked"

Endymion walked inside and stood in front of his mother "Please, do not be mad at me"

Gaia widened her eyes and turned to her son "Endymion…"

"You know how this is Mother…" Endymion walked towards her and held her hands "There is no other choice…I have to do this for everybody's sake… for your safety, I would die if something happens to you"

The queen looked at him and sighed in defeat, lowering her head "I cannot win against you"

"Mama…" the word felt warm in her chest, it had been so many years since he last called her like that and could not ignore him; Endymion brought her hands close to his chest after he kissed them "It is not about winning…it is about being safe and have a life without worries…It is my duty…" he lowered his head and sighed sadly "I do not have too much time…" he looked at her "I have to go…but I had to come and ask you for your blessing…"

Gaia's eyes began to tear as she rested her hand on his chest and chanted a soft prayer to protect her son; the prince closed his eyes and waited for his mother to finish before turning to Aurea and ask her to do the same. The brunette widened her eyes and proceeded to do so after she gave him a kiss on his cheek "Be safe my dear, come back to us safe and sound"

Endymion nodded and went to kiss his mother's forehead "I promise I will return, please...be strong"

The queen nodded and watched him turn on his heel and leave the room, before things could turn even more difficult and depressing for everyone. The queen closed her eyes and held the pendant tighter "May my grandfather guide you in your journey my son"

The entire army was waiting for him by the time he made his appearance at the entrance, he looked around and made sure everything and everyone was ready and set to leave. Kunzite and the rest of the shitennou went to stand stood next to him wearing their armor as well "The horses are ready; we were only just waiting for you. We are just in time"

Endymion noticed they were not wearing their typical uniform but one the grey one "In honor of our fallen soldiers" he said softly "You chose the grey uniform"

Kunzite nodded "We all felt it was appropriate, we are going to avenge their deaths"

Endymion nodded and turned to his father and Leonidas standing behind him "I will try to keep you informed" he said to the king who was looking at his son with eyes of admire. Nodding he patted the prince's back and pursed his lips "Please be careful, son"

"My Mother, please… be with her, protect her"

Eros nodded and patted his back once again "I will son, do not worry"

The prince nodded and turned to Leonidas "Please look after them while I am gone"

Leonidas nodded and gave the prince a warm smile "Don't you worry about a thing Endymion, I will"

Endymion smiled at him and nodded. The time had finally come, he took a deep breath and gave his first order once he stepped down the stairs and went straight to mount his horse. The rest of the army began mounting their horses as well and turned to their generals who were the first to leave; Endymion turned back to the palace and looked at it one last time before turning to the shitennou "Let's go" he kicked his horse's ribs softly and slowly began moving towards the front gates.

Inside the palace, Serenity rested her hands on the window of one of the rooms that allowed her to watch what was happening at the entrance, this was the first time she had seen an army ready for battle and could not hold her surprise to see all of them following her prince "A warrior…one with the heart to guide his people…" she whispered to herself, pressing her warm hand against the cold window she looked at Endymion move far away in the distance and let out a soft and hopeful sigh.

"I will see you soon, my love…please, be careful…until then, I promise to be strong"

* * *

_A:N/ And here goes another chapter, I hope you like it and enjoy the story so far. Thank you for your reviews, messages and for marking me and the story as favorite; it really means a lot. _

_Have a nice weekend, I will see you soon :)_


	112. Chapter 112

_A/N: Hi. I know I said that if I posted this chapter was going to be because I have already finished the season, well...I haven't finished it yet, but this chapter is so good I couldn't keep it in the dark for too long. I hope you like it and I will see you very soon. (I am almost done with the season...I swear, just bare with me...and give me a little time)_

_Enjoy!_

_Divinity: A question of Honor_

_Chapter one hundred and twelve_

* * *

It dawned a very cold day, the fresh rays of the sun began to warm the roofs of the cottages and stores in the golden village. People began their new day by preparing breakfast, having a cup of coffee, sweeping the glitter and confetti out of their entrances and with the gossip and news of the new prince's bride to be bubbling in their mouths.

Many had the opportunity to be present when the prince opened his mouth to speak and was stopped by a mysterious girl in a gown who many have said it was like if it was made of stardust, but only a few were there to witness the redhead's slow and painful downfall.

As the people in the picturesque village continued their daily chores the figure of a woman became visible in the distance walking slowly her way to nobody knew where. Her eyes were lost and out of focus and she almost looked as if she was sleepwalking because of her long and steady pace. Her lips looked dry and chapped and no sound came out of them, she made no sound except for the one of her feet dragging on the dirt and gravel.

Her eyes soon focused the light that filtrated from the thick foliage around the village's entrance and the many roofs in the distance; she was soon reaching her destination. Once she crossed the foliage arch that indicated that she was in Elysion her torn appearance soon began catching a lot of glimpses from the people in the streets. Their faces were one of shock and disbelief and soon the whispering; _that_ judgmental whispering began to reach her hears once again.

"_What happened to that girl?...Look at her…Wait, isn't she the…one? The one from the ball?"_

"_Is that…her?! –No! That broken girl cannot be her…"_

"_It is her!"_

"_She was everyone's bet until the girl in gold appeared"_

"_Poor woman…look at her, all dirty…I feel sorry for her"_

"_I remember her from the streets…"_

"_What streets?"_

"_She used to live on the streets…I know I have seen that face before around the tavern"_

"_Oh…"_

Beryl tried to ignore the glances toward her and the gossip behind her back or better said, what nobody dared to tell her right in the face. Her dirty face began to give her past life away to the many men and people walking around the plaza, she was no longer the mysterious court girl with the ravishing fiery hair but the girl from the streets with a pitiful job at the tavern, serving beer and scotch to drunken men.

A man caught up with her and pulled her arm and threw her soulless body in an alley and watched her crash against the stone walls of the buildings; she showed no expression and made no sound, she didn't even fight the man who was obviously aroused by her "Hey gorgeous…I thought I was not going to see you again…where have you been?" his raspy voice echoed and moved closer to her "I have been looking for you…you disappeared…eh?" he moved closer to her and sniffed her disheveled red locks "I have missed you, you know?"

Beryl's hair covered her face; not even the man's proximity made her react and move away, she just stood there like a ghost. The drunk man dared to move closer to her until he finally stopped in front of her "Ah…" he breathed in and looked at her torn gown "…So you gave your life a little change, you now wear fancy dresses, eh?..." his dirty fingers trailed the pulsating skin of her chest.

"…"

The man frowned "So it is true then…you were that woman at the ball, the one promised to the Prince and the one he did not choose to be his wedded bride" he shook his head "Tssk tssk, what a shame…so lovely. But you and I can have some fun...like good old times...eh?"

The man's words fell into place at the mention of the prince Beryl woke up from her living slumber and began to shake her head, from her thick hair still covering her face she looked at him with deadly eyes. The man watched her with surprise and tried to gasp for air but it was too late for him once he felt her cold hands hold his arm tightly "What are you doing?!" he asked frightened. There was something in the girl he once used for his entertainment that made him feel chills all over his body. He opened his mouth and tried to cry for help but only a loud scream was heard in the alley before Beryl walked out minutes after, unharmed. She wiped something from her face with the back of her hand and continued walking towards her destination in silence, leaving trails of what it seemed blood behind her.

o.o.o

Filemina leaned on the wall and sighed for the hundred time while looking out the window of the living room hoping to hear some news from Beryl; Charmindy was sitting at the other end of the room in her usual seat in front of the hearth with a glass of wine on her hand "Why do you keep sighing?" she asked annoyed "Have you ran out of breath old woman?"

The older maid turned her head and stared at Charmindy's chair "We haven't gotten any news from her…"

Charmindy rolled her eyes and kept looking at her wine, swirling inside the crystal glass every time she moved her hand "I am not interested in hearing news from her…she was a waste of time…and money"

"Don't say that" Filemina snapped and widened her eyes "Are you not worried of what could have happened to her? If she is alive, hurt, dead?" she licked her lips "…My Lady…"

Charmindy stopped moving her glass and turned to look at the maid near the window "You keep defending her, I do not understand why" she frowned "She was nothing but a whore I picked out from the streets! Now you feel sympathy for a poor homeless like her? Thanks to her, I am no longer invited to any social event! That was my last chance to win the King's heart and she ruined it!" she waved her hand, spilling some wine from her glass.

"You ruined that yourself"

Filemina and Charmindy's widened their eyes in shock and turned to see Beryl standing at the door; her hair disheveled and the once beautiful gown was now dirty and torn. Her pale skin was bruised and cut and her bare feet tainted red. Filemina walked over to her and shook her head in disbelief "Good gracious child, where have you been?!"

Beryl raised her head and looked straight at Charmindy "Out there…nowhere…" she muttered. Her eyes held no emotion, they were lifeless; her skin was pale and cold, like if she was…dead. Charmindy looked at her still in shock "What are you doing here?" she asked and frowned "I thought I was perfectly clear when I said you were no longer welcome here"

The redhead took a step forward, ignoring Filemina's worried face "I came home…where I belong"

The blonde woman arched a brow "Where you belong? Home? This is not your home. This is my mansion!"

Beryl tilted her head and looked around, her movements were slow and uncharacteristic as if she was being another person; she was indeed another person, her aura was somehow different. Her presence was very much noticeable and a deep energy could be felt emanating from her body; her strange movements were making the whole conversation incredibly dark and unnerving.

"It is…my home" Beryl touched a crystal lamp that was resting on one of the tables and looked carefully at how the light filtrated through the hundreds of beads around it, she wet her chapped lips a slight smirk crossed her features "Everything in this place…is now mine"

Charmindy frowned and let out a sarcastic chuckle "Since when?" she looked at Beryl carefully and arched her brow again "You sure have a nerve to come back here"

"Since the moment you threw me out the carriage" Beryl turned her head slowly like a broken doll, both women could hear her bones crack as she looked at the blonde with deadly eyes.

The blonde widened her eyes and swallowed "I threw you out where you belong…the streets, I warned you!"

Beryl stared at Charmindy with deadly eyes and made the blonde woman gasp "Get out of my house! You are going to pay for your mistakes! And all the money I wasted on you!" she stood up "You whore!"

Beryl shook her head in denial and walked slowly towards her "It is you who is going to pay for everything…for having threatened my life, for showing no respect to your Queen"

FIlemina widened her eyes "Queen?"

"Queen of Earth…" Beryl said in a deadly tone "Kneel before me mortal, because I am now your superior…" she looked around and smiled "Everything in this place now belongs to me, everything and soon the crown will also be mine…including the Prince" there was something in her voice that was not right, it was cold and almost demonic; it didn't sound feminine and Beryl like.

Charmindy widened her eyes "Have you lost your mind? Queen of what?" she laughed "All I see in front of me is a dirty whore"

Beryl turned to Charmindy and in a quick move she grabbed her by the neck, her long and cold fingers curled around the blonde's thin neck. With a chuckle she watched her with that lost and cold stare of hers "Such a delicate neck…so easy to break" she frowned, her eyes darkened "That was the last time you said something insulting to me! DO YOU HEAR ME?!" the windows and crystal vases began exploding one after another as the room began to turn darker "DO YOU HEAR ME?!"

Charmindy tried to break free from Beryl's desperately "Let me go…you insolent!" her teary eyes watched her windows break into hundreds of sharp shards and fell like glitter on the carpeted floors.

"Beryl…please!" Filemina cried in desperation and gasped when she began to see that something dark was coming from the hearth "Spines?" she whispered and turned to Beryl "What have you become?"

"A Queen" Beryl said deadly and chuckled "The Queen of this world" her eyes never leaving the blonde's teary and terrified ones.

"Please Beryl, let her go" Filemina tried to calm Beryl and make her release Charmindy, but her grasp was too strong, even for her and the energy around her was becoming intoxicating. It's smell of sulfur was beginning to fill the older woman's lungs like smoke.

Beryl looked at Charmindy and smiled "There it is…the look I wanted to see" Charmindy widened her eyes as she noticed her eyes no longer had that emerald green that made them so peculiar but blood red and gasped in fright; Beryl narrowed her eyes "The look of fear, do you remember…I was looking at you the same way and you threw me out…now I am going to do the same…"

Charmindy blinked and tried to speak; Filemina shook her head and cried for Beryl to stop.

"Fear me…now, respect me!" Beryl raised Charmindy up in the air and threw her against a wall, leaving her unconscious "Charmindy!" Filemina screamed and ran over to her.

Beryl watched the scene before her with disinterest; turning on her heel she began walking towards her room in silence. The wooden door closed by itself behind her while she walked to the bathroom and washed her face "I am Queen, I am Queen…" she mumbled "I am Queen" she repeated to herself like a mantra, over and over again while droplets of red stained water rolled down her chin and jaw washing the remains of her blood mixed with the man's she killed earlier.

She walked towards the dresser, with a wave of her hands the heavy doors opened and rummaged through the many gowns inside and smiled once she found what she was looking for. Beryl took out the gown and placed it over the bed and turned to the vanity that claimed as hers. Her cold pale fingers wiggled while searching for the object of her interest and chuckled once she held it in her hands.

Beryl brushed her hair, let it loose and placed the emerald tiara she liked so much on her head. She painted her lips blood red and smirked as she looked at her in the mirror and loved how her red eyes contrasted with her jewelry and gown "I am Queen…and Endymion, is mine" the mirror cracked at the final statement.

Filemina managed to put Charmindy in a sitting position and minutes after she woke up; both women widened their eyes as they saw Beryl standing at the door fully dressed in the purple mermaid gown Charmindy let her buy and all the emerald jewels that were once bought for her; her wavy hair crowned her now clean visible face and fell graciously down her back. She looked around and noticed how everything was now covered in black vines and thorns; the paper on the walls and the paneling burned slowly giving the surroundings an ashy and sulfuric smell.

The now self proclaimed queen smiled and raised her brow "Do you still doubt this is all mine?"

"You made a pact with the devil…" Charmindy hissed and looked around scared, with the little force that was left in her body she tried to stand up and cried for help "HELP! HELP SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

Beryl laughed "Now you scream for help? It is pointless…everyone in this house is dead" she chuckled "And soon you will be joining them"

Filemina widened her eyes and shook her head "Beryl…why? Why are you doing this? What happened?"

Beryl took a step closer, the ashes flowed around and away from her. The woman was now untouchable "Those who laughed at me and humiliated me will pay for their sins…" she looked at the blonde woman shaking uncontrollably on the floor "Those who called me _whore_ and made fun of my feelings and dreams…like you" she pointed at her and smiled, then turned her face at Filemina "You were the only one that listened to me when I cried" then back at Charmindy "But I cannot say the same thing about her…your daughter"

Charmindy widened her eyes "Daughter?"

Filemina widened her eyes as well and shook her head with panic "Beryl! No!"

Beryl laughed "Oh, I forgot you did not know…" she laughed again and looked down at Charmindy "…But I think it is time for you to know the truth…" she raised a perfectly shaped brow and gave the blonde a cynical smile "You, who claim to be one close to royalty were conceived by a maid and another man who as soon as he learned you were going to be born he ran away…Your mother found a job as personal maid of a well refined Lady from a very positioned house who could sadly, not bear any children…"

Charmindy licked her lips and felt her eyes burn with tears, something Beryl found exquisite and satisfying. The feeling was too intense, to delicious for her so she could not stop enjoying that glorious moment "…In exchange for food and a roof upon your heads you were given to that couple, who, immediately gave you a name and a title…leaving your real mother in the shadows as your nurse…looking after you in silence" she sighed "Isn't that lovely?"

Charmindy shook her head "You are lying…YOU ARE LYING!"

Beryl laughed, tilting her head back in pleasure "Oh my, my…who's the peasant now? We weren't so different after all... A poor young girl, given a title by pity not by bloodline…such a shame...You lived a lie all your life, believed you were of fine blood...how does it feel now? How does it feel your blood burn inside your veins like acid? Do you hear everyone's laughter echoing in your mind? Do you feel the dirt under your nails? Your peasant nails..." she narrowed her eyes "You have humiliated and mistreated your own mother, you have mistreated me…and now that I have given you my gift of truth to you…I don't see any use of your body in this world any longer…"

Filemina shook her head with tears wetting her wrinkled face "Please Beryl…don't hurt her"

Beryl raised her brow an chuckled "If you once had two chances to win the crown by making the King marry you…now you will have none. I personally will make sure of that, now you will have a reason to blame me for your ugliness" she raised her hand and a shard of glass flew to it. She crouched and grabbed the blonde by the neck again with her other hand with great force and smiled "I will not kill you, but I will let you live enough to see my Kingdom rise before your eyes…I will give you a good reason to remember me for the rest of your days. You will always remember my name…and you, you will always remember yours" the redhead dig the sharp glass on Charmindy's face, she traced thick and straight lines, her blood pooled from her cuts tainting the glass on Beryl's cold hand. Her face showed no mercy at the cries of pain and desperation, at the blonde's body twisting in pain.

Charmindy let out a cry of pain and desperation by the long and deep cuts Beryl was doing to her face, each and every cut felt like if it was burning deep into her skin, the pain was unbearable; her screams were choked by her tears and sobbing "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Beryl laughed and threw her back on the floor like a rag doll, Charmindy quickly covered her bloody face with shaking hands; her cries made the redhead laugh even more "Oi Oi…what a pleasant sound…" she smiled "The sound of respect…of fear…Is is clear now who I am to you now? Or do you need any more proof?"

Beryl chuckled and frowned "Be grateful you mortal, because the only reason I am letting you live is because your mother was always there for me when you didn't. Truth hurts, isn't it? Wait until you open your eyes and see the reality of the future you will live from this day forward"

She turned on her heel and threw the shard of glass away as she walked towards the exit and turned over her shoulder and look at them one last time "Queen Metallia was right…it is better to be feared than loved" her eyes darkened and broke into laughter, then left the mansion the same way she walked in, like a ghost.

Filemina breathed heavily and wiped her tears with her dirty hands then turned to her blonde daughter that was still crying on a corner.

"Charmindy…?" Filemina whispered and looked down at her shaking with bloody hands, her cries didn't yield; she choked every time she tried to gasp for air but her blood pooled from in between her fingers "W-What did she do to me?!" she whispered with fright; Filemina moved closer to her and kneeled in front of her, she reached for her hands slowly and moved the blonde's hands away from her face and gasped in horror at the bloody reminder Beryl left her.

"It hurts...it hurts..." Charmindy cried, like she never did before in her life "Mama...it hurts..."

Filemina cried with desperation and covered her mouth with her hand once she could see what Beryl did to her daughter.

The word 'whore' was written across her once beautiful face.

O.o.o.o.o.O

Serenity walked into her room with the velvet box on her hands and sat on her bed. Her fingers touched the soft material of the box and sighed "Endymion…" she whispered and closed her eyes for a moment.

The princess took a few minutes to assimilate what just happened and took a deep breath; soon, the image of him wearing his armor and leaving in his horse began to replay in her mind and could not help the urge to tear. She lips trembled and with all her might she tried to remain calm or otherwise this time could turn into a complete nightmare.

She heard somebody at the door and opened her eyes slowly not really making any attempt to hide what she had in her hands and slowly began wiping the tears off her face with the back of her hands softly before the blonde senshi walked in.

Venus stood near the door and looked at the princess with sad eyes before standing in front of her "Tell me what I have to do…and I will do it"

Serenity looked from her hands up to her and frowned "What?"

Venus gave her princess a serious look "It would be very stupid of me to think you stayed here all this time…" she arched her brow "I know you weren't here" she blinked and widened her eyes in surprise "Where did you get that gown?"

The white princess stood up and sighed, ignoring her question she walked back with the black box in her hands "I do not want to fight Venus…please…" her voice sounded tired, sad. This conversation could go forever if she did not stop it before the blonde could even start. Venus frowned "I do not want to fight either Princess, but you leave me with no other choice…apparently it is what you constantly want…"

"Venus…" Serenity said softly.

"I do not know what to do anymore Princess!" Venus raised her hands up in frustration "Why do you keep doing this?! Why do you insist in doing this?"

Serenity stopped and turned to look at the blonde senshi "Because I went to fix what you tried to break…I could not stand…" she trailed off and held her breath for a moment, trying her best not to show any weakness and start to tear again "…I could not bear knowing the man I love the most was angry and disappointed at me for something I did not do…" she lowered her gaze "You hurt me Venus…you are hurting me…and it is breaking my heart…" this time her tears could not hold any longer and began to roll down her flushed cheeks.

Venus felt her eyes beginning to burn with tears as well and tried her best to remain calm but it was taking much more effort than she imagined "I am only trying to protect you Princess…I am only doing what I promised to do when I was brought here, to protect you...because you are very important not just to me, but to the girls as well, we love you" she lowered her gaze "I have tried everything and I keep failing…" she said softly and turned to look away "I do not know what to tell Her Majesty anymore…" she sniffed "…I cannot lie to her again…"

"Tell her the truth"

Venus widened her eyes and turned her shocked face at her "What?"

Serenity looked at her with a calm expression but her tears kept falling slowly "Tell her the truth, don't keep my romance with Endymion a secret anymore"

"Princess"

"Why didn't you go there and bring me back?"

Venus frowned "What?"

"When you realized I was not here…why didn't you go to earth and bring me back?" Serenity asked calmly "You knew where to find me and yet you didn't do it?"

Venus widened her eyes "…I…" she trailed off.

"I will tell you why…" Serenity put the velvet box on her vanity and walked over to the golden haired senshi; taking a deep breath she held her hands and looked at her in the eyes "…Because you know our love is sincere, because you know he means no harm…because you know I am safe when I am with him…" she gave her a sad smile "You did not go for me…because you know our love is real and because deep down you understand me"

Venus flushed and blinked a couple of times "Princess…"

Serenity caressed her friend's hands softly with her thumbs and looked at her with sympathy "I do not want to fight with you anymore or with any of the girls…but mostly you; because you are my friend…and I know that you know how I feel"

"General Athamas knows you are having an affair with somebody" Venus said softly.

"I know…" Serenity answered the same way. Admitting the truth to Venus.

"I cannot tell my Queen the truth…"

"My mother will have to know eventually…"

"Eventually?" Venus frowned.

"I went to see Endymion, yes, I needed to talk to him and tell him everything you did was because you were looking after me, knowing my presence on earth is dangerous for all of us not just for me... Endymion understood everything and made a decision of not hiding me anymore. He took a moment to continue and pressed her lips together for a moment "He introduced me to his family" Serenity told the senshi "His mother knows who I am…she knows where I am from"

Venus widened her eyes "What? Princess…that is too risky…" she took a deep breath and released it, then turned to Serenity "Did she say anything?"

"She supports us" Serenity said softly and sighed "Venus…I want to fight with him for our love…and if Mother knows, she will understand…but I have to wait for the right time to let her know everything, when Athamas is not around"

"Princess…you know that having any contact with the inhabitants from that planet is forbidden and against the law…if they find out…if the High Gods find out about this…you will be punished…and so are we…"

"If you had the opportunity to be with Kunzite, would you let it pass?" Serenity interrupted the blonde, startling her "What did you just say?" Venus asked surprised.

"If you had the opportunity to fight for your love, would you do it?"

Venus felt her heart race and bit her lower lip "…What are you saying…that does not make any sense!"

Serenity held her friend's hands again "Venus, I do not need to be related to the Goddess of Love to know you have feelings for the General…I can see it in your eyes…I have seen that look before…"

Venus flushed and tried to look away but Serenity moved her face towards her again "…He feels the same…"

"But we cannot be together…" Venus broke eye contact with her princess and began to walk around the room in defeat, her feelings already uncovered "…We have a duty and that is to protect you…just like I do with you, he has to protect his Prince"

"That is no impediment for you to be together" Serenity said.

"We are not the same…we are from two different worlds" Venus tried to find any excuse possible to justify her actions. Serenity shook her head "As long as you have feelings for one another, nothing else matters"

Venus lowered her gaze and sighed; she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to Serenity with a startled face "Do not be afraid to fight for what you want"

The blonde widened her eyes "Fight…what I want?"

"Is Kunzite who you want?"

Venus blushed, giving Serenity the answer she knew and waited for so long to see "Please Venus…I do not want to fight with you anymore…with any of you girls, I love you too much to be arguing all the time…"

"And Athamas?" Venus asked softly "That man has Her Majestie's approval"

"You do not trust him" Serenity said.

Venus crossed her arms and looked away for a few seconds before looking at her again "Mars doesn't" she sighed "But that is not what I meant, he will want to know who this person is…he will want to fight him…that is putting the Prince and that planet in danger, not to mention you"

Serenity pressed her lips together and turned to look at the dark box on the table; Venus arched her brow "Princess…what is that?"

"A promise"

Venus frowned "Promise?"

Serenity nodded softly "A promise that he is coming back…"

Venus shook her head "I am not following…coming back from where?"

The princess walked over the small table and rested her hands on the velvet box and sighed, her blue eyes once hopeful turned sad once she remembered her prince bidding goodbye "He went to war"

Venus widened her eyes "What? To war?"

Serenity nodded "There have been happening things for the past several months…and, after so much planning the King sent the army for war, he, as the Commander had to go" she looked at Venus "The Shitennou went with him"

Venus felt a hole in her chest, like if there was something missing inside; her heart beat faster as she imagined the white haired man fighting and trying to defend his life and the prince's. She felt like if her heart burned with guilt and remorse for what she did, the last time she saw Kunzite was the same day she spoke with Endymion and went separate ways. He was angry at her, hurt, and now…he was gone and she did not see him before he left. Before she could ask anything else Serenity broke into her troubled thoughts "…The time for their return is uncertain…but, we all hope everything ends soon…"

"And after that Princess, what is going to happen?"

Serenity looked down at the box and smiled softly "I am going with him…"

"Princess…" Venus closed her eyes, she was afraid of Serenity's confession but knew it was inevitable "Princess, please don't…"

"I will speak with Mother. I will tell her the truth…I will tell her what Athamas has been doing behind her back, behind everybody's back" Serenity interrupted.

Venus frowned "Princess, what are you talking about?"

"He is planning something Venus…something bad…something vicious" Serenity shook her head "Athamas has managed himself to keep everything under control while he is doing something else"

The blonde sighed and sat on a chair next to the princess' bed "I already searched for anything that could help us prove he is doing something illegal…but nothing comes up, not even Artemis can find anything"

"You believe me then?" Serenity watched her friend with hopeful eyes "You believe what I say?"

Venus licked her lips and looked at her princess "We cannot prove otherwise…we have no proof of anything, but still Princess…he cannot know you are seeing the Terran Prince"

Serenity's eyes softened and lowered her head, looking down at the box where her hands rested "Nobody will know…" she took a moment to continue "…Until his return…"

Venus looked at her hands and pressed her lips together, closing her eyes she tried to hold her emotions _"Kunzite…please, be safe…may the gods look after your safety"_

The sound of the door opening and closing startled them from their conversation, both woman turned to look at the raven haired senshi standing at the door with Mercury and Jupiter "I imagined you would be here" Mars said to Venus and turned to Serenity "Princess…" she said softly and bowed her head in respect.

Mercury smiled and walked over to her "Princess…it is so good to see you"

Serenity arched her brow and turned to Jupiter who was looking at her the same way Mercury was and frowned "Is…something the matter?"

Venus sighed and looked at the girls "Deep down we all knew where you were Princess…"

"But I am glad you came back"

Serenity widened her eyes and turned to look at Mars, who was giving her a kind stare as if she knew her life and reputation depended on her return "I am tranquil to know you are alright"

"We still do not believe what you did was safe" Jupiter said "You have obligations here you cannot dismiss…" she let out a deep breath "I sure was worried Princess…"

"We all were" Mercury said softly "Queen Serenity asked several times for you"

Serenity pursed her lips and walked over her bed and sat "I miss her, deeply…but every time I am about to spend time with her, Athamas appears"

Mars frowned "Out of nowhere?"

Serenity shook her head "No, she invites him…" she sighed and turned to look out the window "…I have to talk to her soon…I have to tell her…"

Mars arched her brow "Tell her what Princess?" she looked at Venus who nodded in response, then widened her eyes "The Prince?" she shook her head "No, no, no…you can't"

Jupiter widened her hazel eyes as well "What about the General?"

"If he finds out…he will lose his mind…" Mars trailed off "…Completely…" she looked down and remembered the general's distorted face tainted with streaks of blood and sweat. Closing her eyes she rested a hand on her head and frowned, startling the rest of the girls "Mars, Are you alright?" Jupiter asked, trying to support her. The raven haired beauty opened her amethyst eyes "It is almost like venom…this curse…this shadow…"

Venus frowned and stood up "What are you talking about?"

"Is it about the premonition?" Mercury asked worried.

Mars arched her brow "The shadow is approaching…" she looked at Serenity "And it is closer than we think…"

Venus frowned "Have you heard anything from your father Mars? Something about this evil presence…?"

Mars bit her lower lip "Nobody knows who is causing it and that is what worrying the gods…they are taking drastic measures and are beginning to call for all the help they can…"

"But what about the Alliance?" Serenity asked confused "Isn't that supposed to be strong enough to protect the galaxy?"

"For what I heard…the problem does not come from near this galaxy…it comes from a far and deep place…" Mars said softly "More like, a taboo"

"They are going to be called then…" Mercury sat next to Mars on the bed and tapped her chin with her index finger in thought. Jupiter frowned "Who is going to be called?"

"The ones that protect our galaxy from a distance…" Mercury said softly and looked up "The outer senshi…the ones said to be given a stronger power, trained by the High Gods to protect the galaxy from a distance…"

"Of course they were trained by the High Gods…they are fam…" Mars snapped and as soon as her words escaped her mouth she bit her lip. Jupiter shrugged her shoulders and crossed her arms "If you are limiting yourself because I am present…don't"

"I-I'm sorry Jupiter…" Mars excused herself softly.

Jupiter let out a sarcastic chuckle "If you are worried that knowing that they were preferred, raised and trained by the High Gods without me being included please, don't be. I am his daughter, whether he likes it or not…but I was raised and trained perfectly without him" she sighed "Everybody knows how he is…"

"Well…at least you didn't have to see your mother and father strangle emotionally every single day…" Mars said "So I suppose you are in a better position…"

"I'm sorry Mars" Serenity said softly "…I am very sorry to hear that"

Mars shrugged her shoulders in a nonchalant manner "I have known my parents do not love each other for so very long…it is almost painful to see them together" she sighed "Mother has always been too complicated…after all she is the Goddess of discord"

"It is so ironic how this world turns out to be…" Serenity sighed softly and walked slowly towards the balcony, her eyes never leaving the blue orb floating in the sky "We are somewhat protectors of nature and emotions…still, we live in a complete disaster" her voice fell a few decibels; her usual powdery tone turned sad and heavy "That is what marvels me from that blue planet…they do not share the same life as us and still live a happier life"

"Princess…" Venus whispered and watched Serenity's back.

Mars blinked and turned to look at the blonde with a confused expression "Did I miss something?"

The blonde lowered her head and bit her lip for a moment "Nothing that you do not know already" she said softly and turned to look at her "She went to see him…and they went to war"

Mars widened her amethyst eyes "War?"

Jupiter frowned "What?!"

Both woman turned with a shocked expression including a very surprised but troubled Mercury; Jupiter took a few steps forward "By they, who you are referring to?"

"The Prince…and the Shitennou with all their army…" Venus said and turned to look at Serenity still looking up at the sky "…She went to see him and watched him leave…" she turned to the girls and shook her head "But this time I could not continue hurting her…with them gone, she won't be going anywhere which will give us the opportunity to protect her better"

"But you said war…" Jupiter said, returning to the main topic of all this conversation "A war that began…where, there, with them?"

"I do not know Jupiter, maybe" Venus said and frowned "Why?"

"Could it be…?" Jupiter trailed off "…The war Mars has been foreboding? The one the gods once said might be coming from there?"

Mercury widened her blue eyes and gasped "No…" she turned to Jupiter and then Mars "It cannot be!"

Mars lowered her gaze and sighed sadly "If it has to do with that premonition…we are not sure that we will ever know about them again…the enemy is strong and they have poor chances to defeat it…"

"No!"

The four girls widened their eyes and turned to see a very upset and worried princess; her hands were curled on her sides containing herself from crying "They will return safe!"

"Princess…" Mercury said softly, watching Serenity shake like a leaf.

"They will return…_He_ will return, he will keep his promise!" Serenity lowered her head "I know you think the contrary…but I have faith in them…I have faith in Endymion…he will come back for me…I know he will, I know it…" Serenity felt her cheeks burn as she tried to contain her tears but it was futile when she felt a pair of arms holding her in a warm embrace; widening her eyes she lifted her head "Venus…"

"Do not cry my Princess…" Venus whispered "Do not cry no more…let us hope for the best"

Serenity wrapped her arms around her long time friend and could not deny that she missed her terribly and that was grateful for her support. After all the discussions they have had in the past over this topic, deep inside she knew she was only doing it because she loved very much.

Mars, Mercury and Jupiter watched the touching scene before them with teary eyes as they finally felt their differences disappear in that warm and sisterly embrace.

"Do you think they will return?" Jupiter whispered at Mars; who, crossed her arms and thought about the only man who had dared to challenge her and steal a smile from her lips "I hope so…" she pressed her lips together and could not help to feel worried about them, especially Jadeite "I really hope so"

o.o.o

From the soft illuminated and now clean office, after several days now of what he called peace, Athamas looked outside his window. His hands rested behind his back as he was looking outside deep in thought. He was awkwardly peaceful, it was as if nothing have happened when he learned the princess' affair with what could possibly be his worst enemy, it was like if he had won a war he hadn't even fought yet. His appearance did not reveal the anger and rancor he was cradling in his chest, his lips were relaxed and so were the look in his eyes but that didn't mean he wasn't planning his next move.

He narrowed his green eyes and the corners of his lips began moving up in a devilish smirk "You will no longer be a nuisance, an obstacle…_mortal_"

A knock on the door that soon opened brought him back from his triumphant thoughts and turned to find Artemis standing near his desk "Ah, it's you" he muttered with disinterest "What are you doing here?"

"I work here and…in case you have forgotten, we had a meeting pendant" Artemis arched his brow. Even when he knew he had to show some respect to the man before him, he was not afraid to challenge him and speak his mind; he could be whatever he claimed to be but still, he worked for the queen just like him. In the end, they were equal –_No-_ he thought _-Never equal…- _

"With the Queen?" the general disrupted Artemis' thought with his arrogant tone of voice.

"No, the advisors and the army commanders"

Athamas chuckled and walked over his desk, he moved his chair and took a sit then looked at the white haired man "You seem to forget, mauian, that I am the only Commander of this army" he sat proudly on his chair; like a peacock.

"You do not act like one" Artemis frowned, deflating the general's rather good humor. Athamas frowned this time and narrowed his eyes "Watch your words, feline" he pointed at Artemis with his index finger "I can easily rip that tongue of yours with my hands"

It was Artemis' time to chuckle and dismissed the blonde's threat "Have you delivered the complete informs to Lord Ares?" he walked around the room and looked back at the man sitting behind the desk "It seems like you forgot about that too, but I don't and neither does he…"

"I delivered those reports and they showed nothing" Athamas stood up "What are you trying to do? With all these constant questioning…you are too pesky and insistent. What do you want?"

"The reports aren't complete Athamas and you know it" Artemis raised his voice "What are you keeping from the Queen?"

The general smiled and shook his head with a chuckle "You have no idea of how much I am going to enjoy the moment I am pronounced King. The first thing I will do is to send you back to that austere planet of yours"

"Whatever you are doing it won't work" Artemis hissed "The truth will come out to the light eventually"

"Eventually…" Athamas repeated with an arrogant voice "You are so…boring, so bland… typical of cats of course" he sighed and put his feet over his desk and rested his arms around his head; his eyes never left Artemis'.

"Whatever _I_ am doing, mauian, is none of your concern…and in the end it will only bring admiration and respect" Athamas chuckled "You can search whatever and whenever you like, you won't find a thing…if you want to review the reports again, be my guest…Ares will not find a single trace of misdoing in there"

"You are too confident" Artemis narrowed his eyes "Too confident to be you…"

Athamas raised his brows "Oh?"

"In another time, you would have been raging and throwing things against the walls…destroying everything around you…but this time is different…" Artemis frowned "Why?"

Athamas chuckled and moved away from his desk and walked towards the advisor "Because it is time for a change"

Artemis widened his eyes "What have you done, Andromedian?"

The general smiled "You will see"

Artemis shook his head "Queen Serenity must know of your doings…"

"Queen Serenity trusts me Mauian, whatever you do or say will not change her idea of me. I am the best suitor for her daughter and for the crown that once rested on King Athan's head" Athamas said proudly "For that, there is no turning back…so be preparing yourself…" he moved closer to the white haired man "...To be kicked…back…home…" he began laughing.

"With me you do not have to pretend anymore…I know you hide things from my Queen" Artemis muttered.

"Think whatever you like…" Athamas laughed again and waved his hand in dismissal "But one thing I am sure, when I am King all of you who have doubted me before, will kneel begging for forgiveness"

"We will see about that"

"What?" Athamas chuckled "You dare to challenge me?"

Artemis narrowed his blue eyes "I will find the right person to occupy that chair of yours…a real warrior, one who can see for the future of this Alliance"

The word warrior and occupy triggered the hidden anger Athamas was holding back, causing him to react in his usual kind of way; he made a quick move and grabbed Artemis by his white tunic, startling him "That soldier…whatever soldier he is…will never, _ever_ occupy this seat. _I_ am your Commander and _I _will be the next King…and soon you will see why"

Artemis free himself from the general's grasp and frowned "I will tell Queen Serenity about this"

"It is you word against mine…" Athamas snarled "I have done for this kingdom much more than you can imagine, my reputation is high and I am well accepted. With so many good things achieved, how can you throw dirt over my name?"

Artemis felt trapped in this situation for the first time, on one side he had Venus, who constantly went to talk to him and urged him to investigate anything related the general that could be used against him. None of the senshi thought he was a good man, and even when Artemis did not like him at all he really did not have any more proves about his wrongdoing but only the missing reports the blonde claims to have given to the Lord of War already. Aside of that, there was nothing else; his bad temper perhaps.

Taking a step back, he put a stack of papers on the desk and turned to the man next to him "The Queen expects you to read and sign, all these…"

Athamas chuckled "You have no other option but to deal with the fact that you also work for me"

"Do not misunderstand my position, General. I may have to deal matters of the army and security with you but my place is not as your subordinate, I am not at your service…I was brought here to serve Queen Serenity and that is all, you, just happen to be the man I have to deal with everyday in order to have the work done…and it has to be said, it is not a work well done" Artemis said in a low voice, something the general found strange and turned on his heel "And those papers have to be read by this afternoon" he said before leaving the room in silence.

As soon as he watched the white haired man leave, another person walked in to the room. Athamas turned annoyed again at the door thinking it was Artemis again and growled "Now what do you want?"

"General…" Kilmakos said.

The general inclined his head forward and looked into the short man's eyes "Ugh…this is worse than the feline. What do you want?"

"They have gone. They must be preparing everything for what you commanded" Kilmakos said.

Athamas smiled pleased at the news and turned to the dark haired soldier "Did you give him my orders?"

"Yes"

Athamas nodded and sighed in relief "You finally did something right…" he began walking towards his desk again and sat on his chair, while he began looking through the papers Artemis left him moments ago "…After all your failures…I might compensate you for this"

Kilmakos took a step forward "Athamas please tell me where is my family"

Athamas stopped reading and raised his gaze "Where you left it"

"You know that it is not true"

Athamas sighed "Why should I tell you in the first place? It is not like you have done the best of tasks, just because you did one thing right you want to be compensated with big things? Please…"

Kilmakos widened his eyes "Athamas…" he breathed and frowned "It is because of me that you know of Princess Serenity's lover…I told you who he was…" he took a step closer "Isn't that what you wanted in the first place?"

Athamas arched his brow "Are you…challenging me?" he shook his head "I am not understanding that tone"

The soldier looked at the blonde general "I just want to know where they are"

The general smirked and crossed his arms "Can you see how at my mercy are you? I have you in my hands for as long as I want"

Kilmakos hung his head and closed his eyes "What else do you want from me?" he shook his head "I already gave you the information you wanted…"

Athamas rested his elbows on his desk and looked at the defeated and clearly distressed man in front of him and frowned "I asked you for this information a long time ago…"

"We made a deal!" Kilmakos raised his head and looked at him with raging eyes.

Athamas narrowed his eyes and stood up, walking over to him his hand clasped the soldier's neck and lifted him a few inches from the floor while looking at him straight in the eyes; Kilmakos tried to free himself from the general's grasp and began to gasp for air "Athamas…" he said between breaths.

"Who gave you the right to talk to me like that?" Athamas tightened his grip on the man's neck and after a few more seconds he threw him a few feet away from him, the older man panted for air as he rubbed where Athamas' fingers dig on his skin and noticed the general was now standing in front of him and saw his boots inches away from his face.

"You do not seem to realize your position in this place yet" Athamas crossed his arms and looked down at the soldier "You are nothing but a pawn that served to complete my plan…" he crouched in front of Kilmakos, resting one arm on his bent knee he looked at him "…A plan that it is finally going the right way…It is only a matter of time for me to be crowned King and you…" he chuckled sarcastically "…You only have two options, either you continue serving me as the pawn that you are or I send you to who knows where…"

"My family…" Kilmakos said, almost sobbing.

"Your family no longer exist Kilmakos" Athamas snapped, startling the soldier who immediately widened his eyes and looked at the blonde man "What? What did you just say?"

"They got lost, nobody seemed to find them…they vanished…they are probably dead or close to be dead by now, nobody seems to know where they are"

Kilmakos shook his head "But they were under your protection! You promised me that if I helped you get here…you would look after them!"

"Argh…" Athamas rolled his eyes and looked away "Drama does not suit me. Never liked it" he stood up slowly and walked around the room "I got…" he stopped and looked outside the window "…Distracted by some other important things…" he turned to look at Kilmakos "…Oops…"

The last sound escaping from the general's lips did not held any amount of sympathy or understanding. He was colder and more cynical than usual now that everything he had planned for so long was marching in the right direction. Kilmakos felt a sting in his chest and could not help to hide his pain and regret as he continued on the floor trying to catch his breath completely.

Athamas arched his brow and crossed his arms "What the hell are you still doing here?! I already told you what you wanted to know…now, get lost…until I call for you again"

Kilmakos raised his head and looked at him in silence; he felt trapped. There was nothing he could do against him even when he could go and confess everything it was his word against his and it was obvious that he had everything to lose. He stood up and looked at the general standing a few feet away from him "I do not understand how come you are not afraid…faith will catch up with you one day…and make you pay for all the pain you are causing to innocents…and it will be up until then that you will know what pain and tears are like…"

Athamas looked over his shoulder at Kilmakos and narrowed his eyes for a moment until he could not hold it any longer and broke out in laughter "Nothing is going to happen to me…I am close to be a god"

"Even gods pay for their sins"

Athamas stopped laughing and watched the shorter soldier turn on his heel and walk out of the room leaving him alone and frowned "Bastard"

O.o.o.o.o.O

Queen Serenity sat on her chair behind the large white marble desk as she continued to read the papers she had pendant to sign and approve. After a few more minutes she put the parchment down and sighed tiredly, rubbing her temples.

Luna was there with her reading as well when she noticed the uneasy queen "My Queen, is something the matter?"

Queen Serenity opened her eyes and looked at a very concerned Luna and gave her a soft smile "I am just tired Luna…this has been taking for too long and we haven't come up with a great solution, only temporary ones…it is beginning to wear me out"

Luna stood up and walked over a small table at the corner and pours some tea in a cup and walked back to the queen and put the cup on the desk, right in front of her. Queen Serenity widened her eyes and blinked a couple of times "Luna"

"It will make you feel better My Queen" Luna smiled and sat again on her seat close to her "Believe me"

The queen sighed again and took a sip, then looked at the golden liquid still dancing softly on the porcelain cup "I know there is no need for me to explain why I am worried…" she diverted her gaze from her cup to the dark haired lady in front of her "I just cannot help it"

"What is that My Lady?" Luna asked softly, tilting her head.

"My daughter…" the queen looked away "I have been very occupied with all this that we barely see each other… not too long ago we used to spend quality time together all the time" she sighed "I feel like I am… abandoning her…"

"But you are not My Lady…and I know she understands" Luna said.

The queen lowered her gaze again for a moment and pressed her lips together "…When Athan was in charge of this Alliance…I used to wonder how come he barely had time to share with me and our daughter…" she let out a tired chuckle "…I was being judgmental…" she stood up, leaving the cup of tea get cold on the desk "My Mother always told me how the life of a Queen might get complicated at times…if not all the time" she sighed "But she always had Father by her side…until his passing…" her tone turned sad and sighed softly again "What would she be thinking of me right now? Doing all the things a man should be doing…putting my daughter aside…" she shook her head "She never did that to me, she was always there, present…"

"My Lady…" Luna stood up and walked over to her queen "Maybe you feel like you should have followed our late Queen's steps but…life not always works the same with everybody. I am sure that if our late Queen Selene watches you right now, she would be proud for taking care of such rich kingdom and our lovely Princess, who turned out to be a gracious Lady"

"A Lady that should be married by now…" the queen said and looked away "I have been putting this aside…but I need to pause some things to arrange my daughter's engagement"

Luna frowned "My Lady, pardon my intromission but…is Princess Serenity seeing anybody?"

The queen shook her head "I am talking about Athamas"

The mauian widened her burgundy eyes "…What?"

"He is the one that has been with us in these difficult times…" the queen began and walked to the closest window in the large room "…They were once engaged, but I did not have the time to make the announcement…now I will do it"

"But…Princess Serenity broke that engagement…how…?"

The queen turned to look at Luna and frowned "Because she was being childish; she needs to understand that I have not chosen him just because I thought he was attractive, but because I know he can protect her. He is a good soldier" she sighed and shook her head "…He is the one closest to the man I wanted for her…"

"And who is that My Lady?"

The queen looked at her "It does not matter now, he…" she paused and shook her head "…My time here is not eternal, I need to delegate and pass the crown to my daughter just like Mother did to me…and Athamas is the best candidate for Serenity…"

"Does our Princess know?" Luna asked softly.

The queen shook her head "I will talk to her this evening and…"

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation; the guard opened it announcing Athamas was there waiting to be received. Luna bit her lower lip and turned to the queen and then noticed Artemis was there also waiting to be received; the advisor walked in first after the queen nodded in approval and walked towards Luna after bowing his head to the lunar queen "Your Majesty" he turned and narrowed his eyes at the mere look of the general walking so confident towards the queen "Good morning Your Majesty, I have to come to address some important points I found in these reports…"

The queen nodded and gave the man a faint smile "Yes…but I want to put that aside for a moment Athamas, I wish to speak with you about something else, that is why I called for you"

Artemis frowned and turned with a confused look at Luna who shook her head in response, the white haired man was not sure how to translate the look of worry of the mauian beauty "Did I miss something?" he asked softly at her.

Luna bit her lower lip "You will see in a moment what you just missed…" she sighed softly and turned to the queen and the general standing several feet away from the two advisors.

Athamas frowned slightly and shook his head in confusion "Is something the matter My Queen?"

Queen Serenity smiled and shook her head, raising her hand in reassurance "No, no Athamas…I believe there is nothing wrong if that is what you are asking" she walked toward the small living room in the study and took a seat in a sofa chair near a window and the small table with the tea pot Luna used to pour some tea for her moments ago and motioned the general to follow "Please"

Athamas walked towards her and took a seat across from the beautiful queen and crossed his leg "I am all ears My Queen"

Luna took a step forward and before the queen could say anything she interrupted "My Queen, Artemis and I will be waiting outside until you finish talking to the General"

The queen shook her head in denial "This matter concerns us all, you just as I am are aware of its importance and since you are part of this family I want you to stay and listen to what I have to say"

"I am beginning to feel worried My Lady" Athamas said softly "What is that so important?"

The queen waited for her advisors to stand next to her to and continued; sighing she turned to the general "It is about my daughter Athamas…can I call you by your name?"

"Please do, My Queen"

Queen Serenity rested her hands on her lap and looked down "I like having you here as our Commander but you know that was not the main reason why you were brought here…it was your performance and your accurate decisions that made me choose you as the leader of our army and the best candidate to follow my husband's steps in this kingdom"

Athamas widened his eyes in amazement; he could not believe things were happening all at once, this was just too good to be true _'The crown is finally mine' _he thought with triumph though he acted clueless in front of the queen and the advisors which he did not have the best of relations, specially Artemis.

A grin crossed his undeniable handsome face, tilting his head slightly to the side and crossed his arms "I believe I am not following My Queen"

Queen Serenity did not move but gave the general a serious look "To be the King of this kingdom, to marry and protect my daughter"

Artemis widened his blue eyes and just when the general was about to say something in response the mauian joined the conversation interrupting him "My Queen, please forgive my intromission but…Does Princess Serenity know this conversation is being taken?"

The queen blinked a few times and shook her head; the white haired man frowned slightly trying to defend the princess and this whole kingdom by impeding the general taking complete control of the crown, the crystal and planet "My Queen I think we should first let her know this is being planned"

"Serenity has had too much time to accept and assimilate the situation. I have arranged many meetings with many possible suitors and she did not make any decision…" the queen turned to look at the general "…Besides, she and Athamas were already engaged to marry, there is not much to talk about with her, she made that decision a long time ago…"

"But she ended that engagement" Artemis continued.

Queen Serenity turned her head and looked over her shoulder at the man in white standing on her side "…And I gave her time to assimilate things, she had her time to learn and prepare herself for the future…" she trailed off and sighed tiredly "Artemis this is very serious…Serenity needs to settle down and marry the best suitor, Athamas has been that suitor for a long time now and it is time to continue with the original plan"

Athamas felt like his chest was about to explode with glee and satisfaction, finally he had won and proven the counselor who was in charge in this place next to the queen. He had to admit that his plan was not set to work the way it was but he could not deny the fact that he was enjoying it greatly.

"I only want to give my best to Princess Serenity, it is no surprise to everyone my feelings for her. If I am given Her Majesty's approval of being her husband I will do my best in order to protect her and be of good service to this kingdom"

Artemis narrowed his eyes interpreting the general's words as a polite and educated way to say I have won the power I have been longing all this time. The advisor sighed and lowered his head not wanting to continue staring at the blonde's cynical face and stay in that position for the rest of the private meeting.

Queen Serenity smiled at the general and tried to reach for his hand "Nothing would make me happier than to see my daughter happily married with a man of honor. A man capable of protecting and loving her like she deserves"

Athamas nodded his head "You flatter me, My Queen, you are so kind"

The queen pressed her lips for a moment and tilted her head "Athamas… do you love my daughter?"

"My Queen…" he paused for a moment and put a hand on his chest right where his heart should be "…I have loved her since I lay eyes on her…"

The queen smiled to his comment, the general leaned forward in a more intimate manner "Everything I have done since I started serving this kingdom is in the Princess' name. Nothing would make me happier than to join my life to hers for the rest of eternity"

Artemis closed his eyes in regret, knowing that once this meeting was done and the general has left the room nothing would ever be the same ever again. This was the door to a hole that might not have an ending, his and Luna's future along with the rest of the inhabitants of this kingdom was no longer certain because he knew that the story was about to repeat itself again and that once Princess Serenity turns queen and he king, it only meant one thing.

A drastic change of faith, forever.


	113. Chapter 113

Divinity: A question of Honor

Chapter one hundred and thirteen

* * *

Like a soldier who was about to lose a war, Artemis watched Athamas stand up from his seat with that glare of triumph and satisfaction; he bowed and kissed the queen's hand softly before he turned on his heel and left the room. The mauian man pursed his lips and walked towards the desk to leave the papers he had been carrying since he entered the large study room.

Silence fell in the room like a heavy blanket as soon as the general left. The white mauian took several breaths and cursed under his breath, he felt the urge to scream in frustration and to go and punch that sardonic face of his; his lips were tight in a fine line in deep anger. Luna noticed his always calm hands shake slightly in unusual anxiety and blinked in surprise.

Queen Serenity lowered her gaze and stayed silent for a moment before turning to Luna "Please, could you help me arrange a nice dinner for tonight? It has to be something very private so I can talk to my daughter calmly…make it special"

Luna widened her eyes and turned to Artemis in a glimpse then back at the queen with a shocked stare "Your Grace…that means…" she trailed off.

The queen nodded "I will talk to Serenity this evening, there is no need to elongate this anymore. It has to be done" she turned to look over her shoulder and caught a glimpse of Artemis giving his back at the queen "Artemis…" she called him softly.

"Your Majesty…this may not be of my concern…" Artemis said softly and paused for a second "…But I have been present in many conversations concerning the future of our Princess…" he turned to face his queen " And I believe we should wait until any kind of threat has been eradicated to continue with this matter that will give you the time to look for the right candidate to take the throne and the army alongside our Princess"

The queen closed her eyes and frowned "I do not need to keep on searching Artemis…Athamas has proven to be the most capable man" frustration was beginning to be evident in the woman's face as she continued to listen to Artemis' allegations "My Lady, you have said it…and even Lord Ares has said it…that there is…"

"I won't be around here forever" The queen interrupted the feline man.

Artemis stopped and widened his blue eyes and so did Luna "My Queen" both said in unison, worry and surprise in their faces. Queen Serenity raised her head, looked at them and stood up "I am destined to follow my linage's path…just like my grandmother did to my mother and my mother did to me…I have to do it to Serenity"

"My Queen…" Luna brought her hands close to her chest "…But there is plenty of time until that…" she shook her head and corrected her words "There is still time for our Princess to marry a fine man"

"After what might happen…" the queen said and frowned "…This...disgrace…that might fall upon us…I do not know what could happen after it, I will fight and defend my Kingdom with all the strength of my heart and if I need to use the crystal in order to keep everybody safe then I will"

Both mauians widened their eyes "My Lady…but if you use it…your life…" Artemis tried to reason with the queen.

Queen Serenity raised a hand and tilted her head graciously like the goddess she is and sighed "The crystal will fall under my daughter's protection and you, as my loyal advisors will follow her in her journey as Queen. We must be prepared, I have been informed by Ares and Chronos…we have many trials to overcome in the future and my daughter must be protected"

"But what about the warriors from the galaxy you were going to call to help us win this battle?" Artemis frowned "Where are they?"

The queen sighed softly and walked towards a window and looked outside as how the sun was finally starting to set in the horizon "It is not easy to call a Polemarchos and bring him to serve to a Kingdom when their duty is to serve and protect the universe" she lowered her gaze "And the ones who could help us are not available for us"

Artemis frowned and before Luna could say anything he walked closer to the queen "My Queen, who are these warriors you know?"

The queen stayed silent making Artemis feel frustrated "Perhaps we can find a way to bring them here…"

"We can't Artemis. I have tried…" she sighed "I have pledged the High Gods and I have been warned" A tear rolled down the queen's porcelain face "They do not understand"

"Who is this warrior you are talking about My Queen?" Luna asked softly.

The queen turned to look at her advisors over her shoulder and took a deep breath "Gaia"

Both felines widened their eyes "Isn't she…?" Artemis trailed off.

"My friend, my best friend…yes, her" the queen said and looked out the window again. Luna shook her head slowly trying to digest the information but still did not fully understand "But she is a Goddess My Lady"

"Yes. Not by the eyes of this realm…but she still is"

"I mean, a warrior is supposed to be a God…a soldier, a male" Artemis said "That is what I have been told and taught all my life, in order to become one the soldier must pass for a very rough training…"

"That is true" The queen said "The not being easy to become one part" she turned on her heel and walked around the room "And it is also true, a Polemarchos is a title only warriors, _male_ warriors are supposed to achieve after several trials and achievements, but Gaia is the only exception being the daughter and sister of one"

Artemis put a hand on his chin in deep thought, this information was never given before and he knew it was a secret treasure for his queen "And that gave her the title automatically…"

"No" The queen shook her head "It is well known that she comes from a family or strong warriors, may be presumed one of the strongest in the universe, starting by the fact that she is Helios' granddaughter…but only a few know that she was not supposed to become the warrior she is and the Goddess of Earth but her brother who was on his road to become one of the strongest Polemarchos of all times with his great ability, intelligence and fighting skills but…those plans were clouded and Gaia was forced against her mother's wishes to take charge and chosen by Helios she began her training as warrior. She, has been the only female Polemarchos and the one with great power…now…that power has been inherited"

"Inherited?" Artemis frowned, curious. The queen nodded and looked outside the window "Gaia's son has the power his mother once had and so, his training was as difficult as the one she had when she was becoming a warrior. He, just like his mother and the rest of his family is a Polemarchos" Queen Serenity blinked and closed her eyes for a moment "But…It is not possible to bring them to help us…"

Artemis sighed and looked down, catching the queen's attention "Artemis…" she paused for a moment "I know you don't agree with me in giving Athamas the opportunity of taking charge of this kingdom but…my daughter…I do not want my daughter to do it alone…like I did" she turned her face to him and shook her head "I do not want that for her"

"It is settled then…" Artemis looked into the eyes of his queen and then lowered his head.

Luna bit her lower lip and watched the regal queen turn to look at her this time "Please Luna…arrange everything for tonight's dinner, tell my daughter to dress properly for the occasion but do not give her too much information, you know how rebel she has been acting these past months"

Luna widened her eyes and had no other option but to nod in agreement to the royal's wishes and bowed in respect before leaving the study in silence. Her blood froze when she remembered the look Artemis was giving the general and the thought of their future once the young man took the throne as king of the kingdom and the entire alliance. After asking a maid where the princess was at the moment she walked straight to one of the study rooms the princess used to read and study with her senshi; her trembling pale hand turned the knob open. She knocked after she opened the door completely finally catching the five girl's attention.

"Do you think they are safe…?" Jupiter was the last one speaking before she saw Luna standing at the door.

Princess Serenity widened her pale blue eyes and closed the large book she had on her lap, '_The legend of warriors' _Luna thought as she recognized the cover and turned her eyes to the princess "Princess…may I have a word with you?"

Venus looked at the mauian and arched her brow "Do you want us to leave?"

Luna shook her head slowly and bit her lower lip "May I come in?" she asked softly and turned quickly to look behind her; the action immediately caught Mars attention and made her frown in thought. Serenity sat straight on the sofa and nodded as she slid the book under the cushions "Of course Luna, please come in"

Luna walked in closing the door behind her and cleared her throat before giving the princess the news "Princess, Her Majesty wishes you to be ready for dinner in time…"

Serenity's delicate features turned into a frown "In time? What does she mean by that?"

"She wants to treat a very important matter with you"

"What is it?"

"I am not allowed to tell My Lady"

Serenity's frown deepened "Is something wrong with the Alliance, with the Moon, with us…?"

Luna sighed softly "No, no Princess nothing is wrong…but it has to do with the Alliance, the Moon and all of us…"

Serenity shook her head, the mauian woman was not being clear, not as clear as she wanted her to be and it was making her feel nervous. What was so important her mother wanted to address to her at dinner? "Luna, what is it?"

"Her Majesty asked me to inform you that it is formal" Luna said in a more serious tone and turned to look at the senshi "And only her is to be present this time"

Mars narrowed her amethyst eyes and turned to Venus who had a face of confusion "Luna can we know more about it?"

Luna shook her head "I am not allowed to say more…" she lowered her eyes "I'm sorry…these were my Queen's orders…" she sighed softly "Princess, I wish I could say more…" she was starting to feel troubled and guilty for leading the princess to a destiny she was so against. Serenity noticed there was something odd; Luna would normally come with a more cheerful attitude, with a smile on her face instead of worry and…remorse?

"It's alright Luna…I will be there in time, do not worry. Thank you for coming all this way to let me know" Serenity said softly, trying to relieve the mauian's troubled expression "Whatever this 'matter' is, I will follow Mother's wishes and attend wearing a formal gown" Luna nodded in silence and bit her lower lip, for a second she thought of breaking the arrangement she did with the queen and expose the matter to the princess who, in her own personal opinion and she thought Artemis' she had a right to know her life was being gambled in the hands of a man she knew well she didn't love. Mars and Venus watched her closely and noticed there was something too serious to be ignored; Luna struggled to find more words to say to the princess but was trapped again in her own thoughts, leaving her with resignation and more silence. She slowly bowed her head and turned on her heel, leaving the girls alone after she closed the large door behind her.

Jupiter was the first one to break the silence "Well this is unexpected…"

"…And, strange" Mercury continued.

Mars arched her brow and remained silent, Venus turned to Serenity who was still looking at the door as if Luna was still standing there "Princess?"

"It is very strange what Luna just said…" she shook her head and frowned "I do not want to be worried, but I cannot help it"

"Do you think it has to do with…" Mercury trailed off "What if Queen Serenity learned about the Terran Prince?"

Serenity widened her pale eyes as her heart skipped a beat, Jupiter shook her head "No…I do not think that is the matter…" she sighed and closed the book she was reading herself and put it aside "Maybe it has something to do with what has been happening in the past few months, maybe she is just trying to warn our Princess to be more careful and _not_ to leave the palace at _any_ time…"

"But why the formality?" Venus asked softly and frowned, biting her nail "That is what I do not fully understand"

"Maybe one of the High Gods is coming and she needs to be dressed for the occasion, after all they are the ones who made the laws in Olympus…" Mercury said "That would make sense, right?"

"Yes…" Venus said softly "Maybe you are right" she turned to the princess and found it strange that Mars haven't shared any opinions "Mars are you alright?"

"I wish I could speak to my Father…" the dark senshi said "Maybe he is the one who's coming…but I highly doubt it…There is something more to this dinner, I can feel it but I do not know what could be…" she turned to her princess "Please be alert at all times and if something happens, please call for us. We will be close"

Serenity turned to Mars and nodded.

"At what time is that dinner happening? Luna did not tell us that" Venus asked, as she stood up slowly.

"When the sun has finally gone down" Mercury said softly.

"Well we do not have too much time…" Jupiter said as she stood up as well, straightening the skirt of her olive green gown "And if she is expected to be on time, then we must hurry"

Serenity bit her lower lip and turned to look outside the window, bringing her hands together and close to her chest she closed her baby blue eyes for a moment _"Endymion…please give me strength…please be safe…" _she thought.

"Princess?" Mercury called, startling Serenity "Are you alright?"

Serenity nodded and turned to Mercury "Yes…yes…I'm alright…" standing up, she walked over to Mercury and followed her closing the door behind her.

O.o.o.o.o.O

The sound of the gallops of horses filled the profundity of the woods as they continued to find the right place to settle a camp and stay for the night; as soon as they entered a more open area where at least they could have a view of the night sky so Nephrite could see the stars and try to communicate in order to get more information that could lead them to the enemy. The four shitennou stopped and turned to look at the men behind them "We are staying here" Kunzite told the sergeant who immediately passed the voice to the rest of the army.

The men began unpacking and arming what would be their camp while Nephrite took a moment to look up at the sky "The night is clear but the stars are not aligned"

Jadeite sighed and put several bags down and frowned "What is that supposed to mean?"

Kunzite stepped down of his horse and walked over to the men to check everybody is alright and joined with some of the generals to talk about the strategy "It is up to Prince Endymion to agree to this plan"

Kunzite frowned and looked at one of the papers the man gave him "Did he read this already?"

"Yes" said the dark haired man "But there are many plans that are subject to change"

Kunzite turned to look at the prince who was coming out of the darkness of the thick woods on his horse. After a few more minutes he finally joined the rest of the army and stepped off his horse; Kunzite turned to him and showed him the paper in his hand "What do you think? Should we stick to the first plan or do we change it?"

Endymion took the paper and began to read it again "No, this is only in case we run out of options…we have to continue with the plan as it is"

"Prince, what now?" one of the sergeants asked, Endymion frowned and looked around narrowing his eyes "There is something in this place"

Kunzite frowned "What?"

The sergeant widened his curious eyes "Should we move?"

"We do not have time to move, we have to be alert" Endymion said and was caught by a young soldier running towards them with a desperate look in his face; Zoicite, Jadeite and Nephrite joined Kunzite as they watched the young man come closer "Prince!"

Endymion frowned and began walking towards him "What is it?"

"There is a squat missing"

"What?!" Kunzite asked shocked "But I checked everybody and we were complete!"

"They probably got lost in the woods…" Jadeite said, Zoicite frowned "…We should look for them"

Endymion frowned and looked at the soldier "Where was the last place you saw them?"

"Back in the woods…but then right before coming here, they were gone. I called for them but I had no answer"

The prince turned at the woods in the distance and went for his horse, Kunzite widened his eyes and raised his hands "Where are you going?!"

Endymion sat on his horse immediately and took its reins "I have to go and look for them, they can't be missing! I cannot leave them back there, we must stay together"

"I will go with you" Kunzite said.

"No" Endymion raised his hand "You take charge while I am gone, I won't take long…be alert and prepared…this appears to be finally starting" shaking the reins of his horse he drove back to the woods with great velocity and soon was lost in the thick foliage of the woods.

"One of us should go after him" Jadeite said and turned to the generals "I will go"

"Let's wait for him" Kunzite said.

"We cannot leave him alone" Jadeite said and went for his horse, Zoicite shook his head "You have to stay here, there are hundreds of men under our charge right now"

"And who is going to protect the Prince from whatever is back there?" Jadeite asked with great worry as he sat on his horse "What do you think it will happen to us if he is gone?" he looked at Kunzite "We swore our loyalty…we made a promise to our Queen…"

"Jadeite!" Nephrite called him, evident worry tarnished his voice.

Jadeite turned to look over his shoulder "It is alright Neph…this is what 'the stars are not aligned' means, I finally know the meaning of your words…" he let out a sarcastic and very characteristic chuckle "The show has finally begun after all this time and I am ready…I will be back in no time with Endymion and the missing crew" he turned and shook the reins of his horse and went down the same road the prince took minutes ago.

"This seems to have started before the anticipated" Zoicite said and turned to Kunzite.

Kunzite frowned "We must be alert, tell them not to camp"

"Going back to the woods is not the best solution" Nephrite said.

"Neither is to stay here…" Kunzite turned to look at the brown haired man "We have to move as soon as they come out of those woods"

Endymion rode in an impressive velocity looking everywhere and trying to find a clue to where the crew of soldiers might be lost. He frowned and slowed the pace of the horse but continued moving; it was too dark in the woods, not even the light from the moon could filtrate the thick foliage of the trees and bushes making it more difficult to find his men; this was another kind of darkness…one he never had to face before and was about to.

An eerie breeze reached him crashing against his skin, playing with his hair; it was cold and moist which made it stranger since the lake and the ocean was quite far away from this side of the forest. He frowned and looked around trying to use his energy to try to connect with his surroundings and see if he could sense for some kind of response. He took off his glove and touched a tree trunk and tried to concentrate when vague images began to come to his mind in a flash.

Stains of blood on the trees and grass, frightened looks and silent screams; Endymion's frown deepened as he tried to come up with a clearer vision when a sudden chuckle interrupted his concentration and made him open his prussian eyes.

Several feet away he could see a streak of white light coming from the moon, illuminating a good spot of the forest "What…is that?" Endymion frowned as he looked the light slowly fading away from the area, his hands held the reins of his horse tighter and became to a point of whether go after that mysterious light or keep looking in the almost void of pitch darkness. The prince was about to make a turn when he noticed there was something else there. His blood froze when he visualized a woman with long red hair in a violet dress. Endymion frowned and tried ascertain this was indeed a woman standing several feet away from him "Red hair…" he muttered in slight surprise and widened his eyes "Red hair…" he said again, reassuring his guess; his first reaction was to get off his horse and walked in her direction.

The woman stood still without making a noise for a long time, Endymion began to wonder if his mind was playing tricks on him already and imagined the body of a woman standing there, if she was only an illusion or a dream, if she was the representation of his fear or the reason of his men disappearing; whoever that woman was she appeared to be waiting for him to come closer. His eyes widened when he noticed a pool of blood at her feet and several bodies scattered around, his first reaction was to put his hand on his sword, seconds after he heard a pain moan coming from one of the bodies on the ground "P...Prince…"

Endymion widened his sapphire eyes when he watched the woman stepped on the man's head, silencing him. There was something strange about her and yet, so familiar. Her body seemed fragile but curvaceous; her long purple gown hung to her like a second skin making inevitable to notice her obvious voluptuous features but her fiery hair covered her face.

The prince frowned as he moved closer "Step away from them" he warned and tightened his grip on the tilt of his sword "Who…are you?" he asked. The woman chuckled "My…you forgot about me already?..._ Impossibilis_" (Impossible)

Endymion widened his eyes as soon as he heard her voice "What?"

The redhead pushed her hair back and smiled devilishly "Did vos quareror, me?" (Did you miss me?)

Endymion shook his head confused "What…what are you doing here?" his eyes went straight to the delirious men at her feet and turned his face at her "What is this? What are you doing!?"

Beryl smiled and shrugged her shoulders, there was something wrong about all this conversation or intent of conversation and after a few more seconds she disappeared into the darkness the same way she appeared. Endymion took a step closer and shook his head "Wait…Beryl!" he tried to run after her when a man in a dark silver armor appeared in her place holding a long sword tainted with what appeared to be blood.

"I thought it was going to be harder for me to find you" the man said in silver armor said mocking the young prince "This is what I like to call a fortuitous experience"

Endymion tilted his head forward but stayed silent; the man in armor laughed "What do not tell me you don't speak? Are you mute?" he pointed his long sword at him "Well…it will be much easier to kill you then… you know, I have heard quite some things about yourself but being mute was none of them…I wonder why"

Endymion studied the man before him and felt a very dense and different energy coming from him, like if he was not from this place and by the armor he was wearing he did not even look like if he was from somewhere around here, besides the silver light that was coming from his body. He was probably the source of light in that pitch darkness _"The light coming from the sky I saw earlier…before Beryl…" _

"Who are you?"

The soldier smiled widely "Ah, so you do speak! What a surprise! I was getting a little bit bored here…" he looked around "You see…there is not much to see around here"

Endymion narrowed his eyes "I won't ask you again"

"Ooh how rude…" the mysterious soldier chuckle "I am a man who comes to get the job done"

Endymion's brows knitted together "Job, what do you mean?"

"You are a nuisance, an obstacle and you have to be removed…"

Endymion took out his sword and frowned "What do you want?"

"_You_, dead" the man in armor went straight to the prince and gave the first blow which Endymion dodged easily and turned to see him running towards him again, this time with his sword high above his head ready to cut his in one swift move. The prince dodged him again and clashed his own sword against his; the crisp sound of metal echoed in the woods over and over again. The man in armor moved very fast to Endymion's surprise and had to step up to his skilled moves and act faster and with intelligent attacks, he ran and jumped high and climbed on a tree to have a brief time to analyze the man below and get more angles to attack but it didn't matter how many tactics he put in practice the mysterious man always had his guard up and protected himself with his long sword frustrating. After another set of clash, jump and dodge the prince smiled to himself deciphering his moves and attacks _"You have a routine…" _he thought and raised his sword to block another attack coming from him. The soldier was becoming frustrated with the lack of opportunities the prince was giving him to attack, his moves were now limited and so was his time.

Jadeite rode at full speed down the same direction he thought Endymion went looking for the lost crew; deep inside he really hoped it was the same one since it was very dark to see clearly the clues they left on their way to the meadows. The blonde general bit his lower lip in wonder and let out a worried sigh "Now what?" he asked to himself "This is just great…" He turned to look around hoping to hear or see something that could lead him to the prince or the missing crew but every time he turned and decided to take another road he was still met by darkness and thick foliage blocking his path "Dammit!" he cried out loud as he turned the reins of his horse and continued riding deep into the forest.

Endymion stepped next to his horse and patted him to leave the area, giving him enough space and the tranquility to know it won't get hurt while he still fought the man before him. The fight was elongating more than he expected leaving him with no doubt that this man he was fighting was nothing else but one that came from above. Sweat drops started to roll down his forehead damping his dark bangs sticking them to his skin, he moistened his lips occasionally with the tip of his tongue and narrowed his eyes every time he watched the silver armored soldier practice another move.

His prussian eyes widened when he noticed the soldier emitted a stronger glow that illuminated a wider range where both men were standing, his sword shared the same glow but turned into a pale blue light. Endymion clenched his jaw and tightened the grip on his own sword _"This is becoming interesting…"_

The man in armor began running again towards him and prepared to slice him with his sword, Endymion turned and found the perfect timing to kick him out of his way, his knee was the first thing the soldier met then his face found his boot and flew a few feet away from him "You better go back from wherever you came from, you are not getting what you want from me" his voice was dominant; his throat was dry so his voice held a slight hoarseness to it. His breathing was quick but steady and his eyes looked so cold it could freeze the man standing again with the help of his sword.

The soldier turned and growled "We will see about that" his hand began to glow with more intensity and blasted a charge of what it appeared to be "Energy…" Endymion muttered in slight amusement.

The soldier slowly stood up and regained his position, his pale green eyes exposed the frustration and the sudden hatred at the mere thought of being beaten by a mortal; he locked his gaze with the prince's and growled angrily "It is time to do what I came here to do"

Endymion frowned and took position; meters away Jadeite appeared in his horse. Surprised curled up in his throat as he tried to understand what was happening "What?!" he said wide eyed as he studied the man wearing an armor that did not belong to their army, he licked his lips and stepped down his horse ran towards the prince and tried to prevent the catastrophe that might happen if that man blasted him with a lightened weapon. He could hear his heart beats in thumbing in his ears and his body was starting to react to the danger of the scene and moved closer to the battle zone.

"Endymion!" he yelled with panic, the prince turned and frowned "Jadeite! What are you doing here?! You are supposed to be with the others!"

Jadeite kept running towards the prince "I couldn't leave you alone!"

Endymion divided his attention between his friend and the soldier meters away from him and turned to Jadeite again, his concentration was beginning to crumble like dry breadcrumbs "I am fine! Go back! Find the others and go back!"

Jadeite shook his head "No!...I cannot do that! You must come back with me!"

The soldier laughed loud "Another pest in my way! Perfect, I can kill you both!"

Endymion frowned and prepared for battle he couldn't get this war extend the way it was, for the sake of his mother and his family he had to make this madness stop, he curled his fingers tighter around his sword's handle and waited for the man to come his way. Jadeite kept running through the bushes and took out his sword, he went straight to the soldier with the shining weapon in his hand "AAAAHHHHHH!" the blonde yelled with force and moved his blade towards the armored man who moved in the right moment otherwise the blonde's blade would have cut his face in half. With the excitement of being fighting with two mortals written all over his face he moved quickly from side to side dodging Jadeite's moves. Jadeite frowned and growled, his patience was running low and despite Endymion's constant calls he was determinant to finish with this man, after all…he was a shitennou, he had to succeed "Is that everything you have, mortal?"

Jadeite's breathing became hoarse, with a look that could split the man in half he dig his sword on the ground and waited a few seconds to regain some of the energy he gave with each attack. His mind was becoming blank, he was running out of ideas, he had no more plans all he had left was the anger inside him and the need t satisfy his slightly tarnished ego "Bastard" he muttered.

Endymion turned to the blonde "Jadeite, go with the others!"

The armored soldier chuckled, catching both men's attention "You do not seem to visualize the picture, I am here on a mission…and I will not fail, who do you think you are to come and interrupt my work?"

Jadeite clenched his jaw "I am…" he trailed off and too another breath "…My Prince's guardian and I will erase that smile off your face…and even if you kill me, you will not get through with your plan…you do not have an idea of with who you are fighting"

"Ha, we will see about that" the soldier held hid sword higher again and pointed at the blonde "If you are a Guardian to your Prince, prove it"

Jadeite laughed and shrugged his shoulders "Let's see who laughs in the end, bastard" he ran towards him with full speed and jump, raising his sword above his head and lowered the blade second after, aiming the soldier's head but this gave enough time for his opponent to clash his sword against his, jump and kicked him in the stomach with enough force to throw him back to the darkness of the woods; a loud thud confirmed his fall against the hard ground leaving him semi conscious.

Endymion's eyes widened "JADEITE!" his loud voice was lost into the thick foliage of the woods; he turned to the soldier and glared at him with rage "I had enough of you…" he growled.

The soldier laughed again "We will see about that, mortal Prince" he turned with confidence and began to run in the prince's direction "AAAAHHHHHHHHH!" he screamed his lungs out with disgust "DIEEEEEEEE!" the soldier repeated Jadeite's final tactics and looked down at the prince while he send him a blast of energy; Endymion looked up dodged the attack that burned all the trees around them and made his final move after he rolled again out of the soldier's way and ran in his direction and with unbelievable speed he slid from under the man's legs, stood up and pierced his sword from behind. The same way the weapon cut through the thick armor and pierced the man's flesh it came out, pooling his blood uncontrollably; his trembling hands the soldier looked at the red liquid coming out and turned to look at the prince behind him "You…" he muttered in surprise.

Back in the dark woods Jadeite lowly opened his eyes and tried to focus his sight when he suddenly felt the presence of somebody else standing next to him, frowning he growled in pain and tried to stand up without looking at who might be the person next to him "Please…help me…" he put a hand on his head and took a deep breath "…I have to…" he trailed off and shook his head slowly "I have to help the Prince…"

"The prince is mine"

Jadeite widened his green eyes and looked up to face the owner of that female voice but before he could say anything Beryl raised her hands with a large stone and hit him hard in the head until he lost consciousness. A line of blood began trailing down his forehead forming a pool around his head. The redhead kneeled next to the blonde man and looked at him in silence, with enough force she hit him again splattering her face with blood and smiled with incredible satisfaction. Her red eyes narrowed as she studied the motionless body bleeding on the floor "…And you are going to help me…"

Endymion heard noises coming from the direction Jadeite had fallen "JADEITE!" he called out for him and turned to look at the soldier standing with a deadly look and ready to attack again. The soldier ran again in his direction with frustration and anger, then raised his sword again above his head and yelled one more time "DIEEE!"

Endymion frowned and lifted his leg high, kicking him right in the jaw; the force he put on the kick was too intense that it threw the man onto the ground, complaining of the pain so intense he was feeling, at this time he didn't know what hurt more the kick or the fall; he slowly turned his head and saw his sword a few feet away from him and glared at the prince one more time and realized, the prince was now standing next to him, looking at him with a deadly cold stare that finally had shattered his confidence and immortal beliefs, he was cared and with the bleeding he caused him, he was now scared for his life "Who…are you…?" he dared to ask, but the prince's boot was now pressing his wounded side and showed no mercy towards him.

"I am the one asking the questions here" Endymion muttered and pressed his boot harder against the man, making flinch in pain "Who sent you?" he said in a deep and deadly voice.

The soldier cracked a smile and began to chuckle despite the blood trailing down his wound; his sarcastic demeanor disappeared once he looked into Endymion's eyes and noticed how they slowly began to change from deep blue hue to a stormy and darker shade. His smile faded as soon as he felt the sharp blade of the prince's sword against his Adam's apple; Endymion frowned and narrowed his eyes "You are wasting my time" he muttered again.

The soldier looked at him now with a hint of fright and shook his head in disbelief "Who…are you?"

Endymion moved his sword where the larger wound was and dig it a little deeper into the open flesh of the soldier, causing him great pain "I said I m the one who asks the questions here and I will not repeat it again, who _sent_ you?!" his voice was calm. Endymion had this incredible ability to threaten without the need to raise his voice, it's something in the way he articulates, the way he looks, he creates a dense atmosphere around him that lets the opponent know that he is not playing. The soldier saw that with amaze and admitted it to himself, he was not like he visualized him, he was not even close to what Athamas had described him; this was a man who had a strong energy flowing inside his body. The way he holds his sword, the way he speaks, the way he fights…no ordinary mortal man could do what Endymion just did.

The soldier tried with all his might to fight the pain the mortal prince was causing him and closed his eyes and felt how his life was slowly starting to melt away "My…Master…" he breathed, almost delusional.

"_Who_ is your Master?" Endymion arched his brow.

The soldier opened his eyes slowly and turned to look at him again and grinned "He will find you…There are more of my kind looking for you…the one soldier will find you…"

Endymion narrowed his eyes and grabbed the man by his blonde hair "I am tired of this and I do not have your time, you are going to tell me who sent you or I will kill you"

The soldier began to tremble as he saw no joke in his eyes and found no kindness in his voice. Endymion sighed and narrowed his eyes, the mercy he once held in his indigo stare disappeared as he thrust his blade into the man's body, slicing the armor like butter "NO!" the soldier yelled in pain.

"I told you you were wasting my time" Endymion said dryly without any sentiment of guilt.

The soldier flinched in pain as he felt the blade cut more of his skin and tried to contain himself from crying "Athamas…" he broke into tears of deep pain. He finally gave in and betrayed the one who gave the order to finish him.

"What was that?" Endymion said.

A pool of blood began to surround the mysterious soldier; turning his head he looked at the prince and took a deep breath "Ath…am…as…" he took another deep breath and died.

Endymion frowned and looked at the dead man at his feet "Athamas…" he whispered and tried to associate the name, it ringed in the back of his mind and frowned in deep thought "That name…" he bit his lip as he tried to put the pieces together but then his attention was diverted by his missing friend and turned to look for him "Jadeite!" he called as he searched for the blonde man.

He was sure he had fallen in the direction he was going but the darkness around him made it very difficult to guide him to where he could be "Jadeite, answer me!" he called again with worry; frustrated he began to wonder if he had obeyed him and went back to where the others were hoping with all his might that he was alright and had found the rest of the missing crew and guided them back to the camp. He turned again and looked at the dead soldier lying on the ground and narrowed his eyes as flashes of what he saw moments ago came to his mind again "Beryl…" he muttered "…Was that…an illusion?" he put his hands on his head and pressed his temples, his mind was a whirlwind. First the missing crew, then Beryl's strange apparition and then this soldier who was sent to kill him "What is this?" he raised his head and looked up above "What is happening…? I feel it, the venom running underneath our feet like scorching magma…" with a sigh he turned to look around but there was nothing he could see as a threat, a clue or a solution so he had to decide to go back to the camp "Jadeite…I really hope you are already there my friend"

o.o.o.o

Zoicite was talking to some of the soldiers about the strategy they were currently following when he saw Kunzite walking towards him "Have you seen them?" he asked with worry but the general's face was enough for him to know there were any news from Jadeite or the prince. The blonde general shook his head and excused himself to the soldiers and began to roll the papers he had in his hands "It's been hours since they left…it's beginning to worry me"

Kunzite pursed his lips and turned when he heard a soldier calling him "What is it?" his deep voice rumbled in the young soldier's ears.

The young red haired man pointed south and opened his mouth with both excitement and nervousness "Prince Endymion…he's back!"

The white haired general widened his eyes as he saw indeed that the prince was walking back to the camp but his heart skipped a beat when he saw he came alone with no horse, no crew and no Jadeite walking by his side. His heart began to pound in his chest as he walked closer to the prince, he licked his lips as if his tongue was eager to ask him to tell him the truth, he wanted an explanation of why he was coming alone, he needed to know what happened to Jadeite who had gone looking for him "Endymion" he finally managed to speak once he was face to face with the handsome prince; his brows knitted when soon he noticed he had a small wound on his arm "What happened?!"

Endymion shook his head and looked at the small cut "It's nothing…could have been worse"

"You're injured!" Kunzite said again, with worry.

"It's not deep, it will stop bleeding in a minute…" Endymion said and looked around, his eyes widened when he did not see his friend around "Jadeite…" he turned back to Kunzite, the leader of the shitennou frowned "He went after you"

"Yes but…" the prince trailed off and widened his eyes again, his lips parted in shock "…I thought he came back!"

"What?" Kunzite frowned and shook his head "Zoicite tried to prevent him from going, but…you know how he is, he went after you and haven't come back ever since"

"When I was fighting with this soldier, he saw me and tried to help me but I told him to come back to the camp with you, I specifically asked him to join the troops again and wait here with you…he got attacked by him but…" he trailed off and turned to the woods again "…No…that means…"

Kunzite widened his grey eyes, interrupting the prince "Wait, you mentioned a soldier, what soldier?"

Endymion shook his head and turned to look around with great worry "He must have been hurt from the attack…or lost…" He was not paying full attention to Kunzite's questioning or the matter of the other soldier who tried to kill him, even when it was very important it was his friend they were talking about and he was missing, just like the rest of the crew.

"Endymion?!" Kunzite raised his voice, snapping Endymion out of his thoughts; his mind was set on Jadeite and the crew, he wondered with great worry like a man would be for his brother. That is what the shitennou were for him, his brothers and one of them was missing, hurt, or even gravely injured. He turned to Kunzite and looked into his eyes but no words came out of his mouth for a few seconds, his mind was still processing what just happened "I went to look for him and the rest of the missing soldiers after I fought with this man but they were nowhere to be found, that is why I thought he came back…I didn't find him anywhere!"

"This is not right" Kunzite turned to one of the soldiers while Zoicite and Nephrite joined them minutes later after they began to notice the worried look in the men's faces "What happened, where is Jadeite?" Zoicite asked, his aquamarine eyes searched into blue and grey gazes for the truth, for something that could tell him where Jadeite was.

Endymion ran his hand through his hair "I didn't find him where I was…I saw him, I told him to come back here…I told him to find the others and come back!"

"We have to look for him!" Zoicite said and tried to gather some people to go back and search for the shitennou when a hand on his shoulder stopped him "We have to keep moving" Kunzite cursed him for his own orders and closed his eyes for a moment, regretting every word he just said.

Zoicite's eyes widened and shook his head in disbelief "No…Kunzite, no! We cannot leave him alone!"

"If we stay here, they will attack us" Kunzite looked at him and pressed his lips together "Endymion just fought a soldier…we cannot put more people in danger"

"We came here to fight!" Zoicite raised his voice frustrated and turned to Endymion "Are you going to let him behind? Are you going to let this happen!?"

"I will go back and search for him"

Kunzite turned to Endymion and frowned "We need you here, you are our leader…I can afford to lose you, none of us can. If you go down all of us are condemned"

"He is my friend, my brother…Kunzite. You all are" Endymion said heavily "There are people missing…and a very close friend…I cannot…" he trailed off, his brows were close together and lowered his gaze; he was having an internal battle. Of all the times he fought before, he never found a moment so difficult like the one he was living at this moment, he always thought the shitennou were going to be there to fight with him any war, they are his right hand, his counselors, his advisors, they shared many stories and memories and for the first time in a long time, he felt distressed, he was troubled and at this point he didn't know what to do. On one side he had the responsibility he had as commander and leader of the army and on the other he wanted to find his friend desperately.

"Jadeite knows how to fight, knowing him he is still out there looking for the missing crew. He knows how to find us…he knows how to fight" Kunzite said again, not sure anymore if he was trying to calm the prince or if he was trying to reassure to himself that their friend was indeed coming back "We made a vow…" he turned to Zoicite then to Nephrite "To protect our Prince…we cannot leave him in this war alone...we talked about this before…in case something happened to us…"

"Kunzite…" Zoicite said.

"We have to keep moving" Kunzite said more determinant and gave the order Endymion could not give. Kunzite looked at him and saw the hurt in his eyes, still looking at the woods, hoping to see him come from there; he was sure the prince agreed with him but respected his pain and made the decision to speak for him this time as the next general in command of the army "Jadeite would approve my decision" he said slowly.

Nephrite pursed his lips and looked up at the sky _"Jadeite…where are you?" _he thought; right when he asked the stars his whereabouts a shooting star crossed the sky, making him wide his eyes in shock "Jadeite…" he whispered with teary eyes.

Zoicite turned to look at a very serious prince; his look was still lost in the woods hoping to see his friend coming back and do his usual sarcastic comments or jokes but sadly it did not happen.

"We have to…" Endymion trailed off and cleared his throat to try to keep himself collected "…We have to be alert, and once it is daytime go and look over for them…if we do not find them…we…" he paused.

Zoicite frowned "We, what?"

"We will have to keep moving"

"But we can't leave them alone" Zoicite demanded again with pleading eyes "We cannot leave Jadeite behind…Endymion…we can't…"

The prince lowered his head "This is not easy for me either Zoicite, I do not want to leave them behind but I have an army to guide…and a kingdom to protect…" he sighed and shook his head worried "I trust Jadeite, he is a good fighter…he will catch up with us, he will find us and fight this war with us and once we win we will go home"

Kunzite lowered his head and took a deep breath "Do you think this…soldier you fought has to do to what happened to Jadeite and the others?"

Endymion turned to look at Kunzite and frowned, the past events didn't make too much sense to him and not to mention the illusion of seeing Beryl standing in the middle of a dark forest with a lost stare and a demonic smile. He shook his head and let out a deep sigh "This man…" he trailed off and narrowed his eyes as he remembered the expression of sneer in his face when he was telling him what he came here to do, how he was going to be chased by others of his kind and how he was following an order to kill him "…Was sent to complete a job"

"A job?" Zoicite asked, puzzled. Nephrite listened closely, still not saying a single word; he crossed his arms and paid attention to the prince's story.

"Athamas is the name of the person who sent him to fight me…" Endymion frowned "…His name sounds familiar somehow…but I can't really remember where did I hear that name before…" he looked at Kunzite "Jadeite saw me fighting him…he tried to help me and that is when I ordered him to go and look for the others…he refused and attacked him but this soldier had another kind of power and threw him away, after I defeated him…I searched for Jadeite everywhere and he was gone…like if he never stepped a foot in that place"

Endymion hung his head and stayed silent in thought, Kunzite felt the distress in his friend and patted his shoulder in sympathy and understanding "Jadeite is very stubborn and defiant, you know it…he won't come back until he finds the lost crew…we will search them first thing in the morning"

The prince nodded and after a few seconds he raised his head and looked at the white haired man "Please understand that I am in charge of all these lives…if we cannot find them, we will have to continue…"

"Master…" Zoicite widened his eyes "But…"

"This is becoming more dangerous than I thought…I cannot put more innocent lives at risk…I will search for them, I will look for Jadeite…but until I find them we will have to keep moving. The enemy is strong and we still don't know who is behind all this madness…all we know right now for certain is that is after me" Endymion said with a low voice.

He turned on his heel he began to gather the generals and sergeants to continue with the stipulated plan leaving the three shitennou behind; Zoicite sighed and lowered his head.

"This is harder than we all thought"

Zoicite widened his eyes and turned to look at Nephrite who was standing next to him "But you know Endymion is not deciding this because he does not care, right?"

The blonde nodded and then shook his head confused "I just do not understand anything…where he could have gone? Disappearing in a well known territory is…" he trailed off and shrugged his shoulders "It doesn't make any sense"

"I am worried as much as you are, as much as I know Endymion is"

"We are talking about Jadeite; he has been with us all these years fighting…he is more than just a friend. Endymion is right when he said he is like a brother…" Zoicite said sadly "I know I have always annoyed him but…it was never serious"

"I know Zoicite, I know" Nephrite patted the blonde's shoulder "We will find him. We will see him again soon, you will see"

"They haven't said anything?" Zoicite asked, referring to the stars.

Nephrite pursed his lips and shook his head in denial. The blonde sighed again and turned they joined the rest of the soldiers to continue studying the next plan to follow, Nephrite sighed and looked up at the stars again and waited for some kind of response. The always calmed shitennou kept asking them constantly about his friend and the rest for the missing people until something caught his eye, making him widen them in surprise when the answers to his questions were reassured.

O.o.o.o.O

Mercury tightened the laces on Serenity's dress and stood in front of her while the other girls helped her with her hair and accessories. The gown was minimal but very classy and elegant and as always, in immaculate white. It was an off shoulders gown with an A shape long skirt; the fabric had a soft silver sheer and so did her heels. She did not want to accessorize the look too much as she did not know what kind of event it was so she preferred to keep it simple with a silver bracelet and a long chain with a crystal pendant. Her makeup was simple and very natural; the only difference might be the slight smoky shade in her eyes with a shimmery dust making them look more glamorous.

"It is almost time" Venus said from the bed as she watched her princes walking to one side to the other with anxiety "You need to calm down Princess" she said with confidence "If Her Majesty sees you like this she will begin to question you about it and you cannot expose the truth about Prince Endymion just yet"

Serenity pressed her lips, she tried to keep her look perfect and tried to avoid ruining her nude glossy lipstick by biting her lower lip "I wonder why Mother wanted to throw this fancy dinner at this particular time…"

Mars crossed her arms and tilted her head "Whatever it is Princess, you have to remain calm, Venus is right…you cannot tell anything about Earth just yet"

"Maybe it is just something that has to do with the Alliance, maybe Queen Serenity wants you to be more involved in the political matters of this Kingdom, that could be a possibility" Mercury said softly "Since is something you asked for so long…maybe she reconsidered your petition and is giving you the opportunity to give your opinion in certain matters concerning the Alliance"

"Hm…sounds possible" Jupiter said from across the room "Maybe one of the High Gods is invited, maybe that is why Queen Serenity asked the Princess to wear a formal attire" she sighed and walked over the princess and smiled "Maybe _daddy_ is coming to visit, you know how…_exaggerated_ he can be" the amazonian rolled her hazel eyes.

"Makes sense" Mars said with a smile, understanding the amazonian sarcasm perfectly.

"Whatever it is Princess, call us if you need any help" Venus said softly, interrupting both girls "We won't be far away"

"Yes, we will be nearby" Mercury smiled in reassurance "We will try to be at the adjoining room in case you need us to interfere"

Serenity lowered her gaze and nodded "I appreciate your attentions towards me…" she sighed heavily "I wish Endymion could be here…" her sad voice got to the girl's hearts "We really wish things could be different" Venus said honestly.

"I…" Serenity was interrupted by Luna at the door "Princess Serenity?"

The girls and lastly the princess turned to look at her; just like the princess she wore a more formal dress than the usual ones she wore for meetings and daily basis, being all black it gave the formality of the occasion a thing only made the princess even more curious. With a warm and small smile, Luna extended her hand at Serenity "Queen Serenity is waiting for you at the dining room"

Serenity walked towards the mauian and held her hands "Luna please…please tell me what this is all about…"

Luna's smile was replaced by a sad look on her face and shook her head in denial "I am not allowed My Princess…I am so sorry. I wish I could explain everything…but I can't"

"Is it something bad?"

Luna hesitated a moment before answering and shook her head slowly "No Princess, I believe is not a bad thing…I hope"

Mars raised a brow and crossed her arms "You hope?"

Luna looked at the red dressed woman "It depends on how you see the situation…"

"Will my Father be present?"

The mauian woman shook her head "I do not believe so Sailor Mars" she turned to Serenity and gave her a soft smile "We should get going Princess, my Queen must be impatient"

Serenity nodded and was the first one to leave the room with Luna following behind. The girls turned to look to one another until Jupiter sighed breaking the silence "We should find a way to spy on them"

Venus widened her eyes, so did Mercury "That is not a correct thing to do Jupiter…"

"It would be much easier to know what is happening" The brunette said, Mercury shook her head "But that is not an appropriate thing to do!" she sighed and turned to the blonde "Venus will not let me lie, right Venus?"

"Maybe if we look through the keyhole…" Venus bit her lower lip, startling the bluenette "What?" her blue eyes were as wide as two round plates.

"Since you are our leader, I thought that maybe…just maybe you were going to agree with me" Mercury muttered in disapproval; Venus sweat dropped at her comment and bit her lower lip "I agree with you Mercury but…I do also agree with Jupiter…I do want to know what that meeting is about…Luna was too mysterious and that is not fair!"

Mercury raised a brow "Ah? Fair to whom exactly?"

Venus blushed and shrugged her shoulders "Well…fair for us of course!" Mercury shook her head and sighed in defeat.

"Something is not quite right…" Mars narrowed her amethyst eyes "There is more to that meeting, my senses are telling me…"

"What do you mean?" Jupiter frowned.

Mars turned to look at the girls and frowned "I have the feeling that this 'meeting' will change faith…forever. I feel it, buzzing at the back on my mind"

o.o.o.o

Luna stopped in front of the door that led to the dining room and sighed softly, she wished she could warn the princess of what was about to happen inside or who was there waiting for her besides her mother the queen. She cursed herself for what she was doing, she felt like she was betraying the princess by taking her with lies to her unwanted destiny. Her hand rested on the handle and pushed it down hesitantly, the door opened immediately and catching the queen's attention "Your Majesty, Princess Serenity is here"

The queen smiled softly and stood up with that divine grace that characterized her; her lavender eyes watched with approval at her daughter's graceful presence and gown, there was no doubt about it, she was indeed the jewel of the galaxy. Serenity walked slowly and turned to Luna who was now closing the large doors, there was something in that loud echo that let the princess know it was indeed a very private meeting "Good evening Mother" she greeted softly and walked towards her mother.

"Serenity, dear" the queen smiled wider and held her daughter's hands once she was standing before her "I am always so very happy to see you, you look very beautiful"

Serenity looked at her mother with tenderness, oh how she missed her but as soon as she turned her face her soft smile faded away and turning in to a frown when she saw Athamas standing next to the dining table and wearing his formal attire "What is this?" she asked puzzled, looking at her mother with questioning eyes.

"Dear" the queen made a pause and cleared her throat "I wanted to…"

"What is this?" Serenity asked again, her soft voice was long gone and now was replaced by a cold and uncharacteristic tone; she looked at Athamas again and then back at her mother "Dear, let me finish" the queen suggested and extended her hand.

"I thought we were having guests"

"Serenity" The queen said and raised her hand "Athamas is our guest"

Serenity narrowed her eyes "What?"

"Please, let's sit and have dinner…there is so much we need to talk about" Queen Serenity suggested and walked over her seat. Princess Serenity stood there for a few seconds and turned to look at Luna and then back at her mother "I do not appreciate being ignored"

"You are not being ignored Serenity" the queen said.

"You are not telling me what is happening"

The queen frowned "Please, Serenity…sit and have dinner with us"

Athamas waited for the princess to sit on her chair and pushed it closer to the long beautifully prepared table and took his seat across from her and took a sip of his wine. The queen did the same and turned to her daughter "Serenity…" she paused and took a deep breath "I asked Luna to inform you about this dinner and asked her to tell you it was formal because, the occasion required it"

Luna lowered her gaze while Artemis looked at the general drinking without any kind of worry or concern; Serenity watched her glass of wine untouched and pushed the plate of food aside right after the maid set it in front of her catching the queen's attention.

"Serenity…" the queen sighed "I have been thinking…about everything, about this kingdom, the Alliance, me and you…specially you" the monarch looked at her daughter "How we have always been together and how time has passed by so quickly turning you into a fine beautiful lady" she looked at her glass of wine and her eyes turned slightly sad "When you were born…I promised your Father and I made a vow: To always protect you and to find the right suitor to accompany you in the future and for the rest of your life"

The mention of her father made her feel vulnerable, she felt her eyes burn with unshed tears; she wished she could have met her mother's love of her life and the one that once ruled by her side. The queen barely ever mentioned the king knowing it was a delicate matter even for her; it was so delicate that not even the princess knew the exact reasons of his death. Without looking at her mother she shook her head slightly "Why are you telling me all this?"

"Serenity…" the queen tilted her head "With everything that has been happening your safety is a great interest of mine, I love you with all my heart and I want to feel tranquil knowing that you are not alone"

"But I am not alone" Serenity rested her hands on the table, her perfect french manicured nails tapped the cloth softly with anxiety "I am _not_ alone" she repeated. The queen sighed and lowered her gaze "Dear, when I was you age your grandmother was already…"

"Things change Mother" the princess cut her mother, she knew where this was going and bit her lip "It doesn't have to be like it was several years ago…things change"

"I won't live forever!" the queen raised her voice frustrated; her sudden reaction interrupted the princess and widened her eyes once she realized what she just did "I…" she trailed off. Serenity looked at her mother and shook her head "Why are you telling me this Mother? How can…" she leaned on the table "How can you say that?"

"I…just like your grandmother, I have to move on and joined her…I am not eternal and you will have to take charge as the new Queen of this Kingdom" The queen looked at her daughter with a melancholic stare "And I do not want you to be alone…that is why I made a decision"

Serenity's expression went blank "What…decision…?"

"After so much time searching for a perfect suitor for you…I have come to a conclusion and that is…" she pressed her lips together for a moment and continued "Serenity, it is time for you to settle with our best soldier" she turned to look at the general next to her "Athamas has been part of our kingdom for quite some time now and he has proven to be the right suitor for you and the one capable to protect you and this Kingdom"

"What?" Serenity exclaimed in shock "What?!" she stood up "What are you saying?!"

"Her Majesty and I have spoken and I have asked your hand in marriage" Athamas joined the conversation; his green eyes gleamed with joy as if he was a little boy waking up on Christmas day.

Serenity shook her head and turned to the smirking man "You…you stay out of this!" she said in an accusing tone. Her thoughts were crashing, her patience fading and her once refined poise turned into a face of anger and disgust "No, no…I won't accept this!"

"Serenity!" the queen said surprised "What is the matter with you?"

"No Mother, No" the princess shook her head more effusively "I won't marry Athamas…" she looked at him and frowned "I won't marry you, never, _ever_"

The queen stood up with disgust across her fine features "This is not the time for a tantrum…I will not tolerate this from you"

"This is not a tantrum Mother" Serenity said, her heart racing in her chest with desperation "How can…you think that of me?" she frowned "This is everything but a tantrum…this is a declaration of war against our own people!"

"You two were engaged, the most natural thing to do is to formalize that engagement" the queen continued excusing her decision.

"That commitment was over, I was the one who ended our engagement" Serenity defended herself and raised her hands "I ended it by my own will"

The queen walked over her daughter and looked into her baby blue eyes "I remember Serenity, and I respected that decision of yours at that time because I thought that maybe you needed some time to mature, to prepare yourself more but time has passed and you are not a child anymore, you have to stop thinking only about yourself and start thinking like the future Queen you are going to be, think about your Kingdom, our people!"

Serenity shook her head "I do not love him Mother…" her watery eyes danced from one side to the other, giving a deep and honest look into her mother's lavender ones.

Athamas frowned, clenching his jaw in frustration and anger he turned to look at Artemis and grabbed his glass of wine and took a sip. His eyes were fixed on the two monarchs and cleared his throat to interrupt their evident discussion "Princess…why the resistance when we already have been together? What have I done to continue being rejected by you, can't you see I only have eyes for you?"

Serenity turned to look at the general and narrowed her eyes "What?"

"Her Majesty knows it, everybody in this kingdom know that I have only eyes for you" Athamas stood in front of the princess and looked into her eyes "What are you doing?" she whispered angrily "Aren't you tired of being so cynical?"

The general ignored her last question and cast her a smile while he held her hand and kissed it softly "I have accepted Her Majesty's petition and asked for your hand in marriage"

Serenity frowned and backed away "I won't accept this" she turned on her heel and began to walk away despite the lovely dinner prepared and her mother staring at her "Serenity!" the queen said her name in a more demanding tone "Where are you going? You cannot leave this room! You are not excused!"

"No" Serenity said dryly and turned to look at her mother with fiery eyes "I do not care if I am excused or not, you have 'arranged' my life, my future like if I am just another of your subordinates, like if I am nobody to you… it is like I do not have a voice, like if I do not exist…you want to tie my life to a man I do not love, a man I do not care for…and how could I? When I know the kind of man he is!"

"Stop this nonsense Serenity" the queen raised her voice "I do not have the time or the patience for this tantrums anymore"

"It is not nonsense!" Serenity raised hers and threw her arms in the air in anger "I won't live miserable...I won't continue living chained to a crystal cage like if I were some kind of treasure, like a prize that needs to be won, I have feelings and I want to live! I do not want to be alone…" she paused and took a deep breath "I do not want to be a martyr like you…"

"Stop it!" the queen slapped her across her face; her cheeks were flushed and her voice quivered in she was not really sure what, this was something she did not expect to hear from her daughter, never in her life she imagined he own daughter visualized as a martyr "How dare you…?" she whispered with pain and obvious regret.

Serenity looked at her mother with shock and slight disappointment; she put her delicate hand over her swollen cheek and licked the tears that began to roll down her cheeks.

Luna and Artemis widened their eyes and stood up immediately. Both walked in the princess direction being Luna the one that stood by her side and tried to calm her fiery attitude "Princess…you need to calm down…" she whispered.

Athamas took the queen's side and cleared his throat again "It is better if you calm down Your Majesty…" his voice did not teach the monarch's ears but still, she felt the warmth and support the man was giving her to his convenience.

Serenity looked at the man next to her mother and pointed an accusing finger at him "That man next to you does not have a noble heart. I cannot prove my words…but I know it, I have seen it and one day I will prove it to you…you will see"

"You talk like if you have met someone who does" Athamas said softly, disguising his venom "You talk with so much confidence Princess, like if you knew someone who has those qualities you look in a man"

"I have" Serenity said, wanting with all her might to mention Endymion "It is not so difficult to see, you just need to look around you, anybody is better than you and your abilities as soldier…"

"Warrior" he corrected "Princess…I believe you still do not understand that I do everything in my power to always look after you" he interrupted her "I do not understand why"

Serenity shook her head "You cannot call yourself a warrior…a warrior does not live with greed, envy and ambition…To me, and I am sure that to many others…you are still just a soldier with a medal"

"Enough of this" the queen said in a serious tone "I know the people I have in my court, I have learned and prepared myself to run this kingdom properly and I know the people I put my trust in" she looked at her daughter "You have crossed the line"

Serenity looked at her mother sadly "I really hope you can see it too. I wish you could understand…" her eyes showed great sadness, so did her voice. She felt more than hurt inside, a strange feeling she could not describe; a mixture of anger and sadness, maybe regret. The absence of her love was starting to affect her and she was not longer sure of how much longer she could take all that pain, not seeing him was killing her, hot listening to his warm voice or getting lost in his midnight blue eyes was torturing her, not to listen to his wise words, everything in him she missed, everything.

With anything else to say, she began to walk slowly towards the door; tiredly she pushed the handle and left everybody in the room behind. Queen Serenity tried her best to maintain her cool and not to cry in front of the general and her advisors. With great calm and studied movements she moved away from the general and stood in front of the room's largest window "I am so sorry you had to witness all that" she said slowly.

Athamas shook his head and bowed his head "My Queen do not worry…I understand, Princess Serenity…is confused…but with time she will assimilate things"

Artemis frowned and took a step forward "My Queen?"

"I cannot force my daughter General…I thought I could make her understand the situation but…she is in denial"

"Her Highness is not in denial My Lady" Artemis said, much to Athamas' disgrace "She does understand and understands it perfectly"

"Maybe this was not the best way to address this delicate matter…" Luna said softly, joining the white haired man.

"Princess Serenity had to know" Athamas tried to defend himself "Reality is not a fairy tale, she needs to…"

"I cannot force my daughter…Athamas…" the queen said softly "…Things got too delicate and I cannot bring this topic again anytime soon…I'm sorry…but, could you give me a moment with Luna and Artemis?" Queen Serenity turned to look over her shoulder at the general.

Athamas was taken aback by the queen's reaction and decision but with an unpleasant feeling of defeat he had to convey "…Yes, Your Majesty…" he bowed his head and turned on his heel and left the room. Once he was out he leaned on the door for a moment and clenched his teeth "That lover of yours will soon die Serenity and after that…you will not have other choice but to be mine"

Back in the room, the tension was still gathered up in the air like a thick cloud over their heads. The queen had been too silent since the general left the room and either Luna or Artemis knew how to address to her in this situation. Artemis looked down at his feet and pressed his lips, he was not sure of what to say exactly; of what could he possibly say to make the queen feel better and amend things with her daughter "Your Majesty…I…"

"You must think I am a terrible Mother…" the queen said sadly, her breath slightly stained the window glass.

Luna widened her eyes and shook her head in denial, she turned to Artemis with and looked at him with a worried expression. The man in white shook his head as well and took a step closer "No Your Majesty…we do not believe such thing, but we both knew this would be the reaction the Princess would have…she did not expect any of this and it is clearly that she does not want him in her life, so why continuing trying to do so?"

"I already explained why Artemis" the queen turned with a distressed look and raised her hands in frustration "He is the only one for her, capable to follow my late husband's steps"

"Is he, really?"

The queen and white mauian turned to Luna standing a few feet away from them "Is he really the right man for her Your Grace?"

Queen Serenity sighed and leaned on the wall, she raised her head and looked up at the ceiling "I do not know what I am doing anymore…" a tear began to roll down her cheek "I feel like I lost direction when it comes to my daughter…it is almost like we do not know us anymore and it hurts me because I love her with all my heart…"

Luna walked over the queen and without thinking or asking first, she held her hands. The queen startled looked down at her and widened her eyes; the mauian advisor gave her a warm smile as she tried her best to comfort her "My Queen you have not lost any path…you are just in different stages at this precise moment, you want to secure her future while she wants to explore and see the possibilities out there…while she wants to find love"

"When you had her age you were already engaged to a man you did not know very well…your Mother, the Queen, wanted to leave you in the hands of an Andromedian, thinking that would be the best solution to the political conflict occurring in that precise moment…she saw it as the best opportunity to make amends and create an alliance between Andromeda and Olympus" a male voice joined the conversation, startling the queen and the two advisors.

Queen Serenity's eyes traveled from her advisors to the sandy haired man at the door "Ares…" she whispered in surprise "How…?"

"I remember you too had your own doubts concerning the man you were going to marry but you settled and accepted your mother's wish, giving Athan the opportunity to woo you with his charms and likeability. That is what really happened. It was not love" Ares made a pause and walked towards them "You were too entranced in your conversation that you didn't notice when I walked in; I looked for you everywhere…the guards told me I would find you here"

The queen frowned slightly, when it comes to reality check she knew Ares was the perfect person to do so "How long have you been here?"

"Enough to know what happened" Ares shrugged his shoulders and continued walking until he stopped near the dining table and looked at the plates intact and the glasses of wine half empty "And it was not going very well for what I can see…"

"Are you analyzing the scene?" the queen asked, slightly annoyed, slightly worried. Ares took a sweet fruit in the shape of a grape and ate it "It is what I do"

"A warrior after all" the queen sighed in defeat.

The lord of war looked at the queen and shook his head "Why are you doing this? Why are you so insistent in continuing hurting yourself with all those false memories?"

"They are not false memories" the queen objected "How can you say that?"

Ares turned to Artemis and then at the queen "They have been long enough to know what really happened"

"What really happened, is that I thought about the inhabitants of this world…this kingdom" the queen defended her position "It is true, at first I had my doubts about Athan…but I knew his intentions were honest, he loved me and I loved him back, why is it too difficult for you to believe it?"

Ares shook his head and sighed "No dear friend, what happened is that you wanted to follow your mother's steps…and what happened between you and Athan…" he paused and took a deep breath "That wasn't love…both of you happened to be in the same situation at the same time and felt sympathy for each other…you two felt understood and based in that understanding something bloomed. Your romance and marriage with him was based in political agreements, sympathy and silence; not love"

The queen made a hurt face and put her hand on her chest; lowering her gaze and head she began to sob softly "Why are you being so cruel to me?"

"Because you need to open your eyes" Ares said sadly "You can't still have the idea of a perfect marriage when you and I both know it was far from being perfect"

"I loved my husband!" she raised her head and looked at Ares, tears started to stream down her eyes "I love him, I still love him and I miss him too…Can't you see I still need him?"

"He was unfaithful to you Serenity, many times"

The queen covered her face with her hands and began to cry "I miss him…I feel lost without him…you don't understand, you don't understand!"

"I do not understand?" Ares frowned and turned to see Artemis and Luna stayed who were silent the whole time, taking in what they were witnessing; they both knew Ares was one of the queen's closest friends and the one that never felt afraid to tell the truth of things, but seeing their queen crying over the memory of a man that apparently never loved her was disconcerting, was heart breaking and to see the warrior trying to reason with the beauty of a queen was something they never expected to see.

"If they do not know the truth…I will tell them, because they are more than just your advisors…" Ares pointed at the couple in the distance "Tell them Serenity, what happened in that room the day Athan died"

The queen gasped and looked at Ares "He was fighting"

"Tell them the truth"

"He was fighting"

Ares frowned "He was fighting the woman with who he slept behind your back" the god stood in front of her "He died defending you and your daughter, yes…but by the time he realized he had done wrong… he was already dying. I do not forget how you cried because you tried to fix your marriage, I cannot forget how lonely you were those days when you were expecting your child and he was not there to pamper you, to listen to you…you managed to govern this Kingdom in your delicate state while he was nowhere to be found with the woman who in the end took his life with a piece of glass"

The queen raised her head and looked at him "How dare you speak to me this way? You did the same thing…you hurt my friend as well or have you forgotten? Have you forgotten how you broke her heart many times with Eris? Have you forgotten to take her father's side and went to fight her? Have you forgotten all the tears she cried over you…maybe you have, but I don't"

"I haven't forgotten Serenity, that is something I will regret it with all my heart for the rest of my life because I love her deeply, I still love her and because of that love I have for her I hurt other very important people in my life. So please, do not tell me I do not understand" Ares said in a more serious tone; he looked at the queen and caressed her cheek with one hand while drying the tears on her face with the other "You need to let his memory go…yes, after your daughter was born he changed…but your marriage was already broken, you were standing again right where you started, in a marriage based in political agreements, silence and sympathy; not love"

The queen felt like if she could faint at the moment her friend's words hit her "Why…?" she asked lamenting her experience "Why did that have to happen to me? What have I done wrong Ares?"

Ares cupped her face and shrugged his shoulders "I don't know little flower…I may understand too many things but not this realm, not this life…you thought things were going to change for the better...we all do and realize it somehow a little too late or maybe we always have known but never accepted the truth" holding her he gave her a soft smile "Come on…come sit with me at the table…" the queen looked at him startled and nodded, she turned to Luna and Artemis and gave them a shy look "I'm so sorry…I wish you haven't listened or seen all this…"

"No My Queen…do not worry about that" Artemis said softly, Luna nodded "We understand…there is nothing to be ashamed of"

Ares poured some wine in a clean glass and put it in front of the queen, then he poured another one for himself and took a sip "Give her some time…do not rush things, they won't work if you rush things"

The queen sighed and put her finger around the glass of wine then looked at him "I feel…scared, I do not know how much time I have left in this place"

"You have plenty of time"

"How do you know?"

Ares sighed softly "Serenity…why the rush into marrying your daughter just because you do not know how much time you have left in this place?"

"Mother…"

"Queen Selene passed the crown because she needed to be where she is now. You are needed here; you are the head of the Silver Alliance. Your daughter will be Queen one day but when by the time that happens you have already solved all your little problems" the blonde lord waved his hand dismissively.

"You may think I am silly"

"Um…no, I just think you are a little too stubborn that is all…but, who isn't in this place?" Ares shrugged his shoulders and took another sip of his wine. His handsome features turned serious "Right now as your friend and as a warrior I need you to make your army leader focus on bigger problems than marriage"

The queen frowned "What do you mean?"

"I came here to warn you. Danger is approaching and if we are not careful it could get out of our hands" Ares said and turned to Artemis "You need to start revising any single little detail in every report because things are going to complicate…be aware of every movement your Commander does because right now, the skill the Lunarian army have is depends on him"

Artemis nodded and frowned "Lord, how close it is to us, this danger?"

Ares looked at him then at the queen "The sun is starting to show some dark spots...several of the things my daughter have informed me have happened already…and other thing, there is some strange energy coming from _there_"

Queen Serenity widened her eyes "You cannot possibly think that Gaia has to do something with it?"

"No" Ares frowned and shook his head "No, but she could be in danger…all that planet is…I heard Zeus talked to Hades, the energy that's tainting the sun is coming from Earth and is beginning to be felt all around Olympus"

The queen gave the lord of war a pleading look "We have to do something…we have to tell Nut and Geb…they probably will know what to do"

Ares sighed and looked away "From Nut I could expect more than just sympathy but from Geb? The man is just as stubborn as his daughter; his pride has been tainted…for a warrior living in exile is like…ripping away his will to live"

"What about the outer senshi Lord?" Artemis asked.

"The outer senshi have been warned and they are alert and prepared for anything that could happen. Hades' daughter is already prepared as well…to be the uninvited senshi in case anything happens" Ares said seriously, patting his friend's hands he gave her a reassuring stare "Serenity you need to focus on this matter, leave your daughter be…she will understand with time and maybe, she will agree to follow your wishes…" he sighed "I do believe however that there are better men out there to protect her…she is a jewel to this galaxy…she does not belong to a soldier but to a warrior, I have told you that too many times"

"Athamas is a good soldier, he is a warrior"

Ares chuckled and put his glass down "Oh no, no no…" he smiled at his friend and shook his head "Little flower, do not confuse a good soldier from a warrior. Your Commander is good, I won't deny that…but there is so much more he needs to learn to become a warrior and not to mention a Polemarchos…"

Artemis felt relieved to hear the god's words. Listening to his lecture gave him more courage to continue defending his beliefs and gut; he felt more confident now that he knew he could ask for the god's support in case anything happens with Athamas, but what really began to worry him was what Ares had just said about the sun spots and remembered what Venus asked him once, not too long ago "She was right…" he whispered in awe and wondered if she had more information he could use to prevent a catastrophe "The shadows upon the sun…" he widened his eyes "She was right"

* * *

_A/N: Thank you for being so patient. I hope you like this chapter. Thank you as well for your reviews and pm's, as always I do my best to answer you all as soon as I read them. Have a nice 'long' weekend :)_


	114. Chapter 114

_A/N_: _This is a little different, you might find too much 'cut scenes' coming back and forth but I did it because it was supposed to all be happening at the same time (If that makes any sense) besides that, I hope you like it...we are coming closer to the end, there are just a few chapters left, I'm nervous and excited. _

_Have a nice weekend._

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter one hundred and fourteen**

* * *

Princess Serenity entered her room and slammed the door behind her with anger not really caring if there was somebody around to see her anger showing. In a hiss of rage she undid the buns on her head letting her hair pool down her back and her long bangs covered her royal symbol on her forehead making her feel more comfortable at the moment. She didn't want to be her for a moment; she wanted to rip herself from that prison that sadly was her own body. Tears rolled down uncontrollably from her eyes and after a moment of cursing under her breath and kicking whatever came in her way she tiredly slid down to the floor covering her face with trembling hands "No…no…" she whispered "This cannot be happening…this cannot be happening…"

o.o.o.o

Artemis was finally excused from the dining room where the queen was left talking to Ares privately, he slowly walked outside of the room and closed the door behind him, when he was about to turn on his heel he saw Venus standing away from him apparently waiting for the princess to come out. He frowned and nodded slowly in respect when walking toward her "It is a little late for you to be wondering around Sailor Venus…" he stopped meters away from her and looked at her knowingly; the blonde tilted her head to the side and widened her blue eyes "I wasn't wondering" then frowned and corrected him "…Venus…"

The white haired man smiled. Venus pressed her lips into a tight line and then released her breath softly "I was waiting for Princess Serenity to come out"

"Somebody did not wonder enough today…" Artemis arched his brow "Princess Serenity left the room almost an hour ago"

Venus frowned "What do you mean? Where did she go?"

Artemis shrugged his shoulders "I do not know. To her quarters I suppose"

The blonde sensed something was not right with the aristocratic mauian's choice of words and tone "What happened inside that room?"

"I am not allowed to say"

"What concerns my Princess concerns me as well"

"The Princess was not the only one in that room…" Artemis trailed off, tired of this situation and let out a loud sigh while looking around to see if there was somebody there or if he could speak freely to her, not quite satisfied with his idea he turned around and asked the blonde to follow him to another room so they can speak in private without any of the soldiers or guards around.

Once they reached a room far from the dining room they went in and closed the door, Artemis leaned his weight on the heavy doors and took a deep breath for a few minutes. Venus looked around and then turned to see the white haired man taking a few steps toward one of the windows "What I am about to tell you must never leave this walls" he turned to look at the blonde over his shoulder "May I have your word Sailor Senshi?" his voice showed great seriousness.

Venus nodded and after a few seconds her voice reached her lips "You have my word Artemis"

Artemis sighed softly again and looked back at the large window, fixing his blue eyes at the garden below them "Things have been very tense in the palace these past few months since the warning from Olympus was known, Queen Serenity has been feeling very pressured to have the Alliance working properly since we do not know the nature of that threat we have been working in several plans to protect the Alliance and mostly this Kingdom considering the fact that Princess Serenity is the heir of it and the Silver Imperial Crystal…the mystical stone that holds immense power and that has gone from generation to generation…" he stopped for a moment and frowned, then turned to look at the blonde in the distance "Queen Serenity feels worried that the Princess is not ready to be Queen…she is vulnerable at this precise moment and needs the support of her daughter and because of that she has decided that it is time for the Princess to settle down with a proper suitor"

Venus nodded "A suitor…"

"Her trust is in our Commander's hands"

The blonde opened her mouth to speak but no words could come out; Artemis nodded and pressed his lips together for a moment "This _dinner_ was meant to let know Princess Serenity her engagement to Athamas"

Venus widened her eyes in shock "What?"

Artemis nodded "Luna and I were as shocked as you are now"

"Artemis…" Venus shook her head and tried to chew the information "…Why haven't you spoke to Queen Serenity about him? You are her advisor…she trusts you! He will believe your words rather than mines"

"Athamas and I do not have the best of relationships…and it is quite obvious, the tension is undeniable. Queen Serenity knows I do not trust the man, but she is convinced that he is the man that will take this Kingdom to better terms"

"And the Princess…what did she do?"

"Got very upset, denied the commitment and stormed out of the room…" Artemis pressed his lips with mortification "I do not know what else I can do Venus, Athamas is winning this internal war he has with all of us and neither of us have proof of his crimes…I am not even sure if he has any"

Venus frowned and shook her head; her hand pounded the hard wall "No! That man has more crimes than we can imagine…you have seen his true self, he reeks of malice" the blonde rubbed her face with frustration and sighed "This is going to break Princess Serenity's spirit…this is too much…"

o.o.o.o.

Her frail body was traced by the shadows made by the soft blue light coming from a window on the antechamber where she was still lying on the cold floor. Her sobbing began to diminish after a few minutes and let cool the anger accumulated in her chest like a blazing fire. Her anguish and desperation was still intact in her heart even when her face didn't show any kind of emotion. It was an irony to see a girl so broken inside and still could look like a peaceful angel.

Her eyes finally returned to reality and focused on the door that was a few feet away from her cold body and slowly stood up and walked inside her bedroom; beat and defeated her feet dragged on the slippery floor and pushed the door so she could cross to her bedroom and left it slightly open so she could still hear any sounds coming from the hall. She had to be alert to any sound or movement now that she had the courage (once, again) to confront the man and she was not sure how much he could resist until he could come to her room and do something to her.

She sat on her bed and she looked around as if that same room she once felt like a fortress wasn't hers anymore, lazily her eyes found their way to lock in the blue planet in the distance and longed for it in silence "I wish I could talk to your Mother…I need to know you are well and safe…" the whisper from her lips was invaded by the lump in her throat as tears began to fall again.

"Endymion…why this had to be happening now?" she lowered her pale gaze and looked at the fluffly white carpet on the floor with burning eyes "Is this the way we need to take in order to be together…? How are we going to be together…?" her swollen pink lips tightened in a fine line and slowly that peaceful angel could not hold the shell that was keeping her from showing her true feelings and started crying again "…I miss you…"

o.o.o.o

"That engagement was over, Princess Serenity ended that commitment"

Artemis nodded "I know"

"Even Queen Serenity knew that, she was there when my Princess broke the engagement"

"I know"

"Why…?"

Artemis took a deep breath "I know you do not have the best impression of General Athamas Sailor Venus, neither do I. That is why I am trusting you with this information…Princess Serenity was very upset when the Queen made the announcement, that of course led to an argument that did not end very nicely before she left the room…The General has the Queen's trust in his hands, there is nothing much we can do to make her change her mind…she wants him to be the next King, she is truly convinced that he is the best suitor for the Princess"

A sense of anger possessed the blonde senshi and turned to Artemis "But he is not"

Artemis stopped talking and widened his eyes; it was not necessary for the blonde to say her reasons of why she disliked the general that much, he knew she was right. The man was a soulless bastard they both were certain of it, both have seen his true color now all they had to do is to prove their words.

Venus shook her head with acceptance and finally it happened, the moment Serenity pleaded for so long and she denied to admit had finally happened and with a sad smile on her face she nodded in admittance:

Prince Endymion and Princess Serenity were meant for each other.

Suddenly many flashes of their meetings crossed her mind. The way she smiled when she was around him, how she had matured in such a short amount of time thanks to him, how he taught her how to defend herself and how to speak for herself; the way he looks at her and how he protects her was an amazing thing to witness. There was no doubt about the way their auras shone when they were together; there was no doubt about it.

Prince Endymion and Princess Serenity were meant for each other. _Period._

"Is it…definitive?" her voice came soft, almost like a whisper. Her blue eyes looked into Artemis' darker ones and waited for an answer that could lift the heavy weight off her shoulders, the guilt she felt for being the one who opposed the most in her princess' romance with the terran prince.

Artemis scratched the tip of his nose and shrugged his shoulders "Luna and I tried to reason with her, but there is an evident conflict between us two that makes it more difficult to prove my point. I know the General has been keeping important information away from the Queen and Lord Ares but I do not have a way to prove my words…Queen Serenity is aware of my disapproval towards the General but…in the end I am just her advisor, I cannot make any decisions for her, she is the one to decide" he sighed "I am in charge of the political issues concerning this Kingdom, I am supposed to be of assistance to the Commander as I am the one in touch with all the security plans and strategies…but this man is unbearable…He is impossible"

"That is even a stronger reason to remove that man from his position" Venus said bitterly then frowned "Are you positive about it Artemis?"

"I still do not have the proof because there is always somebody around his office, one of his subordinates…and to our misfortune he has managed to fill the holes in every repost he has given to Lord Ares. But there is something eerie about him…I do not trust him and I know you feel the same way…"

Venus nodded and crossed her arms "We are not in the best of terms either for different reasons, but, basically we have the same suspects, he hides something…I do not want him near the Princess and that is his biggest problem with me"

"After what happened this evening I believe Queen Serenity will leave this matter for some time but, it is something that she has on her mind, she wants to give her daughter's hand to the General…" Artemis sighed "And it is probably tied to something as important…"

Venus frowned "There is more?"

"Venus, where did you hear about the shadow covering the sun?" Artemis asked curious, worried and intrigued. The blonde widened her eyes "Mars…" she said softly and shook her head "Mars has been having these premonitions…she has seen those shadows…" the blonde blinked curious and frowned "Why?"

"That seems to be the greatest worry at this moment…that shadow you mentioned is growing and it is coming from the blue planet, Lord Ares has just informed the Queen"

"Lord Ares?" Venus widened her blue eyes.

"He is here"

"Here?"

"Talking to Her Majesty"

"The blue planet?" Venus snapped, realizing what that meant.

"Earth"

Venus widened her eyes even bigger "The Prince…" her heart skipped a beat "Kunzite!"

Artemis arched his brow "Prince, Kunzite? What are you talking about?"

Venus licked her lips nervously and shook her head "N-No…nothing…" she bit her lower lip and cursed herself for being that careless and turned to the white haired man. His eyes narrowed and let out a heavy sigh; it felt as if he took a hundred pounds off his chest and shook his head "It seems everybody has secrets in this place…"

o.o.o.o.o

Mars, Mercury and Jupiter were on their way back to the dining room, after Venus took off to see if everything was alright with the princess she had not returned and began to feel worried, thinking something might had happened to keep both Venus and princess absent for a long period of time.

"Do you think we should be worried?" Jupiter asked confused "I mean…she is with Her Majesty and Venus, and well she sometimes over reacts a little"

Mars sighed as she tucked a raven lock behind her ear "After all the madness that has been happening in this place it is very normal to be worried…" she widened her eyes as soon as they reached the room's large doors and saw Ares walking out with Queen Serenity holding his arm "Father…" she said softly in surprise; her heart stopped beating for a fraction of a section, his presence here this didn't seem like good news.

Ares turned to his right and saw his daughter standing away from him but said nothing. Turning to the queen he patted her hand and gave her a brief smile before departing her side; the raven senshi walked over to him leaving the other girls behind "Father" she called him again before bowing her head in respect at the god of war.

"Mars" he said warmly and put a finger under her chin, lifting her face up to him "Always a pleasure to see my daughter"

"Did you come to visit?" she asked softly, hardly hiding the glee to see her father there with her.

The god of war looked at her daughter sadly and shook his head, closing his eyes for a little moment "No dear, not exactly"

Her heart sunk at the sound of his deep voice, just like she suspected this was one of those mortifying visits she did not like from him, she watched his hand held her arm and motioned her to follow him to a place more private because he knew well that her strong and curious temper came from nobody else but from him. With a handsome smile, he excused himself to the queen and the rest of the senshi and took her daughter with him in silence.

He found an exit to one of the gardens in the palace and stood in silence for a moment, giving his daughter his back he already knew what her daughter wanted to say to him but were afraid to speak.

"Those eyes…I know what they are trying to say to me"

"More bad news?" Mars asked abruptly, going straight to the matter in question. Ares sighed softly and lowered his head "This hasn't gone any better ruby red"

Mars smiled sadly at the nickname, one he used when she was very little "Is it the same threat?"

"Shadows covering the sun" he gave a nod and pressed his lips into a tight line, then turned to look at her "The energy causing them comes from the blue planet, apparently" he turned his head and pointed his finger at earth "That blue planet"

Mars violet eyes widened "What? But…how?"

Ares sighed with worry and shook his head "Dear, that I do not know…but it puzzles me…I wish it was not true either, I find it very difficult to believe"

"What is?" she frowned.

"Earth is the least place from where those shadows should be coming"

"Why?"

Ares looked at his daughter with serious eyes "Because…they do not hold that kind of power. It is a planet that is not part of the Alliance"

"But it is still a planet"

"Yes dear, but it is not part of the Alliance" Ares said again, a hint of regret tainted his voice. He tried to make his comment final after his previous conversation with the lunar queen still echoing in his mind.

"_The sun is starting to show some dark spots...several of the things my daughter have informed me have happened already…and other thing, there is some strange energy coming from there"_

_Queen Serenity widened her eyes "You cannot possibly think Gaia has to do something with it?"_

"_No" Ares frowned and shook his head "No, but she could be in danger…all that planet is…I heard Zeus talk to Hades, the energy that's tainting the sun is coming from Earth and is beginning to be felt all around Olympus"_

_Queen Serenity turned to Luna and Artemis and required some private time with the war god. Nodding in agreement, they both bowed in respect and left them alone in the big dining room. The lights coming from the tall and fine candles danced in front of the queen's worried eyes once she took a seat again. She took the glass of wine with no intention to take a sip and stared at the dark colored liquid through the crystal dancing around._

"_I feel like I have to do something…" Queen Serenity said softly "Gaia must be informed about this…"_

"_It is very likely that Gaia no longer holds any kind of mystical power being that the reason why the planet has been infected by evil forces"_

"_Infected?" The queen frowned her lavender eyes; fine line creaked at its corners "By who?"_

_Ares shook his head and shrugged his shoulders "Somebody who wants her power…I don't know Little Flower…I really do not know what to think, it just doesn't make any sense…she took the crystal with her and she had control over it… I can't understand how evil power could be nested there and that makes it worse because the blue planet is the one connected to the sun…"_

"_That is why you say it is infected; it is also infecting the sun"_

_Ares nodded "The only reason I could think of…" he trailed off._

_The white queen widened her eyes "What?"_

"_The only reason I could think of is…that if Earth is being infected by a malicious energy, then it means it's protector is in danger and Gaia…" he stopped, not wanting to finish the sentence. Queen Serenity widened her eyes and shook her head in fright; she gasped and covered her mouth with both hands "No…"_

"What should we do then Father?" Mars' voice brought him back from his thoughts. Shaking his head he sighed softly "Follow your duty dear, Protect your Princess"

"…And you?" her voice sounded worried.

"I will continue following mine"

"I was talking about you and Mother…" she lowered her gaze "How…is she?"

Ares sighed and closed his eyes for a moment "As petulant as always dear"

Mars recognized that tone of voice so dry and cold, the sound of defeat. She knew where she was going with her question but she could not help to ask about her, she is her mother after all. Even when they never had the best of relationships because her bitter character, and her constant bickering and insecurity she loved her and knew she loved her back but in her own way of loving.

Ares knew what she was trying to do and how she felt when it came to Eris and his relationship with her, he had present those endless arguments that have continued up until this day with her and it was wearing his patience, it was slowly breaking his spirit and it reminded her more and more of the many times he broke Gaia's heart.

The god of war raised his hand slowly and caressed his daughter's cheek with his knuckles and smiled sadly "I love you Mars…" he paused for a moment "I know I haven't been a decent father to you, the one you deserve and for that I am so sorry"

Mars leaned her face to his warm hand "You have been the best father a girl can have" she closed her eyes and returned him the sad smile "It is you I am always worried about…"

Ares widened his eyes "Me?"

Mars nodded and opened her eyes but didn't move her face away from his hand "I know you have never loved Mother…I am the reason of why you have stayed all this time with her"

"Mars…" Ares' eyes widened bigger in surprise.

"I listened behind the door all the time…her complaints about you always loving somebody else…" she turned to see her father and caressed his face with her hand "Who is she Father? This woman you have loved so much and for such a long time?"

Ares was surprised by all this, he was not expecting this questioning to happen anytime soon or better said, never in his life, but Mars was right in one thing, she knew the reality of things; his daughter never had it easy. Resignation filled his chest and sighed tiredly "A dear friend of mine" he looked at her daughter with the most honest eyes she had ever seen in her life, he has always been a mystery and a very reserved man and now, after all these years he was finally opening to her "It happened a very long time ago…" he took a moment to continue "Sometimes you just can't let those first loves go away…"

"Where is she?" Mars blinked, curious.

"Away"

"Why don't you go after her?"

"She is happily married"

"To whom?"

Ares took a moment to respond this question, and then let reality hit him hard again. He turned to look at his daughter and smiled softly "A very decent man"

Mars pressed her lips together and could not help to hug her father, wrapping her arms around his waist she inhaled his very characteristic husky scent and let out a soft breath "I love you Father…and I think you should try to be happy on your own, let go of that burden that has been on your shoulders through all this time…"

Ares caressed Mars' raven hair "I am not leaving your Mother"

Mars frowned and looked up "Father, why not? She has always made you miserable…even when you tried to be nice and romantic to her she always found a way to start a discussion with you"

"Mars, your mother and I made a promise a long time ago. Yes, we fight all the time but I know she cares about me the same way I care about her and that union gave us the best thing of ourselves…_you_"

"Father…" Mars' eyes gleamed with tears; she bit her lower lip and shook her head "Why did you marry her? Why…why a man like you, so strong, powerful and centered married such an unstable woman like Mother?"

Ares lowered his gaze and took a deep breath "I have known your Mother for a very long time, we have a history together…" he looked at his daughter with guilty eyes "…I have not always been like this Mars, we gods tend to forget we have feelings…we tend to forget we can love and suffer but there was a time I did not care or understand it"

Mars widened her amethyst eyes "Daddy…" she whispered. Her heart was breaking slowly at her father's obvious regret; this was the man she knew as unbreakable, she looked up to him with tremendous respect and to see this deep other side of him was something new to her. Like he said, gods had feelings.

"I made one too many mistakes when I was your age" Ares said softly "…I did not measure the consequences for my acts, I had no filters…I acted out of rage and anger and because of that I hurt too many important people in my life"

"That woman…" Mars trailed off "…Is she one of those important people?"

Ares nodded "Yes Mars, she is one of those important people"

Mars wrapped her arms around her father's waist and stood like that for a long time, she hoped her warmth could melt away all of that suffering he has been holding in his heart, she wanted to soothe all that pain and to cool his aching heart "I do not want you to suffer anymore Daddy…I do not want you to be with Mother and continue this vicious circle…"

Ares sighed and ran his hand through his daughter's raven hair "Do not worry about us" Ares' whispered and caressed her cheek again "We know what we are doing…and we are going to be just fine"

Mars looked up at him, tears running down her eyes "Are you sure about that?"

Ares kissed her forehead "I'm certain…"

o.o.o.o

"You fell silent…Is something the matter?"

Venus blinked her eyes a few times before realizing what was happening, she blinked and turned to Artemis "Y-Yes" she muttered.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Artemis frowned.

Venus bit her lower lip in thought and considered how good of an ally Artemis could be if she told him the truth about the terran prince and his romance with Princess Serenity but then thought of the odds and his reaction to the situation. Her friendship with him could be tainted and nothing would ever be the same, so instead, she diverted her doubts to something else "How can that energy come from Earth, is there any proof?"

"According to Lord Ares, the activity is mostly felt when you get close to the blue planet but why attacking the sun, he is not sure. Nobody in Olympus is yet"

Venus tried to fight her frustration but she could not help to think and worry about the shitennou and about the prince, if the princess knows that the earth in under great danger it would completely break her heart with worry for all of them as well and knowing her, she could even escape in an attempt to find the prince and his guardians which only meant more danger for them here.

"Thank you for letting me know Artemis…" she finally said, her voice almost a whisper.

"I know this is important to you"

Venus widened her eyes in panic "What?"

"I know you care for the Princess as a friend more than just a guardian, you are a good friend to her" Artemis gave the blonde a reassuring and unexpected smile "And I understand"

"But you giving me this information puts you in great danger with the General"

Artemis sighed and walked around the room "I am not afraid of him Venus…and I will continue watching him closely…I have my doubts about him" frowning he looked out the window "I know he is hiding something…" he turned to look at the blonde over his shoulder he gave her a nod "Please try not to leave Princess Serenity alone…after what happened tonight…I am sure he will try everything to get what he wants and right now, what he wants is to be King"

Venus widened her eyes in horror "King" just to imagine the general wearing the crown, married with Princess Serenity, ordering everybody and bringing this once peaceful Kingdom to doom made her feel nauseous "We must do something Artemis"

Artemis nodded "It is good to know I am not the only one that thinks that way…" he turned completely to face her "But none of this must leave this room"

Venus nodded "You have my word"

"Do not worry Sailor Venus…" Artemis gave her a reassuring nod "We will find something. We will find a way"

Venus gave the white haired man a soft smile in response, she could not explain how Artemis could give her this sense of tranquility and reassurance, maybe it was something about his voice that made her feel alright she thought, maybe it was the way he always kept his character in place or just the fact that he was the Queen's advisor what gave her enough reassurance to know she was not alone and that there was somebody with influence watching her back.

O.o.o.o.o.O

The cold wind began to blow with much more force than it did at night; the weather was not on their side. Endymion left with other soldiers back to the woods where he last saw Jadeite and where he hoped to find the missing crew, to their misfortune it was now dawn and the sun rays of the next day would come out any time soon now.

Zoicite rubbed his hands and blew some warm breath to them in order to fight the stiffness; Kunzite stood next to him with a serious expression, it had been hours since the prince left in search for the soldiers and Jadeite and still hadn't come back.

"The sun will come out any minute now…the stars are no longer shining in the sky" Nephrite muttered with worry, looking toward the direction the prince took off the day before.

"We should start preparing the rest" Kunzite serious voice startled the blonde by his side "What?" he asked confused "We cannot leave…what about the other soldiers?"

"We must follow his orders Zoicite, I am only following orders" Kunzite frowned "We have hundreds of lives in our hands which we cannot jeopardize because of this"

"Yes but…" Zoicite tried to protest when Nephrite interrupted "They are not dead…but there is no guarantee that they will be found"

Zoicite widened his eyes and shook his head "Why do you say that?"

Nephrite sighed and pointed at the sky "They showed me…"

Kunzite frowned and walked to him "What did you see?"

Nephrite was about to answer the general's question with detail when something caught his eye in the distance, frowning he tried to focus what was that or better said who was that walking through the trees and thick bushes.

Her hands caressed the leaves as she walked by, her eyes watched with interest the new discovery she just made, her carmine lips curved into a smile and a single chuckle escaped her throat. There was something in her eyes that showed full satisfaction, she looked so pleased and careless that it was truly disturbing; his first thought was what was she doing there and the second how did she know they were there?

Nephrite didn't break eye contact with the woman in purple and without realizing it, he was muttering the voice he heard on his head "A curse…it's a curse…"

Kunzite's eyes narrowed and looked at Nephrite "A curse…?"

"That is what they are muttering…" Nephrite frowned and shook his head, by the time he tried to lock his gaze with the woman's again she was already gone "They said, those souls trapped in cursed grounds…" he turned his eyes to look where he was sure he had seen a person hiding but found nothing "Strange…" he muttered.

Minutes later, after Kunzite gave the order to the soldiers to start packing Endymion appeared, his hand pulled the reins of his white horse and gave them to the other soldier that was walking next to him "Please take it to drink some water"

"Of course, Commander right away" the young man turned and took the horse with him, leaving the troubled prince alone with his thoughts.

"Endymion" Kunzite called with worry, Zoicite's face of hope fell when he saw the prince had come back alone, and it got worse when he saw the grim look on his face "Master…w-where's Jadeite?"

Endymion lowered his gaze and pressed his lips into a straight line, his silence was too heavy for them to bear that it felt hours of torment and worry. The prince shook his head and cleared his throat "Prepare the others, we will leave at once, we cannot stay here any longer"

Zoicite's aquamarine eyes widened in panic "Master…but…the others…" he pointed his hand back at the woods where he just came from "There must be out there!"

"Zoicite" Kunzite warned, already knowing what the prince was trying to avoid saying.

"We cannot leave Jadeite! He is part of our team! He and…"

Endymion closed his eyes and frowned, trying to maintain his stoic demeanor. This was harder than he ever thought it would be, this was his close friend they were all talking about not just a stranger and for some reason, he felt guilty for what happened. If it wasn't because he went back in search for the other soldiers, he wouldn't have gone looking for him and being attacked by the mysterious soldier.

Zoicite's voice began to turn into a blur in his head, he knew he was still asking questions, he could hear his desperate voice asking desperate questions; he knew that just like him he was only trying to find a good reason why his friend was still missing.

He heard him in the distance but he no longer understood what he was saying. He pressed his lids harder and tried to suppress the lump in his throat as he turned to walk away from them. He took a couple of breaths to try and find some strength to speak; he took another breath and held it in his chest "We will leave in ten minutes" he said and continued his way, leaving Zoicite with a mortified expression "Master…" he tried to reason but to no avail.

Their journey continued, after Endymion gave the order the soldiers packed their belongings and were ready to follow their leader. The shitennou on the other side, were grieving and unable to explain their friends' disappearance.

Endymion was the quietest of them all, even when he tried to maintain his character in place there was an evident trace of worry and pain across his handsome features, he, just like the rest could not believe what happened. He even thought of the situation as an ironic experience, how a crew so large could get lost and disappear completely from a place they knew like the palm of their hand? How?

As the army continued their way toward another safe point in their journey Kunzite tried to maintain Zoicite calm and away from Endymion, while he and Nephrite accepted their fate and orders from the prince Zoicite was surprisingly rebellious about his decision to move on and from time to time he would continue asking questions the prince could not really answer.

They had been walking for what it seemed hours and the sun slowly began to set in the distance, the golden hue color from the sun slowly was hidden by the fluffy and thick grey clouds in the sky. They had come to the point where they had to start looking for another clear place to stop and rest for the night.

While some of the soldiers maintained a quiet conversation others looked around with fright hidden in their eyes; Nephrite walked beside Endymion as Zoicite kept walking by Kunzite's side with his sword in hand. The chestnut haired shitennou widened his eyes as he looked up and put a hand on the prince's arm "Somebody is here" he muttered, making Endymion nod. He rest his hand on the nearest tree and closed his eyes, in a matter of seconds he opened his eyes again and took his sword out of its sheath made a sign with his arm giving the alert to be ready to attack at any moment.

From the clear area ahead they could see a man wearing a gray armor holding what it seemed a very long blade. Kunzite was the first to notice the soldier did not have the same uniform as them "I believe we have some new company" he muttered.

Endymion frowned and took a good look at him, his blood froze and widened his eyes as he remembered _"He will find you…There are more of my kind looking for you…the one soldier will find you…" _

Kunzite turned to look at the prince and frowned "Endymion, what is it?"

"I will take care of him" Endymion muttered and began walking towards the soldier, he turned to look at Zoicite and another sergeant behind them and frowned "Do not lower your guard, keep moving, change direction to the South until you find a secure place, I will catch up with you soon"

"Who is that?" Zoicite asked confused.

Nephrite frowned "He is not from here…" he looked up at the sky and widened his green eyes "The star of Leo is in danger…"

Endymion kept walking until he was in the clear; the soldier with silver armor frowned and pointed his long blade at him and raised his brow "I heard of a man killing the ones of our kind, I did not believe it until I found a corpse not too far away from here"

"And you will continue finding more if you do not get the hell out of this place" Endymion frowned, he knew what the man was after so he didn't even mind to ask his name or where he came from.

The soldier arched his brow "You dare to challenge me?"

"I am not challenging you, I am ordering you. Two different things" Endymion pointed his sword at him "I will not repeat it again"

Zoicite widened his eyes when he heard Endymion's threatening voice and turned to Kunzite "Who is that?"

A growl was heard behind them and then a cry for help, Kunzite turned and took his sword out of his sheath and frowned "There is not time to find an explanation for this, there are more enemies around us"

"Kunzite…" Zoicite tried to understand what was happening but was distracted by the prince, getting closer to the soldier.

Nephrite took his sword from its sheath and was the first one to attack an enemy coming their way, soldiers with dark armor began jumping down of threes and running around them "Now!" he shouted and the first bloody battle began.

Endymion heard the sound of metal clashing behind him but his eyes were never away from the soldier in front of him "You have come to kill me, so come and try to do so then"

"This will not take too long" the soldier smiled and made the first move. He ran incredibly fast, even faster than the first soldier the prince fought and cut the air with his blade as Endymion managed to dodge the first blow by just a hair, the soldier widened his eyes in surprise once he lost sight of him "What?" he shook his head.

Endymion kicked the man from behind and threw him a few meters away, the soldier recovered quickly then raised his sword again and crashed his weapon against Endymion's "So this is why it was a bloody fight" he muttered, trying to press his weapon more against the mortal prince.

Endymion's eyes darkened "If you think I was easy to be beaten…well…you will have to think again" he changed strategy and moved his blade, dodging the soldier's blow again he rolled on the ground and jumped, raising his sword above his head he cut the air with his blade and managed to hit the soldier once, but did not make too much damage. The soldier chuckled "Please…you cannot compare yourself to me…"

"I do not even want to" Endymion muttered and crashed his sword against the soldier's and moved fast, following and dodging his opponent. The sound of metal around was deafening as growls and cries of pain or help disconcerted the prince from time to time.

Back in the woods as they tried to run south, another man fell at Nephrite's feet "There are too many" he muttered "And we are not fighting the same enemy"

Kunzite thrust another enemy with his sword and kicked him away brutally, he turned a fraction of second to see Nephrite "Not the same enemy…" he muttered and widened his eyes "What is that supposed to mean?"

Zoicite killed another man and continued guiding some of the soldiers to a clearer area, jumping and moving fast he continued defending and attacking as he made his way to lead their men "There are too many…too many" he muttered.

"Are you giving up yet, _mortal_?" the divine soldier asked Endymion, who was panting softly and holding his sword with both hands in front of him, this soldier was faster and stronger than the last one he could tell, and he knew this was only going to get worse with time "You know, to be a mortal…you are not that bad of a fighter" the soldier said, his voice hoarse and low "It is almost, as if you were trained by one of us"

"Stop talking like if you were superior to me" Endymion said in a deadly tone.

The soldier laughed "I am superior to you"

"You are just servant who takes orders from a coward, if your Master is so eager to kill me and cut my head off then why don't he come personally to try and do so?" Endymion said coldly "You are only wasting my time"

"My Master doesn't have the time to fight minuscule beings like you"

"Well I don't either"

The soldier took position "I am getting tired of this, brace yourself because you are going to die now" a strong aura began shining around him, the wind began to blew colder and stronger around them "I will take your soul with me"

Endymion frowned and watched prepared how the soldier ran across the field with his sword up high, ready to attack him; it was like the scene went in slow motion, the prince put his sword back on his belt and began running in his attacker's direction, startling him "You have given up mortal?" he laughed, he raised his glowing sword and prepared to attack.

Endymion kept running and just when he was just a few feet away from him he kneeled and slid from under the soldier's legs, took his sword from his belt again and in a quick and clean move he dig his sword on the soldier's back until the point of his sleek and golden blade pierced the armor and crossed his chest, giving the divine soldier a glimpse of his own blood.

He withdrew the weapon and he shook the blood away then kicked the soldier with no signs of mercy and once the wounded man was on the ground he thrust his sword again, this time near his heart "I don't have time for your nonsense"

The soldier watched Endymion with eyes of shock and surprise, fright even "You…" he coughed some blood "…It is as if you were trained by one of us…" he frowned "…You…" his eyes paled and went blurry, he was gone. Endymion frowned and turned to the woods where he could hear the army fighting and wondered if this soldier had to do with the enemy back there. With dark eyes, he moved his sword away from the corpse and turned on his heel, leaving the fallen soldier behind; with strong and steady steps he ran towards he could hear the clash of metal against metal.

Once the prince was out of sight, a man wearing a very similar armor walked to where the dead body was lying on the ground. With a pool of blood around him he walked around, trying not to step on the fresh crimson liquid and moved the body softly with his foot "He is dead" he muttered and look at where the prince went running and narrowed his eyes "He is stronger than we thought…_he_ will not like this" he turned his head and looked over his shoulder "So you better have the job done. We cannot risk any more army soldiers; he will continue killing them like a beast"

"So this is the famous _Monster_ everybody talks about up there…the one capable of sending divine souls to the very underworld" a deep and raspy voice said.

"Find the right moment, and get the job done" the soldier arched his brow "Do not come back to the palace until you accomplish Athamas' orders"

"Yes, Kilmakos" the soldier said slowly.

Kilmakos turned on his heel but before he left took a last glimpse at the dead man on the ground "It is unbelievable, this was one of our best soldiers and he killed him in a matter of seconds…" his tongue wet his chapped lips and frowned "Kill the mortal Prince, bring his head to the Moon"

The soldier nodded and rested his hand on his sword "Consider it done, General Kilmakos"

o.o.o.o

Endymion finally found Kunzite "Did you give the order?"

Kunzite growled as he killed another enemy soldier "Yes, Nephrite is guiding them with Zoicite"

Endymion turned to Kunzite "Go with them"

"What?"

"Go with them!"

"I will not leave you here!"

"You have to go NOW!"

"What are you going to do?"

"I will give us some time" he frowned at Kunzite "Go. Now"

Kunzite turned on his heel and began running away; Endymion turned to look at the shadows coming his way and closed his eyes for a moment then placed his sword on the ground he began to chant an ancient prayer he learned from Obelix.

_"Ego advoca in Valkyries gladius-Gestant Sororum de Bello! Voco Spiritibus Lance gerunt salamandra ...! "_

The wind began to blow in his favor as if he was controlling the strong invisible force, with a mystical force the ground began to follow his command and began to shake. His sword fired a pale golden color that made the mysterious enemies fall from the trees and slowly be sucked by the warm light on the ground like shadows. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes, it had been a long time since he chanted that prayer, a hidden power taught to him by Obelix and his mother. He turned to look around and saw the area clear for him to escape.

As Kunzite and Zoicite continued guiding the soldiers in the direction Endymion commanded, they were heading south now and it appeared to be a safe path because there were no enemies following them. They were heading towards another open field when something caught Zoicite's attention and stopped abruptly; Nephrite stopped and turned to look at his comrade "Zoicite?"

The blonde pointed at the distance to what it seemed a person, a familiar person. Nephrite frowned and walked back to him "Come on! We need to go Zoicite, What are you doing!?"

"Jadeite" Zoicite muttered in surprise.

"What?!" Nephrite widened his green eyes and turned to follow his friend's finger with his eyes "There is nobody there!"

"There he is! Nephrite, can't you see him?! It is right there! And he is injured!" Zoicite said with great worry "He is with the others"

Nephrite turned to look around and felt a shiver down his spine, there was something very strange happening, he could feel the wave of malice curling up in his chest, invading his nostrils like poison "But Zoicite…the others…are gone…" he turned to look at Zoicite and tried to pull him back with him "We must go, we are losing too many people"

"No, wait! Jadeite!" Zoicite said and began to run back to the woods "Jadeite!" he called to the darkness in the woods "Zoicite!" Nephrite called out loud and followed him "Come back! Don't go there!"

Zoicite kept running and looked around the woods, the sun no longer had strong rays that filtered through the leaves of the trees and bushes, it was dark, very dark and cold. The more he walked in search for his friend the more deeply he went into the forest losing all track from the rest of the army and the prince.

Nephrite's call was no longer audible and all he could hear was his harsh breathing through the cold, his warm escaped from his parted and chapped lips and nose as he looked for his friend "Jadeite?" he called out and was surprised to hear a chuckle and turned. His aquamarine eyes widened when he saw his friend "Jadeite…!" his aquamarine eyes diverted from what apparently was a person to another and his face distorted "…You?" and then, everything went black.

O.o.o.o.O

"How is she doing?"

"She is not responding to the medicines…"

"We have to find something that work…"

"King…I am so sorry…" the family doctor watched how the king began to crumble emotionally by the queen's delicate state, his hair was disheveled and he had not shaved for days now, showing fatigue and worry. He was crumbling, his world, his life was crumbling "We have to find something that works"

The doctor sighed softly and shook his head "We have tried everything in our power to keep her well but her heart is very weak…it is almost as if she is giving up"

Eros' blue eyes widened in panic and turned to look at Aurea who was about to walk into the room with a tray in her hands, her heart clenched when she caught the doctor's words and could not help but to contain herself from crying "My Queen is stronger than you think" she said strongly and gave a reassurance glance at her king before closing the door behind her.

The room was dim and quiet, so different from when she used to come in and see her queen sitting in a chair reading a book or outside in the balcony gracing and admiring the beauty of nature, thanking the gods for another day. Her eyes darkened and turned sad when she saw her lying on the bed, motionless and in silence. It had been days now since she fell gravely ill, her heart began to cause more problems taking away her energy and quirky sense of humor, she was slowly becoming a ghost of that strong and cheerful woman they all knew and it was heart breaking.

Obelix stood near the window and watched her sleep; he had been there every day and night since she fell ill and haven't wanted to part her side at any moment. Aurea placed the tray on a table near the door with great caution and served the priest a cup of herbal tea, walking over to him she handed him the small plate and steamy cup, startling him "You need this" she whispered.

Obelix looked at the maid with thankful eyes and gave her a soft smile "Thank you Aurea…I am not sure if I can take anything right now…but I appreciate your concern"

"Now" Aurea frowned "We do not want another member of this family fall ill, nor do we?"

Obelix smiled kindly and took a small sip, closing his eyes he savored the minty flavor and enjoyed the warmth of the tea. Aurea took a seat next to her friend on the bed and looked at her with sad eyes "Why did this have to happen to you hmm?" she whispered and caressed the queen's hand "Such a beautiful Lady, graceful and strong…you need to get better before Endymion return so he can find you well and with a big smile on your face" she pressed her lips "Gaia please…please be strong…do not give up…do not leave us…"

Her son's name was enough magic to wake her up from whatever she was dreaming and opened her eyes slowly "Endymion…" she whispered.

Aurea and Obelix widened their eyes and moved closer to the queen; Aurea combed her tresses his her fingers softly and gave her a smile "I made a promise to him, yes, to look after you"

Gaia blinked slowly, her eyes were tired and groggy, she frowned "My son…" she turned to look at Aurea "My son…he has to come back"

"He will Little Princess, once everything is over" Obelix said softly.

Gaia shook her head "Something is not right…" she looked at Obelix "I can feel it"

The priest kneeled beside the bed and took her hand "Little Princess, Endymion is a very intelligent…he will come back just as he promised, you just have to have faith and believe in him"

Gaia looked at Obelix with sad eyes, soon tears began forming in those golden apple orbs "I am so sorry my dear friend…for I am leaving sooner than we all thought, but the journey was very much worth it…" she patted his hand slowly "…I am sorry I am leaving you behind…"

"No, no…" Obelix shook his head and closed his eyes, trying to contain his tears; ones Aurea could not hold any longer "You are not going anywhere Gaia"

Gaia moved her head a little and looked at Aurea "What would have been of me without you?" giving her a soft smile she held out her hand which Aurea took immediately. Gaia tilted her head "Always taking care of me…you helped me raise my son and became a true dear friend of mine, I will never, ever, forget you"

"Please Gaia…don't talk like that" Aurea let her tears roll down slowly down her cheeks "Please don't, you still have too many things to do here…and what about your husband? You cannot leave him alone, your son either…you are their light"

Gaia shook her head "My time is close Aurea…we all knew this moment was coming someday…we just never knew exactly when" she smiled softly "But I enjoyed every little bit of it"

Obelix squeezed the queen's hand softly "You have to rest so you can recover, Endymion will not be happy if he finds you like this"

The queen's eyes shone with tears "The earth is speaking…my son…" she trailed off and looked at him "Obelix…please, look after him…pray for him, he needs it…please…the crystal…" she trailed off and closed her eyes for a moment. Obelix nodded and caressed her cheek softly "Do not agitate Little Princess"

Gaia opened her eyes and let her tears roll down her cheeks "He has to claim what it is his and protect it" she fixed her eyes on Obelix' "Please, pray for him…"

"Always Little Princess, always…and Helios too"

Gaia turned to look at Aurea who was crying silently "Don't cry…" she said softly "We talked about this Aurea…"

Aurea sniffed and dried her red nose with her silky handkerchief "This is not fair"

"Aurea remember our pact, you promised to look after my son…"

Aurea sniffed again and held her hand "You are putting your husband aside...you have to be healthy for him too, he is suffering too much…and if you go away, you will leave him alone"

Gaia's eyes softened "Eros…my dear husband, my perfect, strong, brave and lovable husband…" she whispered "…He fought a God for me without fear, stayed by my side at all times…" tears began to roll down her cheeks again "…I can hear his desperation when he speaks to Narella or when he speaks to the doctor and Leonidas…I wake up every time he gets out of bed in the middle of the night and tries to find a solution and a way of how to heal me…I can hear his frustrations, his cursing under his breath, I hear him cry…"

Aurea dried the queen's tears with another handkerchief and turned to the door finding the king leaning on the frame watching his wife; Aurea turned to Obelix and gave him a sign to give them some privacy which the priest understood right away and followed the maid out the room. Eros smiled at them in gratitude and closed the door softly behind him, he walked closer to his wife in bed and sat next to her while holding her hand "How are you feeling dear?"

Gaia looked at him "Dizzy, that's all"

"You should have some rest"

"I've been resting all my life dear, I am resting as we speak…I will rest enough when…" she trailed off and watched her husband's sad eyes and licked her lips "…I'm sorry"

Eros frowned "For what?"

"Being…like this, weak…moribund" Gaia sighed "…You should have married a stronger woman"

Eros pressed his lips tight for a moment and closed his eyes "You are strongest woman I know" his voice trembled a little, startling the queen "Eros…"

"You are strong enough for me, you are perfect…and you are giving up…"

Gaia looked at him and blinked slowly "Eros…I put you through so many things…I risked your life and your family's"

"Even now you are fighting with me about who's right and wrong…" he held her hand tighter and took a moment to think the words he was about to say; Gaia watched him with curiosity and interest. Seeing him so vulnerable before her was a heartbreaking image to see, the way he did everything in his power to make her happy, to make her live was too sad.

"Once upon a time…there was a man, a very rebellious man who happened to be born with many privileges and of course, many obligations. His mother, wanted with all her might to find him a 'perfect' companion so she called all the ladies in the kingdom for parties and even went as far as she invented a winter ball making it the perfect excuse to presume her son and marry him…."

Gaia smiled and giggled knowing he was talking about Narella, Eros smiled softly and continued "…But then one day...he escaped from one of his mother's infinite attempts to choose him a bride and went to the forest in search for some peace and quiet, that is when his eyes were captivated by a beautiful woman sitting by the lake. They did not have the best of beginnings, they fought constantly and he liked to make her mad but it was because he loved the way her golden eyes changed color magically, there was something in the way she expressed herself, the way she spoke that made this man fall in love with her madly.

Soon after he learned that she was no other but a graceful goddess from the heavens that happened to be the protector of this world and in love with him back. The rebellious man changed his bad manners and showed her the world she so longed to see and feel and there was no turning back…they became inseparable.

After many trials, fights and difficult times they finally married making him feel the luckiest most fortunate living man in the universe because a beautiful, strong goddess chose him as her faithful husband…and it has been this way up until today and it will continue forever…"

Gaia's eyes burned with tears and could not help but to smile at her husband's kind words "Eros…" she whispered; the king brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her knuckles softly and looked her in the eyes with tenderness.

"You have made me the happiest, luckiest man alive…sometimes I still wonder what did I do to deserve this amazing woman that not only has been by my side supporting me but also gave me the best thing she could give me… our son"

He kissed her hand again "I always knew that if we wanted to be together we had to fight, fight very hard until we achieve it. You are a warrior Gaia, a divine and human warrior and it does not suit you that you are letting yourself go…"

"Eros…" Gaia sobbed and tried to sit on the bed; the king could not hold his tears either and help her until she wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed softly, her warm breath caressed the sensitive skin on his neck and listened to her husband's fears "What am I supposed to do without you if you are my life force, my light…my heart?" he said softly in her hair "Without you I am going to be just a vessel…without you…I do not exist…Gaia please…let me keep fighting by your side…"

Gaia closed her eyes and kissed him softly in the neck "I love you so much…"

"Please don't give up…bella placent, nec desistas…"

Gaia shook her head and held him tightly "I won't" she opened her light green eyes and took a deep breath "I will fight, even if this is the last battle…I will continue fighting…"

"You are right my love…we have fought, we have loved and cried… together…forever…"


	115. Chapter 115

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter one hundred and fifteen**

_A/N: Thanks for all your reviews...it really makes my day (like, for real) I'm sorry for not being able to return your pm's...actually, that is what I am about to do now. Thank you for taking the time to write me your ideas and your opinions. So, for those who did not believe this was actually happening, it is. The ending is coming close, what will happen next? Who knows, you will have to keep on reading :)_

_Have a nice weekend, be safe. Enjoy!_

* * *

_I don't understand what is happening._

_I had just fought two different enemies which I know nothing about, just the motives of one, to kill me…I killed another one again, stronger, faster and with a deadly glare that is only seen when you have hatred clouding your judgment. I don't know at this point if the two enemies are fighting under the same motive or just by the pleasure of seeing innocent people suffer. I ran away unable to see who those beings were, they did not feel human…more like shadows… when I was close to exit the woods again I saw Nephrite with a worried expression as he continued leading some men to the south, his eyes were troubled and I knew the bad news were not over._

_I looked around and I could see Kunzite in the distance, still arguing with several soldiers, telling them to follow the route according the map. Many soldiers are now missing, hurt or dead…this had never happened before, not even when I was still a soldier, not under my lead and for the first time in years I was worried…and afraid. _

_I turned around and see Nephrite coming my way and noticed that I cannot find Zoicite anywhere, he had another crew under his watch and I began to think that maybe they were still lost in the woods under the enemy watch, I frown and looked around again, trying to reassure the fact that Zoicite was nowhere to be seen "Where is Zoicite?!" I asked, near panic._

_Nephrite shook his head and pointed at the woods but in a different direction; he began to tell me something about seeing and going after Jadeite, I could not understand fully what he was saying. After that everything I heard was only a low hum and I knew that I probably lost another friend in battle._

_Another friend, another member of my family._

_Serenity I wish there was a way to tell you I am alright…I hope you are fine…I am worried about you…it has been such a long time now since I left you, so long I already lost the count and I need to finish this, so I can go back home to you._

_Please luna bunny, be strong for the both of us…don't give up. Hear my voice, listen to my pray…I am praying to you._

o.o.o.o.

"I suggest that we take this route, it will take us to the southern point without the necessity of crossing the woods again" one of the sergeants said, marking the map with a piece of carbon. Kunzite looked the map with interest but found odd that the prince was lost in deep thought, probably because of Zoicite's sudden disappearance.

"What do you think?" he asked, trying to distract him from his thoughts.

Endymion looked up at him and shook his head "The southern point is clearly the one with more activity in this past year, since we went back to Elysion we put too much attention to it ignoring that maybe the enemy might be residing in either the western or eastern point"

Kunzite was impressed by the way he could concentrate in the meeting when it was clear he was thinking in something else "The enemy has been appearing mostly at night, when we cannot see them…"

"They are not normal"

All eyes were on Nephrite, who had his arms crossed and stood next to the prince "It is as if they were shadows…"

"But, do they even bleed!" one of the general's said.

"Maybe they're lifeless corpses…" Nephrite said slowly, he sighed and shrugged his shoulders "At this point, whatever that goes against us is dangerous, these _beings_ are strong...we just proved it"

"The rotten scent is unmistakable…like acid and sulfur…" Endymion said, interrupting the two men "…And their intentions are to destroy any living being in this planet that is obvious, this is demonic"

"How are we going to fight that kind of enemy? This is out of our hands!" another general said with great worry.

"We have been able to fight back, but they are just too many…" Kunzite said "What we need to do and if the Prince agrees with my suggestion is to change the route, that way the enemy will be distracted and it will be more difficult for them to track us down"

"And what about the other enemy?" a soldier asked.

"What other enemy?"

"The ones with the shining silver armor"

Endymion furrowed his brow and crossed his arms "We are fighting two enemies at the same time, with possibly two different reasons, both not normal…"

"Well…this is new…" a sergeant said "How are we going to beat them?"

"We will keep fighting until we find the source and finish it from the root" Kunzite said "It is clearly that the armored enemies are after Endymion…they are too strong and we have to be extremely careful, the rotten shadows are mostly hidden in the woods and we will have to keep crossing forests to get to the end of the southern point, until then we must follow the plan and the changes the Prince just made"

The sergeants and generals in the meeting turned their eyes on the prince and sighed "You are our only hope…we have our faith in your hands"

Endymion looked at them "I will continue what I am doing to finish this madness, if we continue together like we have been over the past months we will overcome this nightmare, just don't give up fighting and be alert"

"We will continue moving tomorrow early then…try to get some rest it is going to be another long day tomorrow" Kunzite said as he began rolling back the maps and tied them with a string. He waited until everybody left the tent leaving him and Nephrite alone with Endymion "It is not your fault" he muttered.

Endymion pursed his lips and continued with his arms crossed "I should have been more alert" he frowned "I should have done something…"

Kunzite stood in front of Endymion and looked at him in the eye "It is not your fault"

Nephrite frowned "What I still do not understand is how they all disappear" he looked at them "They do not leave a trace"

"Well, it is clear that one of them…wants me dead" Endymion said "Every time I fight another one they keep telling me the same thing, that they want me dead, that _he_, wants me dead"

"He, who _is_ he?" Nephrite asked confused.

"Someone named Athamas…" Endymion said as he leaned on the wooden table in the middle of the tent "And I know I heard that name before…I just don't remember where"

"Well they say they're divine, don't they?" Kunzite asked.

"If they were really 'divine' I wouldn't be able to kill them" Endymion said "There is no way a mortal like me could kill a divine being"

Kunzite looked at Nephrite "You know you can" he said.

"What?" Endymion frowned with slight annoyance.

"You are not just a regular mortal Endymion…you have a gift"

Endymion rolled his eyes "That is an abnormality…that's all"

"That abnormality of yours has saved our lives several times…it's what is guiding us to safer places is what helps you fight those shadows" Kunzite said "You have always had that gift…"

"I do not want to think that is the reason why those beings want me dead, Obelix taught me how to manage when I was very young, that is all"

"You can feel what this planet feels" Nephrite said softly "It is almost as if you can speak with the earth"

Endymion chuckled sarcastically "And now you are going to tell me I am a gifted man, almost divine with mystical powers and able to cross to the immortals realm, strong enough to kill a god"

Nephrite widened his eyes as he saw the prince sit on a chair and sigh in exhaustion "It would be too much…" he sighed again and ran a hand through his black hair "I am tired and worried…I lost two of my closest friends and many people in battle…we have been fighting for I do not know for how long anymore…I haven't had any news from home and I do not want to risk anyone to deliver letters from me to Elysion…I do not know if my Mother is well or if she's sick…I am going insane" he rested his head on his hands.

He felt a hand on his shoulders and raised his head; Kunzite patted his back and gave him a sympathetic glare "You are doing everything in your power and so are we. We will win this for them, I know that once we find who is behind all this you will finish the work with a nice clean cut like you always do; but for now…try to get some rest there is not much we can do right now"

The prince sighed heavily and nodded "Not sure I can sleep…haven't slept in a very long time…but I will try to think of something for tomorrow, see if there any gaps we can use to our advantage"

"We need you complete, so do not try to exhaust yourself too much" Kunzite said in a friendly manner, more like an older brother. Endymion nodded and gave him a pat on his back as a thank you gesture that made Nephrite chuckle softly; catching their attention they turned to look at him "What?" Endymion asked.

Nephrite smiled "Who would have thought that you two would get along and be friends? For those who doesn't know the history you had as rivals it would be very difficult for them to believe"

Kunzite frowned and pointed at Endymion with him thumb "I am still better than him it's just that…I am just letting him believe otherwise"

Endymion turned to look over his shoulder and arched a brow "Excuse me?" for the first time in months, he smiled "I think we will have to have another challenge to prove you wrong"

Kunzite smiled and nodded "Once all this madness ends, we will set things straight"

Endymion nodded and turned to study another map that was extended on the wooden table, giving the shitennou their cue to go to have some rest on their own. Walking outside of the tent, Nephrite's warm smile faded as he looked up to the sky startling Kunzite "What is it?"

"I do not understand…" Nephrite frowned "…Why Zoicite fell for a simple trap"

"Do you really think it was a trap…but from who?" Kunzite arched his brow.

Nephrite shook his head "I don't know…I ask the stars about them and the missing people and they tell me they are not dead…but even after all this time I still cannot locate them anywhere…not even Endymion and that makes it more strange because he can see and feel what happens by just connecting with his surroundings"

"And what about those 'divine' beings?"

"They're soldiers…they are not supposed to be here, but Endymion is right about them…they come specifically to kill him"

Kunzite sighed and pressed his lips into a tight line "We have to keep him safe Nephrite no matter what, even if we lose the battle he has to be the last one standing, the life on this planet depends on him"

Nephrite nodded "The star of Leo is still in danger but the shadows…those we fight…the stars…they tell me they are connected to him somehow…"

Kunzite frowned "Connected to him? How?"

Nephrite shook his head and stood outside the tent he shared with Kunzite "I still don't understand how, but they show a connection…I will see if I can see how much I can read from them"

Kunzite looked around "Seems like tonight is going to be a calm one, good, everyone needs some sleep" he frowned "But take the same advice I gave to Endymion…don't stay up too late, we need you complete"

"I will, try to rest a little" Nephrite said and went to a calmer area where he could have a better view of the night sky; sitting on the ground in Buddha style, resting his hands on his knees he looked up and took a deep breath. For a moment he thought of the moment he was chosen to go to prepare to be part of the royal army and how often he was considered a strange person, lonely person, the boy that read the stars, some of them thought he was insane and others that he only wanted some attention. He thought nobody really understood how the stars had chosen him to be their interpreter until the queen asked him to join the guard of the shitennou, celestial guardians of the protector of earth.

It was until then he understood his mission in life and that was to be at the service of a divine dynasty that came from the skies.

Closing his eyes he took a deep breath again and began connecting with the stars, asking them their permission to cross the boundaries of mortality and divinity "Celestial bodies that know right and wrong, those that connect us to the energy that flows through our bodies, hear me calling again for your help and permission to contact you, to enlighten the path I am about to cross…It is I, Nephrite, your humble server that needs your wisdom and guidance…" as if pure air entered to fill his lungs, he took a deep breath and slowly began to open his emerald eyes. He widened them in wonder by the light the stars in the sky emanated. Some of them gleamed with more intensity and others not much, but in the end they all had a voice and they were all talking to him, visually it was like a masterpiece made of watercolors.

His eyes began taking in the signs as his brain translated their meaning, slowly his eyes of wonder began turning into ones of full fright and concern as flashes of war and dead began tainting the impeccable, immaculate sky. The star of Leo that represented the terran prince was tainted red as a dark shadow slowly surrounded it and the one the represented the sun was slowly covered by another black shadow.

His brow furrowed as he tried to understand the meaning when the image of a woman caught his full attention, her hair was an intense shade of red, like if it was on fire and her eyes held nothing else but pure rage and hatred…he saw a blade in her hand and a staff on the other, a golden crown on her head "I've seen this face before…"

"_You, with the divine power to communicate with divine souls, the third in command of the Celestial Guard, you are the one I have been waiting to contact"_

Nephrite widened his eyes in shock "What do you want?"

"_What it is rightfully mine"_

"And what is that?"

"_This planet and everything that it is in it…Soon, the sun will be completely covered in shadows and your fight will no longer have any meaning. Your Prince shall be mine and I will be the Empress of this galaxy with him ruling by my side"_

"He will not let that happen, you cannot win this battle" Nephrite said, angered.

"_You are right, that is why I am slowly taking everything that will help me achieve it"_

Nephrite's eyes widened, recognizing the face and voice and panicked "You…"

The image of Beryl appeared before him in a sultry cloud of black smoke, her fiery hair flowed in her back like a fire cascade; her carmine lips curved into a smile "You are right…I cannot do this all by myself…but that is why I will have…_you_" her hand materialized and curled her long fingers around Nephrite's neck.

Her grip was very strong, but stronger was the energy that sparked from the tips of her fingers and electrified him with an evil charge until she left him almost lifeless on the ground; raising a small thin blade in her hand she chuckle and pierced his chest with great pleasure and satisfaction.

Nephrite growled in pain and clenched his teeth, trying to suppress the pain in his body; it was like if his blood was burning his flesh, running through his veins and scorching everything in its way. He opened his eyes and took a deep breath as he tried to cry for help "K-K…unz…"

"Hmm…" Beryl chuckled, one high heeled foot stepped on his hand, digging the needle heel on the palm of his hand "The leader of the Shitennou will soon come to your help, once I get him as well…"

Nephrite growled in pain again and widened his eyes, blood began to drool out of his mouth slowly "Why are…you…" he coughed. Beryl rolled her eyes and kept stepping on his hand, twisting the heel deeper on his flesh "Let me have a guess…you want to know why am I doing this"

Nephrite coughed some more blood, he felt as if he was nearly to his end as desperation began to overcome him because of his lack of force and voice, he began to choke with his own blood, that metallic taste disgusted his senses but was unable to do something, he could not move, he could not speak and he barely could keep his eyes on the woman standing next to him.

Beryl moved her foot away from his hand and walked around him, the tail of her deep purple dress began to be stained by the general's blood leaving a faint trail behind her as she moved "Your fellow comrades asked me the same thing…but I do not have to explain myself to anybody, I will only tell you that everything you see here…everything you know…will be mine, including the Prince"

"That…" Nephrite flinched in pain, his voice was hoarser by the minute "…If you can go against him…" he coughed.

Beryl arched her brow "What?"

Nephrite coughed again "…You do not know who you are going against with…you know nothing…"

"What are you talking about?" Beryl asked again "What do you mean?"

Nephrite coughed more blood, he slowly began to feel heavy and more disconnected to his own body. He felt like if his soul was leaving his body, he had no control over it anymore, he took one last breath and licked his upper lips slowly "…You will see…"

"You hold a secret" Beryl muttered and frowned.

Nephrite smiled faintly and made the woman angrier; her heel stepped on his hand again and pressed against with force making him growl in pain "I demand you to tell me what it is"

Nephrite opened his eyes slowly and looked at her "…The light from the sun will burn your soul…it will burn your soul, its sacred fire will burn you to ashes…"

"What is?" Beryl asked.

"My Prince…will burn your soul" Nephrite muttered "…If he wakes up…he will burn your soul…" and with one last breath, Nephrite parted his gaze from the evil woman to the clear starry sky "Guide him…to where he needs to go" and he finally let himself go.

Beryl frowned and moved her foot away from the unconscious man on the ground and arched a well defined brow "The Prince will burn my soul?" she brushed her hair away from her face with her fingers and let out a chuckle "The Prince is _mine_" she looked up at the sky and frowned while looking at the moon.

"MINE"

She gasped and widened her eyes, a chill ran through all her body and sat on her bed slowly; she put a hand on her chest and felt how her heart pounded fast in her chest. An eerie wave of anxiety began to shake her core, it was a feeling she could not control.

Her first reaction was to tear with worry, her second was to turn and look at the black velvet box resting proudly on her vanity "Endymion…" she whispered and immediately stood up and walked towards it. Her fingers traced the soft edges of the box and caressed the soft material thinking about the kisses she shared with him before his departure, about his scent, she remembered his warm voice, his smile. It was too hard for her to remember all those things about him and not feeling alone, it was hard to be away from him for such a long time. It was becoming a trial, a test to breathe, to live day by day without knowing anything of how he might be, if he's alright, if he's sick, if he's hurt… with burning eyes, she welcomed new tears and closed her eyes "I miss your eyes…"

After a few minutes of silent suffering she opened the box and the light from the tall white candles was trapped immediately by the medals placed neatly on the silky interior of the box. Her eyes studied carefully the medals for the very first time as her slender and delicate fingers trailed the shapes made of gold and silk; she remembered him taking only one with him as she saw carefully the one that gave him the title of commander with the symbol of earth engraved on its center "You have to come back for these…" she sobbed softly, unaware that she was no longer alone.

"Princess?"

Serenity widened her eyes and dried her tears as better as she could and turned to find the girls standing at the door "I'm sorry…I…" she turned to look down at the box and sniffed softly "…I did not realize you were here…"

Mars walked pass through her friends and put a hand on Serenity's shoulder, her amethyst's eyes rested on the interior of the box and could not help her expression of admiration "Those are medals of Honor"

Serenity nodded softly as she looked down at them; Mars smiled sadly as she remembered the conversation she had with her father some time ago _"It's coming from Earth…" _she remembered "A warrior's medals are their greatest pride…they never leave them with anybody unless it is very important for them"

Serenity's eyes widened and turned to look at Mars but were softened by the sadness hidden in them, her teary eyes looked at her with deep melancholy breaking Mars' heart "Princess…" she whispered sadly.

Venus walked quickly towards them and hugged the princess, Mercury and Jupiter joined seconds later "Princess please do not cry…" Jupiter said softly "Do not cry…"

"I am so worried…I do not know anything about him…I do not know if he is alright…if he is safe…" she chocked with her sobs and tears and took a deep breath "…If he is alive…"

"He is alive" Venus reassured her. Serenity widened her pale eyes and looked at her, breaking the warm and comfortable group hug "You know something?"

Venus sighed softly and shook her head "No, but for what I have seen…he is not a person that gives up so easily" she lowered her gaze and saw the medals gleaming proudly inside the box "He must be alive"

Mars frowned and looked at her quizzically but remained silent; Venus looked at the box and pressed her lips together as worry also filled her mind _"Kunzite" _she thought _"Please be alright…"_

Mercury pursed her lips and put a finger on her chin in thought "Princess…This may not be the best time to mention this but, you haven't seen her Majesty since that dinner…and that was quite some time ago…"

Venus turned to Serenity "Yes it's been more than a month Princess…"

"There is not much I have to say to her since that dinner" Serenity said and slowly closed the box; she walked to her bed again and took a seat on the edge "She will try to persuade me to marry Athamas again and I do not want to have that argument again" she frowned "I do not want to see his hypocritical face again"

"Maybe she changed her mind" Jupiter said softly "But you will never know if you do not talk to her Princess…"

Serenity shook her head "She hasn't come and talk to me either, she knows I am here all the time…like a prisoner" her eyes hardened "Athamas comes and goes as he pleases and he is the last person I want to see right now"

"As a suggestion Princess…" Mercury cleared her throat softly, as poised and educated as always "I still believe that if you go and have a normal, calm and polite conversation with Her Majesty…things might get better, maybe it is because she does not know much about what happened between you and the General…maybe she does not know you never had more feelings for him than just likeability…"

"I was tempted telling her the truth that night…" Serenity looked down at her hands "I wanted to tell her about Endymion but everything she said about how good Athamas is for this kingdom, how good soldier he is, how accurate and respectful just…destroyed any attempts. I wanted to tell her that all the things I have learned about politics and social matters has been because of Endymion, how my passion of becoming a fighter intensified when I met him, that he taught me the difference of holding a sword just for pride or honor"

"And what stopped you?" Venus asked softly, startling the girls.

Serenity sighed softly and turned to look at her "You"

Venus widened her eyes, she didn't need to say anything to let Serenity explain why "I love Endymion with all my heart I wish nothing else but to be with him, but…I love you too, you are my dearest friends despite what you have been told, I never asked for guardians…I asked for friends and my wish was granted, I know we have had so many arguments because of my behavior in the past but I know you care for me…when Endymion returns we will find our way to be together and for you to be free of all guilt…you deserve to be free as well"

The girls looked at Serenity with eyes of amazement, gratitude and shock; their princess had grown up to be a fair lady and it was all because of what she learned not from their long study sessions or endless lectures from them but from the terran prince and the love they have for each other.

"I cannot put you at risk any longer…" Serenity said "Just as Endymion won't put his friends either. That is why we will think of a way to solve this situation and be free; I wanted to tell my mother…but I just couldn't"

Venus blinked a couple of times in surprise "Princess…"

Serenity turned to look at the box on her vanity and tilted her head "That box is the only thing I have of him right now…those medals are my guarantee that he will come back for me and fulfill his promise"

Venus pursed her lips and turned to Mercury who knew what was going through her mind.

_Flashback_

_Venus sat on her room holding a dead flower in her hands, its petals were deep red and even though she once knew them soft, very soft they were now hard and extremely delicate to touch. She looked down at it with interest and guilt, remembering where she got it or better said, how._

_Mercury entered the room after several knocks, surprised to see the blonde senshi sitting on a chair on the small lobby of her room "Venus?"_

_Venus blinked a couple of times and looked at the bluenette woman with surprise "Oh, Mercury…I-I did not know you were here…"_

_Mercury fixed her blue eyes on the object in her hand and then back at her "Forgive me, I…" she trailed off "I did knock…I thought you might be here since Mars or Jupiter could not tell me where you were"_

_Venus frowned softly and shook her head "It's alright…I did not hear the door"_

_Mercury walked in slowly, the puffy skirt of her gown made a soft ruffling sound as she sat across her on another arm chair in the small room "Is that…?" she trailed off, looking at the dead flower in the blonde's hands. Venus nodded and pursed her lips "Yes…yes it is…" she looked down._

"_Why do you have that with you?"_

"_This is how I found out she was sneaking to Earth every night…"_

"_That I know Venus, but my question is why do you have that with you?"_

"_Because I took it in a fit of anger, desperation, I don't know…"_

_Mercury put her hands on her lap and sat straight, like a ballerina Zoicite would say and arched a brow "You still haven't answered my question"_

_Venus sighed "I never imagined all this could happen Mercury…" she looked at her friend "…I am scared, I am terrified but also relieved that he has been a good man to her" she looked down at the flower "I have it with me for two reasons...because I was angry at her and myself when I discovered what was happening and because when I realized that strong bond they share…I wanted to protect them…I thought that maybe the General could send somebody to check on Princess Serenity's belongings and find this…"_

"_So you were not against their relationship as we all thought after all?"_

_Venus pursed her lips "I was, but the truth is inevitable. She has grown out to be a fair Lady, strong and independent; she was not like this before she met him…she did not had the courage to pursuit her dreams and make her own mistakes so she could learn from them…she was a little immature and scared. She thought the General loved her since the moment they exchanged words and you saw what happened" she smiled softly and looked at Mercury "When did you ever imagined her talking about being a fighter, wanted to be involved in political matters, having conversations about warrior's disciplines?…she has been so brave, she has confronted me, you…everybody by love and he, he believes in her, he has been there supporting her all along"_

_Mercury smiled "I believe you are right" she pointed at the rose in Venus' hand "And now? What are you going to do with it?"_

"_There are more of these in my drawer…at first I wanted to disappear them but I never really could…I was causing too much pain already I could not do it, I hurt her badly just by taking these flowers with me"_

_Mercury tilted her head "Maybe…now that you admitted that he is not a threat…"_

"_He is still a threat, to her, to us…to everybody"_

"_You say it as if he was a demon…or a monster"_

_Venus sighed "To everyone in this realm, he is…" she looked away "The fact that he is not one of us…" he turned to look at Mercury again "He is a mortal man he cannot stand a chance against a God"_

_Mercury pursed her lips "What is immortality after all? We can die too…we too can get killed. Maybe not the same way mortals do…our life span is very long, the way we live is different, we are somehow divine yes, but…after all, vulnerable too"_

_Venus widened her eyes "Mercury…"_

"_I have seen how our Princess has suffered and cried for him, I have seen her long for him, miss him, be happy and be angry…those are feelings mortals have as well, if we who are supposed to be at a certain different, higher level and have those kind of emotions, what distinguishes us from mortality? In the end Venus, if we really think about it, we are the same…but it is our pride that makes us think we are superior"_

"_Well yes, but…" Venus trailed off "…They do not hold any kind of power like we do…"_

"_There are many differences between them and us, but I believe that the most important is that we take our lives for granted and they do not, they live by a day and we do not" Mercury pointed at the flower "You know what to do with that and all the flowers you took from her…I believe it is only fair to give them back to their owner…"_

"_Will that make me weak because I am ceding?"_

_Mercury shook her head "That will make you her friend that is all"_

_Venus gave her a soft smile and looked at the flower in her hand "Her friend" she repeated to herself "That is all I ever wanted in the first place, to be her friend" _

_The weight on her shoulders finally began to fall apart in pieces; the thought of her only being meant to be a guardian soon began to vanish as she realized she has been protecting a friend rather than a royal, a dear friend who right now, needed her help._

"_I know you think like the rest of us, I know you are certain that he really does love her. Yield; do not be that hard on her and yourself"_

_Mercury have said the words she needed to hear, magically she began to feel better. She gave the blue haired girl a sincere smile and reached out for her hands in gratitude "Thank you…Mercury, thank you very much"_

_End of flashback_

"As a matter of fact Princess…" Venus said softly interrupting the Princess from her thoughts "You have more things to remember he cares for you very much"

Serenity frowned and looked at the blonde senshi who exchanged looks with Mercury quickly and turned to grab a small and thin white box "I believe this belongs to you" she extended her arms and handed her the mysterious package. The princess took it with a puzzled look and slowly lifted the lid and gasped in surprise.

Venus looked at Mercury again and then back at the princess "I…"

"You kept them" Serenity interrupted her in awe; she watched the small bouquet tied with a pale gold ribbon and looked at the blonde with shock "But I thought…" she looked down at the flowers again and then back at the blonde "…Why?"

"Because, they're yours"

Serenity smiled at the flowers that even when they lost all moisture and vivid color were still intact "These were my birthday present" she traced a delicate petal with one finger "Endymion cut them for me from a secret garden in the palace…"

Mars frowned and turned to both girls with a puzzled look; Jupiter smiled at Mercury knowing what it meant. It was because of the bluenette that their friend admitted and restored the close bond she shared with their princess.

Serenity's smile widened and looked at her blonde friend with eyes full of emotion and gratitude "This means too much for me…thank you Venus"

Venus smiled back and blushed "Do not thank me, thank a little blue bird"

Mercury blushed at the cute nick name and looked at Serenity "Princess…you must hide those well…you know…in case somebody comes here to 'investigate'" she winked an eye at the princess.

Serenity nodded "Because of Athamas…yes, I know and I will, I promise"

Jupiter cleared her throat "That man will not surrender so easily, now that you have told him for the millionth time you do not want anything with him"

"That man will not surrender at all" Mars snapped with disgust "Even when we do not know anything bad about him…we know how ambitious he can be" she sighed "And now that we are under warning, we must be very careful…"

Venus narrowed her eyes and pressed her lips in a tight line for a moment "Extremely careful, we cannot trust anybody…especially him"

o.o.o.o.o

Beryl stood next to Nephrite's motionless body and watched him with confusion, her eyes turned worried and showed genuine panic, a breeze of reason came to her senses and made her realize what she have done, she looked at her blooded hand then at the man at her feet and took several heavy breaths "What…" her eyes had suddenly returned to their natural green color and widened in shock "What have I done?" she touched her face and then looked down at the general again. She blinked and turned to look around but saw nothing that could explain what was she doing in the middle of the woods and dark mist _"You are doing what you always wanted…make yourself respected" _

Beryl gasped when she heard a voice, _that voice_ and turned "What?"

"_The crown will be yours…you are taking what it is rightfully yours…"_

Beryl's eyes began to look lost and cloudy again "What is mine…" she repeated and tightened her grip on the blade in her hand "What is rightfully mine"

"_You want the Prince, you want beauty…you want to be Queen…look around you, all this…will be yours…take what it is yours! Do not let anybody step on you again…you are to be the Queen of the Dark Kingdom"_

Beryl looked around again and then down at the man at her feet "Queen…" she muttered and began to chuckle "I am to become Queen" her chuckled intensified and turned cold and sarcastic again, looking up her eyes were no longer green but blood red again "What it is rightfully mine…I will take everything, this is my Kingdom and no one will stand in my way…"

Her heel kicked Nephrite's body and laughed softly "Burn my soul? Nobody can burn my soul…I will burn theirs myself, I will take the lives of those who ever doubted me, who ever challenged me…this place is mine"

"_Take everything Beryl…our army is almost ready…take their energy, let them know who rules this planet now! Take everything…take it"_

"_Take it"_

"…_Take it…"_

"_TAKE IT NOW!"_

Beryl turned and disintegrated the general with a strong blast of energy that came from her hands, she burned him until he was trapped in the stone his name represented, the same one the terran queen gave them in their respectful medals and looked at it proudly. The mighty dark green stone gleamed in between the woman's red, sharp nails and smiled content.

She gave it one last glance and walked slowly towards the camp where she knew the rest of the army was spending the night; the hem of her gown was still tainted with the general's blood and left a faint trail behind her on the ground.

It didn't take long before she was seen by one of the soldiers who had the duty to guard the camp and do his night rounds. His eyes widened when he soon focused on the moving figure coming slowly his way "What? A woman…here?!"

Surprised and confused, he walked towards her until they finally met and looked into each other eyes, he didn't much time to be soon attracted to her impeccable but distorted beauty "Are you lost My Lady?" he asked politely.

Beryl looked at him with her red eyes and gave him a faint smile "No…" she tilted her head "I am just where I am intended to be"

The soldier frowned "What?"

Beryl extended her hand out to him and grabbed him by his neck, she repeated the same thing she did to Nephrite and electrified him with a blast of dark energy that soon, left him lifeless on the ground. She smiled at the dead soldier, the image of him being burnt to his bones and the smell of churned skin was somehow something pleasant for her and was enough for her to ignite the true madness and hate she had crawled in her chest "May your blood be the key to my success"

Minutes after the soldier's burnt body turned to fiery ashes that soon sparked as soon as it touched the ground, starting a fire that soon followed a trail to the camp. Beryl's eyes watched the blazing fire eat everything in its way without mercy, she laughed at the sight of tents churn and wrap the bodies of the people inside who tried to escape, desperately trying to save their lives as they cried in pain and suffering.

Endymion snapped his eyes open as he heard the cries of help and ran immediately out of his tent; his blue eyes widened and mirrored the image of terror and death in front of him, the fire was eating everything alive. The long, intense fire blazed and charred the bodies of many soldiers who tried to save the ones trapped inside the many tents in the camp.

Endymion turned and called for the general who was at the other side of the fire, trying to save the lives of those who still had a chance to survive.

"Kunzite!"

The white haired man tried to help the soldiers extinguish the fire but as much as he tried it only made things worse, this was no ordinary fire. His grey eyes narrowed as he felt this catastrophe was no other but something caused with evil intentions, the fire was sultry and poisonous far from being born from natural causes. His eyes widened when he saw shadows coming out of the burnt bodies on the ground "Shadows…" he muttered and turned to look for Nephrite, who much to his surprise was not there.

"Nephrite!" he called out but had no response, the same feeling of anxiety started to take over his body once again "No…no…Nephrite…not you…you can't…" he looked around as he walked and tried to avoid the savage flames.

Endymion heard Kunzite's calling and turned in shock when he saw the same dark shadows coming their way "They are no longer hiding…" he muttered and frowned, he took his sword from his belt and closed his eyes for a slight moment "Est terra clamans…suus 'in dolore" [The earth is crying…it's in pain]

The prince turned and saw one of the soldiers on the ground crying for help, he ran towards him and crouched next to him and saw there was not much left of the man, his flesh was red and vivid because of the burns and his eyes were the only thing that could tell the prince that he was still barely conscious "…S-She…"

Endymion frowned and looked around the camp in fire and felt like everything went in slow motion again, with the beating on his heart thumping in his throat he turned to look at the soldier again on the ground and tried to put attention to his mumbling "Who is she?" he asked.

The soldier tried to point at the direction where he saw Beryl with a shaking, bloody hand "The girl…with…hair…of fire…" his hand suddenly fell, letting Endymion know he was gone. The prince lowered his head for a moment and closed the soldier's eyes with his hand and stood up, he grabbed his sword again and went to fight the enemy that was finally showing its face. His heart began pounding hard in his chest, his navy blue eyes diverted from Kunzite fighting in the distance to the soldiers that could not win against what it seemed the same shadows that attacked them back in the woods.

They were bodies with their faces barely recognizable; their uniform looked burned and torn. They're mere presence confused the prince even more at who were they and what did they want if they were clearly… his blue eyes widened.

"Dead"

One of the sergeants slashed one of them and turned to look at him with frustration in his eyes "There are too many!"

Endymion looked around and then directed his gaze at him "Continue the plan! Continue the route!"

The sound of swords and cries of help and pain was deafening, Endymion attacked another round of soldiers and then ran to aid Kunzite who was guiding the rest of the troop out of the war zone "There are too many"

The prince frowned and looked around quickly "Nephrite?"

Kunzite froze and shook his head, a sign Endymion understood immediately "Take them away!"

"What about you?"

"I will catch up you later"

"I can't leave you here fighting by yourself!"

Endymion frowned and stabbed his sword on another enemy soldier "GO!"

Kunzite growled in defeat knowing there was nothing he could do to make him think otherwise and began calling for the remaining soldiers to follow him away from the camp "MOVE MOVE MOVE!"

One of the sergeants looked at the general's blooded hands "What about the Prince?"

"Let's move!" Kunzite said "I need you to follow the plan, we are continuing moving south"

"They are too strong…they have superhuman strength…it is not normal"

Kunzite frowned "Superhuman…" he muttered and looked back at Endymion fighting at an incredible speed one after another, slashing the bodies of the enemy soldiers like a killing machine. His mind started to connect the dots and make suppositions and looked up at the sky "Superhuman…" he whispered again, his throat went dry.

Endymion looked down at the hundreds of people dead at his feet and felt the horror. The blood on his sword dripped slowly to the ground one drop at a time; the air had a smell of sulfur and ashes and it was because of the smoke that it was nearly impossible to look up at the night sky. He was about to leave when he saw one of the enemy bodies moving slowly closer to his death; his growls of pain and laments was the only sound harmonizing with the sound of the scorching fire.

He walked slowly, aware and alert that there could be more people hiding in the bushes and looked down at the fallen man; his blue eyes widened in shock when he recognized the face and the uniform of one man.

"Indeed he is…one of your men" a female voice brought him back from his thoughts.

Endymion turned to look at Beryl over his shoulder with disbelief; she smiled widely and opened her arms wide "All of them…were once your men…"

Endymion frowned and looked around, indeed, those were corpses of men wearing the royal army uniform and narrowed his eyes masking the surprise on his face; the shock was too big that it was impossible for him to say a word, to even question her, to try to know why was she doing this and… "How…?" he whispered.

"I have been given divine powers" Beryl said, answering his mental question "I now have power so infinite that soon I will make everything mine"

Endymion shook his head confused "Yours? Divine power?"

Beryl smiled and extended her hand "And yours too if you join me…if you marry me; you will be King of this planet and the entire galaxy. We will defy the mere gods above us and rule like emperors of the universe!"

Endymion narrowed his eyes and saw dark sparks coming out of her fingers "Who did this to you?" he turned his body to face her completely "Why are you doing this? Beryl…what you are doing has gone beyond measure…you have murdered innocent people!"

Beryl tilted her head down, still looking at him with fiery eyes, those eyes of lust and passion she always had for him "Because I was supposed to be the Queen of this Kingdom, I was supposed to be your wife… All this should and shall be mine!"

"What are you talking about?" Endymion raised his voice "You have crossed the line, you have lost your mind completely…"

Beryl's pale face darkened "I was embarrassed in front of everybody at the ball. I was thrown out of a carriage that was still moving, like a rag doll…I was mocked and humiliated because of that _white whore_" Beryl narrowed her blood red eyes "That whore with her immaculate blue eyes and innocent face…"

Endymion's blood began to boil in his veins as he listened her words, his hand rested on the tilt of his sword on his belt and he thought nothing more but to put an end to her; his deep stormy eyes narrowed in anger and with a cold, very cold and collected voice he asked "You have been the enemy that has been causing all this, all this time?"

Beryl arched her brows "I do not know what you are talking about"

"You are the one behind all those disappearances and murders in these past months"

"If I were…I would have made this entire kingdom mine since the very beginning, but I did not" Beryl pursed her lips "Perhaps I should ask the Shitennou what to do next?"

Endymion widened his eyes "What?"

Beryl smirked "To be Celestial Guardians…they are very easy to distract and easier to destroy"

"You…" Endymion muttered, his eyes darkened with rage "…What do you want?!" his grip on his sword tightened. Beryl tilted her head to the side "You"

Endymion narrowed his eyes; Beryl sighed "Can't you see My Prince? I did all this so you can see me as a worthy woman to be by your side; Aren't those the words of your beloved grandmother?"

"You disgust me, don't you even dare to mention my grandmother's name" Endymion's voice sounded like it fell a hundred decibels "You will pay for what you have caused even if that costs me my life, I swear I will make you pay"

Beryl's smile began to fade and clenched her jaw "You do not stand a chance against my power"

"I rather die before being beside you" Endymion's words rolled with disgust from his tongue "I will _never_ be with you"

Beryl's blood froze, her once green eyes widened with both fear and anger "You will, once you see there is nothing else left to save; once you see everything you used to own under my domain…and we, together, we will rule the galaxy"

"You are insane"

"For you, I am"

"It's disgusting"

"Blood has been spread in your name Prince Endymion; you should feel proud of a strong woman like me"

"_Blood…"_ he thought and widened his eyes, turning in the direction Kunzite took with the rest of the crew; Beryl tilted her nose in the air proudly "Run whatever you please My Prince…for those soldiers you want to save will no longer live to obey your commands"

His mind drifted immediately "Kunzite…" he said softly, worried and without thinking it twice he began running in the direction they all went leaving Beryl behind chuckling "Go, go find him!..." she smiled devilishly "…If…that is, if you find him still alive"

Beryl chuckled "…IF…"

Endymion ran as fast as he could trying to catch up with the rest of the army and Kunzite; his blue eyes searched desperately everywhere as the now witch's words haunted his mind "_Can't you see My Prince? I did all this so you can see me as a worthy woman to be by your side; Aren't those the words of your beloved grandmother?"_

"_You will, once you see there is nothing else left to save; once you see everything you used to own is now under my domain…"_

"_To be Celestial Guardians, they are very easy to distract and easier to destroy"_

His breathing became hoarser, this was no longer a political matter, this was now a matter of faith and time that involved his closest friends.

o.o.o.o.o

Kunzite walked as quickly as he could with the sergeants and generals left with the remaining army. It was very hard for him to believe that all that people could gone missing, hurt and killed in such a short amount of time considering all the hard labor, preparation and great skills they had to fight. All of them were great soldiers, and now they were going down one after another like preys.

His grey eyes looked around and then gave quick glimpses to the map in his shaking hands "The road we are taken is a shortcut to our destination, this could be a great help for us to distract the enemy"

"Where is Prince Endymion?" one of the generals asked concerned.

"He is on his way" Kunzite muttered.

The sandy haired general frowned and looked back then at Kunzite again "But…he does not know we are coming this way"

Kunzite turned, annoyed and frustrated "He ordered us to go this way, I have to follow his…" he trailed off and widened his eyes in shock; startling the general next to him "General?" he asked.

Kunzite shook his head in disbelief and frowned at the sight of a girl with golden hair in the distance; her delicate face hidden by her silky bangs. Like a vision of the goddess she was to him; she walked slowly in the distance towards the opposite way of his route _"It cannot be…" _

His body began to react to her image and began walking in her direction "General Kunzite!" the other general called out to him "Where are you going?!"

Every noise became a blur in Kunzite's mind, he could not help but to follow his desire of looking into that girl's baby blue eyes again. It had been now months that felt like years since he last saw her; the longing in his heart was starting to betray him and the worst part was that he knew it but he could not help it.

"Venus…" he called out to her softly.

A soft giggle came from her, she still gave her back at him as she continued to walk slowly back into the darkness of the woods; Kunzite felt anxiety and could not help but to run after her "Wait…do not go that way!" he continued running behind her until he finally came close, his hands ached to touch her, his fingertips were eager to feel the softness of her bare shoulders and without more impediments he turned her slowly "Venus…what are you…"

His grey eyes widened in horror as he watched the beauty's body melt in between his fingers "What?!" he asked perplexed "No…"

"You fool…" a giggle accompanied the sarcastic words.

Kunzite frowned "Who is there?"

Another chuckle echoed in the darkness. Soon the blonde hair was substituted by a mane of fiery dark red hair and her once angelic features changed into the ones of a woman with nothing else but ambition and madness. Kunzite widened his grey eyes again and shook his head slightly breaking out of the spell the witch cast upon him with a false image of the venusian beauty "Beryl" he growled in anger.

Beryl smiled "To be the Prince's right hand and closest friend…you are very easy to persuade, I personally thought you were going to be the most difficult to get" she walked around him "…Marvelous, this was too easy"

Kunzite knitted his brows together "Witch"

"Watch your words, Guardian" Beryl narrowed her eyes and pointed a sharp red nail at him "I could turn you into ashes in a blink of an eye if I want to"

"What the hell do you want?" Kunzite asked coldly.

Beryl smiled again and arched a brow "Everybody seems to ask the obvious…" she tilted her head forward "Isn't it obvious? I am taking what it is rightfully mine"

Kunzite narrowed his eyes "Nothing is yours…you mad woman, you really think you can win?"

"I do not think so, I am sure of it" Beryl said and walked around the general "When I become Queen, I will be Queen of this planet and the entire galaxy"

"This planet…" Kunzite muttered "…You cannot control this planet"

Beryl laughed sarcastically; Kunzite narrowed his grey eyes "Even if you kill me, he will get rid of you…until he burns your soul"

Beryl stopped laughing "Again with the burning soul?" What do you mean by that?!"

Kunzite rested his hand on the tilt of his sword "You don't know who you are fighting against…but I can assure you, it won't end well"

"Enough!" Beryl raised her voice and her right hand; Kunzite felt a pressure in his throat that impeded him to breathe, his hands immediately went to his neck, trying to release whatever was cutting the air "Nobody is going to burn me, I have divine power running through my veins now…and soon I will make all of this mine"

Kunzite was beginning to lose conscience, he moved his hand to his sword and managed to hurt Beryl's arm with a clean cut making her release her magic grasp on his neck.

Beryl looked at the blood running down her alabaster arm; her eyes narrowed and turned darker "Your soul is the one that is going to burn, your loyalty will be mine now, I know all of you hold a secret I will soon find out…but right now, you will pay for what you just did to me! NOBODY TOUCHES ME WITH A FILTHY SWORD!" she grabbed him again by his neck and began electrifying with dark energy, the same way she did to the others; Kunzite tried to contain the pain running through his whole body but sadly for him, she was too strong for him to hold on any longer.

Beryl narrowed her eyes with pleasure "You are mine now!"

The general tried to resist her with his whole might, and managed himself to break from her grasp again and fell to the floor; Beryl widened her eyes "No…How can it be? How can you…? It's impossible!"

Kunzite looked at her, a trail of blood rolled down this forehead, caused from the electroshocks "I rather die than to be under your reign" he grabbed the tilt of his sword again and pointed at her with it; in a swift and quick move, similar to Endymion's way to attack he raised the sword above his head ready to put an end to the witch. Beryl looked up at him and laughed.

She materialized the same blade of glass she used before to hurt the others and pierced his body with it; Kunzite felt a burning sting in his abdomen and looked at the shard of glass deep in his skin and let out a harsh breath and slowly felt like if his body was betraying him.

Beryl laughed triumphant "You wanted to die?...then, _die!_"

Kunzite fell to the ground with a loud thud at Beryl's feet lifeless; her lips curved into a devilish and satisfactory smile "My army is finally complete" she raised her head and looked up at the skies and opened her arms wide "Now all shall be mine!"

o.o.o.o.o

Endymion ran as fast as he could towards the route he knew and ordered the remaining army and Kunzite to follow; his eyes looked for them around with desperation "Kunzite!" he called out loud.

His heart pounded with great force in his chest until he stopped to look around again; he leaned his hand on one of the trees for support and immediately a flash of the series of events that happened minutes before appeared in his mind: The army fighting the dark soldiers and being taken away, the others dying and Kunzite fighting and being defeated by Beryl.

He opened his eyes immediately and gasped for air as if he was asphyxiating. The prince tried to regain control of his self but the rage and pain he was feeling for loosing everyone was too much to handle, at this point he had lost all of his men. He took another deep breath and let the redhead's words take control of his mind again.

"_Everything you see…will be mine"_

"_The crown, this planet…we, together, shall rule the galaxy together"_

His blue eyes darkened and widened, there was only one thing he had to do next; he knew what he had to do. The prince turned on his heel and began running back with all his might, hoping with all his heart he was not too late to save the most important thing for him: His family.

"_Mother…"_

* * *

_Come on...a little review doesn't hurt anybody, I know you want to click that link :)_


	116. Chapter 116

_A/N: When I was editing this chapter, I came to realize that there are just a few more until it ends...wow, you are literally going to die like I've been doing every time I updated a new chapter, (yes, I have them all ready to be uploaded sweethearts) I swear I forgot about how things developed...there were things that left me feeling like, Oh my god, where did I get that idea!? I am very excited to share it with you and I hope you will love how this season slowly comes to its end. It's been a very long, but very fun ride..._

_Well, I edited this one on tuesday I don't know why but it almost took me all day! That is what happens when you don't have a proper place to sit and write without anything or anyone interrupting. Well, the point is that I've been dyiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing to post it, I was even tempted to upload it right there on the moment but I decided to wait until today._

_Thank youu so muuuuuch for your messages, your reviews and your lovely kuddos. Thank you, thank you thank you!_

_Well, enough with my jibber jabber and let's get back to the story. _

_Enjoy!_

_*I do not own SM just the plot and some of the characters, thank you._

Divinity: A question of Honor

One hundred and sixteen

* * *

Smoke danced up to the sky in delicate and playful swirls, the smell of burnt wood and fabric fill the nostrils of the men in silver armor that walked carefully through the remains of what it was the last camp made by the terran army.

Many corpses were strewn on the ground, some of them were unrecognizable while others were just remains of what once was a human body; it was a terrifying picture to see, even for those who had seen pretty much everything in the immortal realm.

The cracking sound of the remaining fire that was still devouring the remains of some of the tents was the only sound that joined the sound of metal and footsteps coming from the short line of soldiers. The one that appeared to be in charge of the expedition frowned and looked around, he tried to find something that would give them a clue to know what happened…what _really_ happened.

"This is very strange…" he muttered. Another soldier, with a wider and bigger weapon in his hand frowned and turned "What do you mean?"

"It makes no sense whatever it is happening in this place…" Kilmakos turned to look at the man next to him and shook his head with confusion "We cannot kill what it is already dead…look around you, they are all dead!"

"Are you saying…there is somebody else after the same thing we are after?"

"There is something dark and eerie happening here…every place we go, there is blood and decay, whatever this thing this…it is not good, and it is indeed after the same thing _we_ are after. I can't find other explanation" Kilmakos coughed with disgust at the smell of burning flesh and blood and covered his nose with one hand "This is disgusting; who knew mortals could smell like this after they died?"

Another soldier kept walking near a tent that was barely still standing, his face could not hide the intrigue in his eyes as soon a he saw a half scorched map pinned on a burnt wooden table, he felt like if he just found a treasure "Kilmakos!" he called out with excitement.

Kilmakos turned and went to the soldier immediately, his eyes showed the same interest the other soldier had found on that burnt parchment and looked at the map closely "This is…" he trailed off and licked his chapped lips "This is the tent of the Commander; this must have been the _Assassin's_ tent!"

The soldier looked around and greeted his teeth in shame, he was hoping to have some fun with the so called 'Monster' everybody was gossiping about; he began walking around the large tent with disappointment until something, something shiny caught his eye.

The man crouched and found a remarkable piece of jewelry that was gleaming between the dark smoke and churned surroundings. "General, look what I found" he pointed at the rounded piece and waited for Kilmakos to see what was about.

The older man frowned and crouched next to the soldier and with a face full of curiosity he took the object and studied it in his hand for a moment he wrapped the long chain around his fingers and let the elegant piece swirl around like a pendant for a moment; he was surprised to see such a remarkable piece of jewelry in a place like this that he hardly could take his eyes off of the object handing from his fingers.

His fingers traced the engraving on the object in question and then soon realized there was more about it that he ever imagined, with a soft and delicate movement the piece opened, revealing a magnificent watch "It's a locket" as soon as he muttered those words his eyes widened in shock, he was sure he had seen this particular piece somewhere before. With shock still written on his face he noticed the symbol on it and stood up immediately startling the other man.

"What is it Kilmakos?" the soldier asked concerned.

Kilmakos looked around and saw a dead scorched body next to where he found the gleaming object and licked his lips with anxiety, at this point he was not really sure if it was in satisfaction or concern, he was sure on one thing though, he had to go back and inform this to Athamas.

"Retreat the army, we are going back"

"What?" the soldier asked perplexed.

"I must inform the General that the _he_ is _dead_"

"How do you know it's him?" the soldier asked while looking at the burnt corpse on the ground "That man is all charred"

Kilmakos looked down at the fine piece of silver jewelry and remembered the time when he overheard the argument Princess Serenity was having with the Senshi; the moment when she said out loud to them that she had an affair with the terran prince and how she was going to wait for him. He looked at the locket and understood what it meant this clock; it was a promise for them to be together in some way, in some time.

He had that unfulfilled promise in his hands, and he was not sure of what to feel.

Kilmakos could not deny the guilty feeling for what he was holding in his hand, even when he never crossed more than a few words with the lunar princess he knew she was a fair lady and that her efforts for being away from the general were admirable; if it wasn't for his family that was under Athamas' watch and threat he would have done something to help the princess.

Sadly, his desperation to save his family was bigger and it was the cause that made all this gone out of control; it was him who informed Athamas of this romance, of the existence of the man and the strong bond the two lovers shared. Now that he looked at the object in his hand, he had no other option than to feel guilty for what he had done and hoped for his wife and children to be safe and to be with them as soon as all this ended.

He pretended to be indifferent to the situation and put the locket in a secret pocket inside his armor, he frowned and looked at the other soldier "This belonged to him; I saw this hanging from his armor when he fought and killed our men. There is no doubt about it, that charred corpse is him"

The soldier frowned and looked around "So, this is it then?"

Kilmakos pursed his lips and nodded "I believe our work here is done, call the others…there is nothing else to do in this place" he looked down at the corpse "However it was, it has done our job"

o.o.o.o

King Eros looked out the window of his room and turned to look at Gaia who was still sleeping calmly on the bed; his blue eyes softened at the sight of the goddess fighting for her life.

Her long dark hair looked like if she had an auburn aura around her head, her pale skin contrasted the royal blue of her dress, and even when she looked peacefully asleep, Eros knew how much she was struggling to be alive.

The king was worried to dead for his wife and for his son.

A soft knock brought him back from his thoughts and watched Aurea stand in the doorway "Your Majesty…" she whispered with doubt; Eros nodded and walked towards her and saw she was not alone; he turned his troubled gaze at Aurea who immediately understood what he was trying to verbalize "I will look after her" she said softly.

"Thank you" the king whispered and waited for her to walk inside the room and close the door behind her. Eros sighed heavily and crossed his arms as a protection gesture for what he was about to hear "How many?" he asked slowly.

Leonidas pressed his lips for a moment and then raised his gaze up at the king "There are no sign of them Eros…not even from Endymion…"

Eros closed his eyes and pressed his lips into a tight line and stood silent for a couple of minutes "This cannot be happening…" he lowered his head "My son is a superb warrior…he cannot…" he trailed, he could feel his eyes burn with tear but his pride and vulnerable state could not let him break, he had to remain strong for the sake of his wife. He swallowed and opened his eyes slowly, regret clouded his vision "This is my fault Leonidas…" he said heavily.

"This is not your fault Eros…" Leonidas tried to reason with his friend "This has nothing to do with you, please do not take that road"

"I signed those papers…I sent him there…I put his life in danger" Eros pressed his lips "I had to put my son first rather than the Commander"

"You did what you had to do…and he was well aware of that, he spoke to you, he spoke to me and he spoke to her…"

Eros ran a hand through his hair "What am I going to say to her?" he whispered with mortification "What am I going to say to Gaia? How am I going to tell her that our son is missing…that our son is probably dead!? Do you know what that means?!" his questioning became more violent and desperate and with each one of them, his voice became a hopeless cry of a man losing the two most important people in his life, almost at the same time.

Leonidas watched his once strong friend crumble in front of him and could not help to share the king's feelings. He understood his friend's desperation. That man was his godson, the son he always wanted to have, Endymion was a part of him too and now, he was nowhere to be found.

"I cannot…" Eros choked and tried to breathe, he shut his eyes and fought the lump in his throat "I cannot lose my family this way Leonidas…I am going to lose my mind…I cannot tell her…I cannot look her in the eyes and tell her our son is missing…" he shook his head "…She will stop fighting… she will simply let herself go…"

"We do not know anything yet Eros…Endymion is too intelligent to fall in any kind of trap" Leonidas put a hand on his friend's shoulder "We are still looking for them; we are still looking for him…_we will find him_"

"Have you…?" the king tried to ask something but the general understood right away and nodded "We have been following Endymion's course and plan, just as we agreed before they left but apparently there is more than just one enemy with an army…that is what is concerning us most"

"What do you mean?" Eros asked, his eyes were desperate to know in what kind of nightmare they were trapped in.

"We have found soldiers with a different kind of armor…" Leonidas said with a knowing look "…An armor similar to the one that god was wearing when he came to fight you and Gaia years ago…"

Eros' blue eyes widened "Are you saying that this enemy might be…"

"From above, it is possible" Leonidas nodded.

Eros' expression fell and so did the little color he still had on his face and tried to keep himself together, this was too much "They are coming for us after all" he muttered and lowered his gaze "They are fulfilling their threat"

"What our men has seen it is not something our past enemies have done before…there is an evil energy in every place they stopped, my suggestion is to try to keep our remaining soldiers here to protect the kingdom, all the people of Elysion and its surroundings; we are missing soldiers in every quest and we cannot afford that" Leonidas said seriously.

"I cannot stop looking for my son" Eros looked at his friend "I cannot lose my only son Leonidas, if Endymion never returns this planet…" he trailed off and took a deep breath "…We couldn't do anything to save this planet…"

"We won't Eros, we won't lose Endymion" Leonidas said "Right now, we need to trust him and believe he is alive and finding his way back here"

Eros crossed his arms again and hung his head; Leonidas put his hand on his shoulder again for reassurance "He is a good fighter, I know he is alive…Obelix and the young priest are in the prayer tower, we must trust them and the Prince"

"Does Aurea know about all this?"

Leonidas sighed and crossed his arms as well "She doesn't know everything…but she knows Endymion and the Shitennou are missing" he pressed his lips for a moment, and then sighed "She is a strong woman but you cannot deny that she is mortified as well. She has cried her heart out but she will not tell Gaia, she knows how to handle the situation with her, after all she is her closest friend"

Eros nodded "And for that I am grateful"

"Under the circumstances, I have taken the liberty to order the soldiers to give rounds and guard the palace and its surroundings to keep a close eye at everyone, I have given them the permission to attack as soon as they see a threat" Leonidas said "And about Endymion, I will personally look for him after I prepare some pendants"

"I should be the one looking for my son"

"You have to stay here and look for your wife, she needs you right now and if she finds out that you have gone, she will suspect something is not right, it is better if you stay Eros; I will take care of this but we have to be alert, we have to start thinking what are we going to do if the enemy comes close to Elysion"

Eros sighed and nodded "I know I have to do so many things…but I can't leave her alone…I feel that the moment I turn my back on her she will simply stop being"

Leonidas nodded "I understand, we all do…everybody is very worried about her health"

"I know she is fighting…but I know she wants to see her son again" Eros said softly "I am not ready to let her go" he shook his head as his voice began to break again "I will never be ready for this…I just can't let her go"

"You just said it so, she is fighting" Leonidas said "For heavens sake, she fought divine beings for us, for you! Do you really think she will leave _you_? Do you really think she will give up?"

Leonidas' comment made the king feel a little better, he was right to some point. She had fought her own kind and went against her own family in order to be here…with him; she bore a child to this world knowing it was a great risk and an impossible thing to do. She fell in love with him deeply and didn't care about anything but their own happiness.

Gaia was the woman of his life, the goddess of his dreams and the mother of their son; a son that had to be alive.

O.o.o.o.O

Princess Serenity sat on her balcony looking up at the clear pale sky; her matching blue eyes stared at the blue marble in the distance wondering and wishing for Endymion to be alright. It has been a long time since she saw him and she began to remember the nights she spent with him talking about his duties and obligations as prince and training and discipline as warrior.

She remembered their long talks about his adventures and anecdotes as soldier, how he turned General and how he became the Commander of their army. She remembered he mentioned her how long it could take to settle a fight and how long this war would take to come to an end, she was aware that is was not an easy task and that it might take more time than she ever imagined but that didn't mean she didn't miss him terribly.

Serenity felt like she had to do something, she could not wait any longer to see if she could find or know something about the prince; she wanted to know now and the only way she knew she could find something was to go to "The Tower…" she breathed and looked in the direction of the tall crystal tower in the distance.

Below the princess' balcony the soldiers who had returned from earth entered the palace and went directly to the General's office. As soon as they got there Kilmakos was the first one to enter, interrupting the light discussion Athamas was having with one of the guards.

Athamas turned to look at the man and grimaced "Ah…look what we have here"

Kilmakos pursed his lips and waited for the general's authorization for him to come in "There are things I have to tell you, things you might find interesting"

Athamas arched his brow and noticed the other soldiers were standing behind Kilmakos "What are they doing here?" he asked menacingly. Kilmakos took a step forward and asked the men to leave them alone. The soldier ordered the rest of the men to leave him alone with Athamas with a strong demanding voice and entered, ignoring a very surprised Mars at the end of the hall.

"Soldiers wearing armors…" she said to herself and frowned confused. Since she began having the sun spot premonition she had the queen's permission to go and pray at the sacred tower every night; this was one of those nights were she stayed more than the usual and sadly for her, the only way to get to the palace's west wing faster was to pass by Athamas' office. The raven haired senshi found unusual to see this kind of movement at this time of the night, she knew Athamas' had his own schedule but this was just too strange for her to ignore.

Athamas put his glass with liquor down on his desk and dismissed the man in front of him with a wave of his hand "What the hell are you doing here? I thought I ordered you not to come back until the work was done" he asked acidly "Are you still daring to disobey my orders?"

Kilmakos pursed his lips and took a step closer "No, Athamas"

"I ordered specifically not to return until the work was done"

"That is why I am here"

Athamas widened his eyes and turned to look at the soldier "Is it done?"

Mars looked around to make sure nobody was there to see her and leaned on the door and looked through the door that was not closed entirely by the last soldier who exited the room; her amethyst eyes narrowed trying to focus and listened closely to the conversation the soldier has having with the general.

"Yes"

Athamas' face lightened and smiled widely by the syllable he waited to hear for so long "And? Where is he?"

Kilmakos widened his eyes "What?"

"Where is _he_?

Kilmakos shook his head "Down there"

Athamas frowned and growled "I do not understand what the hell you are saying!"

"The soldier you sent to do the work could not do it properly as you asked because by the time we got there and found him, he was already dead" Kilmakos said "The whole planet is almost dead, is like it is infected…it appears they did not only had us as enemies but somebody or better said, _something_ else"

"_Infected…"_ Mars thought while still listening to the conversation "_Could it be…?"_

Athamas frowned and arched a brow "Are you saying something else killed him?"

Kilmakos nodded "It seems so"

Athamas pressed his lips and crossed his arms "My orders were not followed properly then, I asked you to bring me his head, or better yet, bring him here alive so I could kill him myself"

"He was already dead when we got there Athamas" Kilmakos said defending himself "His body was all charred by this thing that burned everything in its way; it was nearly impossible to move that cadaver" his brown eyes looked at the general with hope and dared to speak for his major interest "Athamas…my family…"

Athamas looked at him with a deadly glare and shook his head with disinterest "What?" he chuckled "What about them?"

"We had a deal"

Athamas arched his brow and stood up and walked in his direction, then he grabbed him by the neck and lifted him slightly from the floor, choking the poor man in the process "You dare to ask me about them, when I do not even have a guarantee that he is dead!? Why you didn't bring the corpse then?!"

Kilmakos gasped for air, his hands were curled tight around Athamas' strong hand "It… was… scorched…unrecognizable"

Athamas narrowed his eyes and released his hand from his neck, letting him fall flat on the floor "Scorched, you say?"

Kilmakos nodded and coughed "And how do you know it was him?" Athamas asked and turned on his heel to serve himself another glass of liquor "You said the body was unrecognizable, how do you know that corpse was his?"

Kilmakos stood up "I saw the symbol on his uniform…" he said softly and then he remembered something that could prove his words, his hand went to rummage the hidden pocket inside of his armor and took out the silver locket "…And I found _this_ next to the body"

Mars widened her amethyst eyes when she saw the silver piece of jewelry hanging from the soldier's hand _"That's…"_ she blinked with shock _"…The Princess' locket!" _she thought.

Athamas turned to look at the object in question and studied it from a distance; he narrowed his green eyes and shrugged his shoulders "What the hell is that?"

Kilmakos opened the locket and showed the design of the watch inside "He used to carry this with him"

Athamas put his glass down immediately and moved quickly to grab the piece of jewelry, his eyes studied the watch closely and growled in anger "This is from the moon… this watch has the royal symbol on it"

"She gave that watch to him Athamas"

Athamas looked at it and as if he felt disgusted by the barely sound of the clock hands ticking. He closed the watch and tightened his grasp around it "So, he is dead" he licked his lips with excitement for he had finally won, the man he wanted out of the way was finally dead and there was nothing else stopping him from marrying the princess. He had won "The crown is mine…" he breathed.

Kilmakos looked at him for a moment before interrupting his thoughts "Athamas…you got what you wanted…" he sighed "…The man is dead, now, my family…please…"

Athamas turned his back on him and walked over the window in his study "You didn't do as I said…I wanted to kill him with my own hands…" he trailed off "…But the rest of the plan went smoothly and in the end he is out of my way…" he took a sip of his beverage "Even after all the failures and headaches you brought me…I will see if I can _still_ find your…_family_" he said the last word with disgust.

Kilmakos widened his eyes and shook his head "Still?"

"Get out of my sight! I want to be alone" Athamas raised his voice.

Kilmakos nodded in defeat and turned on his heel, leaving him alone as he wished. As soon as Athamas heard the door closing he looked down at the locket in his hand and studied once again, a new strange feeling possessed his body as he stared at the watch one more time. It was like poison clouding his reason, giving cue to his anger to take control over him "You are finally dead...The Princess is _mine _now"

He turned on his heel and walked slowly to his desk then put the locket inside a drawer under some papers and narrowed his eyes "Now that he is out of the picture…I have to continue with my plan, I must speak to the Queen" he nodded "Yes, the Queen…it's time to make the final touches of my plan" he smiled and closed the drawer, he put his glass of unfinished drink over the pristine marble of his new desk and walked to the door.

Mars widened her eyes and went to hide behind a pillar in the hall; she could feel her heart pounding in her throat, she could not believe what she just heard, it couldn't be right and it couldn't be true.

"_The Prince…the watch…"_

Mars covered her mouth and tried to fight the tears burning in her eyes _"…Princess…Oh no…Princess…" _

She widened her eyes when she heard the soldier walk out of the room and close the door behind him. The senshi looked around and waited to see him gone and just when she was about to leave to get Venus she heard the door opens again and quickly hid behind the pillar hoping Athamas didn't see her in the process.

Mars waited what she felt like an eternity for the general to leave and moved once she was sure he was finally out of the scene. With anxiety curled up in her chest she slowly began to move her head until she could get a good glimpse of the corridor and walked out once she was sure he was no longer coming back for some time.

With the most care she walked quietly and slowly she entered the room and closed the door very, very, _very _carefully behind her. She walked the small reception area while looking back at the door, hoping no one would enter the office while she is inside and began looking for the famous locket "That locket must be hidden here…but where did he put it?!" she hissed in anger and greeted her teeth "Stupid bastard"

She looked over the shelves on one wall and then immediately moved her attention to the desk, her frustration began to take over when all she could see were papers and parchments with orders, plans from the queen signed by him and rambling notes "There is nothing here…" she bit her lip.

Mars moved to the side and sat on the chair, then noticed there were three long drawers hidden on the right side of the desk; something inside her was telling her that the object in question might be inside one of them. With trembling hands and a quick glimpse at the door she opened each at a time and carefully moved whatever was placed inside with care so he would not notice anything different.

Her patience was running low as all she could see were more papers and bottles of liquor "Of course…" she muttered when she saw a small blade at the bottom of the drawer.

Mars began to think that maybe her quest for the object was useless while she still rummaged inside the last drawer, her fingers touched the many papers inside and she was just about to give up when she suddenly a long chain curled at the bottom of the third drawer. Her amethyst eyes widened when she finally got a hold of the watch and looked at it carefully "This is it" she whispered in surprise "This is my Princess' watch…so that means…that…" her words were cut off when she heard noises coming from the corridor outside "No, no no no…you stupid man!"

"The parchments are on my desk" she heard him say closer and felt the panic and fright of being caught with her hands on that locket. This was the proof she needed to tell Venus what he was doing behind the queen's back and she was not going to put it back on that drawer.

"Don't come back…" she stood up from the chair and tried to hide behind the curtains but it was not long or wide enough to cover her entirely, and then looked for some kind of bookshelf that wasn't necessary mounted on the wall but with no success.

Desperation began taking over her and it was when she was about to opt for the first option of hide behind the curtains when she saw a beacon of hope. One of the bookshelves was slightly pushed to the side and revealed a hidden door behind. Mars widened her eyes in surprise and ran as fast as she could before the men walked inside the room and notice her there; just in time she closed the door when Athamas opened the one of his office.

The raven haired senshi sighed in relief and leaned on the stone wall for a moment, her grip on the locket tightened when remembered the general's words "Dead…" she whispered and closed her eyes "The Prince is dead…" she stayed silent for a couple of minutes before realizing that if she stayed there for too long, it would give Athamas the time to find out that he was stolen and go straight to that door. She opened her eyes and walked slowly down the dark hidden passage that didn't give any clue where it was taking her; she didn't even know the palace had secret passages.

After several more minutes of pitch darkness she soon saw a light in the distance and opened the small door at the end of the long humid corridor. Mars narrowed her eyes for a moment and tried to adjust them to the bright light of the outside and looked around "…The main court…" she whispered relieved and looked down at the object in her hand. She bit her lower lip and let out a heavy sigh before going straight to Venus.

Venus was brushing the princess' hair softly while sitting in the bed with her, her fingers played with the silky silver strands while she ran the brush through her delicate locks. Mercury was sitting on a comfy cushion chair near the balcony doors reading a book while Jupiter sat on another cushion chair near the vanity watching them and doing small talk with the girls. Serenity thanked the company and the support, she finally felt accompanied and safe when she was around them and no longer like a rebel without a cause; since their last conversation she felt relieved that it didn't felt like they were doing their job by taking care of her but it was quality time as best friends and that was something she really enjoyed.

Venus told silly jokes from time to time and giggled while continued brushing the princess' long hair making Serenity giggle in return; Jupiter joined the conversation with some random gossip while Mercury continued reading and from time to time corrected Venus when she told a joke the wrong way.

"I've been thinking of something…" Serenity said softly, changing the conversation a little. Venus smiled in gratitude for her trust on them again and tilted her head "What is it, Princess?"

Serenity bit her lower lip "The Tower is where I can know what has been happening on Earth, right?"

Jupiter leaned on her seat and pressed her lips in a tight line for a moment "Well…I am not sure, nobody is allowed to go in there…well, only the Queen and I believe Mars has had permission to go inside the ante chamber"

"The Sacred Tower is known to be a place where you can go and pray to the gods" Mercury said softly "Is is the place that connects you to Olympus…"

"But it also can connect me to Earth somehow" Serenity said, trying to prove her point.

"Why do you ask Princess?" Jupiter asked and rolled her eyes at her own question "I mean, I know you are worried about him but, why you have been thinking about the tower?"

"I have been seeing Endymion in my dreams…" Serenity said softly "Well, I have been reviving moments we had together…I am reliving memories…" she sighed softly "I am just worried and…I miss him…I miss him very much" she sighed "More than worried I am mortified"

"Let's hope for the best Princess" Mercury said softly and gave her a warm smile.

"Mercury is right Princess" Serenity widened her eyes and turned her head to see Venus.

Venus smiled softly "He is a good fighter"

"Venus…" Serenity whispered.

The venusian girl shrugged her shoulders and sighed softly "He dared to challenge me, he has to be quite strong…" she wink an eye at her "Do not worry, let us just hope for the best"

Jupiter nodded and then frowned "Does anybody know where Mars is?"

Serenity shook her head "No…now that you mention it, I haven't seen her all day today…"

Venus frowned "She said she had to do some things but she didn't explain much"

"She never explains anything, she is very hermetic" Jupiter said softly and giggled, her light sense of humor made the other girls chuckle a little. That is when, like if she invoked her, Mars appeared at the door and closed it behind her slowly "Oh, look who is here!" Jupiter said happily "We were just talking about…" she trailed off and frowned once she noticed there was something wrong with her "…You…" the amazon girl bit her lower lip and narrowed her eyes "Mars…why are you so pale?"

Mars stood there silent; her face was pale and her expression unreadable. Venus stopped combing the princess' hair and watched her friend with a worried expression; her heart beat fast inside her chest with anxiety "Mars?" she asked once she didn't responded Jupiter's question and thought that maybe it was another vision she had, maybe it was something her father told her or maybe she was just too tired to speak "Mars?" she asked softly again.

Mars turned her face; her amethyst eyes met Serenity's and took a deep silent breath and courage to break the heavy silence in the room "I need to talk to you…"

Serenity frowned not sure what was happening "Mars?" she shook her head "What is the matter?"

"I need to tell you something important…" Mars said, her voice was calm but serious, very serious. She licked her lips and looked down at her trembling hands and hesitated to continue "…And I do not know where to start or what words are the correct ones to use…" she shook her head nervously "I hate to be the bearer of this information to you…but it is better if it is me than anyone else…"

Serenity stepped down her bed and stood in front of Mars, her pale blue eyes looked at her worry "Mars, what is it?" she held her hands and gasped "Your hands are shaking uncontrollably…" she looked at her "Please, you are worrying me, you are worrying the girls…what is it?"

Mercury closed her book as soon as she heard Mars' troubling words and stood up "Mars?"

Mars bit her lower lip and put her free hand on Serenity's shoulder "I was on my way to meet Artemis to give him a message from my father after I finished my routine at the sacred tower when I saw there were soldiers coming out of Athamas' office; I found it strange first because it was late and second because well, I just do not trust Athamas so I walked in his office direction and noticed the door was slightly open. I could not help it and overheard their conversation…" she sighed and shook her head "I hate to be the one to tell you this…" she cursed under her breath.

Serenity tried to read Mars' mind, her heart felt heavy in her chest and could not fight the trembling in her hands "What is it Mars? Please tell me what is it?" Serenity's voice quivered as she pleaded the girl to continue.

Mars bit her lip for a moment and took a deep breath "Princess…" she trailed off and looked at her with deep sadness "Prince Endymion…"

Serenity's blood froze and widened her eyes, her lips parted and shook the raven haired girl "What about Endymion? Mars…what about Endymion?!"

Mars pressed her lips for a second and closed her eyes "Prince Endymion has died"

The girls widened her eyes in shock and stood up immediately, all three went to their Princess aid who was shaking uncontrollably; her eyes were wide and all the color from her cheeks has been drained away "No…" she whispered "No…" she shook her head with disbelief and great shock "That is a lie…" she whispered and brought her hands to her head "No…" she felt the air in her lungs escaped and slowly fell on her knees "Noooooo Nooooooooooo Nooooooooo….That is a lie, that is a lie!"

Venus was the first to put her arms around the princess for support after Mars moved hers away "What makes you so sure of what you heard is positive?" she asked desperate "That is not true! You have no proof that he is dead!" she choked on her tears "Why are you telling me this!?"

"I heard Athamas' men giving him the news, he was very insistent and assured him that he saw him dead…he swore he saw the symbol on his clothing…" Mars closed her eyes for a moment and opened her hand "And… he gave him this" the locket hung from its long chain from Mar's hand.

Serenity's eyes widened recognizing the locket and time stopped for her "That is…" she trailed off and shook her head "Nooooooooooo!…Nooooooooo!….no!, NO!…E-Endymion…" her shaking hands reached for the piece of jewelry taking it from Mars' hand, her sobbing was too heavy, too painful to hear. She looked about to break in millions of pieces.

Serenity brought the locket close to her lips and felt the cold metal against her swollen skin "No, he can't be dead…he _can't_ be dead!" she cried. Venus's arms tightened around the shaking princess and closed her eyes "Princess…" she whispered and tried to calm her down the best she could.

Serenity covered her face with her hands and began crying desperately "Noooooo Endymion Noooooo! NOOOOOOO!" she yelled in desperation and pure raw pain "Endymion…Endymion…" the pain in her heart was just too intense for her to bear.

"Endymion…" she whispered and suddenly, everything went black.

"Princess!" the girls exclaimed and caught her, Jupiter was the one carried her on her arms and put her on the bed. Mercury sat next to the princess and covered her with a light white blanket and sighed "I cannot image the shock she must have had…"

Jupiter bit her lip and shook her head "It is hard for me to believe that this is real…"

Mars could not hold her tears and leaned on a wall with her head low and her eyes closed, the feeling of guilt was killing her; she felt a hand on her shoulder and opened her eyes "I did not believe it myself…and the first person I thought about when I heard those news was her…but…" she trailed off and raised her head, tears rolled down her eyes "…She had to know…"

Venus tried to fight her own tears of pain and worry because it was not only hard and painful for their princess but also for her. It only meant one thing; if the prince was dead then Kunzite was too and that was something she did not know how to handle _"Kunzite…" _she thought sadly _"That means that you to have gone…I am so sorry my love…I should have helped you…I should have gone for you…I should have kissed you one last time before you left"_

"…And that locket belonged to her, not Athamas…" the blonde's thoughts were interrupted by Mars' words "I could not leave it in his power"

Venus widened her eyes and turned to look at Mars "The locket…you said the soldier gave the locket to Athamas…how…?" she frowned and shook her head confused.

"I sneaked inside his office when he went out and stole it from one of his drawers" Mars frowned "He knew everything concerning the Prince…the soldier said the planet was infected and under attack…and that the body next to this locket was the Prince's body…barely unrecognizable…"

Venus lowered her gaze "Did they mentioned anything about…"

"His Guardians? –No" Mars shook her head "The only thing I heard was that everything was burned and dead and that somebody else did the job they were supposed to do"

"Job?" Venus narrowed her eyes.

Mars nodded "Athamas knew everything about the relationship between the Princess and the Terran Prince…and apparently, for what I heard he wanted him dead"

"He is the one threatening the peace of the Alliance then" Venus said.

"I do not know if he is the one behind the threat to the Alliance but he was well informed about the Princess' affair with the Prince" Mars said "I knew that if I just tell the Princess she would not believe me, I did not believe it myself but then I saw that locket and recognized it from the one she used to have and it made sense…"

"I am surprised you did not get caught"

"I almost was…"

"How did you escape?"

"He has a secret passage in his office that leads to the main court. I suppose it was something made for the King when that was his office"

Venus nodded "Could be"

Mars and Venus turned to look at Serenity unconscious on the bed; Mercury and Jupiter were sitting next to her and looked at her with worried eyes "What shall we do now?" Jupiter asked sadly "Her heart is literally broken"

"How are we going to explain this to the Queen?" Mercury asked and shook her head "How are we going to explain her daughter's broken heart?"

Venus lowered her gaze and held Serenity's hand "I do not know…" she licked her lips "I still cannot believe what we just heard"

Mars leaned on the wall with her arms crossed "This is all my fault"

Mercury turned to look at the raven haired girl and shook her head "No Mars, this was planned and it would have been more painful for her to hear this terrible news from him"

"Mercury is right Mars" Venus said softly "She was suffering too much…"

"I just cannot believe he is dead" Jupiter said "He…he did not look like a weak man"

"He was far from being weak" Mars muttered and turned her face to the girls "He had the profile of a warrior but for what I heard, Athamas planned everything"

"What else did you hear?" Jupiter asked.

"That the planet is mostly dead; it is like if it's infected…" Mars muttered "One man cannot survive two enemies of that caliber, who knows what is happening down there…"

"Two enemies?" Venus frowned; Mars nodded "Athamas' soldier said that they came too late, when they found the Prince he was already dead, and I quote his words -he was killed by somebody or _something_ else-"

"…And if he is dead then that means…" Mercury trailed off and widened her eyes, Jupiter nodded and looked at her sadly "…His Guardians are dead too…"

Mars turned to look at Venus who, was trying to suppress her pain and tears with all her might. Her eyes were looking down at the princess but her mind was thinking about the man she fell in love with _"Kunzite…I did not get to see you again…" _

"God Hades must be very busy right now…" Mercury said and shook her head "The abandoned planet finally is under the reins of the Underworld…"

"Maybe that means the end of the threat" Jupiter said softly and turned to Mars "I remember you saying something about the sun being covered by shadows and the Earth being the one that might be sending those alarming threats…maybe now that it is...over…it will stop…"

"My biggest concern right now is the Princess' being" Venus said softly "…My biggest concern is to know what will happen now that Prince Endymion is out of Athamas' way. With him gone, he will pursue Princess Serenity's heart and confuse her until she says yes or Queen Serenity marries her with him"

Jupiter shook her head "No, that…that cannot be possible, the Princess doesn't love him…she wouldn't…"

Venus looked down at the princess again "…Like you said…her heart is literally broken…"

"_Serenitati…"_

_(chuckles) "…Serenitati mea Pulchra Luna bela bunny…"_

_Serenity opened her eyes and looked around, she found herself in her room lying in her bed, she blinked her blue eyes several times and looked at her hand still holding the locket "…Endymion…" she whispered sadly "Why?..."_

"_Why what?"_

_Serenity's eyes widened and turned her head to the other side and blinked in surprise at the man sitting next to her on the bed "Vos erans habens insomnium" (You were having a bad dream)_

_Serenity's eyes burned with tears and shook her head "E-Endymion…"_

"_Why are you crying Serenitati?" Endymion looked at her with a boyish expression. His eyes were bright blue, like sapphires gleaming in the light "You know I don't like to see you cry"_

"_I…I thought you…were…"_

_Endymion tilted his head to the side "I was what?"_

"_Mars told me you were dead…"_

_The prince chuckled and shook his head "She was misinformed" his knuckles began to caress her wet cheek "Please don't cry"_

"_But…" Serenity looked at her hand "The locket…it was…"_

"_I was in battle and it fell by accident" Endymion said softly "But I am glad you found it"_

_Serenity frowned and looked around "Where…where are the girls?"_

"_Outside, they wanted to give me some private time with you"_

"_How…did you get here?"_

_Endymion chuckled "Bunny don't you remember? _

"_What happened?"_

"_Curious as always; Earth has been cleared from all threats, which is why I am here"_

"_But…the war…" Serenity shook her head "…What about the war…your Mother…Your Kingdom…"_

"_Everything is alright now. I am where I belong" Endymion said softly "That is why I came to tell you not to worry, everything is alright, you need to be calm" he stood up startling the princess "Where are you going?"_

_Endymion looked over his shoulder "Not too far away Beautiful…there are things I still need to take care of"_

"_No, wait…" she looked at her hand "Your locket…" she looked at her vanity and saw the velvet box "…Your medals…!"_

_Endymion smiled warmly at her "Guard them for me. Those are yours now"_

"_I don't understand" Serenity tried to stand up but she couldn't "Endymion, where are you going?"_

"_Obtinebit, is ne quis amet ... frangere animos esse. __Oportet me consummare quaedam primi ... oportet me vultus secundum populo meo. __Fac animo te amo" (Be strong, do not let anyone break your spirit...that is our key to be together. I must finish some things first...I must look after my people. Be strong, I love you with all my heart)_

"_No, please don't go… Endymion…" she watched his body turn into a silhouette "Endymion!"_

"Endymion!" she opened her eyes and blinked several times "…Endymion…" she whispered again, soon her eyes began to burn with tears again and turned to find the girls around her with worried faces "…No…" she sobbed and shook her head "No…"

"Princess…" Venus said sadly.

Serenity looked up at Venus and held her arm tightly "Where is he?" she asked softly.

Venus frowned "What?"

"Where is he, where is Endymion?!"

Venus blinked and shook her head "Princess…he…"

Serenity's blue eyes were clouded with sadness and realization again, Endymion was gone and he was not ever coming back. She turned her head to see the velvet box on her vanity and could not help to cry again, her tears streamed like crystal cascades from her pale blue eyes as she remembered her dream and the moment he promised her his return.

Her tight grip on the senshi's arm loosened and soon fell on her bed feeling beaten and defeated "I wish to be alone…" she said softly between her sobs.

Mercury looked at her with worry "Princess I do not think that is very appropriate…"

"Please!…please!" Serenity cried "I need to be alone!"

Mercury stood up slowly and turned to look at the other girls who, were doing just the same. Nodding, she walked to the others and in silence left the room until it was Mars the last one with her "I am so very sorry…we will be near in case you need anything, please let us know…"

All she could hear where Serenity's inconsolable sobbing in response and had no other choice but to turn on her heel and leave the room. Closing the door behind her he leaned on it and pounded her head against the hard door "I do not know what to do"

"None of us know Mars" Venus said softly "All we can do right now is to give her some space"

"But what are we going to say to Our Majesty?" Mercury asked.

Venus bit her lower lip and sighed "I…will think of something…" she looked down and bit her lip "I will think of something…"

O.o.o.o.O

Queen Serenity let out a soft sight as she looked at the gardens from the bench she was sitting, next to her was Luna serving her a cup of tea "Is something the matter my Queen?"

The white queen lowered her gaze and gave the mauian a soft but sad smile "I haven't seen my daughter much lately…I miss her these past few days she has been very silent, very absent"

"I have noticed, my Queen" Luna said softly.

"I thought she might have forgotten about what happened at that dinner" the queen said softly "I do not understand…It is like if she is suffering for something and I do not know what it is no matter how many times I ask her if there is anything I could do to help her, she always answers with a silent no"

"Have you tried talking to her senshi?" Luna asked softly "They must know what is happening with Princess Serenity"

The queen shook her head "I must respect my daughter's space…" she sighed "But I have a feeling it has to do with that night we argued…"

"But that was quite some time now My Queen…and our Princess is not a rancorous person…"

"Yes, but Athamas still joins us for dinner from time to time…" the queen said softly "But I do it so I can prove to her that he is not a bad man…"

"Maybe you just…"

"Mother"

Queen's Serenity lavender eyes widened and turned to see Serenity standing a few feet away from Luna and her; her face was pale and serious, very unlike her. The queen frowned and stood up immediately from the bench "Dear, are you alright…? Where are the girls?"

"I need to speak to you" her voice held no emotion, her swollen eyes looked at her mother with determination "It is important"

The queen nodded "Of course dear, of course" she turned to Luna "Luna, could you give us…"

"No" Serenity interrupted the queen "Luna can stay…she can hear what I have to say"

Luna widened her burgundy eyes in surprise; the queen turned her face from Luna to her daughter "Honey, you are worrying me…what is it?"

Princess Serenity looked at her mother square in the eyes and took a deep breath "After some thought…I have made a decision…"

Queen Serenity frowned "What decision dear, what are you talking about?"

Serenity took a deep breath and let it out slowly "After some thinking, I decided I am going to follow your wishes…"

Queen Serenity blinked in surprised and shook her head "What do you mean dear?"

Serenity took a deep breath and let a single tear roll down her cheek "I am going to marry Athamas"

O.o.o.o.o.o.O

Her steps were steady as she walked closer to Elysion; the people from the village turned to look at her and while some of them only watched her in silence, others recognized her and began murmuring things about her.

Beryl turned to look around and stood at the middle of the plaza, her lips curved into a smile full of satisfaction and raised her arms "Yes, I am the girl from the ball…" she said out loud "And yes, I am the one that passed from poor to riches…" she narrowed her eyes "But now I am to become your Queen…"

"You are no Queen!" one of the villagers said.

Beryl turned to look up at the sky and raised her arms higher "Queen Metallia…grant me your power to finally take over…lend me your power Oh Mistress of Darkness!"

The people from Elysion looked horrified at the sky that quickly began to turn dark and cloudy; the wind began to blow cold and with great force "LEND ME YOUR POWER TO TAKE WHAT IT'S MINE AND TO START A NEW KINGDOM!"

A loud and big dark thunder reached for the now possessed witch and filled her with dark energy; a long staff appeared on her right hand as the army she collected from the corpses of the soldiers of the royal army appeared around her. Hundreds of possessed men with their swords in hand were now under her spell and ready for her command.

The villagers screamed in horror and began to run away in search of a safe place to hide. Beryl laughed with pleasure at the sight "I love this…I LOVE THIS!" she turned to the army and raised her hand again "Summit everyone and kill those who oppose; for this land is now mine! THIS WORLD IS NOW MINE!" she laughed as lighting echoed in the sky, ripping it in flashes of dark energy.

Leonidas entered the room where Aurea and Eros were looking at the sleeping queen. His face was pale and distorted worrying both "Eros…" he called out softly enough not to wake the queen.

Eros stood up quickly and went to him "What is it?"

"The enemy is here…we need to act fast"

Eros frowned "What!?" He walked over a window and moved the curtains aside, the dark sky was enough for him to know there was something very wrong happening outside "They have reached Elysion" he heard Leonidas say as his eyes looked with horror at the dark and flashing sky.

Eros frowned and turned to Aurea who was looking at them with a worried face "Aurea…" he turned to look at Gaia who was still sleeping on the bed.

Aurea walked over the king and put a hand on his shoulder "Your Majesty…I will look after her, go"

Eros closed his eyes and held his wife's hand "Gaia…" he whispered "Gaia I need to go but I will return shortly…please, hang on" tears began running down his cheeks "Please do not stop fighting"

Leonidas put a hand on the king's shoulder too "She will be alright, we will defeat this thing"

Eros closed his eyes and nodded "Prepare the guards and horses, we will leave at once"

Leonidas nodded and watched the king walk out of the room; leaving him with Aurea "Leonidas…" she whispered "What is happening? Please…tell me the truth"

Leonidas looked down at his wife and caressed her cheek "Don't worry dear, it will all end soon"

Aurea could not fight her tears "Did you find him?"

Leonidas shook his head "No dear, I still haven't found him…"

Aurea covered her mouth with her hands and shook her head "This cannot be happening…my boy…"

Leonidas wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed the top of her head "No matter what Aurea, please, look after the Queen. Do not let anybody come inside this room; lock the door and do not open it until we come for you"

Aurea nodded "I will"

"Take this…" he gave her his sword, startling Aurea "What…?"

"Don't be afraid to use it"

"Leon…"

"Right now, we all need to unify and be soldiers" Leonidas said "We must protect this Kingdom and we must protect the Queen"

"But…you…"

"I will be fine" Leonidas said "I will come back for you"

Aurea muffled a sob "Please be careful…please…"

"Pray the gods' dear…this is a good time to pray to the gods…"

Aurea widened her eyes "Obelix…" she breathed.

O.o.o.o.o.O

At the temple Obelix looked outside and returned to light more candles "Dii ne derelinquas nos" (gods, do not abandon us)

Helios walked out of the praying room and watched Obelix with a worry "Priest…the candles…"

Obelix nodded "The enemy has reached Elysion…" he muttered.

"What shall we do now?" Helios asked worried "The dark aura is too strong; it is invading the Kingdom at an incredible pace"

Obelix widened his eyes "Little Princess" he turned to look at the young priest "Helios…" he walked over to him and placed his hands on his shoulders "I need you to be you the one praying this time…pray to the gods, pray for our Protector…link your energy with his…"

"But you said…"

"He must be alive…we cannot give up hope now" he licked his lips "Helios, please be strong. I need you to stay here…I need you to channel your energy to this place and try to locate _him_"

Helios widened his eyes "Where are you going Priest?"

"I need to fulfill my duty" Obelix said and turned to leave "It's time…"

"Priest!" Helios called for him "Priest!" he looked around and brought his hands together "What is this madness?"

Closing his eyes he tried to concentrate his energy in his prayer with all his might _"Omnis qui habitat in nomine isto divinae praesentiae amet, quæ vel inscii veniam petimus aut sponte aut invite et corrumpendo egerunt"_

He opened his eyes and sighed "Please let us protector be alive…please gods…do not abandon us…"


	117. Chapter 117

_A/N: First of all...THANK YOU for all your reviews! I wish you knew how much I LOVE receiving reviews and PM alerts in my mail...let's put it like this, I love reading reviews and messages as much as you love reading new chapters from this story, yup, that much and this last chapter I was soo incredibly happy even when I had a though week, it really means a lot to me, thank you so much, you guys are the best! _

_Things got real and serious, there's no doubt we are coming closer to the end... I really hope you like this chapter and to those who have read Divinity, you will feel like we are getting full circle...you will see why._

_Have a nice weekend, enjoy!_

_**I do not own SM just this plot and some of the characters, thank you** _

**Divinty: A question of Honor**

**Chapter once hundred and seventeen**

* * *

Venus entered the room with a frightened and confused expression and stood in front of the princess; Mercury was there brushing her silver hair and became startled when she saw the blonde beauty walk in without any notice "Is it true?" she asked while looking at her in the eyes.

Princess Serenity looked at her, knowing exactly what she meant and stayed silent. Venus frowned and took a step forward "Princess, is it true?"

"Yes"

Mercury frowned and looked at both women dialogue "Is it true, what?"

"Why?" Venus asked, ignoring the bluenette. Her voice showed the pain and opposition to the princess' decision. The princess lowered her gaze and looked at her hands; she heard Venus sigh and move closer to her "Why?" she heard her ask again and closed her eyes.

_Serenity opened her eyes slowly and noticed the day was now replaced by night, her room was dark, a single candle on her vanity was lit, giving a very soft glow. It was now when she realized she had fallen asleep for crying so much and then she remembered the reason why._

_She sighed and fought the sob that was about to break from her lips and sat on her bed. Turning to look at the single candle she knew, one of the girls, Venus to be precise came to lit it while she was deeply asleep. She fixed her swollen eyes on the box sitting proudly on her vanity. Its dark velvety texture swallowed the crisp and clear color of its surroundings; the princess stood up and walked slowly to it and looked down at the box, her hand caressed the soft material in one light stroke._

_She lifted the lid and watched the honorably medals gleam in the soft light again and could not help the feeling of burn in her eyes because of the tears "Endymion…" she lamented with a voice full of sadness and pain "…How am I supposed to continue my life without you…?" she looked down at the object in her hand "…Nothing makes sense without you here…" she sobbed "You promised you would return…you promised you would be alright…" she sniffed "…You promised you would come back for me…"_

_Then she began to remember as she tried to put the pieces of the conversion Mars was having with the girls, then what Mars heard when she gave her the bad news and it all pointed at Athamas; she looked down at the box again and put the locket inside next to the other medals and closed the box "I will look for this medals all my life Endymion…this will remain your memory and our moments together alive forever"_

_The princess turned on her heel and walked slowly out of her room feeling broken and vacant. Since the very moment she heard Mars say he was gone her world crumbled below her feet and felt like if he had fallen in a dark void to never coming back from that nightmare she was trapped in now. _

_What was she supposed to do now that she felt the most important person in her life was taken away? A part of her wanted to be wrong and believe he was not dead while the other constantly refreshed the senshi's words and the locket she held in her hand just moments ago. Every day started and ended the same way with nothing relevant to point out; every time she woke up she always believed for a moment that she was only having a bad dream and that soon, Endymion would wake her up so they could continue their plans and life together, it was a vicious cycle._

_Her steps were long and steady, the sound of her heels was the only thing echoing in the corridor; she had asked the girls to leave her alone again like she did over the past few days and for the first time, she wanted to go out of her room by herself and do what she had to do months and months ago. _

_She walked down the long staircase; the flowing skirt of her white dress moved like breeze against her skin and found it strange that nobody was around. She continued walking and passed through the main court up to the west wing of the palace, when she finally reached her destination and widened her eyes in surprise once she was about to go inside another room._

"_My, what a pleasant surprise"_

_Serenity blinked and tried to ignore the fast beating of her heart in her chest "Athamas…"_

_Athamas stood up from the chair in front of the queen's desk and smiled at her "You sure know how to look like a vision"_

"_Where is my mother?" _

_The general arched a brow, his smile was still splattered on his handsome face "Your Mother is in a meeting as we speak, the mauians are with her as always…I was not required but it's because there are some…'issues' I must consult with her, I am waiting here for her return"_

"_I believe you have an office for that" Serenity snarled._

"_Why, Princess…it seems you are not in a very good mood" Athamas smile softened and took a step to the front "Is there something I can help you with?"_

"_I have nothing to deal with you, I will wait for my Mother's return" she turned on her heel and heard him say "If it is about your little encounters with the terran people…I recommend you to stay silent"_

_Serenity's widened her eyes "What?" she turned to look at him over her shoulder._

_Athamas walked around from the side of the queen's desk and walked over to her "Or better said, your little romantic affair with the Terran Prince"_

_Serenity opened her eyes wider "What are you saying?"_

"_Please Princess, stop trying to hide things for me" Athamas said politely "It's stupid and useless…" his calm face soon became darker with bitterness and anger "You think you could fool me?" he arched his brow "You think I would never find out?" the man extended his arms "I am a warrior, please! Your Commander!"_

_Serenity frowned "It is not of your concern what I need to talk to my own mother, but if it is that…I am also telling her about your abuse of power and how you have been using the army of this kingdom to do atrocious things"_

_Athamas chuckled "Abuse of power…" he turned to look at her "You have no other choice my dear, I told you…that you were going to end up married with me"_

"_I rather rot and die than to marry you"_

_Athamas laughed this time "Death, what a perfect word to suit this conversation. Die? You rather die?"_

"_I know you had to do something with his death"_

_Athamas arched his brow and chuckled "I don't know what you are talking about"_

"_I heard one of your men once…you are the one behind the disastrous events on Earth" Serenity said accusingly "Why? Why are you hurting innocent lives?! Who gives you the right to kill?!"_

_Athamas cut the space between him and Serenity and grabbed her by her wrists "I did what I had to do, I told you too many times you were mine and yes, I killed him!"_

_Serenity fought to break free from his grasp and frowned "You Monster!" she exclaimed "I will tell my Mother!"_

"_And what are you going to say? That innocent people have died because of your stupid romance with an assassin? Do you know who the fuck that mortal is?! He is an assassin, one that had been giving me headaches for a long time…before I even met you"_

"_You are disgusting"_

"_Imagine what will happen to you lovely senshi once everything comes out to the light, what will happen to that dreadful useful planet you tend to love and care for so much…imagine what will happen to your mother if everyone knows of the wrongdoings of her daughter, sneaking around to see a mortal"_

"_Don't you dare" Serenity narrowed her eyes, fighting the urge to break in tears._

"_I have dared to do too many things Princess even to kill, if you dare to say something against me I will bring this whole kingdom to its destruction" _

_Serenity widened her eyes "No…you wouldn't dare"_

_Athamas smiled, 'bingo' he thought "Try me dear" he chuckled and tightened his grip on the princess' wrists "You know what you have to do" Athamas smiled and caressed her face with one hand "I told you…you were going to be mine one day…" he sniffed her hair "I just can't wait to have you just for me…as my wife"_

_Serenity looked at him with disgust and closed her eyes. She was trapped and did not know how to react to his blunt declarations; the man was a monster and if she was the only one who could prevent any other disgrace she had to sacrifice the last thing she had, her reason and will to live "Alright…"_

_Athamas smiled widely and let her go "That is the least you can do you know? I mean…after all the disgrace you brought to that planet…" he sighed and walked back leaving her to her own thoughts "All the pain and dead you caused Princess…" he turned to look at her over his shoulder "…Such a pretty innocent Princess, who would have thought you would bring such disgrace to mortals?"_

"_I did not do anything"_

"_But of course you did" Athamas reassured her "You and your constant curiosity and desire to do things you should not do, like that stupid idea of being a warrior, please…You caused all this, you caused his dead…you know you should have stayed away…well, luckily I cleaned up all the mess you left and killed the main source of the problem"_

_Serenity looked down and could not hold her tears any longer "You are a monster…"_

"_I am this because of your fault" Athamas said as he walked to the door "And because of you, I am taking control" he smiled "Should we inform this to the Queen?" he chuckled "Hm, I think it will be better if you tell her yourself" Athamas' smiled faded "Nod"_

_Serenity swallowed and nodded; the general smiled again "That is more likely" he arched a brow and opened the door "And, dear? Please change that face of yours, it is not you the one who died" he laughed and closed the door behind him leaving her alone._

_Her trembling hands reached to cover her face and slowly fell to the floor crying desperately feeling guilty for everything that has happened; it was over, her life was over and now she had to step up and do whatever she needed to do to save her kingdom and family and to stop the madness on earth._

"Because I have to see for my people Venus…" Serenity remained with her eyes closed "I have to…follow my obligations"

"What obligations? Marrying Athamas is not an obligation"

Mercury's eyes widened "What?" she turned to her princess "You are marrying Athamas?!"

Serenity finally opened her eyes and looked away; Venus moved closer and held the princess' hands "Princess…marriage should not be an obligation"

"It is a decision I made…and you have to respect it"

"Why? Because you think that is the right thing to do?" Venus frowned and shook her head "That is not the right thing to do Princess and you know it!"

"Mother cannot be wrong, she has always wanted me to marry him, now I am" Serenity said.

"Princess…but" Mercury interrupted "…But you do not love the General…you love…"

"Endymion is dead!" Serenity said out loud, her voice started to break "Endymion will never come back…he is dead…he is…" she trailed off and began crying.

"Princess…" Mercury said softly and saw Mars and Jupiter walk into the room.

"Endymion is dead because of me…I am the reason of why Endymion died…"

Mars frowned "What?! That does not make any sense"

"Of course not Princess!" Jupiter said.

Venus looked at Serenity "Princess…Prince Endymion's death has nothing to do with you. He died defending his kingdom, he died because he had a duty to fulfill because…warriors have to defend their land with their life…this has nothing to do with you…it is a question of honor"

"And why he had to fight for his land?" Serenity raised her head, facing the blonde "Because I brought disgrace to his planet…"

"He said something to you, didn't he?" Venus narrowed her eyes.

Serenity shook her head and looked at the box with Endymion's medals "No Venus, no. This is a decision I made for myself, Endymion is no longer here…we cannot longer fight for a future together, we cannot longer dream for a world without barriers…he is gone and I have to continue my life and the best way to do it is if I follow my mother's wish…"

"Even if that costs your own happiness? Your own sanity?" Venus asked softly.

"What happiness Venus?! What sanity!? All that was gone to hell the moment Endymion died…he was my reason to be happy, to feel sane, to feel alive and motivated…" Serenity looked at Venus in the eye and sighed "Mother is very happy and right now that is all that matters"

The blonde shook her head "I cannot accept this…I cannot accept him as my King"

"Please Venus…" Serenity put her hands on top of hers and squeezed them "Please respect my decision…" she looked at the girls with sad eyes "Please, all of you…respect my decision"

"When are you planning…this wedding to happen?" Mars asked softly.

"Mother is doing all the arrangements…the seamstress just came to take my measures she will begin to do my gown as soon as possible…" Serenity sighed softly "She wants to throw an engagement ball to let everyone know I am finally getting married…she really is very happy"

"And you should too, but you are not"

"Venus…" Serenity said softly.

"I am sorry Princess, but I can see how you really are…you do not love him, I can see the suffering in your eyes…you know this is the biggest mistake of your life…you do not love him, he is a monster"

"Maybe I will, with time"

Venus shook her head "It is because I care for you that I will respect your wishes…but I really believe you are about to commit the biggest mistake of your life and that someday…you are going to regret it"

Serenity sighed "Venus, I do not want to fight with you…first, it was because you were against my romance with Endymion and now you are against my marriage with Athamas"

"You do not love Athamas!" Venus tried to reason with her "You do not even have sympathy towards him!"

"Love is not everything in this life Venus, love is not magic, love is not going to bring Endymion back…" Serenity said sadly "I do not wish to fight with you anymore"

Mars sighed softly and crossed her arms "…It's true, love won't bring the Prince back but that was your motivation to do things, to pursue your dreams, love was the reason why you went to earth in the first place. It was love who brought you together…love may not bring him back, but it made you strong and made you the warrior you said you wanted to be, he believed in that and so did we…so why don't you?" Serenity looked at the raven haired girl with amaze; Mars looked at her sadly "Think about it" she said softly and turned to leave with Venus and Jupiter behind.

Mercury put the brush down and let out a little sigh; Serenity lowered her gaze "You too think I am making a mistake, am I correct?"

Mercury looked at her kindly and shook her head "No Princess, I just think…you gave up too soon"

Serenity widened her eyes "Mercury…I…"

"The Princess I know is strong and fights for her beliefs. She fell deeply in love and would do anything to pursue her dreams, maybe you are following your duties as Princess by marrying the General and we may not agree with your idea but the thing that troubles me the most is that you gave up the memory of a man that practically changed your life and perspective to see life too soon, you gave up too soon…" she held her hand softly "We love you and we will respect your wishes but that does not mean our hearts aren't broken"

With that as her last words, she gave her a sad smile and let go of her hand and turned to leave and closed the door behind her. Serenity sighed and lowered her gaze, looking at her hands as tears began to fall splashing against her fair skin "Endymion…I am so sorry…I did not remain strong as you wanted me to be…" she sniffed "I have been weak and broken without you…I am nothing but an empty shell…I miss you…I need you…" she began sobbing and leaned her head on her arms resting on her vanity "I need you Endymion…I need you…"

O.o.o.o.o.O

The palace could be seen in the distance, its majestic windows caught the afternoon light of the blood red sun. A guard at the entrance gates stopped Beryl from trespassing with his long sword "You cannot enter" he said dryly.

Beryl arched a brow "Oh? And why is that?"

"Those are the orders from the King"

"Your King probably ignores that it no longer depends on him those kinds of decisions" Beryl arched her brow "So you better step aside"

The guard frowned and pointed his sword at her "Step away Lady or I will have to take another measures"

Beryl narrowed her eyes and looked at him "Measures?" she laughed "You think you can stop me?" she laughed louder and raised her hands in the air receiving another blast of dark energy that then trespassed to him until leaving him like a crisp on the floor "I warned you to step aside" she said dryly and opened the gate.

More guards from inside the palace began running in her direction with their swords in the air but none of them stood a chance against Beryl. The witch chuckled and began attacking each and one of them with a blast of dark energy leading them towards the same fate of their fallen comrade at the entrance.

Leonidas was the first to come out and see the carpet of dead men at his feet, he felt his throat went dry as he turned and called for reinforcements while he went to get the king "Dammit" he muttered and widened his eyes when he saw the army that followed the woman at the center of the entrance court.

Obelix crossed the main court and went running to the main staircase that would lead him to the Queen's room. His heart beat faster in his chest as he came closer and closer to the right side of the wing. Finally he reached for the door and tried to open it, only to find it locked. Aurea heard noises outside and held the sword Leonidas gave her tighter; she turned to look at Gaia who was still asleep and then went to the door.

She heard Obelix said from the other side "Please open the door…please…"

Aurea widened her eyes "Obelix?" she turned the knob and opened the door slightly and let the priest come in quickly then closed it again "Obelix…what is happening outside?"

"How is the Little Princess?" he asked with great worry and went to her side, Aurea locked the door and went to stand next to him "She is asleep; she is stable…but, delicate"

Obelix closed his eyes and took a deep breath "The enemy is very strong…and it overpasses the strength of humans…"

Aurea widened her eyes "What do you mean?"

Obelix turned to look at her "This is no regular enemy Aurea, I don't know who it is…but it is strong"

"What are we going to do then?" Aurea asked very worried "I am very scared"

Gaia turned her head and slowly opened her eyes "Obelix…" she whispered. Obelix turned to look at the queen and sat next to her "Little Princess!"

Gaia frowned and looked around "What is happening? Where is Eros?"

Obelix raised his hand and tried to calm the queen down "He is taking care of some issues"

Gaia turned to look at a very worried and frightened Aurea "No, this is serious…" she turned to look at Obelix again "And I demand to know what it is"

"Little Princess"

"Where is Eros? Where is my husband?!" Gaia asked and soon felt a tug in her heart "…The enemy…" he breathed; her eyes wide "The enemy has breached to our Kingdom"

"Gaia, we need to stay here…the King asked me to take care of you"

"I need to go and help my husband"

"Little Princess, please, it is not safe out there…" Obelix tried to reason with her.

"My husband's life is in danger! I have to do some…" she began to cough; covering her mouth with her hand, the priest and the maid widened their eyes when they saw the red taint on her palm "No…" Gaia gasped for air. Obelix wrapped his arms around her as Aurea went for a little hand towel to clean the blood off her hand "This is my fault…" she breathed, still finding it difficult to breathe.

"No, no Little Princess…it is not your fault"

"I should…" Gaia coughed again "…Have told….my son…" she gasped for air "…About…him…" she coughed.

"Gaia please, you need to calm down…the King asked me to look after you…this is not doing you any good"

"My son…" Gaia began to cry silently "…You need to find my son…"

"Yes Gaia, yes we will find him"

Aurea looked at him with confusion and then back at the door where she was sure she heard noises _"Please no…gods, please protect us…"_ she thought.

Outside the sound of metal against metal contrasted the laughter of a woman that was blinded by ambition and jealousy. Beryl watched the scene develop before her eyes with satisfaction as she turned to look at the palace up to the balcony where she knew the queen was resting. A smile curved her lips _"You kill her and the crown is yours…"_

Beryl widened her eyes in surprise "Queen Metallia?" she whispered.

"_You kill her and the crown is yours, the entire planet will be yours…she, that humiliated you countless times in front of everybody…take the crown, take what it's yours. I will give you the power to do so"_

Beryl smiled with greed and turned to walk toward the entrance but a sword stopped her from doing so "Don't you dare to walk inside" Eros said; his blue eyes gleamed with fury.

Beryl laughed, her eyes gleaming pale yellow "Ah…the King, so…we meet again"

Eros eyes widened as he recognized the voice coming from the young woman "_Are you going to protect your precious little Goddess? Remember you are nothing but a mere mortal and I swore to take revenge against your kind and your wife"_

Eros shook his head in disbelief "This is impossible…" he muttered.

Beryl shook her head as well and blinked several times and looked at the king, her eyes turned red again "Your Majesty…" she breathed and smiled "What a surprise, do you remember me?"

Eros frowned "Can't you see you are possessed by an evil being?"

Beryl smiled "All I can see, is that everything you see will now be mine"

Eros raised his sword, the sharp blade pressing against her throat "Not if I stop you first"

Beryl arched a brow "Please, I have more important things to do like paying a visit to the Mother Queen" her hand moved in front of his chest and blasted him with dark energy, sending him several feet away from her then she turned and raised her hand "Kill them all!" she said to the rotten army under her spell.

The living corpses began to attack them without any mercy, taking more lives in the process. Leonidas saw the king lying on the ground, trying to get up with all his might but the battle before him was stopping him from doing so "Eros!" he yelled.

The screaming and desperate cries for help filled the air as the villagers tried to escape from the madness Beryl brought upon. Old and young families tried to escape but soon were captured by the evil soldiers, some of them recognized as part of their families.

A young woman with her two boys were running desperately seeking for a place to hide when one of the soldiers grabbed her by the arms; her children began to cry and scream for help as their mother cried "Run!"

The children denied and turned to find something that could help their mother get free from the grasp of the evil soldier when another two came their way. The younger girl cried as she watched her mother being taken away when suddenly a blade cut his head off his head, falling lifeless on the ground. The mother ran immediately towards her children and held them tight in a hug, then looked up at their savior and widened her eyes "Your Highness!" she breathed in surprise.

Endymion crouched and looked at them "Are you alright?" he asked, the woman blushed and nodded, this was the first time she saw the royal prince up that close. Endymion turned to the children and asked the same question and got a nod for response; the prince turned to the young mother and frowned "Run to the nearest house and hide there…do not open any doors or windows and do not look outside, whatever happens…do not look outside"

The woman nodded and held her children tight "Thank you" she cried, and ran as fast as she could. Endymion stood up and turned to look around, not believing what he was seeing. A loud scream was heard in the direction of the palace and his heart began to race faster in his chest "Mother…" he breathed and ran as fast as he could toward the palace grounds.

Leonidas kept slicing bodies and heads as he tried to find his way toward the hurt king that was trying his best to remain standing; Rumalos was fighting by Leonidas' side as he tried to get closer to the king "There are just too many!" he said.

Leonidas frowned and continued fighting and preventing the soldiers come inside the palace "And they're stronger too"

Rumalos widened his eyes and stepped back in shock, catching Leonidas' attention "What?" he asked; Rumalos pointed at one of the soldiers and gaspd "These men…" he trailed off "…These men are part of our army!"

Leonidas widened his eyes and turned to look at the men coming their way "This cannot be happening…" he breathed. King Eros was doing the same as the rest of the remaining army was still fighting against the enemy but the more men came inside the palace grounds the more difficult was for them to endure the battle.

His desperation grew when he saw the red head walking slowly and proudly toward the main entrance of the still untouchable palace; his mind focused on his wife and prayed with all his might that they would not be found, giving him enough time to go and rescue them.

Inside the palace the maids and butlers ran to find a secure place to hide in desperation and anxiety; Megumi instead was the one going up to the queen's chambers to see if she was alright.

"Megumi, where are you going!?" one of the maids in charge of the kitchen asked worried.

"The Mother Queen is alone, I need to help her!"

"But it is too dangerous!"

"I have to do something; she is alone in her room! I have to take her to a safer place inside the palace!" Megumi turned and went straight to the main staircase and up toward the mother queen's chambers.

Beryl managed to finally enter the palace and looked around, recognizing the particular flower scent perfuming the corridors; she looked up at the crystal chandeliers and remembered the night of the ball. As she walked inside, her hand touched the flowers on the large crystal vessels that as soon as they felt her touch began to wither slowly. She finally reached for the main staircase, the one she knew that led her to the first person she wanted to visit and smiled "I am sure she will be thrilled to see me"

o.o.o.o.o.o

Eros fought a soldier that seemed to be undefeatable, it didn't matter how much he attacked him and cut him with his sword he was still standing and strong; his body was weak because of the blast of energy Beryl threw him but his desire to return this place back the way it was for the sake of his wife was stronger than anything else.

The soldier moved faster than the king and raised his own sword above his head. Eros turned and tried to protect himself but began feeling weak again, his vision had begun to turn black and it was becoming harder for him to remain conscious "Eros!" Leonidas yelled; trying to move closer to the king as he attacked another soldier.

The king was fighting with all his might, trying not to lose his consciousness but he slowly saw the man in front of him ready to attack with his sword "Gaia…" he breathed and suddenly saw the head of the soldier fall from his body in front of him, the king widened his eyes in surprise and turned to see his son holding his sword covered in dark blood; he gasped and opened his mouth in disbelief and shock "Endymion!" he called out.

Leonidas turned and went pale as he saw the prince helping his father to remain steady on his feet "Endymion…" he breathed with great relief.

Rumalos attacked another soldier and turned "The Prince is alive!" he said in greater shock "But…"

Eros looked at his son and shook his head "I thought I heard…"

Endymion shook his head "I managed to escape once the last crew of the army were abducted and turned against us" he turned and saw another soldier coming their way and in one swift and clean cut, removed his head from his body, startling the king "…The redhead girl…"

"Beryl" Endymion said and nodded "She is the one causing all this, I know"

"She's here"

Endymion widened his blue eyes "What do you mean she is here?! Where is she?!" his face turned to one in panic and great worry "Where is Mother?!"

"In her room, Aurea…" Eros shook his head "…Is looking after her…"

Leonidas finally managed to join the prince and king, Rumalos followed behind "Endymion…" Leonidas said surprised and greatly relieved. Endymion turned to look at them "Beryl is here…where is she?!"

"She was here a moment ago, she is the one controlling all these soldiers" Leonidas said "Endymion…I went to look for you…I thought…"

"I managed to escape Leonidas"

"Where are the shitennou?" Rumalos asked "Where is Kunzite?!"

Endymion lowered his gaze for a moment, reviving the day he began losing his closest friends "There is no time to explain…once we deal with all this madness I will tell everything"

"Here comes another round of assholes" Rumalos said between his teeth and took position.

Endymion, Eros and Leonidas took position to attack; the king turned to look at his son "Remember you once asked me when we were going to fight alongside one another? Well, this is the day"

Endymion turned his blood splattered face to his father and gave him a quick smile "I'm honored to fight next to you, but I never thought it would be under these circumstances" he licked his lips and lowered his gaze for a moment "I'm sorry Father"

Eros shook his head and frowned "No, Endymion…there is nothing to be sorry about. This is no one's fault but hers only…" he put his hand on his son's shoulder and patted it "I should have kept you here, I should have listened to your Mother and put yourself first…I was mortified"

Endymion looked at his father and then at the mass of soldiers coming their way "We will come out from this, we need to protect her"

Eros nodded and gave his son a proud smile "Right" he turned to look at the enemies "Take position!" the king narrowed his eyes and raised his sword "FIGHT!"

All four men began slicing and attacking with great effect every enemy that dared to enter the palace; Rumalos turned to the prince and frowned "Even when I am greatly glad to know you are safe and sound, I need you to give me some direction here"

"Take the west wing and guide the soldiers to a more secure place to attack" Endymion said as he turned and cut another enemy's head "There are just too many enemies and the soldiers at the village need to change position and strategy, they need to attack from a higher position"

Rumalos nodded and smiled in satisfaction "I trained one fine warrior here. I will take the lead on that matter and guide the soldiers to attack at the outskirts of the kingdom so we can fight the enemies at the village"

Endymion nodded and turned to leave "Endymion!" he heard Rumalos say "Be careful"

The prince nodded once again and ran to the other side of the palace, right where Leonidas was fighting almost five soldiers at the same time, following the same thing the king was doing "Leonidas, we need to guide the remaining soldiers to a higher place, I already told Rumalos, I need you to do the same to prevent the enemies come inside the palace"

Leonidas frowned "Who is going to protect the King?"

"I will" Endymion said and slashed another soldier coming his way with one clean cut.

Leonidas turned to Eros and then to the prince "Your Mother is in her room with Aurea, I asked her not to open the door for any reason"

Endymion froze at the mention of his mother "How is she?"

"Very delicate, she almost leaves us…but she never knew you were missing"

Endymion frowned "And my Grandmother, where is she?"

"She refused to leave her room"

The prince sighed and turned to look at his father who was fighting amazingly fast and then at Leonidas "I'll take care"

Leonidas nodded and patted his shoulder "I am glad to see you alive, I will see you soon"

Endymion nodded and watched his godfather run fast to the other wing of the palace, opposite to the one Rumalos was guiding and leading the remaining soldiers "Take care Leonidas…please take care…" he said softly to the image of his mentor fading away in the distance.

Eros turned to look around in search of the red haired woman and felt panic, his desperate eyes searched everywhere for her and now she was nowhere to be found "No…" he breathed and turned to his son who was fighting an enemy soldier "Endymion!"

Endymion dodged the blow and turned to look at his father; Eros pointed at the palace with his sword "She is inside! She is inside!"

Endymion widened his eyes "But…you…you can't fight here alone! You are still weak!"

"Stop her Endymion, your Mother…your Grandmother…Aurea are in there!"

Those were enough words for him to cut the enemy's head, the same way he had been doing since he found out that was the only definite way to stop them and ran towards the palace's entrance.

Beryl stepped each stair with grace while humming a melody; a smile crept to her lips as she finally stood in front of the door of the room she wanted to go in first. Noticing it was locked; she took out the long shard of glass she had been using to kill everyone in her way and used it to break the lock on the door.

Slowly she pushed the door open and took the first step inside the large, very large room and looked around until she found the queen looking outside the window with a face of horror; the young witch's chuckles caught her attention and turned to look at her, with eyes wide "Beryl…" she whispered with fright "How…? What are you doing here…?"

Beryl smiled and tilted her head as she walked further into the room; once she was standing before the queen she played along and nodded her head, her creepy smile never left her distorted, creepy face.

Queen Narella shook her head and frowned "What are you doing here? How did you get in?" she whispered.

"I have my ways, and besides…all that time I spent alone when I stayed here helped me very much to know where to go and what to do…" Beryl said and looked around "You know, I am studying and deciding which things I must change once I take the crown and become absolute ruler of this Kingdom"

"What?" Queen Narella frowned "What are you talking about?"

Beryl arched her brow "Your room is astonishing My Queen but I suppose it is not the most majestic of the entire palace"

"Get out of here, you…demon"

The word was like fuel to the fire Beryl was igniting, her hand tightened its grasp on the long blade of glass "Demon, you dare to call me a _demon_?" she let out a chuckle "You stupid fool, you should be begging for your life as we speak!"

"Why are you doing this?" the mother queen asked troubled, she could not hide her fright every time she looked into the once green eyes the girl in front of her once had; they were now clouded with hatred, madness and evil spirited intentions "You are letting something else take full control of you…you are not being yourself"

"Why am I doing this? Well…" Beryl pursed her lips and looked around "…Because, I got tired of being seen like a mere peasant, all of you laughed at me, you humiliated me at the winter ball and I trusted you…I trusted you to help me marry your grandson"

"You know I thought you were the best candidate for my grandson…you know I looked after you, but what you did was monstrous!"

"And you humiliated me, threw me out of this place that it has always been my rightful place to be, as the rightful Princess I should be" Beryl narrowed her eyes "You, just like that stupid whore of Charmindy…threw me out like some sort of sick animal and I will never, _ever_ forget that"

"I never threw you like an animal Beryl" Queen Narella tried to reason with her "You did that to yourself with your actions"

"Silence!" Beryl raised her voice "I just have had enough of all this nonsense, you, are wasting my precious time; you old hag!"

"Beryl, please be reasona…" Queen Narella widened her eyes as she saw the long shard of glass go through her body, drenching her elegant gown in with own warm blood; her teary eyes looked up at the woman holding the blade and shook her head "May the gods have mercy of your soul…" she whispered.

"I _am_ those gods now" Beryl said, her eyes followed the queen's body as she slowly fell to the floor, dead.

Megumi stood at the door with wide eyes as she watched the mother queen lying on the floor surrounded by a pool of her own blood.

Gasping she covered her mouth in horror and went to hide behind a pillar, trying her best to be found by Beryl and waited for her to walk away. Trying to stop her it was impossible, now that she knew she held a weapon and that she just murdered the mother queen; shaking her head in denial and fright she began praying for her soul and the queen's that was sick in her room.

Beryl smiled as she looked down at Narella's lifeless body and stepped around, avoiding continuing tainting her purple gown with blood. This time she did not even bothered to hide the weapon she had been using to kill; knowing exactly where she needed go next; she walked out of the room and slowly walked to the opposite wing of the palace, where her main goal was waiting for her.

Endymion finally entered the palace and ran until he reached for the staircase and immediately went to his grandmother's room first, since it was the closest one. His heart began beating fast in his chest and he could hear its beating echoing in his mind in a slow motion state, it was a sound very similar to the hands of a clock ticking every second. _Tik, tok, tik, tok…_

He finally reached for the door and saw it wide open, his heart at this moment it was like if it stopped beating. His blue eyes widened when he saw his grandmother's body on the floor; he felt as if a part of his body was taken away and let his guard down for a moment and walked over to her. The prince kneeled next to her still warm body and held her hand while looking at her with teary eyes. This was harder than he ever thought; he breathed and looked at his grandmother, the back of his hand caressed her cheek "I love you…you know I love you with all my heart…I failed you as your guardian…I'm so sorry…" he sobbed softly.

Beryl was slowly taking away everything he cherished the most, his friends, his family…he widened his eyes in fright and panic "Mother" he breathed.

He stood up with his grandmother on his arms and carried her slowly to her bed, he put her body onto the silky mattress and looked at her one last time, he closed his eyes and slowly bent to kiss her forehead "Ire cum avi mei nunc, requiem" (Go with my grandfather, rest)

o.o.o.o

The skies were tainted black and red. She knew that aura very well, from the time she sealed her away, Gaia knew she would find her way back to haunt her and her family.

Ashes were flying all over the kingdom, burnt skin could be smelled from outside. She was frustrated because she knew she couldn't do anything else to help her kingdom.

Her planet.

Aurea turned to the door where she heard like if somebody was forcing it to open it and took the sword Leonidas gave her to protect the queen and herself "Somebody is here…" she whispered; Obelix stood up next to her for support and frowned "Look after the Queen"

Aurea widened her eyes and turned to look at him "What? I am not letting you take care of everything…"

Obelix looked down at her "It has come the time to fulfill my duty and that is to protect the Terran Goddess"

Aurea shook her head and watched the doors open slowly, revealing the scary image of Beryl standing there with a face of satisfaction. Obelix frowned and raised his hands without saying anything to her, this was it, this was the moment he had to take in order to protect everyone in the room "Superis mihi datum ... bonis viris, qui malo animo instare bellum quiete"

Beryl smiled and raised her hand _"Your cheap prayers won't help you this time Priest…"_ her eyes turned yellow again and chuckled.

Obelix widened his eyes as he recognized the voice coming out of Beryl's body "No…" he breathed "It cannot be…"

Beryl smiled "_You thought you could encase me in the shadows but I swore to take revenge…now, my time has come and yours is about to end" _she turned to look at Aurea who was pointing at her with the sword and laughed "You…pitiful mortals and your silly little weapons…" she arched a brow "…You are just stepping in the way"

Aurea tried to attack her but Beryl acted faster and blasted her and Obelix with dark energy until she fell unconscious on the ground. Obelix was the one that resisted more and frowned "You witch…"

"You useless Priest, get out of my way! You have always been a pest…since she was still a Goddess" Beryl raised her hands and before the priest could make any other move against the witch; she threw him out the window not caring of what could happen to him once he hits the ground.

Gaia opened her eyes and tried to stand up from her bed in her chambers as she knew something was wrong when she felt a strong evil presence behind her. The terran queen flinched in pain and turned to see a familiar red haired girl standing in front of her with a blooded sword in her left hand.

The red haired girl gave the queen a wide smile then she chuckled and came closer.

"What have you done?" Gaia asked terrified.

"It's mine... everything you own is mine" the red haired girl said lowly.

"Can't you see she's using you?" the terran queen asked frustrated.

"I finally am the owner of everything, your crown, your planet, your power and _your son_"

Gaia frowned "I feel so sorry for you... so pretty and yet so ambitious. You might try to force him to be yours...but he will never stop thinking about her, you will never have him. You may destroy me, but not him. You are never going to wear my crown for this crown already has a new owner" Gaia said with a low voice, her heart was aching, her eyes were clouded by her now lack of energy, she was fading away...she knew it was time.

"_Give me the Crystal!_" the girl snapped extending her hand out to her.

Gaia chuckled as she recognized the voice coming from her "I don't own it anymore"

"You think you can mock me!" Beryl moved her sword in a circular motion and started to create a dense energy around the two. Gaia was being greatly affected by the strong energy Beryl was emanating, the red haired girl sent a blast of energy at the terran queen, Gaia shut her eyes and waited for Beryl's attack.

After a few seconds when she noticed nothing happened and that she couldn't move she opened her eyes and saw with amaze at everything paused before her; Beryl with her hand pointing at her, surrounded by a dark cloud of evil energy with shards of glass floating all over the room. Gaia's eyes widened once she realized what this meant.

Turning her head she looked at Chronos standing near the window, the key hanging from his chain gleamed a soft amber color. The emotion to see him again was too much that she could not help to tear at the image of the Lord of Time "Chronos…" she whispered.

Chronos looked at her and smiled at her kindly "Hello Little One"

Gaia blinked and let her tears run slowly down her cheeks and then turned to look at the young witch pointing at her with the blooded shard of glass and turned to look at the man in front of her "…You, stopped time…you never do that…"

Chronos nodded softly "…Unless it is necessary…" his deep voice warmed the terran goddess' heart "…It is time Little One; I have come for you…"

"I thought Hades was the one coming for me…" Gaia said softly "My soul was condemned to live forever in Tartarus as a traitor to the gods…"

Chronos shook his head "I took care of that matter Little One, I would have never allow anyone to come for you and to take you were you certainly do not belong"

"…I belong here Chronos…" Gaia looked at him with pleading eyes "I belong in this place; I belong with my family…"

Chronos shook his head "You know that is not true Little One, you know this was going to happen…You knew it all along"

Gaia wiped her falling tears with the back of her hand "I have to stay here and help my family…" she sobbed softly "My husband is out there fighting for me…my son…"

"Little One…"

"I cannot leave my son…" Gaia said softly "All this is because of me, because I never told him the truth about me, about him…"

Chronos tilted his head and looked at her in the eyes "Little One, this battle stopped being yours a long, long time ago…you did what a mother had to do in order to keep her child safe, you did that…now, it is his turn to claim what it is rightfully his…but you need time to take its course…"

"And my husband Chronos? I cannot leave him here…" Gaia said between sobs.

"Everything is going to be fine Little One…you just need to let go, let yourself go and let things follow their course…"

"I do not want to leave him here!"

"You won't" Chronos smiled softly at her "When the time is right, you will see him again…"

Gaia sniffed softly and looked at Chronos "I am scared"

Chronos shook his head "Don't be, I will look after you…I have all this time and so has Serenity"

"Serenity…" Gaia widened her renewed golden eyes; Chronos nodded "She has looked after you all this time; asking the gods in every meeting to leave you alone…" he smiled softly "She misses you…"

Gaia smiled softly "And I miss her…"

"It's time Little One, time to go…" Chronos extended his hand out to her "Don't you worry…everything is going to be alright…"

Gaia hesitated for a moment, then she nodded and closed her eyes slowly, finally letting let herself engulf in the energy she once remembered having flowing through her veins "So warm…" she whispered.

A single tear rolled down her eyes and took a deep breath _"De vi ... flumina terram fluentem choris psallentium vento penitus rabiemque nobis est ... iam clarum et planetam fiat voluntas sua reparare coeli ... tempus, Eros ... mea videbo vos. Semper tecum cor meum et fortitudo mea videbo vos ... cum te amo ..." _and with one last breath she let go and held the lord of time's hand and in a flash of light Chronos cut the time warp and both disappeared right before everything regained its natural movement and Beryl filled the room with dark energy and echoed in a loud explosion.

Eros was fighting with all his might when he suddenly heard the huge explosion that came from their chambers. He tried to run inside the palace, frantic, trying to rescue his wife but was stopped by another one that destroyed what he knew as their room.

King Eros's eyes widened when he realized what just happened. He fell on his knees and cried out in pain and frustration, the love of his life was taken away "No…" he breathed "…Gaia…"

Gaia was dead.


	118. Chapter 118

_A/N: Thank you for all of your reviews...that is what encourages me to keep working on the ending of this story. I put a lot of thought and effort to this, I hope you really like this chapter._

_Have a great weekend, enjoy._

_**I do not own sm, just the plot and some of the characters**_

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**One hundred and eighteen**

* * *

'_The energy from earth is flowing...the rivers are dancing, the wind is singing deep inside the madness that is upon us...soon, this planet will regain its shine and will be one with the heavens...until then, Eros, my love...I will look after you. My heart and my strength is always with you...I will see you soon...I love you...'_

_O.o.o.o.O_

Endymion stopped wide eyed in the corridor inside the palace where could have lead him to his mother's chambers. His face turned pale as his eyes turned vacant and full of disbelief. His hands began to tremble when he realized there was no way he could try to reach for a door or a secret passage to get to that room, everything was destroyed and all he could see were pieces of wood and stone scattered around, mixed with the smell of death and decoy.

"Mother…" he breathed, his eyes gleamed with unshed tears and fell to his knees with his head down. The prince shut his eyes and clenched his jaw "I failed you mama…I failed you…" his hands touched the remains of the corridor and pounded it with his fists as he sobbed heavily.

Beryl walked from the dust and pebbles of the destroyed room after she heard noises coming from a near place and looked around founding nothing. Arching her brow she tilted her head up "I know you are here…" she said out loud "So you know…the crown is now mine and everything you used to own, now, the only thing missing is you as my husband"

Endymion pressed his lips tight and swallowed his pain and tears moved quickly to hide behind a wall while he listened to her; his breathing turned hoarse and the little pity she once felt for her was now gone. His eyes shone with burning tears but he knew this was not the time or place to mourn the memory of his family or to attack the woman inside the remains of the palace.

The thought of his grandmother being scared and Aurea defending his sick mother while the witch killed them both was eating him alive and could not even think of a way to imagine how his father and Leonidas were going to overcome this pain. He tried his best to ignore her venom voice and continued hiding while he tried to find the best way to get out of the palace.

Eros remained kneeled and inconsolable on the ground because he could not save his wife like he swore; his hands were shaking against his will; he was a broken, defeated man. He could hear more soldiers coming their way and could not understand why they were upon such curse. His sobbing was loud and no longer cared about anything; his life was practically shattered in millions of pieces the moment Gaia's heart stopped beating.

The king looked up and with a his tear stained face observed the destroyed side of the palace and watched how the home he built with his goddess slowly burned down to ashes and crumbled in pieces of stone. For the second time, his thoughts went to think his son also died in that impact; he didn't have to imagine where his mother could be, he knew she was gone as well.

Eros tried to stand up slowly and frowned; his defeated spirit still had some will to fight for the memory of his wife, his mother, his friends and his son. He grabbed his sword from the ground again and was ready to attack again when he felt an eerie energy behind him. The king turned his head to look and widened his eyes in shock, the color of his face drained then suddenly everything went black.

"_You will be…the perfect excuse…the perfect prey…" _a deep demonic like voice echoed softly in the wind as it took the king's body out of sight.

O.o.o.o.O

"All these are very lovable fabrics as ideas for decoration"

"Mmm…"

"It would be lovely if we have these kinds of flowers at the tower and these at the ball…it's going to be a masquerade"

"Mmm…"

Queen Serenity stopped looking at the fabrics in her hands and looked at her daughter drinking her tea with an absent expression "Dear?"

"Mmm…"

"Are you listening?"

Serenity put her cup down and looked at her mother, nodding she let out a soft sigh "Yes Mother I am"

Queen Serenity extended her arm across the small round table and reached for her daughter's hand "Is there anything you would like to tell me?"

Serenity looked at her and for a moment she thought of telling her everything, tell her about Athamas and his threat, telling her about what he has done to earth, about Endymion… everything but then her thoughts went back to the reality of things. Athamas was right; if she dared to say anything he could go against their kingdom and her mother and destroy the alliance.

"No Mother I'm alright"

"You have been terribly quiet these last few days…" she tilted her head "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Serenity frowned "Why do you ask me that? It is after all what you always wanted"

The queen sighed softly "This is not about me anymore dear, it is about you. I want you to be happy"

"I am… happy"

The queen raised a brow "Are you?"

The princess nodded "Just because I do not jump up and down, side to side in excitement…does not mean I am not happy…"

"A girl in love does those kinds of things"

"Did you do it?" Serenity asked "When you were going to marry my Father?"

The queen sighed again and let go of her daughter's hand "As a matter of fact, I did. Everything happened so quickly…"

Serenity shared a small smile with her mother and looked down at her tea "I just…I don't know, feel overwhelmed about all this. I did not expect it to happen so soon…"

"It is not that soon"

"The engagement ball is in two days"

"But the wedding is in a little longer than that" the queen smiled "I just want everybody to know you have finally found the man of your dreams"

Serenity felt a tug in her heart; something she recognized as pain and longing "The man of my dreams…" she said softly and nodded "…I have, yes"

"And for that I am very glad" the queen smiled "I am glad you have finally gave Athamas an opportunity"

"Yes…" Serenity said while looked at the hundreds of pieces of fabric over the small coffee table. Even when they were seating under a warm sun, it was not the same feeling as if she was on earth. She no longer felt safe and certainly did not feel any warmth at all.

"Are the girls happy for you?"

Serenity looked at her mother, then at the cup of cold tea in front of her. She wanted to say no, Mercury thought I she gave up and had to settle for the man her mother thought to be the best option for her when in reality he is a monster that brought destruction to a planet she found beautiful "Yes" she said softly.

"I am glad dear" the queen smiled at her again "I am so happy for you…and I will make sure your wedding is as beautiful as mine once was"

Serenity's smile did not reach her eyes; oh how much she wished that wedding her mother was planning for her was with Endymion and not Athamas. She imagined herself dancing in her white gown to the real man of her dreams, smiling, holding each other and feeling complete. Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a hand on her shoulder and froze under his touch "Here you are my dear" she heard Athamas say from behind her.

"Good day Athamas" the queen said softly.

"Your Majesty, it is so nice to see you this happy" the general went to kiss the queen's hand.

"It is because I am here planning my daughter's wedding"

Athamas smiled "I like that sound, wedding" he chuckled "I still cannot believe your beautiful daughter has accepted me, a soldier to be her wedded husband" he went to stand behind Serenity again, placing both hands on her shoulders "It is like I am living in a dream" he looked down at the princess "Don't you feel the same way dear?"

Serenity nodded and faked a smile "Yes, yes…of course. I am living a dream"

Athamas smiled and looked at the queen "I thank you very much for the support; I cannot wait to tell everybody that this beautiful woman is soon going to be my wife"

Queen Serenity waved her hand "It is the least I can do after all you have done for us" she looked at him "I will make sure the engagement ball is a success, everybody will be thrilled to meet you. Everybody will be here...I was just telling Serenity it is going to be a masquerade ball"

"Wonderful" the general said with a smile on his face.

Athamas' eyes gleamed with excitement at the thought of all the gods he was going to meet, he was about to become one of the most important men in the universe and that fed his ego. The queen looked at him and gave him a warm smile "I started the arrangements to refurnish a new room for you, you will be able to move in once you get married"

Serenity looked down and sighed softly "Mother…"

The queen chuckled "It is a normal thing dear, once you two get married you will need to have your personal space" her smile widened "Oh I just can't wait to have a grandchild, can you imagine?"

The thought horrified the princess causing her to widen her eyes in shock "What?"

"Imagine how wonderful would that be, a little one running in the gardens…" the queen said dreamily.

Athamas chuckled "Indeed that would be very lovely"

Serenity frowned and lowered her head "It is too soon to talk about children…"

"Serenity?" the queen said startled.

The princess looked at her mother then up at the general "…We were just discussing the design of my wedding gown…" she faked a smile "…I am sorry but you will have to excuse my Mother and I…it is secret until the very day of the ceremony"

Athamas arched a brow and smiled "I see…" he bent down and kissed her hand; the princess contained her repulse at his touch "You don't need much to look beautiful"

"It's a tradition…" Serenity cut him off as sweetly as she could pretend and tilted her head but he knew it was a way to push him away. Smiling, he kissed her hand again and continued the charade "Very well…if that is what my Princess wants…anyway, we will have a lifetime to be together…" he chuckled and bowed to the queen and turned to leave; his words were like shards of ice to Serenity's heart and she knew it was his way to remind her of his threat.

Once he left, the queen looked at her daughter with concern "What?" Serenity asked her slightly annoyed.

"You do not seem very open to the idea of having children"

"It is too soon to talk about it Mother, I am not married…yet" Serenity looked down at her hands _"A child…" _she thought "_Having a child with Athamas…" _her eyes turned sad at the thought; marrying a man she did not love was one thing she could probably handle including the misery and the disaffection but to have any kind of intimacy with him was an abominable thought for her. How could she let him touch her? After knowing all of what he has done; she gave her body and soul to the only man she has loved and the one she envisioned to be the father of her child, all this time they were together and while she watched him sleep she imagined how would be like to have a child with him, would it have Endymion's blue eyes? Would it want to pursue the same dream to be a soldier? Maybe his character and her curiosity…she did not know, and now it was something that would forever stay in the shadows.

"Serenity?"

Serenity widened her eyes and looked at her mother who had a worried face "Dear are you alright?"

"Y-Yes"

"You are very distracted…that is not like you, I have been calling you several times…is there something you want to tell me?"

The princess hesitated again. Each and every time the queen asked her that question it happened the same thing over and over again, should she tell her the truth? Should she tell her about Endymion? About the romance she had with him? But then just as the thought came it was gone away thanks to the same question that rounded at the back of her mind 'Would her mother believe her words?'

Sighing, she nodded "Yes Mother, everything is alright…like I said, I am overwhelmed by all this…everything is happening so soon…"

The queen patted her daughter's hand and smiled at her "Time flies…"

The princess nodded and looked down at the little pieces of fabric on the table "It sure flies…" she whispered _"One day I met the love of my life and the next one I was losing him in a horrible war caused by the man I am about to marry soon…"_

The irony of her life.

o.o.o.o.o

She opened the large golden doors that led to the large throne room and watched with amazement at the three golden chairs sitting on a three stair platform. Her red eyes studied the one that once belonged to the queen and with a satisfying chuckle she walked over to it, slowly, proudly and with content.

"Don't you dare" a deep voice stopped her and made her turn. Endymion stood at a distance near the doors and watched her with dark eyes.

Beryl smiled and tilted her head "Oh, there you are…" she turned to him and extended her arms "Look! I am finally the owner of all this…" she chuckled "…And it can be yours as well if you just say yes" she extended her hand out to him "Marry me Endymion…and we will rule not just this planet but the entire galaxy"

Endymion wiped the trail of blood that ran down his forehead with his hand without parting his gaze from her "It disgusts me…_you_, disgust me…"

Beryl arched a brow "Can't you see? I have the power necessary to take control of everything"

Endymion narrowed his blue eyes and clenched his jaw "Power? You call murdering, power?"

"I call it being in charge" Beryl said and smiled "I just 'removed' obstacles out of my way…"

"You are a murderer"

"So are you dear" Beryl arched her brow "Or are you going to tell me that the blood on your face and your hands is your own?" she frowned and shook her head "We are on the same level, your hands are tainted with blood…the blood from the people you swore to guide and protect. Look at you, you are fighting for a dead cause…your guardians are dead, your army is down and against you and your family…well…what can I say about them? They are also gone…you are all alone. I am the only person you have left" she turned and walked up to the queen's vacant throne chair "The chair is here for you to join me"

Endymion glared at her "That chair is too big for you to fill, _bitch_"

Beryl widened her eyes and turned in anger, blasting dark energy at where Endymion was standing just moments ago and widened her eyes "Where are you?!" she turned "Now you hide?!" she laughed "Show your face! BE THE WARRIOR YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE!" her voice echoed in the vast room as her eyes searched for him with desperation "You no longer have a choice Endymion! Everything is mine now, do you hear me!? MINE! AND YOU WILL BE TOO!" her eyes glared with anger as she raised her hand and her long staff appeared again blasting dark energy at everything she laid eyes on, the long mosaic windows and the dome in the ceiling.

"_You don't know with whom you are fighting against…he will burn your soul…"_

The shitennou's words echoed in the back of her mind repeatedly and her breathing became hoarse as she put her hands on her head "No…" she whispered and frowned "It's mine, everything is now mine…the crown is now mine…Earth is mine and so is the Prince…" she nodded in reassurance "He will be _mine_"

Endymion ran through the rubble and debris of the fallen ceiling and mostly destroyed palace and finally managed to find the exit. His eyes widened as he saw the field of fallen bodies lying on pools of blood. Silence had fallen almost completely as he could still hear screaming and clashing of swords in the distance; he immediately thought of his injured father and Leonidas and tried to go all the way back to find them. His steps were steady even when he felt like he was about to faint at the horrific scene before him; the sound of his boots walking through the mix between blood and dirt was the only thing that kept him in reality.

It was then when he heard a weak cry for help in the distance, his blue eyes widened as his heart recognized the faint sound of his voice. The prince ran as fast as he could, trying to find the exact location of the voice while looking down at the hundreds of corpses at his feet.

His eyes widened when he finally recognized the body lying in the distance and ran to it "Obelix…" he kneeled next to him and

looked at the terrible wounds he had all over his body. He bit his lower lip when he saw his once pale tunic was now covered in blood. He opened his eyes slowly and turned to look at the prince "E-Endymion…" he whispered with amazement "…You're…" he coughed and gasped for air.

"Obelix…no…do not hesitate…" Endymion tried to stabilize him.

"She…" Obelix gasped for air again.

Endymion nodded and try to cure his wounds channeling some kind of his power onto him "I know Obelix…I know Beryl is behind all this madness"

Obelix shook his head "…I…was…with your…Mother…when…" he coughed "…She came…"

Endymion tried to calm him down "Please Obelix…do not…"

"I should have saved them…" Obelix said in regret "…I tried to stop her…but she…attacked Aurea and then threw me out…" he pointed with his finger up where the balcony used to be "…She threw me out…with…such great force…" he began to cough blood "…She is evil, possessed by an evil being…" he held the prince's hand "…You are the only one who can stop her…"

"Obelix, I need you to be calm…I can't move you because of your wounds but let me help you…"

"No…no…" Obelix shook his head "Do not waste your energy on me"

"Obelix…"

"No…" the priest reaffirmed.

"I have to find my father…and Leonidas…"

Obelix coughed softly and shook his head, fighting the tears in his eyes "…There is no one left Endymion…"

Endymion frowned and shook his head "No, no…they have to be hiding somewhere, I have to find them"

"No…Endymion…" Obelix took a deep breath "They are gone…I saw them fall…she has killed them all…" his grip on his hand tightened "Now, you have to stop her…"

Endymion shook his head "I don't know how…I don't know what else to do…"

"Yes, yes you do…" Obelix coughed "You always have…"

Endymion frowned "I don't understand…"

"You have always known you have a special power in you…and I have trained you to use it and channel it the right way…" Obelix looked at him "…You are the only one who can stop her…"

"How Obelix…?" Endymion shook his head "…Even if I attack her with my sword…I won't be able to stop her, I could not save my family…I could not save you…"

"You have to go…" Obelix coughed again and took some time to continue; Endymion frowned "Where? Where do I have to go?"

Obelix raised his hand slowly and pointed at the dark sky "…There…"

Endymion looked up, following his finger pointing at the moon "What are you talking about?"

"You have to go there and let them know…what happened here…in order to…save the…galaxy…"

The prince shook his head "Obelix…"

"Endymion… remember your training…your sword…" he gasped for air "…Your sword…is the key…that will stop all this…you have to go there and let them know what happened here in order to protect the galaxy…your heart and conviction is what will save this planet…you are the only one who can save us now"

"I am just a mortal, you know better than anyone that I do not have the power to do such thing"

Obelix shook his head "…Remember…Endymion…" he took a deep breath "…Remember…and you…will…find…the answer…" he coughed "…Helios…will follow your lead once…you unleash…the power…in…you…"

Endymion looked at the priest and held his hand "What power, what power are you talking about?!…"

"Please forgive me…for not…protecting you…" he breathed and slowly began to close his eyes "…I…believe…in…you...please…use…your…power…to stop…this…"

"Obelix, please…you have to be calm…"

The priest shook his head slowly "I believe in you..." with one last breath, he let himself go and closed his eyes. Endymion watched him with troubled eyes and tried to wake him up "Obelix…" he shook him slowly "Obelix!" he lowered his head in defeat, closed his eyes and took a moment to mourn the loss of his mentor, of another member of his family.

He could not hold his frustration and pain for losing every dear person in his life in a short amount of time; he was not even sure if he was strong enough to continue fighting for what it looked like a lost cause. He ran his hands through his black hair and stood up. After he moved the body of the priest to a more secluded area he turned on his heel and went to find the bodies of Leonidas, Rumalos and his father's hoping that he would still find them alive despite the priest's words.

All he could hear was the dense ambient and noticed how the noise and crying from the people began to yield; the prince looked around recognizing the faces of the men that he once met as his soldiers and the ones with who he trained when he was younger.

After touring the palace grounds in search for a living soul he confirmed the priest's words and denied to believe; under a pile of rubble he found the lifeless bodies of Leonidas and Rumalos except his father's. He did the same thing he did for Obelix and dragged the bodies to a more hidden area and prayed for their eternal rest; his will was no longer intact, he was defeated, defeated by a witch that was blinded by jealousy and ambition.

The prince leaned his back on a wall and slowly slid down until he was sitting on the dirty ground and rested his head on his knees; angry at himself for not being able to fulfill his duties as warrior.

He raised his head up and looked at the clouded dark sky; not a single star could shine through the thickness of darkness and the dense energy around them. He leaned his head back until it touched the wall and continued looking up, trying to find an answer to his prayers… "Prayers…" he murmured as his thoughts went back to repeat Obelix's words _"Unleash the power, the power in you…" _the priest's voice echoed in his mind _"The sword is the key…your energy the power to stop this madness…"_

His eyes narrowed as he saw the red blooded clouds move slowly, revealing a brief glimpse of the moon _"Go there…"_

"_You have to go there…"_

"_You have to go there and let them know what has happened here in order to protect the galaxy"_

Endymion frowned "Protect the galaxy…" he sighed and unshed his sword; taking a good look to it "…The sword is the key…" he murmured again; his brows knitted together in thought "The key to what, exactly?"

He looked up at the sky again "Serenity…" he breathed and widened his blue eyes "…After all this time and madness, my mind still keeps the loving memory of your smile...I have failed you too…" he blinked slowly "…I need to see you, I need to warn you to be careful…"

The sound of footsteps parted him from his thoughts and stood up quickly to take position and attack whoever enemy was still living and coming his way. If he was supposed to be the only one remaining and the only one that could stop all this 'disease' from spreading like the priest had said he had to remain hidden from Beryl and her minions until he could come up with a strategy and a better plan.

The footsteps began to sound closer and closer and just when Endymion was ready to give a deadly attack, he diverted his sword to the other side once he saw the girl trying to escape from the palace. His eyes widened in shock as he saw her bleeding from one arm "Megumi?" he asked softly in surprise.

Megumi's eyes widened in shock when she saw the prince standing in front of her with his sword out and ready to attack "Prince Endymion!" she exclaimed and covered her mouth with both hands when she saw him put his index finger on his lips.

Endymion put his sword back on its sheath and walked closer to the young maid "I do not want _her_ to know I am here…"

Megumi looked back and then at the prince and nodded, she lowered her gaze and bit her lip "My Prince…I tried to do something, to help Queen Narella, I knew she was alone…and Queen Gaia…Lady Aurea…I tried to…"

"I know Megumi" Endymion said softly and put a hand on her shoulder for support "And I thank you for that"

The young girl looked into the prince's troubled and sad eyes and felt sorry for everything that was happening to him. His handsome face was dirty with dust and what it seemed blood that came from a wound close to his hairline and probably from the many men he killed in order to get here; to her surprise his armor was not as dirty as his face and hands but still showed battle wounds "My Prince I am so sorry for your loss…" she whispered sadly and watched the silent prince lean on the stone wall again; the young man sighed and looked up at the dark sky.

Nodding, he blinked what appeared to be tears and stayed silent; Megumi bit her lower lip and waited a little while to continue because she had never seen her prince cry "Everyone thought you were…"

"Dead…" Endymion nodded "I know Megumi…I thought that myself as I couldn't find my way back here when I was fighting in the woods…I was too far away, it looked like I was trapped in a nightmare… I still believe that all this is a bad dream…" he pressed his lips in a tight line.

"General Leonidas and King Eros were very worried when they learned that you had gone missing…" Megumi said softly "The General went to look out for you but always returned with a negative…"

"I had to hide, I had to walk through the shadows so I couldn't be seen by her and her minions…apparently that is the best thing I can do right now, disappear"

Megumi shook his head "No, Prince…do not talk like that"

"I failed my people Megumi, I failed my army…I failed my family. I couldn't protect them" he sighed and closed his eyes "To see her…the image of my dead grandmother…" he opened his eyes slowly and looked at his blood stained hands "…I was there when the explosion happened and I could not do anything…"

Megumi lowered her gaze "I did not know Lady Beryl possessed that kind of power…I did not know she was a witch"

"She took the life of my family…her hands are tainted with their innocent blood" Endymion said coldly "And I am here, unable to do a thing…unable to kill her because I am not strong enough" his eyes widened when he felt her hands cleaning the wound on his forehead with a soft cloth and turned to face her with surprise; her face was innocent and even when they were trapped in a dimension of hatred and dead she still had a warm smile of comfort to give him "You are strong enough my Prince, you are just a little hurt"

Endymion blinked, shocked that this girl had managed to survive this deadly environment and still was there helping him. His eyes widened when he saw the wound on her arm "Megumi, your arm!" he moved and held her arm, his eyes studied the depth of it "It's bleeding too much"

Megumi shrugged her shoulders "I had to survive My Prince…it is not that dee…ooow!" she flinched in pain when she felt his bare hand covering the deep wound and widened her brown hazel eyes "My Prince?"

Endymion turned to look at her "You are the only family I have left, I am not leaving you hurt"

Megumi's eyes widened bigger and blinked "F…Family?" she could not help but feel the burning in her eyes because of her tears. The prince thought of her as part of his family; he cared for her and true, she once had a teen crush for him.

She always looked up to him, she always admired him and now to be considered as part of his family was something she could not describe, she felt protected and _loved_. She looked with amaze at the soft golden light that suddenly began to emanate from his hand that to her surprise began to heal the wound completely.

Endymion moved his hand once there was no trace of blood in her arm and looked at her "You are part of my family, you have been my accomplice since Aurea asked you to assist me and always, always helped me and stayed true. You gave me your friendship and that is something I have cherished all this time" the prince stepped aside "Even now…when all I am is a defeated man, you are still here trying to help me"

"You…" she trailed off and looked at her healed arm "…How did you…?"

Endymion looked at the young girl and shrugged his shoulders "It's something Obelix taught me how to control when I was very young"

"But…" Megumi blinked "Your hand…" she trailed off and gasped softly "You have divine power!"

Endymion arched his brow and shook his head "I am far from being _divine_ Megumi, this was just a little trick I was taught a long time ago" he pursed his lips and lowered his gaze "If I were divine like you say, I would have been able to help you it is the other way around, you are the one helping me"

"I will always help you my Prince" Megumi said softly "And to me you are not a defeated man…I know you can win this battle"

Endymion looked at her with surprise; Megumi smiled "I believe in you"

The prince sighed and sat on the dirty ground again "I am not the same man you met some time ago…"

"My Prince, all this, is not your fault…" Megumi followed and sat next to him "…You are blaming yourself for something that was cause under other circumstances, you went and risked your life to save us…and still, you had come back even after all those adversaries…you are still here, alive and that must be a sign…"

Endymion lowered his head "A sign, from where? From who?" he asked defeated.

Megumi hugged her knees close to her chest and looked up "The gods maybe…" she tilted her head "…Your Princess…" she turned to look at him "She must be very worried for you…and she probably does not know you are still here, alive"

Endymion closed his eyes "My Princess…I failed her too"

Megumi frowned and shook her head "You have not failed her My Prince, you will…if you give up"

Endymion took the young girl's words in and sighed "The gods…" he said bitterly and then, Obelix's words made sense "Go there…warn them about what's happening here…" he repeated the priest's words and widened his eyes.

He raised his head up and looked at the dark sky "Serenity…" he whispered and began connecting the dots of Beryl's and Obelix's words "…Protect the galaxy…" he turned to Megumi "She is planning to rule everything…she knows Serenity is not from here!"

Megumi widened her eyes and gasped "She is going to hurt the Princess"

Endymion nodded "I have to find a way to let Serenity know. I have to protect her…I have to…" he stood up and helped the girl stand up too and looked around "…I must find a way to let her know…"

A loud and big explosion interrupted their conversation as they could hear Beryl's minions wondering the outsides of the palace she now claimed as hers. Laughter followed suit as they heard she commanded them to find the Prince.

"There is no place for you to hide Endymion!" she said out loud, her acid like voice echoed in the vast immensity of the dead valley before her and chuckled "It's over"

Endymion held Megumi and walked slowly to hide behind a large stone wall; the prince wrapped his arms around the young maid's back in a protective manner and stood still, startling Megumi by his intimate action "Stay quiet…" he whispered and held her close.

"This planet is now mine Endymion…and soon all the galaxy will be too…" Beryl smirked "The rotten bodies of those you used to call your family will be the first to burn under my feet…"

Beryl's red eyes widened when she saw the prince coming out of the stone wall from where he was hiding. Megumi looked at him with panic and shook her head "Prince, please…don't"

Endymion looked at her and tilted his head forward "Stay here"

Megumi trembled with fear as she heard the dark witch laugh in the distance and pressed her body against the cold wall. Beryl stood proudly at the center of the entrance court of the palace and opened her arms as she received the power given by Metallia.

Endymion walked over to her and stood several feet away from the witch; Beryl smiled "Ah, there you are…you know, I am getting tired of this little hide and seek game of yours"

Endymion frowned "I am not playing any games Beryl"

"Then enlighten me, what are you doing?"

"I am stopping this massacre you just created, this world of violence"

Beryl narrowed her eyes and looked at his hand holding his sword "Then why are you holding that sword out to me?"

"Because, I am going to stop _you_"

Beryl cracked a laugh "You…_you_ dare to challenge me?" she opened her arms "Look around you Endymion and see the reality of things, you are the only one left…" she smiled when she saw the young girl in the distance "My, my…what have we here?"

Endymion widened his eyes in shock and turned to look at two beryl's minions holding the young maid "Megumi" he muttered and turned to Beryl "Let her go!"

Beryl smiled and took a step closer "I remember your face very well…you, the humble and loyal servant. How many times did I ask for your help and you denied?"

Megumi fought the men holding her, trying to get free "Let me go!"

Beryl smiled "I am very much surprised to see you alive…you are just a mere servant with no abilities or whatsoever…"

"Let her go Beryl" Endymion demanded.

Beryl looked at the prince and chuckled "You have nothing, nobody! I have gained control!" she extended her hand at him "Your only option now is to marry me, be with me…and join me in the creation of a new Kingdom"

Endymion narrowed his eyes "I rather die"

"Of course…" Beryl put her hands on her waist "…Because you don't have eyes for any other girl than that white little whore"

Endymion frowned, Beryl smiled "Ah, so I hit a sensitive spot"

"Don't you dare to touch _her_, don't you even think to lay a finger over her"

"I am going to find her…I am going to track her down until I find her and then…I will make her see how her beautiful charming Prince marries another woman…just how you did with me at the ball" she tilted her head "…And then I will take full control of the heavens the same way I took control here" she took another step closer "This planet is dead…there is nothing left to save"

Endymion tightened the grip on his sword and suddenly memories began to reach his mind, something inside him just happened and opened the Pandora box in his brain and exposed many events that happened in his early years.

"_Mama…mama…"_

_[chuckles]_

"_Hello dear, how was your day?"_

_Endymion smiled at his mother "Obelix taught me how to pray!"_

_Gaia blinked "Oh he did? And…which prayer did he taught you?"_

_Young Endymion sat on his mother's bed and showed her his hands "He told me that I needed to learn how to channel my energy to positive things" he looked at his mother "He said, that I should learn to pray to the gods in order to look after our Protector" _

_Gaia smiled "That is correct, you have to learn how to control your energy"_

_Endymion frowned "Mama, why do I have this?"_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Why do I have to learn how to pray?"_

_Gaia licked her lips and gave her son a soft smile "Because, you are a very special boy…"_

_Endymion lowered his gaze "…But, sometimes I hurt Obelix…sparks come out of my hands and I can't control it…and I hurt him…" he shook his head and pouted his lip "Mama…am I a monster?"_

_Gaia widened her eyes and shook her head "No, no dear of course not. Why do you even dare to ask me that?"_

_Endymion shrugged his shoulders "Obelix says I am special"_

"_And you are dear, very special…" she held her son's hands "And those sparks you have are because all of us are blessed by the sun, you and me…we have a little piece of the sun in our hearts"_

_Endymion blinked his eyes "A little piece…of the sun?" he looked down at his hands and then at the window "That sun?"_

_Gaia smiled "Yes dear, that sun" the queen of earth nodded and held her son's hands "Your name means setting sun…because to me, you are the sunshine of my life. Never be afraid of those sparks, it is what makes you unique and different from the others…"_

_Endymion looked up at his mother and gave her a warm smile "Yes Mama"_

_o.o.o.o.o_

_"You are so big!" she said once he put her down and kissed her on the forehead "So much time away from home…"_

_"But your letters kept me going" Endymion smiled "I kept my promise Mater, I became a warrior"_

_"I know dear" she said and moved aside the bangs from his face and looked into his eyes "You have no idea of how much I missed those eyes of yours"_

_Endymion smiled "I missed you terribly as well Mater…"_

_Gaia smiled "I got used to be called mama"_

_"To me, you will always be my mama" Endymion kissed his mother's cheek._

_"Come, sit here next to me…let me look at you…my, look how much you have grown!" Gaia caressed her son's face and sighed, deep inside she felt like she needed to let her son be what he was destined to be, she knew he felt a strong bond with Earth since he was a little boy and now that he was older and prepared, she was certain that he felt that bond even stronger._

_"I have something for you…" Gaia smiled and stood up; walking to her bed she sat on her side and took a large black case from under it. Endymion went to sit next to her and watched the black case with curious eyes "What is it?"_

_Gaia opened the case and revealed a beautiful sword with a black and gold cover, she slid its cover off it and revealed a golden katana with an onyx handle and an onyx smaller blade that was attached to the handle with the purpose to remove it was needed. The slick golden blade shone with the light and looked like it was made of crystal. It was impeccable and beyond magnificent._

_"Mater…" Endymion looked at the beautifully crafted sword "It's…beautiful"_

_Gaia looked at it with melancholy and remembered all the times she fought with it "This sword used to be mine…"_

_"Yours?" Endymion asked surprised._

_"This sword has gone from generation to generation…it was your great grandfather's, your grandfather's, your uncle's and then mine…" Gaia said softly "When I was little, my father told me that this sword was hand crafted by the gods that live up in the heavens and that held special powers…but only a true warrior could truly use it, only a warrior could unleash its true power"_

_The queen looked at her son with proud and loving eyes "You are my son and a great warrior. This sword belongs to you now…"_

_"Are you giving me this sword?" Endymion's eyes widened in shock._

_"This sword was made to be only with great warriors, like you" Gaia smiled "It won't respond to other who doesn't have the power of a warrior"_

_Endymion could feel a strong force that came from the precious blade and connected to him in some way, he felt a connection with the weapon like if it held a secret only he would know "It feels so different from my other sword" he held it and moved his wrist in a zig zag motion "Like if it's cutting through the air…it glides…"_

_Gaia smiled "It is something different from other weapons"_

Endymion opened his eyes and looked at the weapon on his hand and soon realization hit him "The key…to unleash the true power…" he breathed "_The prayers…" _he looked down at the blade in his hand "The sword…" he breathed and widened his eyes "Could it be?!"

Beryl raised her hands "Surrender to me Endymion!" dark energy began circling her at an impressive force; lights and thunder began crashing across the sky as the woman's anger began to increase.

Endymion frowned and raised his hand holding the sword "No ordinary weapon, for no ordinary opponent" he muttered and turned to look at Megumi who was miraculously freeing herself from the men's grasp and kicked them until she left them unconscious on the ground. The prince looked down at her and nodded "Stay close to me…"

"Prince…" Megumi asked concerned "What are you going to do?"

"I am going to fight" the prince turned to look at the dark queen "I am going to stop that monster"

Beryl laughed "You can't stop me! This is over until you decide to marry me and acknowledge me as your Queen!"

Endymion raised his sword above his head "Never"

Beryl frowned "Then see how everything goes down to hell!" she blasted dark energy from her staff at all their surroundings, destroying even more what was already destroyed. The remains of the palace began to crumble as dark thunder hit the stone and marble, turning everything into just useless debris.

Endymion closed his eyes and concentrated; he began channeling his energy as he was once taught and with the memory of his family vivid in his mind he soon lost any sense of time and space. He finally managed to reach his highest point in concentration at a very short amount of time.

Helios was secluded at the tower like Obelix had commanded him not to leave. Much to Helios' surprise Obelix yield his place in the praying room where only the high priest was allowed to enter. It was a circular room, full of white candles all around; the ceiling was a crystal dome that was destined to filter the light coming from the sun and purify the sacred sanctuary.

The young priest was praying, chanting his most intricate prayers when he felt the calling and opened his eyes.

The _calling_ as Obelix used to call it, was the connection between the priest and the protector of the planet. The priest had to always look after the protector and help it to channel the energy to its full purpose. That was his duty now and after so many years he finally understood why the high priest asked him to wait "Terra tandem evigilare faciatis ... legendary miles, est evigilare faciatis" he breathed and closed his eyes again "Dirigendos ad terram istam ut placidum Incipio"

Endymion opened his eyes and showed a warm and intense golden color. It was like a strong fire was raging inside of his body, taking control of everything in its way; he raised his sword above his head and frowned "Vi maria terraeque, et puritatem aeris ab igne furore ... mando vobis omne periculum auro ut sanctificarent illud fidei lumen semitis traicere auderet…"

Beryl frowned and growled, above her head a dark cloud resonated with a deep and raspy female voice said with shock "Ah…the son of Gaia has awakened…that power…I know that power…"

Beryl clenched her teeth and intensified the mass of force against the prince; Megumi tried to cover her face but resisted as much as she could just like the prince asked her to do it.

"You cannot win against me! The Earth is dead…and is now mine!"

Endymion frowned "Are you sure about that?" he asked; Beryl widened her eyes "What?!"

"Tenebras abstulit, evanescunt malum et Diriget cruciatae animas ad terram somniorum ... Elysion"

"What are you doing?!" she muttered and blasted him with more energy that soon stopped giving any effect. Her red eyes widened as she saw the sword in his hands begin to glow with a golden light that soon ignited in a blazing golden fire.

Beryl's mouth fell as she watched the sword with fire and remembered the shitennou's words "He will burn your soul…" she breathed with horror "No…"

"The crystal…" The dark cloud muttered "STOP HIM!"

Beryl gaped and blasted him more dark energy; Endymion continued chanting his prayer as his sword began to glow with more intensity "No!" she said out loud "This planet is mine!"

"This planet is not yours and it will never be…" his eyes shone with tears as he knew what his last words meant; all the memories he constructed over the years in this place he called home were about to vanish in a matter of seconds. Like if he knew what he had to do he closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath "A vi condeded a me ... i signantes auferes malum..." he opened his eyes and frowned.

"…Vi terra et dormire vos!" he laid his sword down and dig it deep into the ground that soon rumbled in a loud earthquake; a golden aura covered him and he immediately pulled Megumi inside the cocoon the same sword made as protection when the earth began to dry itself and put down to sleep for what it seemed forever.

Beryl shook her head as she felt the strong presence of the golden light cut through the force of the darkness "Queen Metallia!"

"We have to retreat…" the voice said "His awakening has been stronger than I have ever imagined"

The dark cloud covered the young witch in a protective manner as the strong blazing fire coming from the prince began to cover everything in its golden light. Helios opened his eyes and he felt the energy flow with great force and knew what he had to do "Earth has been put to sleep…now my work begins to protect Elysion from the inside…" sighing he began to vanish with the intensity of the golden light that soon reached him at the tower.

Megumi could not hold the intense light and closed her eyes; Endymion continued channeling his energy to the sword in his hands and looked straight at the black witch covered in a black shadow in front of him "By this you are only sending all this down to hell a little faster" Beryl said with eyes of pure horror.

Endymion growled and increased his strength; his hands began to burn by the force of the energy flowing out of him and into the sword deep in the ground.

Thunder and lightning echoed across the skies and the ground beneath their feet began to shake with more force, Megumi couldn't help the curiosity of what was happening and opened her eyes slightly and saw the magnitude of the force the price was controlling with his hands "P-Prince…" she said in amaze; her eyes looked down at the glowing sword on the ground and saw how it cracked the soil showing a furious red color underneath.

"Hic tibi sit!" Endymion looked at Beryl and growled louder "Vos non pertinent hic ..." (You don't belong here)

He took his sword out of the blazing, shaking ground and raised it above his head and looked at her "Malum, Recéde!... ferebat, dedit mihi de potestatis hic statim exire iubeo! (Evil begone…by the power given me as the carrier of this sword I command you to leave this place at once!)

Beryl sent a dark force and crashed against the burning golden light but still the force was too strong for her to fight; her eyes widened and gasped as she felt her skin beginning to burn.

"_He will burn your soul…"_

Beryl shook her head and looked up at the shadows upon her "Queen Metallia, help…me!" she looked at her surroundings and saw shards of ice beginning to cover the ground "This cannot be happening…I cannot lose!"

"_This is the same light…I know this burning light…" _The shadow slowly began to disappear, taking Beryl with it.

"Terran strenti, in articulo…mortis…" A blast of blinding light invaded everything in its way even the last dark place on earth bringing it to a deafening silence as soon as his words escaped his lips in a deadly whisper.

The light soon began to fade leaving the prince exhausted and the young maid impressed by the amount of power she never imagine Endymion had. Horrified and worried, she kneeled next to him and tried to bring him to his senses when she noticed her voice sounded different, like an echo.

Looking up, her eyes widened as she saw everything dark and covered in ice. The land she knew as Elysion and the Golden Kingdom was now, a world that now existed only in dreams. Tears began to run down her cheeks as she realized she was now a living being on dead, inexistent ground and looked down at the prince who began to regain his consciousness, blinking he frowned and looked at her "Are you alright?" he asked softly.

Megumi could not contain her tears and nodded; Endymion frowned and slowly sat down and looked at his surroundings then at the sword next to him "Everything…is gone" he heard Megumi say and turned to her "Elysion no longer exists…" she whispered sadly.

"I had to do it…I had to vanish that evil power poisoning everything in its way" he whispered and narrowed his eyes "But I know they are not dead…"

Megumi looked at him surprised "But…"

"I can feel their energy…they're hiding…even when this world has been put to sleep"

Megumi's face turned to one of worry "Put…to sleep…"

Endymion lowered his gaze "I'm sorry…" he whispered "You must think I am a monster, don't you?"

Megumi shook her head "No my Prince…you did what you have to do…there was just too much suffering…" she looked down "…But I do not know what we are going to do now…" she widened her eyes when she saw him standing up and looking at the sky "I can finally see the moon and the sky…" he looked down at her "You are right Megumi…" Endymion sighed "…I will fail her if I give up…that is why, I have to see her…"

He gave her a sad smile "I put this planet to sleep so they could not hurt it anymore, it was suffering too much…the pain was unbearable, it hurts me yes…my life, all my memories…my family is here, but they all are now resting in peace…and it is because of this peace that I have to see Serenity"

Megumi blinked "How are we going to call for her my Prince?"

Endymion shook his head softly and looked up again "We are not going to call for her, we are going there"

Megumi frowned confused "Where?"

Endymion pointed his sword at the silver moon gleaming in the sky "There"

Megumi's eyes widened in shock "But…I am a mortal…I…"

Endymion looked down at her and crouched next to her "I am too Megumi, I honestly don't know if it's going to work or not…but all the lessons and prayers Obelix taught me suddenly made sense…he was teaching me something else" he extended his hand out to her "I have to try…before it's too late"

Megumi blinked and looked at his hand; her heart raced inside her chest and it felt like it was climbing right up to her throat in a terrifying and overwhelming kind of excitement. Her trembling hand soon held his and both stood up; he gave her a smile that did not reach his eyes because even when he pretended to be calm and collected she knew Endymion was broken inside "Do not let go of my hand, close your eyes…and let's hope the best"

Megumi nodded "I trust you my Prince" and slowly she closed her eyes, and with a strong grip she held the prince's hand. Endymion turned to look at the frozen and empty ruins of what it used to be his home and at the remains of the Golden Kingdom; with sadness he closed his eyes and bid them goodbye in his mind.

He began to channel his energy once again; he same pale, golden light began to flow through his body and remembered the moment his mother taught him his first prayer.

o.o.o.o.o

_Gaia held Endymion's hands and brought them together "You need to be at peace…your mind needs to be focused or otherwise…the gods won't listen"_

_Young Endymion frowned "Why do I have to learn this Mamma?"_

"_Because, it is an important part of you…this energy…that flows all around us…" she sighed "…He is the only one that will listen to our plea" the queen looked into his eyes._

_Endymion looked at his hands and then at his mother "Do not let go of my hands, close your eyes…and let's hope for the best…" Gaia said and gave him a soft smile "Repeat after me…"_

_"Tempus Custos!..."_

Endymion opened his eyes and looked up, repeating the ancient words "…Scindite seorsum caelum, et aperuerit spatium-vicis ostium mihi! Voco verum nomen omnipotens deus tempore quia custodis pater! Chronos! Indicate mihi fecísti vias lucem!"

(Time Guardian! Tear apart the sky and open the space-time door to me! I call the true name of the almighty god of time, the time guardian's father! Chronos! Reveal to me the path of light!)

Megumi could feel a warm energy coming from the prince, similar to the one she experienced moments ago and could feel like if she was floating. She could hear his voice and listened to the ancient words that were escaping his lips. With amaze and deep respect she now knew the kind of power her prince possessed and that gave her the braveness necessary to let go of her fears and felt safe and protected. Endymion felt his prayers were answered and soon were lost in a flash of light.

O.o.o.o.O

At his palace, Chronos opened his eyes and turned to look at his daughter that was closing the door of time and space "Father…I can sense movement in the space time corridor…"

The lord of time nodded and crossed his fingers together in thought, a knowing smile was formed in his lips "Yes dear"

"I will take care of the matter"

Chronos shook his head and raised his hand to stop her "No dear, the movement you feel…is not a threat but a miracle…" with a soft sigh he closed his eyes and granted the permission he was asked.

"…Let destiny take its course…"

The Lord of Time opened his eyes and nodded "It's time"


	119. Chapter 119

_A/N: You know I am now currently posting every friday but this was a special request. Today is a good friend's birthday and since she is a hardcore follower of the story she asked me if I could post a chapter as a birthday present so, here you go Ana, I wish you a very happy birthday, may you receive tons of love from your family and friends. My best wishes are for you and I hope you eat a lot of cake (eat an extra piece in my name 'kay?) HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU :)_

_I hope you have a good week, take care and enjoy!_

_**I do not own SM just this plot and some of the characters, thank you**_

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter one hundred and nineteen**

* * *

"_By the strength of the seas and Earth, the purity from the air and the rage and fury of fire...I command you, golden light of faith to purify any threat that has dared to cross our path. Light the darkness away, vanish evil and guide the tortured souls to the land of dreams...Elysion_

_Earth has finally awoken...the legendary soldier, has awoken…guide this land to its new peaceful beginning…"_

_-Helios_

Princess Serenity looked at herself in the mirror and did not recognize her face; the look in her eyes was dull and inexpressive. She watched how the maids were walking from one side to the inside her room while arranging everything for the big night of the engagement ball that was held out…_tonight_.

After all she tried, after all she lived the general had won. The past two days the senshi tried to reason with her, specially Venus who still thought she was about to make the biggest mistake of her life and maybe she was she admitted to herself; she was aware of it but nothing else made sense to her at the moment only the fact that she had to save her family, her kingdom and her friends from Athamas' ambition and cruel heart.

Serenity sighed softly and watched the maid finishing her hair by pinning some crystals on her hair buns "Ready Your Highness" the young girl smiled "Can I help you get dressed?"

"I will help her with that"

The maid turned and saw Venus standing in the doorway "I will assist Princess Serenity"

The young maid bowed her head in respect and stepped aside asking the other maids to give them some privacy. Venus was fully dressed in her venusian princess attire. Her pale yellow gown matched the pale tone of her skin beautifully; it was a simple off shoulder gown with a golden ribbon and her famous golden chain tied at her waist, the skirt was in a lovely A shape that fell nicely to the floor. Her blonde hair was style in its usual half up half down pony with a golden broach with crystals on the back. Her makeup was subtle, pale lipstick and a soft touch to her cheeks a soft brown liner that framed her upper lid intensifying the blue of her eyes.

Serenity blinked and followed her friend with her eyes as she went to see the dress hanging from a hanger "What a lovely gown…" she breathed softly. And it was indeed a beautiful gown; her words were truthful as her eyes studied every little detail in the fabric.

Just like hers it was an off shoulder pearl white gown, the chest part had golden embroidery and crystal incrustations in the shape of moons. It was imperial cut; the embroidery ended below the breasts. It was made with finest silk and organza and it fell in many layers cascading to the floor.

Venus sighed as she caressed the skirt "You are going to look beautiful in it"

Serenity lowered her gaze; her makeup was already done so she had to contain the tears that were threatening to fall. She had to keep her makeup impeccable so nobody would notice her misery. Her makeup just like Venus' was subtle; considering the fact that she did not need almost anything to look beautiful; she had a soft peach color on her cheeks, silvery dust on her eye lids and a soft touch of charcoal liner smudged along her long dark lashes emphasizing the pale and icy color of her eyes beautifully.

Venus took the dress from the hanger and waited for Serenity to walk behind the screen to get dressed. Serenity stood up and walked over the blonde and took the dress "Thank you Venus…" she said softly.

Venus nodded, sat on the bed and waited for the princess to be ready. After a few more minutes Serenity walked from behind the screen and stood in front of the large mirror in her room; Venus walked over to her and tied the laces on her back "Just like I thought, you look beautiful"

Serenity looked at herself in the mirror again and sighed softly; Venus stood next to her "Princess…"

The princess turned to look at her, Venus held her hand "Please, do not do this…"

"Venus…"

"Princess you do not love this man, why are you doing this?"

Serenity lowered her gaze "You are right Venus…I do not love this man…" she looked up at her again "…But the man I love is gone…and I have a duty to fulfill…this is my mother's wish…" she looked at herself standing in front of the mirror and pursed her lips "…She wants me to have a family…she expects me to be a fair Queen…"

"But this is not the way; you are going to be miserable"

"I do not know…maybe one day I learn how to love him…"

Venus frowned "Are you listening to yourself?!"

Serenity lowered her gaze "What do you want me to do Venus?"

"I want you to be reasonable; I know there is something else…"

"I feel empty Venus…" Serenity said to her softly "…Don't you feel empty as well?"

Venus widened her eyes "_Kunzite…" _she thought.

Serenity sighed "Venus…I cannot cancel this ball" she turned to look outside "…Everybody will be here"

"Princess…"

Serenity turned to look at her "I do not want to continue talking about this matter Venus, I have made my decision" she held Venus' hands "Please…respect my decision"

Venus shook her head "I wish there was a way to make you change your mind…I wish there was something that made you change your mind…"

Serenity gave her guardian a sad look; she was about to say something when Mars opened the door and interrupted their conversation "Princess…everybody is arriving, the ball will start very soon"

Serenity nodded and turned to look at the box on her vanity _"Endymion…" _she thought sadly _"I'm so sorry…please, forgive me for what I am about to do…"_

o.o.o.o.o

Queen Serenity was checking a few things with Luna and Artemis before the ball started and all the guests were there at the palace "These will be sent first thing in the morning" the queen gave some papers to a formal dressed Artemis and proceeded to sign another paper on her desk.

The lunar queen looked stunning in her strapless siren gown in an ivory color. Her lavender hair was up in her characteristic style just like her daughter's. Her makeup was more classic, with a mauve colored lips and a slightly darker shade of eye shadows.

Artemis looked at the papers and nodded "Yes, Your Majesty" he turned to look at Luna who, was also formally dressed in a black and yellow gown; her black hair framed her delicate face as the rest fell in luscious curls down her back. The mauian in white could not deny his love for her, even when she denied his feelings many times before; maybe it was something in the air or maybe it was because he felt braver than any other day to confess his feelings but he was sure that he wanted to do it this evening.

The thought again made him think about the princess and her rushed decision of getting married with the general; after knowing the kind of man that he is, he found it horrific that she have finally agreed to such do thing.

"I want to leave everything prepared so we can enjoy the ball" the queen said happily.

Artemis pressed his lips together in thought "My Queen…" he trailed off "…Don't you…"

A knock interrupted them and turned to look at the lord of war entering the room surprising the lunar queen "Ares!" she said happily. Ares responded her with a handsome smile and walked up to her. The god of war wrapped his arms around her in a warm hug "Little Flower" he moved back a little and took a good look at her "You look stunning"

Queen Serenity smiled and did the same with him and took a good look at the warrior "Oh my, you have come in your regal attire"

Ares smiled and nodded at Luna and Artemis who bowed in respect to him then turned at the queen "For what the invitation said, my wife made great emphasis on me wearing my most formal attire...so, here I am…with a mask on my hand..."

Serenity giggled "Well you have to, it's a masquerade!" the queen tilted her head "Did she come?"

"Yes, she is waiting for Mars. You sure made everyone expectant to the great news" Ares crossed his arms "Everybody wants to meet this man…"

The queen chuckled "It is a special occasion; I wanted everyone to be present"

"I see…" he said softly and looked at the papers she was signing "You are working? _Now_?"

"I just wanted to have everything done so we can all enjoy tonight's ball" the queen responded softly as she piled another paper aside. Ares frowned and turned to look at Artemis with a curious look "Tell me Artemis, how are things with the security plans I suggested? I did not receive any report from your Commander"

Artemis blinked, knowing where the lord of war was going with his question and somehow he felt relieved. He knew Ares was the only who could speak to her bluntly about those matters she never wanted to talk about, like the one he was about to broad right about now.

Ares frowned and turned to look at his friend "Your Commander has been failing on his duties lately…"

Queen Serenity stopped what she was doing and turned her face to Ares "He has been having a lot on his mind lately maybe that is why…with the arrangements of this ball, the wedding and all…"

Ares crossed his arms "Why are you doing this Serenity?"

"I do not understand what you are trying to tell me"

Ares sighed and shook his head "You are making your daughter follow your steps…you are practically marrying your daughter to the memory of your husband"

The queen shook her head "Oh no, not again…not this again" she raised her hands "Ares…please…"

Ares arched his brow, the queen walked up to him "This was her decision, I had nothing to do with it…Why am I guilty now? Because I organized a party for them in such a short amount of time?"

"I personally do not think this was the perfect timing to throw an engagement ball for your daughter"

Queen Serenity frowned "Why are you so against it?"

"_Why aren't you_?! That is my main question dear" Ares asked with slight frustration "We talked about this…"

"This was her decision"

"Was it really her decision?"

"The problem here is that you do not trust him" the queen sighed softly and shook her head "Artemis feels the same way you do…" Artemis widened his blue eyes "Y-Your Majesty…"

"And you know why? Because he works side by side with your Commander" Ares said "Dear, one thing is to be excited about your engagement, other very different is to serve and protect the Alliance like the soldier you are supposed to be"

The queen fell silent "For one time that he…"

"There has been a strong wave of energy coming from Earth" Ares interrupted the queen "…Energy you and I know very well…It's very strong…something has happened there, something big"

Queen Serenity's eyes widened "What?"

Ares nodded "And we both know that that kind of energy can only be released by a superior being…"

"Gaia…" the lunar queen whispered and turned to look at Ares "That piece of information is very important, it's crucial, and he missed to inform us about that…he missed to inform _me_ about it…how can you just simply forget to inform me there is a great flow of strong energy coming from Earth, it's like...if she had used the power of the Crystal, that strong it is Serenity, this matter is _that_ serious"

Queen Serenity widened her lavender eyes "How…how do you…"

"It's the main topic in Olympus" Ares sighed "Everybody is talking about it. Serenity…they're panicking, if that crystal is put to use then, all of us are in jeopardy, you know how strong that crystal is. Zeus and the other had a good reason to try and take it from Gaia that day because they were afraid this could happen, they're trying to figure out what is happening…but they do not want to go there for obvious reasons"

"He must know what had happened…Chronos" the queen said, her voice turned from one of surprise to one of worry "…Gaia would never, ever expose herself that way unless it is important"

"See my point?"

The queen lowered her gaze "What if she is ill? What if she needs our help?!"

Ares sighed sadly "Little Flower…" he shook his head "I personally asked Artemis to help me recollect as much information as possible, but it was futile…Your General did not give him any information"

Queen Serenity frowned "He is a good soldier…he must have been focused on other matters I personally asked him to attend, matters concerning the Alliance"

Ares raised his hand "Little Flower I trust you, I do not want to pick up a fight about this…" he looked at her and lowered his hand "Tonight is your daughter's night and that man is going to be the future King of this Kingdom and head of the Alliance…I just hope he is up to the task"

"I know you do not like him…" Queen Serenity said softly "…And I…"

"It is not that I do not like him Serenity" Ares crossed his arms over his chest "It is the fact that you want to see him as a living image of your late husband and that is…_not_ right. We talked about this"

"Serenity made her choice…she chose him"

"Maybe because you insisted too much"

The queen shook her head and lowered her gaze "No…"

Ares sighed "Little Flower I am not here to try to convince you otherwise, I am your friend…and I will look after your daughter when the time for her to be Queen comes, but remember my jurisdiction and remember my position in Olympus; I expect from your Commander to be always cooperative when it comes to terms of safety for all of us, the Alliance was made to keep us all protected"

The queen nodded "He is a good soldier"

Ares walked to her and caressed her cheek softly "You said it dear friend, a good _soldier _not a _warrior _there is a big difference"

Queen Serenity blinked "I asked Geb many times to be the Commander of this Army…but he declined"

Ares sighed "Geb's will to live barely exists…he lost his family and when he could do something to save his only daughter he preferred to confront her. Gaia was a perfect element to this Alliance, Earth is self sustainable and carries great force within…but well…we all know the rest" Ares saw Artemis archiving the papers the queen just signed and frowned slightly "I want Artemis to keep working the way he is, I want him to keep me informed of every matter concerning this Kingdom"

Artemis looked at the queen who nodded in approval "Very well, I trust Luna and Artemis with all my heart"

Ares smiled at the mauians "I know you do"

Luna blushed and nodded her head "Whatever our Queen needs God Ares and if there is anything you need for us to do just let us know"

Ares smiled at Luna in response and turned to Artemis "We will leave any political matter aside for tonight, you two deserve to have some fun as well"

Queen Serenity smiled in gratitude; after everything Ares had gone through and under that stoic warrior like temper she knew he had a noble heart. The queen turned to the mauians and smiled at them "Of course they do"

Ares turned to look at the queen "And you too"

The queen chuckled "I am just so happy that my daughter is in good hands"

"Your daughter is a jewel to this galaxy" Ares said softly and turned to the door "I hope he appreciates that and looks after her"

Queen Serenity giggled "My, you sound like a father"

Ares' serious expression softened "Because I am a father is why I am telling you this and because I am your friend and I care for you" he turned to look at her "I think it is time…come, you too need to have some fun as well" the lord of war offered his arm which the queen gladly took and walked through the door with Luna and Artemis walking behind them "You are a good friend Ares, thank you for looking after us all the time"

Ares looked down at her as they walk down the corridor "Well, we have known each other for years…"

Queen Serenity arched a brow "What is that supposed to mean?"

Ares chuckled "It means that no matter how stubborn we are, we are going to look for each other's back" Ares slowed his pace before reaching the door that led them to the ball room "I have to go back to Eris…she does not like to be all by herself for too long"

Queen Serenity frowned "But, everybody will be here…" her eyes widened in realization "Oh, right…I understand"

Ares nodded "She has a 'marriage' to presume…and as a part of our peace agreement, I have to be there"

"Why are you doing this Ares?" the queen asked confused.

Ares sighed softly "Because…after all, I care about her. She gave me the most precious treasure I could ever have…"

"Mars…" the queen said softly; Ares nodded "She is part of me and part of her"

Ares felt the moment could get more sentimental than already was and chuckled, trying to enlighten the mood "Well now, I will leave you with Luna and Artemis. I will see you in a bit"

Queen Serenity smiled and nodded "Thank you for coming"

Ares began to walk away and turned to look at her over his shoulder "Anytime Little Flower, anytime"

The queen sighed softly and turned to Luna "Serenity should be on her way here…"

"Do you want me to go and see if everything is alright?"

Queen Serenity smiled at her "Let's give her a few more minutes, if she does not come you can go and get her"

Luna smiled at the queen and nodded "Of course My Queen, as you wish"

The queen ran an arm around the mauian's shoulders and smiled "Thank you, for always being there"

Luna blushed "Queen Serenity…you do not have to thank me for anything"

Serenity looked at Luna and then at Artemis "You both have been my strength over the years, I do not know what I would do without you"

Artemis smiled "My Queen we are here to help you in anything we can" Luna nodded. Serenity smiled at him "I know you share Ares' sentiment…but I ask you for more patience"

Artemis knew the queen was talking about Athamas and could not do anything else but to nod in agreement; she was right, he and the lord of war shared the same thought about the general because of the same reasons or maybe even more. The man was insufferable and his ambition was beyond belief; he still found it odd that Princess Serenity had finally agreed to marry him, knowing her kindness and noble heart.

"Yes, My Queen"

o.o.o.o.o

Her pale blue eyes were fixed on the black box resting proudly over the white vanity; her heart raced in her chest. She tried to suppress the anxiety she has been accumulating for the past few days and did her best to stayed as calm as possible or otherwise it would start to show.

She was fully dressed and ready but she knew that her life was going to change completely and that nothing would ever be the same once she left the room where she always found comfort, silence and most importantly, safety.

The princess turned and looked at Mercury who was standing in her beautiful pale blue gown next to Venus and Mars. The bluenette tilted her head to the side and walked over to her "Princess…what is the matter?"

Serenity looked at her straight in the eyes "You were right…I have given up…"

Mercury held the princess' hand "Princess…it is not too late to amend your actions"

Her words were like a beam of hope to the princess' heart; sadly, Mercury's words had cause great impact to Serenity. Did she really give up? She questioned herself many times, even when she was getting dressed for this ball, her _engagement _ball.

She tried to find another solution to this issue many times, and tried to plan something to catch the general in his own lies and make him leave as far as possible from her but he was too involved in every matter concerning her kingdom that it was practically impossible to defeat him. Her dream of becoming a stronger princess, a princess that knew how to fight and confront any problem was too far away from her, the woman Endymion thought she was, the princess he thought how to fight and defend herself was just a memory now.

She shook her head, and lowered her gaze with resignation "I can't"

Mars frowned, took a step forward and stood next to Mercury "What did he say to you? What did he do!?" she asked frustrated.

"This is a decision I made by myself Mars" Serenity answered while still looking down.

Mars growled softly, and clearly upset "I do not believe it, a few nights ago you were mourning and crying the Prince's death and now you are marrying the General…"

Serenity widened her eyes and looked up at her; Mars arched her brow "That means you did not love the Prince enough like you preached…"

"Mars…" Venus tried to interfere but Mars raised a hand without breaking eye contact with Serenity "Is this how you mourn his death?"

"Don't you dare to question my love for Endymion" Serenity looked up at Mars, her hurt and anger became evident in her voice "How dare you to even question my love for him?"

"Is this how you mourn his death Princess?" Mars asked again as blunt as her father.

Serenity didn't know what to answer to the soldier of war's question, her mouth went dry and she could feel the lump in her throat. Mars turned her eyes to the box at the princess' vanity and pointed at it "You risked your safety, your life, you defied us every night to go and see him to only forget everything weeks after you learn he has died?"

"Mars, that is enough" Venus said.

Serenity watched Mars' serious stare and thought how she never saw her this angry. She thought it was better if she tell her something, anything that could help her escape the general's grasp but he was too smart to leave any lose ends they could use to their advance. Athamas could hurt them, she was sure of that and it was what worried her the most "I love Endymion…I still love him with all my heart and I have not forgotten him, but I am expected to be a fair Queen to this Kingdom and I know he would understand it…"

"Athamas said something to you, I can feel it" Mars narrowed her eyes "You love Prince Endymion too much to let his memory go so easily but if this is what you want…if you feel that is the right thing to do then I cannot stop you, none of us can and none of us will"

This was the coldest side of Mars and it chilled Serenity to the bone; after all her words were true and it hurt so much because she hit the softest spot in her heart. This was it, and there was no turning back, there was nobody holding her back anymore, this was her decision and whatever happened after this night was only the result of her actions.

Serenity nodded and walked next to the dark haired senshi who wore a beautiful off shoulders, deep red gown.

Mercury followed the princess as she walked towards the door. Jupiter turned to Mars who was exchanging glances with Venus "What was that?"

Mars sighed and shook her head; Jupiter frowned "Are you out of your mind?!"

Venus bit her lower lip and closed her eyes for a moment "It was harsh"

"I know" the blonde opened her eyes and turned to Mars who repeated her words again "I know, but that was the only way I could get to her senses and break that shell she is trying to create around her" she sighed "That was my last try"

Jupiter looked at Mars "Is it true? Do you feel something eerie?"

"I do not trust the General Jupiter, the man has lost his sanity…he is blinded by pure ambition. This marriage is just an ambitious plan of his" Mars said bitterly "To send people from the lunar army to kill the Prince is something horrible…disgusting"

Venus watched Serenity leave with Mercury and sighed "Things are going to get more horrible once he takes the throne"

Mars nodded "We better get prepared for the worse"

Jupiter's frown deepened "I will break his neck if he dares to hurt the Princess"

"He said something to her…" Mars shook her head "I know our Princess…she is too stubborn to just give up this way…"

"And this is the moment we all wished Prince Endymion was alive…" Jupiter said sadly "It's too sad what happened to him…"

"I still wish he was alive…" Mars muttered "He may be human, but he is a better soldier than Athamas. He thought like a warrior…Athamas will pay for what he did"

"We better go; I do not want to leave her alone…" Venus said "Not with Athamas' minions spying all over the palace" Mars and Jupiter nodded and walked out of the room hoping the princess changed her mind in her way to the ballroom.

O.o.o.o.o.O

After what it seemed forever, she wondered what else they were waiting until there was some kind of response to what her prince chanted in a low voice. Her heart desperately wanted for his words to work; she wanted to be away from the madness that fell upon her land, her home.

She began to grow inpatient to the lack of words from her prince but knew he was still standing next to her because she still was holding his hand, it was when the soft sound of music reached her ears and made her snap her eyes open wide at the scenario that was surrounding them and gasped in surprise.

They were no longer on the same place they were just minutes ago but somewhere else, somewhere peaceful and…magical.

Megumi looked at the delicacy of the garden where she and Endymion were standing and then turned to look at the Prince who had his eyes fixed on the palace in the short distance. The young maid frowned slightly and turned look at the beautiful palace before her "Oh by all heavens…" she whispered in awe.

The young girl turned to look around until her brown hazel eyes stopped at the sight of Earth floating like a marble in the immensity of the universe "We are…" she tried to speak but amazement was too big to even formulate a coherent sentence.

Endymion himself found hard to believe this was happening to himself as well, he did not even mind to turn back again and get lost in the sight of his planet hanging in the night sky like a marble suspended in a velvet blanket full of stars. His heart raced as he finally realized where they were; this was Serenity's home, this was "…The Moon…" he muttered in response "It…worked…"

Megumi turned to look at her prince and tightened her grip on his hand, not really caring any protocol of respect and diplomacy towards her prince. Endymion responded to her grip by doing the same, his amaze was too big to even verbalize until a tug in his chest broke him from his reverie and made him think of a way to get to Serenity and talk to her.

"What should we do now My Prince?" Megumi asked, still unable to hide her amaze.

"I need to find a way to get to Serenity…" Endymion said as he looked around, they were standing at one of the main gardens at the entrance of the palace "But it is clearly that we cannot just walk into that palace like if we owned it" he heard Megumi said softly.

Endymion sighed and bit his lip "No, the palace is surrounded by guards, like it should be" he held her hand and began to walk "Come on…"

Megumi widened her eyes as she followed him "Prince…how are we going to get in?"

Endymion frowned as he studied the palace's entrance "That, I still don't know Megumi…but I have to find a way…" he turned to look at her and let go of her hand "Stay close to me"

Megumi nodded as he walked slowly behind him through the bushes noticing how everything was so different from what she knew back at home. Everything was so pale, like fairy dust gleaming with the soft light that came from the stars and planets; after all, Earth was their version of the moon. The couple managed to walk closer to an entrance, but Endymion stopped as he saw a guard standing with other two soldiers talking about something he did not understand.

"There are so many of them…" Megumi said with worry.

A guard at the entrance turned to the direction of the bushes and narrowed his eyes when he heard some noise, he raised his hand and turned to the other soldiers next to him "Did you hear that?"

The soldiers frowned and shook their heads "What is it?"

"I swear I heard something"

One of the guards looked at the soldier "Have all the guests arrived?"

"Yes, I just got the General's orders to keep everything under control"

Megumi began to feel nervous as she heard the guards walking toward their direction "No…" she gasped and turned desperate at the prince. Endymion frowned and turned to look down at Megumi "There is a lapse where the guards leave one of the hidden passages unattended for a couple of minutes, go there without letting anyone see you"

Megumi widened her eyes "But, Prince…you…"

"I will be alright; I will go after you once the time when the guards leave it unattended again. Go!"

Megumi bit her lip "But…"

Endymion looked at her "This is the only way to enter the palace…you run at my signal"

Megumi nodded and walked slowly away from the prince; toward the secret door he mentioned "How does he see those things? It is bearably noticeable" she said softly.

She waited behind a tree or, what it looked like a tree and waited for the prince's signal. Endymion was studying the soldier's movements and he was about to let Megumi know of the right time to run when one of the soldiers caught her and held her tight "What have we here?" the soldier asked in between his teeth; Megumi forced to break free of the guard's grasp "Let me…go…"

"What are you doing in these gardens? What do you want?!" asked the guard while restraining the girl in his arms.

Endymion cursed under his breath as he went as fast as he could where the man was holding Megumi. The guard looked down at her dirty clothes and frowned "You, what do you seek?"

Megumi froze under the armored man, her lips trembled with fear. She looked at him and tried to say something but she found herself unable to come up with a good excuse "I…I need to…"

"Everything in you is strange…different somehow" the guard said and narrowed his eyes as he studied her cloths "Where are you from?" he demanded.

"Let her go"

The guards turned to the prince; Megumi widened her eyes and shook her head "No…Prince…no…" she breathed. The guard frowned "Prince?"

Endymion walked out from behind a tree and looked at the man "Let her go"

"Who the hell are _you_?" the guard asked.

"Someone who needs to speak with Princess Serenity"

The guard took a good look at the prince and frowned "You expect me to believe that? You really expect me to guide you where she is so easily?"

"It's an emergency" Endymion said, looking at the man. He was trying his best not to attract too much attention "I need to speak to her"

The guard frowned "Of course…of course" he tightened his hold on Megumi's arms and drew out his sword, Megumi let out a soft cry of fear as she saw the guard point his sword at Endymion "I have specific orders to exterminate any threat or any interruption on this night…" his blade caught the light of the garden lights and moved slowly at the girl "…And that is that I am going to do…"

Megumi looked at the shining blade close to her neck and closed her eyes "No, please no…please…no…" she trembled and pleaded for mercy.

Endymion's blood boiled with anger and kicked the guard behind Megumi and the one trying to restrain him behind him, then took the sword the guard was holding moments ago kicked the remaining soldier and turned to the young girl "Run Megumi, run!"

Megumi blinked several times in fright and maybe disbelief as she moved away from the guard on the floor "Pr.."

"Run_, find_ _her_!" Endymion said as he kicked the guards again; Megumi had no other choice but to obey and run away. She heard the prince was still fighting the guards and turned over her shoulder to look at him; she saw how he was starting to go behind her when a larger group of soldiers went after him and managed to restrain him after a desperate long fight. His dark blue eyes met hers and pleaded her once more time what she knew what she had to do.

"_Go find her"_

The prince managed to distract their attention and saw Megumi running away and going towards the hidden door he mentioned before. Not sure why, probably because he was not on earth his body began to feel the havoc of all that has happened in the last few days and his space travel to the moon.

Endymion began feeling dizzy and everything began to become a blur; but even so he still tried to free himself from the guards' restrain and looked up at the man standing in front of him.

"This cannot be" a male voice said with surprise, Endymion tried to see the man's face and frowned while he tried to take a good look at him but his eyes were still not focusing right, he was feeling too dizzy and confused to even try to make another move "Take him to the dungeon" he heard the man say before he lost consciousness.

The guard looked at Kilmakos whose face was pale and concerned "Sergeant, should we inform the General about this?"

Kilmakos looked down at Endymion, still with disbelief and shock in his eyes _"I swore you were dead…"_ he thought as he watched the guards lift him with his hands and feet tied with a chain "I will talk to him when the time is right" he turned to one of the guards "Follow my instructions, take him to the dungeon and lock him there until I receive a command from the General"

The guard nodded and turned to look at the others "You heard him, let's go"

Kilmakos watched Endymion's pale and dirty face and frowned; he licked his lips nervously and watched the guards taking him away "How did you get away…? I saw your churned dead body…" he muttered

"_I saw you dead…"_

O.o.o.o.o.O

Her hands touched the dead ground and frowned, everything around her looked hazy. Her red eyes widened when she finally saw the remains of what she knew as earth and shook her head.

A familiar dark spirit with yellow eyes appeared next to her and startled her. Beryl turned and shook her head "What is this?" she asked softly. The dark silhouette chuckled and moved around the dark witch _"This…is our planet now…"_ she snarled _"The start of a new Kingdom, the Dark Kingdom"_

Beryl frowned "Everything is dead…silent, there is nothing left to rule"

Another chuckled accompanied the dark form _"The Prince did play his cards well…"_

"He killed himself" Beryl said dryly and narrowed her eyes, turning to the dark shadow next to her "I did not want him to be dead, I wanted him alive! I wanted him with me!"

Metallia smiled, her yellow eyes gleamed contrasting her now churned and dark skin _"The Son of Gaia is not dead"_

Beryl widened her eyes and turned to the evil queen "What?!"

Metallia moved around Beryl again and chuckled _"The Son of Gaia is alive…"_

"There is nowhere to be found!" Beryl said.

"_You won't find him here, because he is no longer in this planet"_

Beryl widened her eyes and shook her head as she covered her eyes; Metallia surrounded the young distressed and now witch woman. The redhead looked around again and could see nothing but darkness and frozen trees and grass; everything she once knew was gone and it was a feeling she could not describe, she was not sure if that made her feel triumphant or defeated.

She wanted to be known and respected, she wanted to be Queen; she wanted to have Endymion as her husband and rule the kingdom as the Goddess of Earth she thought she could become one day but now, everything was gone, he was gone and away from her.

"What?" Beryl widened her eyes.

Again the memories of her experience at the winter ball, the face of the girl that took her prince's attention; her blue eyes so innocent and her hair in a silvery blonde shade. Her blood began to boil again as she remembered the way they danced, like if they knew for such a long time, the way he smiled at her was something she had never got the chance to witness or herself "No…" Beryl closed her eyes "He is mine…he is mine…"

"_Then go and get him"_ the voice broke her out of her reverie "What?" Beryl turned and looked at the shadow surrounding her "You say he is alive"

"_It is time to take everything that belongs to us, and start a new Kingdom_" Metallia said _"The time has finally come"_

"Endymion…" Beryl muttered and frowned "Yes, yes Queen Metallia…I will do anything to make the Prince _mine_"

Metallia chuckled, her burned face showed a creepy smile as her powers began filling Beryl with rage and madness again _"Go…and take everything. Raise the army and build our Dark Kingdom!"_

Beryl felt a strong wave of dark energy flowing through her entire body, burning her veins like venom. Dark sparks and blasts of energy began to flow from her as she opened her eyes slowly "_Everything is mine_" her eyes turned a darker shade of red and raised her arms "_The Prince is mine_"

Metallia crawled like a shadow around the young witch _"He is yours…he has infinite power and we want him on our side…"_

Beryl widened her eyes; Metallia chuckled _"That is correct…where do you think all that power came from?"_

"_He will burn your soul…" _Beryl muttered, remembering Nephrite's words.

"_The Prince has a power we want under our control, but first, you have to take everything down…we have to take control of the entire galaxy"_

Beryl looked at Metallia with a confused stare "How am I going to take control of the galaxy?"

"_Like the Queen you are, by going there and claim what it's yours"_

Beryl widened her eyes "How am I going to do that, where am I going to go?" she felt the coldness and eerie feeling of Metallia's body, her cold chuckle tingled in her ear _"Right to where he is…the Moon"_

Her eyes widened even more and looked up _"Raise the army you slowly collected and do your will, kill them all, take control and bring him back. He is yours, take him back"_

Beryl narrowed her eyes and opened her arms, summoning the energy Metallia just passed to her, as the ground began to rumble she heard the spirits of all those lives taken by the prince's hand awaken and join her to her cause "The Dark Kingdom, rises…_now_" her lips slowly began to curve in a demonic, sardonic smile.

"I am your new Queen, surrender to me _now_…" dark lighting crashed across the dark skies, accompanying the mad laughter of the young evil queen.

"Surrender to me…now"

O.o.o.o.o.O

Serenity walked slowly to the grand salon accompanied by Mercury; Mars, Venus and Jupiter walked slowly behind her and in an uncharacteristic silence. The princess sighed a couple of times, catching the smart bluenette's attention "Princess?" she asked softly "Is something the matter?"

Serenity shook her head and took another deep breath "I am alright Mercury…"

Mercury continued walking alongside the princess and bit her lip "Princess, you are still on time…please, reconsider"

"There is nothing to reconsider Mercury…I have to fulfill my duties as Princess, just like Mother wants me to" she turned to look at her "I want to make her happy"

"Princess…and what about you? Don't you want to be happy?" Mercury asked softly "Why are you giving up?"

Serenity widened her eyes; there it was again, Mercury's asserted words. She was giving up, she was succumbing to the general's orders and wishes, to his threats and ambition; she was giving up her liberty in order to protect her loved ones, but still, she was giving up.

Looking down again she sighed softly, she was about to speak when Luna interrupted them "Oh, there you are!" she said in a sigh of relief "Princess, I was starting to wonder where you were! We were worried!" she smiled "Everybody is arriving as we speak, the ball will start very, very soon"

Serenity frowned "Where is my Mother?"

Luna smiled "She is attending some guests" she turned to Venus and Mars "Your families just arrived moments ago"

Venus' face lightened at the mention of her family "Mother is here?"

"And God Adonis as well" Luna said softly and turned to Mars "Goddess Eris was looking for you, Sailor Mars"

Mars widened her amethyst eyes "My mother is here_, really?_" she pursed her lips "That's odd"

"She came with God Ares"

Mars' eyes softened at the mention of her father "Where is he?"

Luna smiled "He was talking to Queen Serenity a moment ago; they are probably socializing with the rest of the gusts as we speak"

Artemis joined Luna and bowed his head in respect "Sailor Senshi, good to see you all"

Jupiter sighed and crossed her arms "Is _he_ coming?"

Artemis blinked and then understood she was talking about her father "I believe he is, everybody is expected to attend"

"Of course…" Jupiter mumbled and rolled her green eyes.

The music began playing in the background making the princess feel nervous and uncomfortable. Luna turned to her and flashed her an excited smile "Princess, are you ready? The Queen is expecting you to show any time now"

"The Queen and I" a male voice interrupted their conversation, startling the princess. Luna turned to look back and saw Athamas standing in his impeccable formal attire, with no sache and no medals. Still without the extra decorations he looked handsome, very handsome. His dark blonde hair was tied in a low short pony tail close to his neck; his green emerald eyes widened at the sight of the divine being standing in front of him "Princess…you look…beautiful…divine" he walked over to her and bowed his head in respect, without paying too much attention to the girls behind her. He took her hands into his and smiled at her "Finally, my dream is becoming true…you are in my life"

Serenity looked at him silent, her face serious and expressionless "Athamas…" she mumbled.

"I can't wait to tell everybody that you are going to be my bride" his smile widened; he offered his arm which Serenity hesitated to take and shook her head "I…" she trailed off, startling the general "What?"

Mars and Venus exchanged glances and turned to look at the princess; Serenity lowered her gaze and felt a tug in her heart. This was the decisive moment, if she takes his arm there will be no turning back _"You are giving up Serenity…remember Mercury's words, do not give up, do not give up…" _she thought.

"I…" she tried to say the words again and then felt his hand tighten around hers and pulled her closer; his lips almost touched her ear "You better remember our deal"

Serenity's heart pounded in her chest, the sound became deafening with each thump. Her hands began to shake slightly as she tried to maintain the serious expression on her face; Luna moved closer to the princess and looked at her hands on her shoulders "Princess, are you alright?"

Artemis watched the scene closely and narrowed his eyes as he studied the general's actions _"Something is not quite right…" _he thought.

"I…" Serenity said again and turned to Athamas "I need more time"

Athamas frowned "Time, for what?"

"I need more time…" she repeated and began to breathe in panic "I need…" she trailed off.

She was about to turn on her heel to walk away when she heard one of the guests tap a glass with what could be a fork to catch everybody's attention in the room. The ball had started and the announcement was going to be made right away; she was going to say the words her heart did not want to hear. She was going to give her hand to a man that only looked up for himself, a vicious man that killed without regret and had her in his power.

She felt Luna's hand on her shoulder again and tried to talk to her but Serenity only shook her head in response; the girls watched the distress in the princess' face and tried to help but got the same response from her.

"Serenity…my, you look beautiful"

Serenity widened her eyes and turned to look at her mother, who looked as beautiful as she "Mother" she breathed "It's time my dear and everybody has come to see you and celebrate with you this happy news"

"Mother…" Serenity tried to talk to her mother, but the queen walked with her to the ballroom. Everybody began to clap their hands as soon as they saw them appear at the top of the long staircase. Athamas smiled wide, he enjoyed the attention everybody was giving to him and sighed with triumph and great satisfaction.

The senshi watched the scene before their eyes with horror; right before the curtains revealed the queen and the couple they were asked to join their families in the crowd and had no other option but to hope for their princess to reconsider her decision.

Serenity heard the music stop and the voices soon began to quiet at her mother's request. The queen, looked glorious under the light from the chandeliers; her lavender eyes gleamed happily with joy as she held her glass of wine up high in a welcoming manner "Good evening to everyone" she said softly with dashing elegance.

A smile warmed her lips as she spoke; her lavender eyes looked the room full of all the people she wanted to see. Everybody attended to her invitation without a second thought, the high gods stood at a certain distance away from the rest but still, they all held the expectation of what the lunar queen would say.

Queen Serenity cleared her throat as she continued "Thank you all for coming, I am very pleased and happy to see you all joining me and my daughter in this very special evening and I couldn't be more thrilled. Many of you will remember this occasion several years back when my Mother, Queen Selene gave the same announcement I am about to give now"

The queen turned to look at her daughter and smiled, she extended her hand out to her daughter who almost immediately took and stared at the crowd with anxiety "Athan and I felt blessed the moment we first had our daughter in our arms, it was a very special moment and we both promised to look after her and try to give her only the best…" she turned to see her daughter and smiled.

Ares clenched his teeth as he remembered the affair Athan had with Nehelenia when she was expecting the princess and sighed, catching his wife's attention "What is it with you and all that sighing?" Eris frowned "Are you alright?"

Ares took a deep breath and ran a finger inside his collar to release the tension he was feeling "I have my reasons to be upset Eris"

The raven haired goddess arched a brow and pursed her lips "You know something the rest doesn't" she crossed her arms "As always…you are keeping secrets from me, I know it would be different if it was Gaia your wife instead of me, of course"

Ares felt his blood froze and glared at his wife, his muscles tensed and tried with all his might not to explode in front of all the people gathered in that room. He took another deep breath and shook his head "Your comment, is inappropriate. Please control your unnecessary tantrum for later"

Eris clenched her jaw in anger and bit her perfectly red stained lip and turned to look at the white queen with her daughter in the distance and contained her discomfort. Eris was not the most lovable woman in Olympus, she was indeed the queen of discord but she still had strong feelings for her husband and that was the reason she was always so paranoid of him sleeping with other women behind her back. Ares and Eris were not in the best of terms, she was very much aware that her husband was still in love with the memory of the terran goddess and she wasn't sure if it was still love or if it was deep regret for not doing anything to win her heart back in the days.

Her violet eyes darkened when intrigue clouded her thoughts, and realized that maybe; her threat was no longer Gaia but the woman standing in front of all of them.

"…I am sure that my husband is very proud and happy just as me to see our Princess turn into a beautiful Lady which is why we are all gathered here, to witness the engagement between my beautiful daughter to Andromedas' best soldier and the Lunar Kingdom's Commander, General Athamas"

The queen looked at Athamas and handed him Serenity's hand which he took immediately; Serenity felt a chill run down her spine and tried to hold the tears that were now about to fall from her eyes.

Queen Serenity smiled and looked at the couple with hope and endearment "Please, look after her…she is my jewel"

Athamas smiled at her and nodded, then turned and kissed Serenity's hand softly. Serenity found the gesture false and disgusting and tried to move her hand away from him in the most delicate way possible. Her blood froze as she felt his lips caressing the skin on her knuckles and contained her attempts to break into tears right in front of everybody. She could hear the cheers and clapping from the guests, the good wishes and everything in between but her heart was too sore that everything was like a big blur…she was living the biggest lie of her life.

Queen Serenity smiled and wiped a tear that threatened to roll down her cheek and turned to the orchestra; with one small gesture the music started again. Athamas tightened his grip and moved closer to the princess and whispered in her ear "Have the first dance with me, as your fiancé"

Serenity looked up at him and pressed her lips together and moved her hand away, startling him "There is something I need to do first…"

Athamas frowned "What is that?"

"My dress…" she simply said. Athamas arched his brow and looked at the guests and then back at her "Everybody is expecting us to dance…"

"I cannot dance if I feel my dress like if it is going to fall, or do you want me to expose my body to everyone?" Serenity snorted, looking at him in the eyes "You go on ahead…I will come back in a moment"

She knew he could not reply in his usual sardonic manner, not when all Olympus was watching him closely and for that she was grateful, he could not ruin all of his hard work, all his lies, no, he had to keep pretending in front of everybody. Serenity turned on her heel, walked back to the hallway and went straight to one of the gardens.

As soon as she was out of sight, she leaned on a pillar and hugged herself and tried to fight the tears forming in her eyes "Endymion…" she looked at the blue planet that suddenly seemed so dull in the distance "I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry…" she blinked, releasing her tears "…Please forgive me for what I have done…"

Back at the ballroom, everybody had began to enjoy the music, the food and the wine; Venus sighed as she looked at her surroundings, after what she had witnessed and the misfortune and bad decision her princess just made her feel helpless. The glass of wine she held in her hand did not taste as good as she had hoped for and it was not because it was bad, it was because she knew Princess Serenity was depressed and now engaged to a horrible man.

She watched her mother and father talking to Queen Serenity and Mars' father Ares; she had known they have been friends for a very long time now and wondered if the same was going to happen to her and Princess Serenity; with a sad smile she turned to look at the other side and began searching for the princess who was nowhere to be found.

Venus frowned when she finally spotted Athamas talking to Mercury's father Hermes, and other gods that seemed to be exchanging a polite conversation "Hypocrite" she mumbled and went to look for Serenity.

Leaving her glass behind, she began walking with grace to the end of the room where she knew she could find an exit; the glass doors that led to the balcony corridor were open, allowing the soft breeze enter and give a more romantic environment to the evening.

She finally managed to get out of the ballroom and walked down the corridor until she did not feel crowded as she was moments ago. Venus frowned and went to see if she could find the princess somewhere near and asked every maid that came her way if she had seen her but they all answered with a negative answer "Maybe she went back to her room…" she said softly and turned to take the opposite direction toward the east wing of the palace. Her blue eyes widened when she saw a young woman walking alone in the corridor.

Venus' blue eyes narrowed as she noticed she was not wearing anything similar to a goddess' attire and nothing close to a maid's uniform and found it strange.

Megumi walked slowly and with a worried expression on her face; she looked around and could tell she was lost in that place unaware of how did she manage to enter the palace without being noticed. Her brown eyes looked around again and saw in awe at the exquisite decorations and crystal chandeliers hanging from the dome like ceilings. Although there was not too much light that led her somewhere, she could hear the music in the distance telling her that the princess might be there _"I hope Prince Endymion is alright…" _she thought with worry and continued her way.

She turned around scared and hoped there were no more guards following her; she kept walking as silent as she could and tried to find her way to the place with music. The young maid was about to turn around the corner when she heard someone calling her.

"Where do you think you are going?" a female voice stopped her.

Megumi widened her eyes and felt like a mouse in a trap "Oh no…" she whispered and bit her lip in fright.

"Who are you? Show yourself"

Megumi kept giving her back at a confused Venus and remained silent; Venus walked closer to her and frowned "I asked you a question"

Megumi closed her eyes and swallowed hard, she turned to face the blonde senshi and bit her lower lip again. The young maid opened her eyes slowly and widened them when she saw a blonde girl standing in front of her. Venus frowned at the girl and confirmed her suspicions; she was not wearing anything similar to the formal attire the maids were wearing for the occasion.

"Who are you?" she asked but again, did not get a response. Venus sighed and crossed her arms "Are you mute?" she asked with annoyance "I asked you a question"

Megumi blinked frightened and lowered her gaze "No, Milady…" she whispered, startling the blonde with the sweetness of her voice.

Venus frowned "Well then, answer me"

Megumi pressed her lips together in a tight line for mere seconds and thought a way to explain herself but then thought of how she could even explain herself and the fact that the prince was taken away and had to find a way to help him.

The young maid prayed for the best and raised her gaze, meeting the blonde's blue eyes "My name is Megumi Milady…" she said softly "…I…" she trailed off.

Venus looked at her and arched a brow "Why aren't you wearing your formal attire? Are you new?"

Megumi shook her head "No Milady…" she sighed and closed her eyes "I dare to ask for your help…"

The young maiden's voice caught Venus' full attention "My help?"

Megumi nodded "Milady…I need to speak to Princess Serenity…please…" she opened her eyes looked at Venus with a desperate stare. The blonde frowned and took a step closer "Who…are you…?" she asked.

"I am…" Megumi hesitated and took a deep breath "…I have an important message for her…_please_…I need to…" she trailed off and took a deep breath "…Please Milady, I need to speak to her…" her voice sounded more desperate this time "It is an emergency"

Venus' frown deepened "A message? From who?" she took a step closer and for a moment she thought this was another spy from Athamas "_Who_ sent you?" her voice turned colder, startling the young maid but it was more her worry and desperation to find the princess than the threatening stare.

With eyes full of determination she looked straight at her in the eyes and let out a soft breath "Prince Endymion"

Venus' blue eyes widened in shock and shook her head "W-What!? What did you just say!?"

Megumi blinked "He asked me…to find her and give her a message…I…"

Venus felt her body stiff, her blood froze in her veins, this was impossible…this was surreal, the man they were sure he died turned out to be more than alive. She brought her hands close to her face "What message?" Venus asked confused "How…? Who are you exactly?"

"I am Prince Endymion's personal maid…" Megumi finally said.

Venus shook her head in disbelief _"A mortal, here? Impossible" _she thought "How did you get here?"

Megumi looked at Venus "I came with him"

Venus' eyes widened bigger at her response and felt her heart stopped beating "What? You…He…What!?" she shook her head "No…no, he is…he is _dead_!"

Megumi frowned and shook her head in denial "No Milady…he is not dead…I came with him, he came to see Princess Serenity…but…" she lowered her gaze and tried to contain her tears; Venus blinked "But what?!"

Megumi pressed her lips together "He was captured...the guards" she closed her eyes "He was trying to protect me and got caught by several guards…"

Venus' mouth parted open in disbelief and shock "He is alive…" she looked around and noticed the young maid's humble dress was dirty and tainted with what it seemed blood "You are hurt…"

Megumi shook her head "No…My Prince has saved me…he…" she opened her eyes "…I do not know where to go…I need to help him…I need to see your Princess Milady…please…" her voice began to break "I need to give her his message! Please my fair Lady…help me!"

Venus could not believe what she just heard. This girl came all the way from Earth with Endymion; the prince was not dead as Mars told them from the conversation she overheard and that only meant one thing; Serenity did not have to marry the general, her true love was alive. That changed everything.

_ ._

Looking down at the girl she could not imagine what she went through or in what conditions the prince might be right now but with all the relief in the world she gave the girl a soft reassuring smile and put her hand on her shoulder "Do not fear anymore, I am one of Princess Serenity's guardians and just like you…I want to help my Princess and your Prince as well" she smiled softly "…And I want him to deliver his message"

Megumi widened her eyes in amaze; Venus nodded "But I want him to give it to her _personally_…"

Megumi blinked and looked at the guardian with worry "But…I do not know where he could be…I do not know where the dungeons are…"

Venus frowned "I do…" she looked down at her "We have to go there as quickly as possible, now it is the right time to act"

"Venus!" a female voice startled the blonde and turned to see Mars walking towards them "What are you doing here?"

"Mars, I need you to do me a favor…" Venus said desperately and held her hands.

Mars frowned and looked at her surprised "What is it? What are you doing here?"

Venus shook her head "A miracle…I just…I need you to help me…"

Mars blinked "Yes of course, anything, what is it?"

"I need you, to get me a suit…"

Mars widened her eyes "What?!"

"_Please_. It is very,_ very_ important"

Mars frowned "Where am I supposed to find a suit at this time?"

"Please Mars…please, ask Artemis to help you…tell him I asked you the favor…but whatever you do, please do not tell him why do you need it, do not tell anyone about this" Venus said and looked around to see nobody else was there listening; Mars spotted the girl behind the blonde and frowned "Who is she?"

"An angel" Venus said hopeful.

Mars shook her head "Venus…I do not understand anything, tell me what it is, who is _she_?!"

"Mars, you have to trust me…_please_…" Venus smiled at the raven haired girl "There is a way to stop this madness…there is a way to stop the General but you have to trust me, all I need is an appropriate suit for the ball"

Megumi widened her brown eyes in amazement "B-Ball…?" she whispered; Mars sighed "Alright…I will see if I can find one…I will do everything I can"

"Ask Artemis…tell him I asked you this favor and please, once you do, leave it in my room" Venus said softly.

"What is happening Venus?" Mars asked confused "Please tell me"

Venus held the raven haired hands tighter "A miracle has happened…I cannot say anything because I only have one chance but if it works…Princess Serenity's life will change drastically" The blonde let go of Mars' hands and turned to leave with Megumi behind.

Mars frowned and watched the two girls walk away as discreet as possible "There is something about that girl…" she whispered and narrowed her eyes as she saw them walking in the distance "I felt a different energy coming from her…" sighing, she turned to get Venus' favor and pursed her lips "Might as well I will find something for the girl too…"


	120. Chapter 120

_A/N: And here I was thinking about how I used to post every now and then when my chapters were five pages long. Then I thought about how close we are to the end and then...I came to realize I had free time on my hands, so, what do I do in these cases? Well...this._

_I know, I was supposed to publish until friday but come on, tomorrow's thursday, some of us are tired and wait anxiosuly for the weekend to come and while I'm in the middle of the chaos of making my mom a scarecrow costume for a party, my job and other activities I decided that this would be a good excuse to make ourselves feel like we are almost there! Almost there guys! Just hold on a little while longer! It's almost friday!_

_Enjoy._

Divinity: A question of Honor

Chapter one hundred and twenty

* * *

The ball went smoothly; the music played the most elegant and beautiful tunes in the background while several couples danced across the dance floor happily. Some were entranced in their conversations while others cheered for the perfect excuse for their reunion, everybody from Olympus was there to celebrate the lunar princess' engagement to the andromedian soldier; everyone except the princess.

Athamas frowned and looked around in search for Serenity; he took another drink from the maids carrying the trays with crystal clear glasses full of velvety wine. The general drank the entire beverage in just one gulp and sighed in annoyance as he became impatient _"Where the hell are you Serenity?" _he thought.

Kilmakos entered the ballroom and looked for the general; he could not deny the fact that he was worried for how the general would take the news, he was sure he saw with his own eyes the prince's dead body next to the locket. He was afraid of Athamas' reaction and what he could do to his family after this; he frowned and thought of how he could not noticed it before, he swore it was him, he swore to him and now his family's future was in great danger, including his.

The man widened his eyes, stopped mid way and looked at the blonde man having another glass of wine; the influence he had on the outside vanished the moment he saw Athamas and slowly walked to him and prayed for him to contain the rage that was about to explode.

"General…" Kilmakos said softly.

Athamas looked at him and arched his brow, he waited to finish his glass before answering to the soldier's call "What are you doing here?" he asked dryly "Can't you see I am in the middle of my engagement ball?"

"Yes, General…but…"

"You can't just come here and interrupt me" Athamas snarled, his eyes were cold and inexpressive towards him. Kilmakos took a deep breath and looked around; with a serious face he tried to pretend everything was under control "I know General but I must inform you something…"

"You should be looking for Serenity by now…" Athamas said and took another glass of wine "Where is she anyway? Have you seen her?"

Kilmakos frowned and took a step closer "No General, I will look for her, but this is important..."

Athamas looked at him and rolled his eyes "What do you want? What is it?"

Kilmakos pressed his lips and hesitated to answer, this mere action annoyed the general "What is it, I asked!?"

"…The guards found something very interesting trying to get into the palace just moments ago…"

Athamas sighed "That is their job, I ordered extra security"

Kilmakos bit his lip "That interesting catch turned out to be, the Terran Prince"

Athamas' eyes widened and turned to look at the soldier with rage in his eyes "What did you just say?" he snarled. Kilmakos took a deep breath "The guards…"

"You said he was dead…why do you say it is him?!" Athamas frowned "You swore he was dead!"

"I thought it was him General, I saw the body! I do not know what hap…"

Athamas made a huge effort to control his temper and let out a deep breath "Where is he?" he asked and took a sip of his wine. Kilmakos looked down and pursed his lips "He was outside the palace…the guards managed to take him to the dungeons"

"How the hell did he get here?!" Athamas asked angrily through his clenched teeth "He's supposed to be a mortal, how the hell did he get _here_!?"

Kilmakos tried to remain calm as he listened to Athamas' angry voice "Do you want me to do something about it?"

"_You?!"_ Athamas looked at him "It is more than clear to me that you cannot do anything without my supervision" he arched his brow "You are an imbecile!"

Kilmakos looked at him "I do not know what happened…"

"What happened is that your ineptitude surpassed its limit" Athamas growled softly "Where is he?"

"The guards took him to the dungeons"

Athamas sighed and took another sip of his wine "Lock him there until I can pay him a visit. I want him to be supervised by many guards as possible, do you understand?"

Kilmakos nodded and turned to leave; Athamas arched his brow again "Oh, and Kilmakos?" the soldier turned to look at him "Yes, General?"

Athamas cast him a smile "Considered lost that favor of yours"

Kilmakos widened his eyes in panic and shook his head "N-No…please…No…I…"

Athamas moved closer to him "Now get the hell out of my face, this is _my_ moment and I will not let that stupid mortal or _you_ ruin with your ineptitude what I have achieved on my own" he pushed him slightly with his hand "And bring me the Princess" Kilmakos swallowed and nodded in resignation as he walked out of the ball room.

Athamas raised his glass and took another sip to calm his nerves and pass the bitter sweet of the news the soldier just gave him. The blonde man narrowed his eyes and watched the deep colored beverage swirl inside the tall crystal glass "I will have to kill you myself once and for all before the Princess finds out" he muttered and smiled to himself "It seems I will be able to kill you in front of her after all"

At the other side of the large room, Ares took a sip of his own drink and sighed "Your future son in law is a little too anxious for what I can see"

Queen Serenity stopped talking to Aphrodite and turned to Ares with a smile "This is all new to him…he is not used to be the center of attention"

Ares raised his brow "Right…that must be it" he took another sip.

Aphrodite leaned her head to the side as she watched him standing there, looking everywhere probably in search of the princess; she turned to Ares and then at her friend "Are they happy Serenity?"

The lunar queen smiled and turned to the blonde goddess "What do you mean?"

Aphrodite raised her eyebrows and bit her lower lip "I don't know…have you seen them together?"

"Many times…"

"Hmm…have you seen them smiling at each other, holding their hands…?"

Queen Serenity frowned "What are you trying to say Aphrodite?"

The blonde goddess shrugged her shoulders and pouted her lips like she always did every time she tried to make the others realize her point "Well, I just find very strange that your daughter is engaged to that young man and still, she is nowhere to be found"

Ares arched his brow and turned to Aphrodite "Now that you mention it…" he chuckled and smiled at her "You are good"

"Thank you, not for nothing I am the Goddess of Love" Aphrodite tapped her glass with his; Queen Serenity sighed "She was there moments ago, where did she go?"

"Oh, do not fret dear friend, she probably went to the balcony to get some fresh air…or maybe she went to fix her dress or something" Aphrodite said sweetly "Venus went to look for her, they will be back in no time…an engagement is always a hectic kind of celebration you should know that very well…"

The lunar queen smiled "Oh I do remember well…Mother arranged everything to the last single little detail, it was lovely" she chuckled "I remember when Ga…" she widened her eyes and stopped abruptly; Ares gave the queen a sad smile and so did Aphrodite "You miss her, don't you?" she asked softly and sighed "I miss her too…very much"

Serenity sighed and looked down at her wine "She was always there for me…she even talked to Athan before the ball, I remember she asked him to always be good to me or otherwise she would make him pay…she never got the chance…" she chuckled sadly.

"You might be surprised one day" a male voice joined the conversation. Ares, Aphrodite and Serenity turned to look at a warm smiling but characteristically serious Chronos "Cheers" he raised his glass at them and took a sip of his wine. Ares arched his brow and looked at him quizzically "Aren't you a little _'feisty'_ this evening?"

Chronos chuckled "Ah, maybe…" he smiled and kissed Serenity's hand softly "…Only on special occasions and this night is one special occasion" he looked at her "How are you Little Flower?"

Queen Serenity widened her eyes and blinked; her cheeks flushed a faint shade of pink and chuckled "I am doing just fine Chronos, I am glad to see you are enjoying the party"

Chronos looked around "It is a fine party, I must admit that you did an excellent work…just like Selene did with you, you are doing it to your daughter, that's nice"

"You know something we don't"

Chronos blinked and turned to look at Ares who was already analyzing his behavior "What do you mean?" the lord of time asked.

Ares smiled knowingly "I know you and right know you are one step ahead of us…you know something we don't"

Chronos smiled and chuckled "Maybe…but then again, remember I am always ahead of news" he raised his glass "But, yes, I admit I feel very tranquil…I saw someone I didn't see in a very long time and I am going to meet somebody I am really looking forward to"

Aphrodite blinked "Chronos…but, Serenity already introduced her daughter's fiancé moments ago…"

Chronos smiled again "Oh, I was not talking about the Andromedian soldier" he winked an eye at the lunar queen and tapped his glass with hers "Cheers"

Queen Serenity looked at him quizzically, wondering what he was talking about. Like always, he was talking in riddles "Cheers…" she smiled softly and took a sip of her wine.

Ares frowned and then spotted his daughter walk across to the ball room, looking for someone who appeared to be "Artemis…" he muttered softly, and intrigued. He watched her whisper something in his ear and by his reaction he knew there was something happening outside this illusion of a ball.

o.o.o.o.

Venus stopped right at the entrance of the west wing of the palace; Megumi stopped behind her and looked at the blonde senshi "Why are we stopping Milady?"

"Because…this is the side where we must be more cautious" Venus whispered and turned to look both sides of the corridor "The man who ordered to send the Prince to the dungeons has his office at this wing of the palace"

Megumi widened her eyes and bit her lip; Venus cursed under her breath when she saw several guards walk their way from what it seemed the entrance of the corridor that led them to the lowest and darkest part of the palace. Considering the fact that the queen did not approve any kind of punishment and that her reign was known to be one of peace, the dungeons was not a place you thought this palace would have. She looked around and hid behind a wall, pulling Megumi to her side "He probably knows by now…there is too much security guarding the entrance…"

"What are we going to do…?" Megumi asked worried as she saw all the men gathered there "They will recognize me…"

Venus frowned, anxiety was starting to take its toll on her as she thought of something she could do to make those men go away for just a moment. When she was young and training to be a senshi she was told that the lunar palace had many secret passages in case an emergency ever happened so she could aid the royals and take them to a safer place "There has to be here somewhere…" she muttered softly while looking around.

Her blue eyes examined the walls and corridors until she found the statue where the hidden door was camouflaged. She was about to make a move when she saw Kilmakos get close to the guards "Him…" she muttered and tried to hear what he was saying to those men.

She saw one of the guards nod and walk away leaving him and other three men at the entrance thinking that probably the rest was there inside keeping an eye at the prince. Clearing her throat she took one of her rings off and tossed it away in the corridor, its crisp sound against the marble floor echoed catching the men's attention.

"What was that?" one of the guards asked, Kilmakos frowned and waved his hand, giving them the order to go and look while he went the opposite way of the hall, giving the blonde and brunette the only chance to run and enter the alternate door that led to the dungeons.

Venus watched the men disappear in the distance and grabbed the young maid's hand "I need you to run as quiet and fast as you can…this is our only chance"

Megumi nodded and tightened her grasp on Venus' hand "At the count of three…" Venus whispered and took a deep breath "One…two…_three_!" she said and ran on her tiptoes trying not to make too much noise with her heels against the impeccable floor; Megumi's heart felt like it was going to jump right off her chest once the blonde found the door and entered the dark, eerie corridor that led them to their destination "Well, this is a drastic change…" she muttered and began to walk, not letting go of Megumi's hand.

Megumi watched the torches with dancing flames that somehow reminded her to earth, maybe it was because of the rustic, raw feeling and potent feeling of having fire so close. To be in another place, far away from her home planet and to see a natural element there was somewhat comforting.

Venus kept walking not really caring if the hem of her dress was beginning to get dirty. After all, the dungeon was the least clean and friendly place of any palace. Her eyes widened when she saw a guard standing at the Iron Gate; his eyes widened at their presence and raised his weapon as a signal to stop "What are you doing here? This is not a place for girls!"

Venus frowned "I know what you are keeping in one of those cells…so you better let me in"

"You do not have permission to cross this Gate" the guard frowned.

"According to who? Your Commander?" Venus narrowed her eyes "Let me in, it's an order!"

"As I said, this is no place for…" before he could finish his sentence; Venus had struck him with her golden chain "I am not a girl…I am a senshi" she muttered and kicked him softly with her high heel to make sure he was completely out. Megumi watched the girl holding a shining golden chain made of hearts; was it magic? She wondered, she did not even notice when she took it from her waist to attack the guard.

The girl blinked in surprise and amazement as she turned to look at her who was now entering the long corridor full of dirty cells.

Her slow steps against the stone echoed in the large prison, she turned to look at every cell on each side while walking until she reached the last one on the corner and gasped softly.

The sound of breathing and shock was the sound that made Endymion turn his head and look up; his dark blue eyes widened when he saw who was standing behind those thick dirty bars that kept him imprisoned inside his cell. Venus widened her eyes and shook her head in disbelief "It is true…" she breathed.

"Venus…" he said softly, his voice still sounded slightly hazy.

Venus shook her head "No…" she moved closer and saw he had his wrists and ankles chained, making him move an impossible task "What they have done to you…?"

Endymion looked down at his hands and then back at her "I had to…" he trailed off and widened his eyes "How…Where's…?" he woke up from his hazy state. Megumi appeared and stood next to the blonde; and crouched on the floor while she tried to extend her hand out to him "Prince…" she said softly "Please forgive me…"

Endymion sighed in relief and shook his head "No Megumi, don't worry about this…I am glad you are safe…" he looked up at Venus and nodded "Thank you"

Venus shook her head and frowned "What…How…?"

"We have been attacked…" Endymion said slowly "…Like a disease, Earth was covered in darkness, everyone died…" he lowered his head "…I tried to save everyone…but in the end, everything disappeared"

Venus widened her eyes "Like Mars' premonition…"

Endymion nodded "I thought I was the only one that survived that madness besides Beryl, the witch that caused everything…but Megumi found a way to escape and found me. Because I know this woman, she will want to take control of everything, her power has come too strong and it was only going to cause more damage to my planet…that is why I had to do what I did and find my way to tell Serenity all this…" he looked down at Megumi, who was still trying to hold his hand "Which is why I asked her to find her and give her my message"

Venus slid down slowly until she was at the same height and watched the prince's dirty face "Kunzite…" she whispered. Endymion understood what she was trying to say and shook his head "He disappeared in battle…she took his life just like she did with the others…" he looked at her sadly.

Her heart felt like it broke in millions of pieces, and now she felt how the princess must have felt when she learned the prince was dead. Empty, depressed…She tried to fight her tears and looked at him "We were told you were dead…"

Endymion shook his head "Whoever gave you that information was very much misinformed"

Venus widened her eyes in realization "You…kept your promise to her…" she mumbled and stood up, startling the prince "What?" he asked.

Venus looked at the gate and then at the prince "I have to get you out of here" she closed her eyes "My Princess was torn when she was informed of your passing…she…" she trailed off and shook her head "You must stop her from doing something very stupid!"

Endymion widened his eyes and stood up as quickly as he could, despite his dizziness "What is wrong with her?!" he asked desperate. Venus opened her eyes and looked at him "Step back"

Endymion frowned "Venus?"

"I am going to get you out of here even if it is the last thing I do!" she said determined and pointed her index finger on the lock of the grille and frowned _"Crescent beam!"_ she said as a golden piercing light burned and melt the lock and slid the grille aside; then crouched and did the same with the chain on his ankles and wrists. Looking at her in the eyes, Endymion frowned "I thought you were against our relationship"

Venus looked at him "We have to go before they come back and see us here"

Endymion nodded and followed the blonde and Megumi out of the cells and the corridor until they reached for another hidden passage; Venus turned to look at him and nodded "This way, hurry" she whispered.

The prince turned and grabbed the young maid's hand so she won't get behind as they walked down the long dark corridor. Venus bit her lip "We should not be too far away from the exit…"

And just as she predicted it, they finally got to the other door that led to an opposite side of the palace. Venus opened it with caution so nobody would notice them and looked around for a moment; she waved her hand as a sign for them to go out. Endymion looked with awe at the impeccable palace and its feminine and intricate details in the decorations, it fitted the princess somehow and that thought made him smile. He turned to the blonde and frowned "Where should I go now?"

Venus frowned too and nodded "Follow me, we are not too far…"

Endymion nodded and held Megumi's hand again; something the young maid appreciated very much. She was glad his prince was free from that dark prison, so different from the elegance of the palace's interiors. Venus reached for a door and opened it, stepping aside he let him go in and then the young maid and closed it behind her, locking it safe. Leaning her head on the door she finally let go a sigh of relief and smiled "Thank heavens…" she mumbled and turned to walk inside the bedroom where Mars was waiting for her.

"Venus" she said simply.

Venus jumped and put a hand on her chest, taking a few deep breaths she sighed in relief and waved her hand "You scared me"

Mars frowned "Are you finally going to tell me what is happening?"

Venus looked at her "Did you get it?"

Mars pursed her lips "Venus!"

"Did you get it?!" the blonde insisted, making the raven haired girl sigh in defeat "Yes, yes…I did…" she pointed at it on the bed, her eyes never left her blonde friend "Artemis was confused of why would I ask for such thing…you were lucky he had a spare one that didn't fit him, and that he did not ask any further questions"

Venus sighed in relief and smiled "Thank you Artemis"

"Are you going to tell me now what is happening?" Mars frowned again "Why do you need a suit?"

Venus sighed again and stepped aside, her blue eyes fixed to something Mars could not understand until her eyes rested on the prince who stood in the doorway. Her amethyst eyes widened in shock and disbelief "P-Prince Endymion!"

Endymion looked at her "Mars…" he said softly.

Mars shook her head and then spotted the same girl she saw a while ago with Venus and then at the prince again "But…no…I…"

"You were misinformed" Endymion spoke for her "Whoever told you I was dead obviously lied"

Mars blinked and shook her head again "But I heard it…they saw you…the…" she widened her eyes and turned to Venus then back again "How did you get here?"

Endymion sighed softly "I do not even know it myself…I did not know the prayers I was taught when I was young would help me travel through the space"

Mars walked over to him still with shock in her eyes "I just can't believe it…" she whispered and then turned to Venus "Princess Serenity…" Venus nodded "You now understand why I could not waste any more time explaining?"

Endymion frowned "Serenity…where is she? Is she alright?"

Mars sighed sadly and shook her head "Prince Endymion…my Princess thought you were dead because of me, I overheard a conversation and had to inform her, why? I do not know, maybe because she waited so anxiously for your return, because she constantly said to us that you two were going to find a way to be together…I felt the duty to inform her of what I heard; I did not know it was a lie…but it is because of that lie, that my Princess began to wither and decided to make the greatest mistake of her life…a mistake only you can amend"

Endymion frowned "I do not understand"

"Princess Serenity has gotten engaged to a terrible man…but only because she thinks she has lost you" Venus said softly. Endymion felt a cold rush through his entire body and reminded his time when, because of similar reasons he made the same stupid decision. It was because of her that he opened his eyes and realized what he was about to do; now it was his time to save her "Where should I go? Where can I see her?"

"You cannot go like that…everyone will notice you are not from here and we do not want that because that man is there and we do not want him to know" Mars said "You are the only one who can save us now Prince…we put our faith and trust in your hands"

Endymion lowered his head "I could not protect my planet as I should have…but…this girl…" he turned to Megumi and smiled kindly at her "This girl told me that I should not let Serenity down and she was right…I had to come here and let her know what is happening…"

"Your premonitions Mars…" Venus said softly, making the raven haired girl gasp "Like a disease…the shadows will cover the sun…" she whispered. Endymion nodded and looked down again "…I have to come to warn you…to speak to Serenity, to speak to your Queen and let them know"

Venus nodded "Then, we have to move…the clothes are on the bed…we will wait here"

Endymion nodded, he was about to turn then stopped and looked at both senshi "Why…?" he asked confused.

Mars smiled kindly at him "Because…you are a man of your word and kept your promise; you came back for her. You are a man of Honor"

Endymion returned the smile and walked to the door Venus had opened for him "Everything you need is inside" he handed him a towel which he immediately took "Thank you" he whispered.

Venus nodded and smiled at him "No, thank _you_" with nothing else to say, the prince closed the door and was thankful enough to let him take a quick shower. The water on his skin made the dirt and debris mixed with blood wash away from his tired muscles; he bathed as quickly as possible, aware that they didn't have much time to act and then went to the room to put on the clothes the fire senshi left for him on the bed.

Mars looked at the girl sitting on one of the chairs "I got some clean clothes for you too…"

Megumi looked up in awe and gratitude; Mars smiled at her "I cannot imagine what you went through…"

Megumi lowered her gaze and shook her head "My Prince may act strong…but I know he is broken inside…he had to leave his planet in order to stop that malice and save your Princess"

Mars was about to ask more about what happened when they all heard the prince open the bedroom door and walk out wearing an impeccable black tuxedo that matched his dark hair. The three girls widened their eyes as they could not deny the beauty of the man before them; Megumi blinked and tried to contain her blush as much as possible.

Endymion looked at his gloved hands and then at the girls "I'm ready" he said determinant. Mars nodded and so did Venus but Megumi stood up and went back to the room and came back with his black cape in her hands and took the liberty to attach it to the shoulders of his tux jacket "_Now_ you are ready"

Mars and Venus smiled at the young maiden's respect and admiration for her prince and she was right, they agreed on that and finally they admitted something Serenity has said for a long time now: He should be their Commander instead of Athamas.

Venus looked at Megumi and then at Mars "You lead the Prince to the ballroom, I will stay with Megumi until she changes her clothes…that way the guards will not suspect of our plan because they saw me and the girl and not you… we will join you later"

Mars nodded and turned on her heel; just before Endymion left the room Venus widened her eyes and called him "Prince!"

Endymion turned to look at her with a puzzled expression; Venus gave him a white mask to cover his eyes and smiled at him "It is a masquerade..." she pressed her lips together and looked at him "I never am but when I am wrong I admit it, and this time…I admit I was wrong about you" she put a hand on his shoulder "You are the only one that can make my Princess happy…I am deeply sorry for all the trouble I caused you…"

The prince looked at the mask and then at the blonde and smiled warmly "That is something left in the past, I know your intention was to only protect her, I understand…in the end we were both trying to do the same thing…" he gave the blonde a soft smile "I Thank you again, Venus"

Venus nodded and watched them leave. Sighing she turned to Megumi and gave her a soft smile "Now…let us go see what Mars found for you"

o.o.o.o.o.o

Kilmakos finally found the princess leaning on one of the pillars of the balcony; after all the time he searched for her under the general's command he finally found her. Her eyes were fixed on the blue planet hanging in the distance and her mind was lost in a sea of memories she shared with Endymion.

The soldier walked closer to her and saw her melancholic face "Princess?" he called softly, startling her and making her turn "I suppose he sent you…" she said dryly.

Kilmakos nodded and bowed his head "The guests are beginning to ask for you Princess, including Her Majesty, The Queen"

Serenity sighed sadly and moved away from the pillar "I see…" she sighed tiredly "Can I ask you something Kilmakos?"

The soldier nodded; he was surprised that she knew his name "Of course, Princess"

"Have you ever felt trapped?" Serenity looked at him "Like if you were living or doing something only to protect others?"

Kilmakos widened his eyes _"He threatened her…"_ he thought, _"Just like me…" _The princess was living the same misfortune he was living, the same nightmare of not knowing what to do in order to keep her loved ones safe; suddenly realization hit him and made him nod "As a matter of fact yes, Princess…I have, I feel it every day…"

Serenity turned to look at him with sad eyes "What has he done to you?" she asked simply. Kilmakos sighed sadly and shook his head "The same thing as you Princess…he tied me to a threat and took the most important thing away from me"

"And why do you keep working for him?"

"Because…he has the power to keep my loved ones safe Princess"

Serenity looked at him with sympathy and understood his position; just like he did to her he threatened him. That is how he liked to work, by installing fear on others. Nodding she began to walk again back to the ball room "I do not want you to get you into trouble…" she whispered.

Kilmakos nodded and followed her in silence, both miserable and tired. She turned to look at him and gave him a sad smile "I am sorry…for what he has done to you…I will try and fix what he has done" The soldier's eyes lit with hope at her words and gave her a smile in gratitude, the man nodded and allowed the princess to walk back into the room from the long staircase.

Mars and Endymion finally got to the ballroom where the music was still playing in its full splendor; Endymion watched the room in awe and for a moment could not believe he was surrounded by gods and divine beings. He noticed how everybody was wearing the same attire as him and thanked Venus for the mask.

Mars waved her hand to several people in salute and turned to the prince "We have arrived just in time" she whispered and pointed the staircase where Serenity was walking down slowly. Endymion felt like if his soul had returned to his body as soon as his eyes laid on her; turning to Mars he excused himself and went straight to her, his blue eyes never leaving her.

Serenity sighed as she watched the people in the room turn to look at her, she was not in the mood to keep pretending but then again, it was because of her kingdom, her family and friends the reason why she was doing all this. As she continued walking down the stairs, she rested her hand on the exquisite smithy handrail and turned as soon she felt another one resting on top of hers. Her eyes widened at the proximate gesture and turned to look at the person who was kindly holding her hand.

There was something so familiar about that touch, even when his hand was gloved she could still feel a warm energy flowing between them, something she only felt with… she widened her eyes in shock.

"Would you like to dance, Princess?"

Her heart stopped as she heard that voice, _his_ voice. That voice she knew so well and missed terribly. Her own voice could not come out of her throat but her eyes were not deceiving her, it was really him, it was _"Endymion…"_ she whispered and took his hand as she stepped down the last step "Is it you…?" she asked fearful.

Endymion smiled at her and bowed in respect "Chorea mihi cura, Reginae?" (Care to give me this dance, Princess?)

Serenity could not hold the tears in her eyes as she saw him standing right in front of her, _alive_. With a nod she tightened her hold on his hand as he led her to the dance floor with tender care. They both took position and waited for the orchestra to play another song and like if time never passed, they began to dance slowly like they did every time they were together.

She looked at him dearly; her eyes gleamed with joy as she got lost in his deep blue eyes, those eyes she missed so much. Endymion turned; as he led her softly they glided and turned in an exquisite timing and perfection, causing the guests to notice them dancing like a couple, in love.

Serenity smiled widely as she turned and twirled by the hand of her prince; her hand never wanted to leave his as they continued moving all across the dance floor. She tried to touch his face but he gave another chainé turn again "It is better if you do not remove the mask…" he said softly.

Serenity widened her eyes and blinked "…This is like a dream…" she whispered.

"Luna Bunny…" he whispered back "…This is like a dream for me too…" they turned again at the sound of the music. Serenity sighed softly "I…I was told…"

Endymion shook his head "Amor, I came here to talk to you...to talk to your Mother"

Serenity blinked in surprise "My Mother?"

The prince nodded and turned again "Yes…it is most likely that if everyone in this room learns that I am what I am, they will consider me an enemy so it is better if we keep my identity secret for now"

Serenity nodded and moved closer to him, resting one hand on his chest. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath; she recognized the scent she knew and loved, she was not dreaming, her prince was alive and was now dancing with her.

Aphrodite watched the couple in the distance and took a sip of her wine; Ares frowned and looked at her "What is it Aphrodite?"

The goddess of love smiled and swirled the wine in her glass slowly "Nothing, I am just…" she turned to look at the general, who was staring at the dancing couple from a distance "…Proving my point"

Ares arched a brow "Your point?"

Aphrodite nodded and pointed toward the direction of Athamas with her glass "The General is not the one dancing with Serenity's daughter"

Ares widened his eyes and looked at Athamas and then at Serenity, who indeed was dancing with another man; there was something about that young man that caught his attention, his poise was one of a royal, the way he led the dance was impressive; he did not make a single mistake or whatsoever "Too bad it is a masquerade party…otherwise I would have seen who he is"

"Intrigued?" Aphrodite asked softly with a curious smile; Ares nodded "Aren't you?"

"Hm…" Aphrodite hummed in thought "A little yes, but there is no doubt there is something stronger between those two…and how should they not have it, the man is obviously gorgeous"

Ares narrowed his eyes and looked at her "What do you mean?"

"They have a strong bond…their aura is impressive. Something I did not see when she was standing next to her _fiancé_" Aphrodite said and sighed sadly "Too bad Serenity cannot see that"

Ares frowned "Where is she?"

"Hera…" the goddess of love simply said and shrugged her shoulders "Business…Alliance related, you know"

"Hmm…" Ares responded and took a sip of his wine _"Could this be the person Chronos was talking about?" _he thought.

At the other side of the room, Athamas was drinking another glass of wine. After talking and presenting himself to the guests alongside the lunar queen he now stood next to one of the windows near the wine fountain and could not take his eyes off his now fiancé and that mysterious man.

Wine suddenly stopped tasting sweet and warm, but turned bitter and cold; its refreshing and bubbly sensation stop doing the wonders it did earlier that night when all the commotion began. It was probably because of the news Kilmakos gave him moments ago.

His blood boiled every time he thought about the prince being alive, that was a big obstacle for his plans and was something he could not accept and allow.

He frowned and this time he could not hide his discomfort; he placed his glass over a table close to him and walked toward the dance floor, his eyes never leaving Serenity.

Hera turned to look at him from the other side of the room where she was talking with Queen Serenity and widened her eyes "I believe the Andromedian is upset about something"

Queen Serenity blinked and turned to Hera "Why?" she asked as she tried to find him in the crowd. The regal goddess, pointed with her glass at the general and then looked at the dancing couple and was amazed by their perfect coordination "Who is he?" she asked softly, slightly curious.

The queen frowned "Who?"

"Him, the young man dancing with your daughter" Hera looked at the couple.

Queen Serenity widened her lavender eyes "I…I do not know…"

Hera smiled "Whoever that is, is an excellent dancer. Look at them!" she took a sip of her wine "Too bad it is a masquerade, I cannot see his face but he sure looks like he is a very handsome man, you do not need to see much to know he is one fine man"

The lunar queen looked at the dancing couple and then at the general, she tried to think who that young man could be considering the fact that Serenity was not so easy to woo and now that she was engaged to the general. She felt curious, very curious and by the way she smiled and danced; it was like they shared something more than just one dance.

They knew each other, and they did it well.

The music piece was close to an end as Endymion gave Serenity an inside turn and then bent, lowering the princess on his arm to a perfect finale. Serenity locked her gaze with his and smiled softly; Endymion helped her stand up and held her hand. Serenity looked around and before Athamas could interrupt them, she looked at Endymion and gave him a soft smile "Come with me"

Endymion nodded "Where do I meet you?"

Serenity blinked "Outside this room; near the stairs there is a door…walk through it and wait for me there, there should be no guards"

Endymion nodded and walked away slowly, ignoring the attempts of the ladies trying to get his attention. Serenity watched him leave discreetly and turned to see Athamas making his way on the crowd; desperation to escape began to make her feel anxious and just when Athamas was about to stop her from leaving she saw Mars, Mercury and Jupiter going his way.

Mercury was the first one in talk to him she noticed; the general turned to look at her from time to time to make sure she was still there, and because he knew he could not make a scene in front of everybody he had to coupe. Mercury smiled at him and called for one of the guests who, so willingly began a conversation with Athamas.

Mars exchanged glances with Jupiter and the princess, as a sign that was alright for her to leave the room now. Serenity was not sure if they did it because they knew something but she showed her gratitude with a warm smile and turned to leave the same direction Endymion took moments ago.

Walking through that door, she was finally out of the lie that celebration was about and turned to look both sides, not finding the prince. Her heart began to pound in her chest as she tried to convince herself that what she just experienced was not a dream, that she really heard him and danced with him, that he really was alive.

She felt a hand on her shoulder that made her turn and saw the prince standing behind her and sighed in relief. Serenity held his hand and walked in silence for a few minutes until she felt it was a safe place for them to finally talk alone. That side of the balcony was dark, only illuminated by the cool light coming from the blue planet in the distance; the sound of music was barely audible giving them enough privacy to talk.

She looked at him in silence for a moment until she couldn't take seeing him wearing that mask any longer. She reached for it to take it off, revealing his handsome face and sighed softly "I cannot believe you are here…" she whispered and touched his face, a gesture he responded almost immediately by leaning his face on her hand "I had to see you…" he whispered back "I needed to see you…"

Serenity looked at him and moved closer "I was told you were gone…" she said softly and shook her head "I did not want to believe it but…" she trailed off "My heart never wanted to believe it"

"I know amor, but it was a misunderstanding" Endymion said softly.

Serenity shook her head and lowered her gaze "…I was heartbroken, my life…" she trailed off "…I made a horrible decision…Endymion…I…" her voice began to break; his hands touched her face and lifted it to meet his eyes "Amor, Amor…I know…it's alright…" he whispered.

Serenity widened her eyes "What…?"

"I know this is your engagement ball…" Endymion said softly.

"You knew…who?" Serenity trailed off "Shh…" Endymion hushed softly and put a finger on her lips "It's alright my love…"

Serenity looked at him, her lips trembled "I knew you were alive…I knew it…but I was too hurt…and desperate…I do not love him, he…" she paused and looked away "He learned about us and threatened me, he told me he was going to do something against this Kingdom, that he was going to ruin the Alliance and hurt my friends…I could not let him do it…I just couldn't…" she looked up at the blue planet "The only thing that made me feel strong in all this madness was every time I looked at it and thought about you…"

Endymion turned his head to face the blue planet and gasped; since he got there he did not get the opportunity to look at his surroundings, much less to look at his home planet, the same he obliterated. He walked closer to the balcony rail and sighed sadly as he watched the blue planet "It is amazing…to see it gleam even after all that happened…after all I did…"

Serenity widened her eyes and turned to look at him, she held his hand "What you did?" she whispered confused "What happened? Your Mother…Queen Gaia…your godmother…"

Endymion lowered his gaze and shook his head "They're gone…they are all gone Serenity…I could not save them…"

Serenity gasped and covered her mouth with a hand "No…"

Endymion looked down at her "Earth has been under attack…an evil spirit infected it with its dark energy and ambition, bringing everything to shadows and chaos"

The prince took a deep breath and prepared himself to revive everything that happened; he raised his head and looked at earth again "After we went to war…" he paused for a moment "…Strange things began to happen, one after another, soldiers began missing, others fell ill and died…we fought countless of times, Kunzite, Nephrite, Zoicite and Jadeite were always there helping me guide the troops and fight those faceless enemies…"

He looked down "And I say faceless enemies because that is what they were, faceless entities…like shadows rummaging through the bushes and darkness like predators, taking lives without any remorse. Every stop we made, there was always a soldier missing…" he sighed and looked up again "Until one night, I went back to look for the missing soldiers and Jadeite decided to help; he left the camp and the others to search for me. He saw I was fighting another enemy that had gone to fight me specifically… by the time I could defeat this mysterious enemy and went to look for Jadeite he was already gone. He was the first I lost…"

Serenity widened her eyes and shook her head, she was still covering her mouth with her hand; Endymion sighed and continued telling her everything, how the other soldiers went missing and how he lost the other shitennou "The night I lost Kunzite, we were camping near one of the points we were inspecting…the camp was set on fire and we managed to escape…after that, I did not find Kunzite but I know he was attacked. After I found out I had lost all the soldiers in battle I knew I had to go back to Elysion…I knew I had to go back and fight to save my family and all the people there. I knew in my heart that the enemy was heading there…"

Endymion sighed and closed his eyes "…By the time I got to the palace, the village was in complete chaos, children…entire families were running scared, getting hurt…the palace was invaded. My father was there fighting alongside his right hand, my godfather and the rest of the soldiers that stayed to guard the Kingdom.

He asked me to go inside the palace to help my mother who had fallen sick and could not move from her bed; my godmother Aurea was there with her but I know they were very scared. I managed to go inside…and went straight to my grandmother's chambers but I got there too late as I found her lying on the floor lifeless"

He made a pause and took a deep breath, this was more difficult than he thought "I ran as fast as I could to my mother's room but then…there was a big explosion coming from there, destroying everything in its way…" he lowered his head "I could not help them…she got there first and took their lives…"

Serenity frowned "Her?" she asked "You know who did all those atrocious things?" Endymion nodded. Serenity shook her head "Who could have done those terrible things?"

Endymion looked at her "Beryl did it"

Serenity widened her eyes in shock "B-Beryl? Isn't she…"

The prince nodded. Serenity shook her head in disbelief "But…she…"

"She stopped being herself after that ball…she has been possessed by an evil spirit of unknown origin and infected earth with malicious energy bringing darkness and destroying everything in its course. She said it was the rise of the Dark Kingdom" Endymion sighed "She was no longer the girl I met…shy, cautious…she was now an ambitious witch blinded by power and malice" he looked at her and frowned, his eyes went darker. They held hurt and guilt "I had to do something…I had to stop her from taking more lives if that was even possible…"

Serenity held his hand and looked at him "Endymion…" she whispered sadly.

"I prayed…like I haven't done in years…probably since I was a little boy…I prayed and somehow…all the lessons I was taught channeled a great amount of energy that I still cannot describe…" the prince looked at his hands "It flowed with great intensity…I could feel it running through my veins like fire…and like if I knew all this time, I prayed for my planet to sleep…I obliterated it"

Serenity widened her eyes and turned to look at the blue planet "There is nothing else to save…everything is gone, everything I knew…" the prince said "Of how I came here, I still cannot believe it myself, but I knew I had to find you…I had to see you and talk to you, I channeled that same energy I used to obliterate Earth to come here taking Megumi with me"

Serenity widened her eyes "Megumi…she is…"

Endymion nodded "Yes, she is stronger than we thought and managed to escape Beryl's minions and attacks"

"Where is she?"

"With Venus"

Serenity's eyes softened "Venus…"

"Serenity, now that I am here, I wish to speak to your Mother and explain everything…" Endymion said as he held her hand "I do not want the same thing happen here…I do not want anything happen to you…"

"Endymion…" Serenity whispered, her eyes got lost in his "…You are here…that is all that matters to me…to know you are alive and here, with me"

"I love you Serenity" Endymion bent his head closer to hers and wrapped his arms around her "I love you with all my heart…"

She closed the short space between them and locked her lips with his in a soft, endearing kiss. Tears began to roll down her cheeks, tears of happiness and pain; she could feel his sorrow and how probably he did not have the chance to mourn the loss of his family. Her hands touched his face and felt the moist from his own tears; they were finally together and right now, that was all that mattered.

"There he is!" a male voice interrupted the moment, as several guards ran toward them and pulled Endymion apart from Serenity, startling her "What are you doing?! NO, let him go!" she yelled.

Endymion frowned and kicked and knocked many of them but they just kept appearing in the scene until one of them kicked his knees, making him fall flat on the floor. Serenity shook her head in panic "Let him go!" she said "What are you doing?! He is not an enemy!"

Kilmakos appeared from the shadows and stared at the prince flinching in pain from the kicks the guards gave him; Serenity looked at him with a shocked expression and went to him "What are you doing? Why?" she asked painfully.

Kilamkos looked at her and pressed his lips "Here. _you_. are" another male voice joined the site making Serenity turned wide eyed "You…what are you doing here?"

"I must ask you the same question" Athamas said as he moved closer to her and held her arm "What are you trying to do? You want to embarrass me in front of everybody?!"

Serenity frowned "You have no right to ask me anything…you lied, you tried to…"

Athamas raised his hand silencing her "I do not have time for that kind of nonsense…" he held her closer "You are my fiancé now…"

Serenity tried to break free from his grasp "Let me go…you vicious man!"

Athamas smiled "Ah, I like that sound, vicious…" he growled "I am vicious…when it comes to _you_, my little flower" he chuckled; Endymion looked up and tried to break free from the guards restraining him again, catching the general's attention "And _you…_" he walked over to the prince and crouched; he grabbed and handful of his hair and pulled his head back to look into his eyes "So…this is the famous Terran Prince, we finally meet…a pleasure"

Endymion clenched his jaw and looked at him with fierce and dark eyes "I don't know who the hell you are"

"Typical of mortal beings…" Athamas said sarcastically "I do not know how the hell you managed to come here, but be sure this will be your final destination"

Endymion frowned and let out a sarcastic chuckle; he too knew how to play that game "Ah…so you are the so called Commander…a pleasure to meet you too" he chuckled again "You should know by now that the title of Commander are for those who are trained as warriors…not bastards and cowards like you"

Athamas looked at Endymion with furious eyes "You don't know with who you are talking to"

"You don't either" Endymion snarled, his voice cold, so cold that it was a tone that even sent chills down Serenity's spine. It was almost unrecognizable "And if you dare to touch her again I will _kill_ you"

Athamas laughed "You are nothing but a mortal"

"Athamas, stop it!" Serenity said "Let him go!"

Endymion widened his eyes in shock, his body stiffened and felt how his blood froze in his veins at the mention of the man's name _"Athamas…"_ he mumbled, recognizing the name that silver armored soldier mentioned when he fought him _"You…"_ he growled "It was _you, _you son of a bitch! You sent those soldiers to kill me, you sent those soldiers to kill everyone at Earth!"

Athamas smiled "Nice meeting you"

Serenity gasped and frowned "You coward" she went over to him and slapped him across his face. Athamas held her arm angrily and threw her to the guards "Restrain her as well. I will deal with her later" he grimaced "Weren't you told that interrupting grown ups' conversations was rude?"

And those were the words the prince needed to ignite his fury; in a loud growl he broke free from the guard's restrain and kicked them viciously, letting them unconscious on the floor. Turning to look at Athamas he went straight to him like a beast attacking its prey and grabbed him by the neck "Don't you dare to touch her again! You son of a bitch, _I am going to kill you!"_

Athamas was taken by surprise and fought him back; exchanging fists and kicks. Both men fell to the floor as they continued fighting, both furious by different reasons. Athamas turned to Kilmakos and frowned "What are you waiting for, _kill him!"_

Kilmakos looked at the sword in his trembling hands; Serenity watched the soldier with panic as she tried to break free from the guards' grasp "NO!" she screamed "Don't hurt him!"

Endymion turned to hit Athamas again but then again, more guards went to Athamas' aid and restrained him after kicking him badly on the ribs and stomach. Serenity watched the scene in horror, causing the general to laugh "Give a good look at your adorable Prince, Princess…because this is probably the last time you will see him alive" he turned to look at her and touched her face with his blooded hand "…And I will finally have the road free to make you mine…"

"You are not going to do anything!"

Artemis appeared with Mars, Venus, Jupiter and Mercury behind. His face was dark and angry "Release the Princess at once, it's an order!" he raised his voice at the guards holding Serenity and she ran to Endymion immediately "Are you alright?" she asked with great worry; Endymion flinched and nodded "Yes…" he looked at her "Are you?"

Serenity nodded, frantically "Yes"

Mars turned to Jupiter and Mercury "Go get Queen Serenity and my Father"

Jupiter widened her hazel eyes and nodded, turning to Mercury both went to do what they were asked for as fast as they could ignoring Athamas' deadly glare; he turned to Artemis and frowned "What do you think you are doing?" he snarled "You stupid mauian…always getting in my way!"

"It's over Athamas!" Artemis said fearless "This is the proof I needed, the proof to expose your true evil intentions to the Queen"

"You cannot prove anything!" Athamas extended his arms, alleging his point "His is an intruder, I am only protecting what is _mine_" he turned to the guards and gave them a signal "Take him away"

Serenity widened her eyes and shook her head "No…" she whispered; Endymion frowned and tried to fight against the soldiers but there was just too many holding him back.

Artemis raised his hand "I have enough authority to decide whether you take him or not" he turned to the guards "Remember where you stand"

"He is not an intruder Athamas, you know that very well" Mars said.

"You better shut your mouth if you do not want to end in who knows where…" Athamas threatened.

"The one who will end who knows where is _you_ Athamas"

Athamas widened his eyes as soon as he recognized that voice; raising his head he looked at Ares standing next to his daughter "Who gave you the right to talk to my daughter that way? You insolent bastard" he narrowed his eyes "I doubted you…I knew you were not up to the task, still, I had to respect my friend's wishes to have you in the army…but now I heard enough, enough to know you are a piece of scum"

Athamas shook his head in panic; everything was going out of control "You…" he turned to the senshi "Nobody can prove anything. I have Queen Serenity's approval and now her blessing to marry her daughter" his eyes widened when he saw her standing next to Ares "Queen…" Athamas muttered.

Queen Serenity saw Athamas with a hurt expression "What is this?" she asked astonished "What is happening here?"

"Queen" Athamas said "This is not what it seems…"

Ares sighed and put a hand on the queen's shoulder "What I have been trying to tell you all this time…" he frowned "But I think we should take this matter to a private room" he looked at the guards that were holding Endymion and began to walk to the nearest room.

Serenity looked at Ares with frightened eyes "He has not done anything wrong! Please Lord Ares…"

Ares watched the princess shaking and in tears before him; she was desperate "Princess…"

"You are treating him like a criminal…He…"

"Serenity"

The princess widened her eyes and turned to Endymion; his dark blue eyes looked at her calmly "It's alright…it's alright now" he looked at Ares "I will go wherever you say I should go"

There was something in his way of speaking; his presence that caught Ares' attention. He felt like he knew this man before but just tried to remember when or under what circumstances and still could not find a specific date. Nodding, he turned to the other guards and asked them to restrain Athamas as well "He needs some explaining to do as well…"

Once they all entered to the study; Ares closed the door leaving only two guards for each man restrained inside with them "It is better is we treat this matter as discreet as possible, we had too much of a scandal for one night with this…insolent bastard"

"I do not understand" Queen Serenity said, confused "What is happening?"

Ares frowned "Serenity I will say it right here with no hesitation. This man has been abusing his power as Commander…like I have said before; there was a reason for me to not trust him"

Queen Serenity widened her eyes "What?"

"He has been altering the reports he has been sending to Olympus, he has been altering the reports he should have given to me and to Artemis, this man threatened your advisor and the senshi…and the list can go on and on" he turned his angry eyes at the blonde man "He even had the nerve to threaten my own daughter"

"That is a lie" Athamas muttered "It's that man's fault" he pointed at Artemis "He has never trusted me and he is inventing all those lies about me"

"Then why did even dare to hurt Princess Serenity?" Endymion asked him; his blue eyes furious "Why did you even dare to threaten her?!"

Athamas widened his "What are you even saying?! I would never hurt her, _ever_"

"You always made fun of her decision as royal to this Kingdom…you questioned her abilities to rule with dignity and fairness. _You_ think that a warrior is trained to inflict fear to their followers…and that is what you tried to do to her…you hurt her, threatened her too many times obligating her to marry you so you can still continue doing your dirty work" the prince's voice was cold and low; it was threatening and for a moment thanked to be restrained by guards because otherwise he would have probably killed him right in front of everyone's eyes.

Athamas frowned and growled "Those things are cheap lies…you have no proof of what you are saying?"

"Why did you send soldiers of this army to kill me?" Endymion asked, raising his voice a little "You kept sending soldiers to kill me, why? Because you felt intimidated? Because you knew the Princess did not love you…because you knew you could have anything you wanted except for her or was just because you feel so little about yourself that you need to kill to feel powerful? Just how low can you be?"

"She is mine do you hear me?!" Athamas raised his voice, not holding his anger anymore "You are a nobody…a mortal who abused of the Princess…"

Ares and Queen Serenity widened their eyes in shock _"Mortal?"_ they both said in unison.

Serenity stood next to Endymion "How could you do such horrible things? You had to do with what happened on Earth?!" she shook her head "You bastard!" she walked over to him and slapped him across the face "I despise you…always have and always will and the only reason I agreed to marry you is in order to protect my Kingdom and my family!"

Queen Serenity and Ares widened their eyes in shock _"Earth?"_ they muttered in unison again. The queen diverted her gaze from the general to her daughter and then to the other man restrained by the guards "Earth…" she whispered in pure shock, slowly she walked and stood in front of him; her kind hand raised his chin slowly until his eyes met her lavender ones an gasped in surprise at their intense blue color _"Magical eyes…"_ she whispered and took a deep breath; these were the same eyes she saw so many years ago, could it be this man the one who inherited Gaia's power? Her curiosity and wonder went beyond her own imagination. With great interest she looked into his eyes again and finally dared to ask what she wanted to confirm "Introduce yourself, young man" she said, ignoring Athamas' anxiety.

Endymion looked at the queen for a moment and nodded his head, accepting his fate "It's true. I am the son of two mortal beings and crowned as the Royal Prince of Earth and it's Golden Kingdom, heir to the crown of Elysion, Endymion"

Queen Serenity's widened as she was transported to that specific moment _"Endymion…"_

_Serenity appeared in a glorious white dress, her lavender hair was longer than she remembered but styled in her usual hairdo. Taking the dreamy place in Serenity saw her dark haired friend sitting on a bench._

_"Serenity…" Gaia said softly._

_Serenity smiled and walked towards her "I've missed you…" she said._

_"It's been a long time since I last saw you…" Gaia smiled._

_Serenity nodded "I needed to see you…even if this is the last time we meet" she said sadly._

_Gaia sighed "I know…"_

_Serenity looked at her friend holding what it looked like to be her baby._

_"I want to introduce to you my son…Endymion" Gaia said. Serenity smiled and came closer to her friend; Gaia moved away the blanket out of her son's face for Serenity to see._

_Serenity's eyes widened in amazement "Gaia…he's gorgeous" she breathed._

_Gaia smiled "Do you want to hold him?"_

_"Me?...but…I don't know how to…" Serenity said nervously._

_"It's okay…you just support his head with your arm like this…" Gaia helped her place her son on her friend's arm._

_Serenity's heart started to pound fast; she felt his warmth and watched in awe at the little miracle in her arms, she stood that way for several minutes in silence, admiring her friend's son. She didn't want to imagine the Higher Gods trying to hurt him, he looked harmless and in peace; just as if he noticed he was in a different pair of arms he opened his eyes. Those blue magical eyes._

_Serenity gasped and turned to look at Gaia and then back to the baby, she was immerse in those deep blue eyes, the two of them locked their gaze and after a while baby Endymion gave a smile at the moon goddess._

_"He likes you" Gaia said happily._

_"He's smiling at me" Serenity smiled widely "He has beautiful eyes…magical eyes…"_

_Gaia nodded._

Queen Serenity looked at the guards restraining the terran prince and waved her hand "Release Prince Endymion at once"

Ares watched the young prince with shock and amazement _"The son of Gaia…"_ he muttered softly, only for him to hear. His astonishment went beyond anything else that was happening in the room; suddenly his attention drifted from the ambitious general to the prince, the product from the union between a mortal and a goddess who happened to be the great love of his life _"We finally meet…"_ he thought as he remembered that day when he went to fight his mother and was defeated by a strong force he knew came from the product in her womb _"It was you…"_

He turned to the senshi and asked them to keep a close eye on the general and turned to leave. Queen Serenity noticed and turned to look at him "Ares?" she asked softly.

Ares looked over his shoulder before walking out the door "I have to do something…something important, I will be right back" and with that he was out the door but somehow the lunar queen knew what he was about to do.

Artemis turned to the queen "Your Majesty…about the ball, the guests will notice your absence"

Queen Serenity turned to look at Serenity standing next to Endymion who was now free from the guard's restraint and shook her head "I believe there is no need to continue celebrating something that is not going to occur…" she turned to look over her shoulder and looked at Artemis "Wait until the proper time and send everyone home politely" she turned to the couple standing in front of her and brought her hands together.

"This meeting will take long"

* * *

_I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you._


	121. Chapter 121

_A/N: Again, I cannot be any more grateful. Thank you for bear with me, this story and it's misspellings; It doesn't matter how much I re read and edit the chapters my word processor makes its own will..._

_But what I really mean, is that I really appreciate your understanding; I know I've taken ages to publish new chapters but it because of all those messages and reviews you give me that always brought me back into the game. Thank you._

_I really hope you like this chapter :)_

_Enjoy!_

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter one hundred and twenty one**

* * *

Ares appeared at the entrance of a small castle or more like a chateau but with a simple Moroccan design, one he remembered very well. His long strides led him to the main court where he could hear the soothing sound of water that came from a stone fountain.

He looked around and even when the small castle felt and seemed so alive it still had an air of solitude; sighing, he considered that maybe he did not come at the right time.

"I knew we had visitors…" a woman's voice startled the god of war and made him turn to look at the woman with dark hair and deep blue gown who stood behind him "That aura is unmistakable" she smiled softly.

"I thought there was nobody here…since…"

"It all feels so lonely; I know…this is how it feels all the time not just today" Nut said as she looked at the god of war "We do not tend to have visitors…we live in exile, remember?"

Ares pressed his lips and sighed softly "You did not attend to Serenity's ball…you did not receive an invitation?"

Nut nodded "We did as a matter of fact, but we decided not to attend. After all, who wants to be under the microscope in a room full of dominant entities?" the once sky and terran queen sighed and raised her hand politely "I know how that goes"

Ares could not help to chuckle "Serenity would have loved to have you there…"

"Me too dear, but I could not leave my husband alone, our place is here now, away from everything and everybody" Nut smiled sadly and went to sit on a bench "For what I read in the invitation…Serenity has found a perfect match for her daughter; that girl is a jewel" she sat elegantly and looked at Ares "The last time I saw her, she was indecisive…she had other plans"

"Which is why I am here Nut" Ares said as he went to stand in front of the once, queen of earth "Because Serenity's daughter has found a match"

Nut arched a brow and looked at him "Serenity wanted her to marry the General from their army"

Ares sighed and crossed his arms in his chest "And she was engaged to him…the ball was to announce their engagement as a matter of fact"

Nut frowned "_Was_? What do you mean?"

"Nut, I need you, no, I _want_ you to come with me to the Moon"

Nut chuckled "What are you saying? What for? There is no good reason for me to go there…not that I do not like it, Geb and I lived there for a considerable amount of time" she widened her eyes "Does the Princess need help?"

Ares shook his head "No Nut, this time it's about you…and Geb"

"Geb will never agree to go out of our home; he is a warrior with a broken spirit. Depressed…" Nut said softly "That is an impossible task…"

Ares crouched before her and held her hands "Nut, this is important not only for Serenity but for you too…and Geb needs to come as well"

Nut frowned "Nobody has seen my husband since…" she trailed off "…He went to see Gaia and tried to hurt our grandchild"

Ares patted the queen's hands and gave her a reassuring smile "Nut, this is the time for him to make peace with his conscious…and your time to meet somebody special, very special"

Nut narrowed her eyes, still not following "What are you trying to say?"

"Nut" Ares held the former queen's hand tighter "You need to come with me, both you and Geb"

Nut turned wide eyed and noticed her husband was standing between the corridor that led to another court and the one where she and Ares were talking; his face was distorted and confused and it could be easily interpret as annoyance what crossed his old but still, handsome features.

"Geb…" Nut said softly.

"Ares, this is a…surprise…" Geb said dryly.

"Geb" Ares said and stood up "It is good to see you"

Geb sighed and walked slowly "I'm glad to hear that, now these days you do not hear that very much" the older man studied the blonde's attire "What is with that formal attire?"

Ares looked at his tux and sighed softly "I was at a ball…too long to explain"

"A ball?" Geb asked and raised a brow "Who is celebrating this time?"

"Serenity"

"Ah…" Geb said softly "Has she finally found the time to socialize again?"

Ares hummed "Mmm…no, not exactly…the ball was in her daughter's honor, she was engaged"

Geb frowned "Was?"

"She no longer is" Ares shrugged his shoulders "She made up her mind, something happened…something…_unexpected_" the blonde looked at Geb and smiled "It has been quite some time since the last time we saw"

Geb waved his hand and stood next to his wife "Yes, I know since when" he looked at Ares and narrowed his deep colored eyes "I heard you were asking my wife to go with you, what do you want Ares? Can't you just leave us alone?" his voice held resentment and hurt "Nut did not want to go to that ball, is that a crime?"

"This is not about the ball Geb, this is much more important" Ares tried to reason with the older warrior "This is something that can change things forever"

"Change things forever?" Geb frowned "…Things cannot longer change Ares!" he raised his hands in frustration "We live in the shadows because of the bad decisions we made. We deal with that every day. Things cannot longer change…"

Ares sighed "Geb…"

"Nut spent some time with Serenity at her palace helping her, helping her daughter…what else does she want? I love her dearly, she has been a wonderful Queen…but we do not have anything to do there anymore, we do not belong there and we are not well seen by the rest of the gods!"

"Geb…" Ares said softly "If you could do something again, anything…what would you do?"

Geb widened his eyes and pursed his lips; the question opened a deep wound in his heart because he knew exactly what he would do. He would go to his daughter's aid; he would have taken care of her or at least defended her from the accusations she was charged for. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath "You need to go Ares…you need to go"

Ares widened his eyes; Nut turned to look at him surprised "Geb!"

"He needs to go Nut; it is not fair for him to come and revive things he knows are hurtful to us" Geb looked at Ares with teary eyes "I am glad and proud that you were recognized as a High God in Olympus, that you have your title as Polemarchos just like me and many in my family…but that does not give you the right to come here and open wounds that clearly haven't healed"

Ares looked at Geb with a serious expression "What would you do Geb?" he asked again; Geb frowned and after fighting his most hidden feelings he looked at the blonde warrior and could not help his tears from falling "You know what I would do…"

Ares put a hand on his shoulder "That is why you have to come with me"

Nut frowned and stood up "Ares, what is happening?"

"You will see" Ares said and turned to Geb "But only if both of you come with me"

Geb sighed and looked away "Put those thoughts away Geb…there is something you regret deeply besides the fact of not being able to help your daughter" Ares tried to reason with the old man.

_"I'm so tired of fighting…papa" Gaia whispered…_

Geb lowered his head and closed his eyes as pieces of memories from that day came to his mind. His eyes burned with unshed tears, he cried the memory of his beautiful daughter, of his perfect, brave and beautiful daughter.

…_._

_He looked at her with amazement, he was expecting his daughter's pride to be shown, he was expecting her to fight him and see who was the strongest, instead of that, he was seeing his daughter cry with sentiment and hurt. With a broken heart he lowered his sword._

_"I'm so tired of you trying to get the crystal from me, I am tired of fighting…everything is still the same up there; you still fight for power… I accept my destiny in Hades' hands, I know what is going to happen to me, but why can't you just leave us alone? If you hate me so much why can't you just leave me alone?" Gaia broke into tears._

_Endymion felt his mother cry and started to cry in her arms; Gaia opened her eyes and tried to calm her son with a soft humming "My baby…please don't cry…"_

_Geb watched his daughter lull her son with endearing eyes, no matter how much she hurt him, he couldn't kill his only daughter and grandchild. _

_"What is his name?" Geb asked, his voice was soft._

_Gaia looked at her father with teary eyes "Endymion"_

_"Setting sun…" Geb muttered and nodded "I see…"_

_Gaia nodded and gave her father a warm, hopeful smile "Do you want to meet him?"_

_Geb shook his head and turned his back on her "I better not"_

_"But…he is your grandchild" Gaia said perplexed._

_"You brought ruin to our lives…you dusted our titles and names…you're mother and I are the laughingstock in Olympus" Geb said lowly "And you want me to hold a child?"_

_Gaia gasped "Is that what you think of me?" she looked down at her son "That child how you like to call him is part of your family, is a part of me, of mother and you…"_

_"Your child will never be accepted" Geb turned to look at his daughter "Not now, not in a million years"_

_Gaia frowned and narrowed her pale green eyes "You just came here to open old deep wounds, I understand you will think horrible things about me, but I will never accept the things you say about my son, I'm not giving you my child's life, the crystal or the benefit of ever knowing him…you are just like them, ambitious and hungry for power; I will only say this once for I will never repeat it again. _

_You will become a shadow in my life, just a memory… I don't know when will that happen, maybe that time will never come because I love you with all my heart…but one day I will cease to exist and sleep forever in a river while you…__**you**__ will remember me for the rest of your immortal life" Gaia said hurt, with tears in her eyes "Now, leave this place…since you didn't come here to chat"_

…_._

Nut turned to look at her husband and pressed her lips together; Geb sighed and nodded "She was there…with her child in her arms, I was blinded by anger…I denied myself the chance to know my grandchild…" he sighed and wiped his tears with the back of his hand "Her words still haunts me at night…I hurt her and never had the courage to tell her I am sorry" he looked at Ares "I denied my own family…my own blood…"

Ares came closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder "Real warriors cry and admit when they are wrong; we may live in a world where the thirst for power comes first but not everything is lost, not everything is rotten. There are some who have the opportunity to amend their mistakes…"

Geb looked at Ares with wide eyes; Ares smiled at the older man "You are one of those lucky souls and it will happen as soon as you decide to come with me, you and Nut"

Geb blinked when he felt his wife's hand held his and turned to look at her; Nut had that look on her face. The look a mother has when she has a hunch; the look of excitement and worry to the unexpected. Her hand was warm to his touch, he could feel her support and the need to know what Ares was talking about "Please…" she whispered very tenderly and looked at him in the eyes, Geb could no longer be in his defensive mode and gave a nod to both.

Ares smiled and led the way where the older couple followed and disappeared in a flash of light.

o.o.o.o.o

Queen Serenity looked at Endymion with astonishment, she could not believe he, the son of her very best friend was standing right before her eyes and all grown up; what a handsome man he'd become she thought, so poised and with a strong presence _"Just like his mother…"_

Her eyes now went from him to her daughter and then to the general restrained by the guards and walked over to him; her lavender eyes darkened when she turned her face to look at him directly "I cannot believe what I did just hear" the lunar queen muttered; her voice was paused and collected but still with a strong sentiment of anger and disappointment "I never expected such behavior, such treason…such lowness from _you_" she shook her head and closed her eyes for a moment "I put my trust in you…I put my daughter's faith in your hands…"

Athamas widened his eyes and tried to free himself from the guards but it was futile; he cleared his throat and tried to find the right words to convince the queen from everything she just discovered "Your Majesty…I never tried…"

"How dare you to use your authority to cause evil!?" Queen Serenity lowered and shook her head in disbelief "I…" she looked up at him again and frowned "How dare you to cause death to innocents?" her body began to tremble in fury at the mere thought of her friend being in danger _"How dare you!?" _she raised her voice "What is it with you Andromedians!? What!?"

Princess Serenity watched her mother with a face of surprise; this was probably the first time she looked at her this angry, this mad. Her hands were fisted and shaking, her lips were pressed tight; she was containing herself from exploding in front of everyone present but it was clear that there was something else behind her words.

As the queen tried to remain calmed, she closed her eyes again and took a deep breath and thought of what could have gone wrong in her reign.

Since she became queen, Serenity had vowed to help and attend her kingdom's needs; he has looked for ways to unite all the planets in the galaxy and create an alliance based in peace and honesty. And maybe what hurt her the most was that he even dared to threaten her friend's own peaceful rein by sending soldiers from her own army to kill her son. What kind of being could even think of doing something so low and atrocious? She thought, distressed.

She opened her eyes and looked up at him "You dared to touch the most important treasure in my life, I trusted you her life…her future…when you already dared to threaten and harm her…" her voice was unrecognizably low and cold "You are a monster…a being not worthy of being call a soldier"

Athamas widened his eyes "Queen…"

"I do not want to hear your cheap explanations!" Queen Serenity raised her hand "If you had the courage to do such atrocious things to the people I care, to what cost me years and great effort to build…to this Kingdom! Be brave enough to face the consequences of your actions!"

The blonde general shook his head "No, My Queen…what are you going to…" he widened his eyes bigger "What…"

"You abused my trust, abused your position as soldier and used your power to cause evil and that is something I will never accept" The queen said "And I have made my decision"

Athamas widened his eyes and shook his head "No…No Your Majesty please…"

Right before the queen spoke again Ares walked inside again followed by Artemis and watched his friend talking to the general; he turned to Luna who had a face of disbelief and surprise and then back at the queen who was now beyond mad and disappointed.

"Ares" he heard her say, her voice uncharacteristically authoritative.

Ares nodded in surprise and amaze, this was that woman he longed to see, she was finally back "Yes Serenity?" he asked, pleased.

"I want you to take this heartless being out of my sight and out of my Kingdom…" Queen Serenity said dryly.

Athamas shook his head in shock "No…"

"I want him to be judged with the same coldness he had to do all the atrocities he dared to cause" the queen's eyes never left Athamas' "I want him to be investigated until the very last detail and make him pay for his betrayal"

Ares arched his brow, surprised by her strong hand on justice and character; she was a queen after all, and a very fair one. The many years of long talking were finally paying off and he was more than glad to take care of that man, particularly "Of course he will; I will personally take action on that"

"Queen, Your Majesty…" Athamas tried to talk with the queen "Everything you have been said is a lie…I did not do anything that _he_ is accusing me!" he pointed his finger at Endymion, who was shaking his head in disbelief "Coward…" he muttered.

"I strip you from your title as General and Commander of this Army and your position as soldier in the Alliance; your services to me are no longer required and I will make sure to nobody else in Olympus"

Athamas face paled and shook his head, his whole world was crumbling beneath his feet and the man he swore to destroy was still standing there, looking at him with those stormy blue eyes "No…no…_he_ is the one that should be taken away! He has taken divine lives to Hades, he is a murderer!"

Endymion felt his blood boil in his veins again, he felt disgust for the man in front of him and shook his head "And I could kill you right now, in front of everybody… but that would mean I have to lower myself to your poor level of reason and I was not trained for that"

Queen Serenity closed her eyes and sighed tiredly "Take him away to the same dungeons he put to use in the first place…"

"NO!" Athamas raised his voice in panic "NO…PLEASE YOUR MAJESTY….NOOOO!" the guards pulled him as they began to walk away "NOOOO I AM A SOLDIER, A WARRIOR AND FUTURE POLEMARCHOS! YOU CANNOT DO THIS TO ME NOOOOO!" once they were out of the room; Athamas saw Kilmakos standing outside in the corridor "KILMAKOS!" he said desperate "TELL THEM, TELL THEM ALL THEY ARE SAYING IS A LIE!"

Kilmakos widened his eyes and was shocked to see the same man that threatened and mistreated him all this time being dragged away like the criminal he was; like a stranger. The same man who entered that ballroom with arrogance and a sense of winning and power for having everything under his control.

His family was the first thing that crossed his mind as he watched the general plead for his help and remembered all the things he told him about them; he remembered all the horrible things he had to do in order to save his family from the hell he put them through.

Shaking his head he frowned "Where is my family Athamas?"

Athamas widened his eyes and turned to the queen who shared the same shocked expression with everyone else in the room. Athamas chuckled nervously and turned to the queen and then at the soldier again "Kilmakos…you are my friend, _my only friend_…you have been at my service…please, help me…and I…"

Kilmakos shook his head "No, Athamas…not anymore" he turned to the queen and Ares "Your Majesty, this man has tormented me all these years with very few information of where he imprisoned my family…yes, I have served him as his right hand all this time but as a man desperate to find his family. I know I have to pay for my crimes and I am willing to do so…but I just…" he trailed off "I just want to know where my family is and if they are still alive and safe"

Queen Serenity nodded and turned to Ares who already gave orders to the guards to take the general to the dungeons where the queen ordered they waited until the day of their trial came "Take them away" Ares commanded.

Kilmakos nodded and didn't say a thing; he didn't even fight or ask for mercy. The man was aware of his crimes, and the pain he has caused to many people in the past. He accepted his faith and waited patiently for the guards take him into custody the same way they did with the general.

Princess Serenity watched the lone soldier walk with his head low and felt sympathy and sorry for him; she was startled when she felt Endymion's warm hand on her bare shoulder and turned to look at him, his blue eyes so full of understanding and care "Don't worry…" he said softly "He did the right thing…"

Serenity looked at him sadly "I just…" she looked at the door again "I just feel sorry for him…he was just another victim…everything he did, he did it in order to find his family…"

"He is willing to cooperate…" Ares said softly and turned to the princess and then to the queen "That will help him to get free of this mess, but still he will have to pay for his mistakes…there are consequences for every action"

Queen Serenity nodded "Just please, try to investigate where his family is hidden and if they are alright…" she shook his head "At least he deserves to know if his family is still alive"

Ares nodded "Of course"

Artemis bowed to the queen and asked for permission to interrupt "Your Majesty…I just sent everybody home just as you ordered"

Queen Serenity nodded "Did they suspect anything?"

Artemis shook his head "Some, but everything is under control. I said it was because Princess Serenity was not feeling quite well and that you wanted to be by her side…"

The queen nodded and gave him a soft smile "That is more than enough Artemis, thank you very much…I will deal with explanations later…" she turned to the couple and noticed they were holding hands; her heart could not help to feel warm and excited to see the ways destiny decided to play its cards _"You did it again Chronos…"_ she said softly knowingly _"You did it again…"_

"He actually left two messages for you, Your Majesty" Artemis whispered to the queen; the queen turned surprised "What? What did he say?"

"He said that he had to take a very important friend to a very special place. That he would come as soon as he could" the white man whispered; the queen nodded and arched a brow "And the other message?"

Artemis looked at her "Time to time, always give time to time"

Queen Serenity understood his words and smiled softly, her soft features and kind hearted character went back to normal. She was about to speak when Ares cleared his throat "Serenity I took the liberty to call two people who I personally think should be present tonight" he cleared his throat "Since I didn't see them at the ball, I thought it was important for them to be here, _now_"

The lunar queen widened her eyes and nodded "I understand"

Ares turned to the senshi who, had been in shock by the previous events and gave them a polite smile "I will have to ask you to give us some privacy, Sailor Senshi"

Venus nodded and just like the other girls bowed their heads in respect and left the room slowly; Ares made a motion to the couple that was waiting outside and allowed them to come in.

Queen Serenity asked Luna and Artemis to give them some privacy as well as she knew this moment was going to be very precious to the couple that just walked into the room; Artemis immediately nodded and bowed his head, and took Luna with him.

Once they were finally alone and out of all the commotion Athamas caused; the queen walked to the couple and saluted them. Serenity widened her eyes once she recognized the woman as "Nut" she said softly and went to give her a hug.

Nut smiled at Serenity and hugged her in return "I have missed you…you left so unexpectedly" Serenity said softly. Nut smiled warmly and patted her hands "I am sorry dear, I had to go back home…to my husband…"

Geb bowed his head in respect and kissed Serenity's hand "Princess…very nice to meet you" he said softly, Serenity smiled and nodded her head in response "Likewise, it is an honor to finally meet you too"

Nut looked at the young man standing near the princess and gasped, she brought one hand to cover her mouth while the other held her husband's tight "Geb…" she whispered as she took a good look at him.

Queen Serenity smiled softly, she knew how important this moment was to all of them; she knew how important this was for the couple in front of her. If she was still in shock, she could not even imagine how they were feeling right now; the person they all longed to meet was finally there. Their grandson, was finally there.

"Geb, Nut…May I introduce to you, Endymion…Prince of Earth"

Geb's eyes widened in shock as he recognized the name "Endymion…" he swallowed, impressed to see how fine he has grown up to be _"Setting sun…" _he whispered; his eyes never left his "You are…Endymion…" he muttered again startling the prince "You…Know me?" Endymion asked confused and frowned.

Geb swallowed his shame and guilt and shook his head "No…" he said softly "No…but, I have heard your name before"

Nut watched the prince closely and finally found the resemblance, it was _him_. It was her grandson, the one person she wanted to meet with all her heart and who after all these years was finally there, right in front of her "Oh my…by all heavens…" she whispered "…You are so handsome…"

Endymion widened his eyes and blushed slightly, that was something he did not expect. He was not even sure why those people were asked to be there with them at this precise moment.

He founded hard to believe he was in a room full of gods. Period.

Queen Serenity turned to look at the prince and offered him a seat but he denied politely; maybe because he was too impressed by everything that has been happening or maybe because he could not respond to his own senses. He took a deep breath and with the help of Serenity's support he found the will to finally break the silence in the room.

"Queen" Endymion looked at the lunar queen, ignoring the looks of the elder couple near him "The main reason of my presence here is your daughter"

Queen Serenity widened her lavender eyes and blinked surprised by his obvious strong character "Serenity?" she turned to her daughter who was holding the prince's hand "Suddenly I feel so alien about all this…I know little close to nothing about what is happening and I am confused, curious and intrigued"

Serenity turned to her mother and gave her a soft smile "Mother…" she caught the queen's attention "You constantly asked me why I had change so much, where did I learn to be so courageous, how did I learn a warrior's discipline and most importantly who ignited my passion and shared the same dreams of being a soldier Princess…it's because of him, it has been Endymion all along…"

Queen Serenity blinked and turned to Endymion then back at her daughter who still had the same sweet and soft expression on her face "Mother…a year ago I escaped to Earth hoping to finally see with my own eyes the beauty I constantly read on the books and in that adventure I met Endymion…"

"A…year ago…" Queen Serenity muttered surprised "But…how…?"

"It all happened one day when I decided to take an adventure on my own. I felt like I was being captive in a beautiful crystal cage…I had to risk my chances and you know how much I wanted to go to Earth…Until one day I decided to do it and after that…my whole life changed" Serenity said softly and turned to Nut "…Some time after Nut came to visit us, I do not know how but she knew I did not care for Athamas but for somebody else…that and many other things made me break the engagement with him"

Queen Serenity frowned and turned to Nut and then to her daughter "Serenity, why didn't you tell me all this?"

Endymion narrowed his eyes slightly and turned to the dark haired woman _"Nut…she is the woman Serenity mentioned before…she looks…familiar…somehow…" _he thought.

"Because you were not listening" Serenity answered calm but in a sad tone "You wanted me to marry Athamas so much and I knew it was forbidden for me to go to Earth but I just…" she paused for a moment and took a deep breath "…My feelings for Endymion are too strong and he has been the one protecting me all this time…"

It was like if a mask was taken off the queen's eyes; her eyes widened in realization at what was really happening and could not help the admiration and courage of the son of her dearest and closest friend. She looked at him and the resemblance was admirable. The way he imposed his presence without the necessity of saying much, the way he spoke, everything about him was regal. The man was incredibly beautiful and, strong.

Before the queen could say something Endymion bowed his head and looked at her again with those intense and prismatic blue eyes of his "Your Majesty, you may be asking why am I here or how did I manage to cross to this realm and to tell you the truth…I believe it is because of my feelings towards your daughter, and the need to fulfill my promise I made to her, to always be with her no matter what"

Queen Serenity widened her eyes "To protect…" she whispered in awe.

"It was because of that same promise that I stood still against the enemy on my planet"

"Enemy?" Ares said and frowned "You fought enemy forces on Earth?"

Endymion nodded and turned his face to Ares, without a single trace of intimidation "My planet was infected and soon invaded by an evil presence that I could not prevent from spreading; my main task as Commander of my own army was to look and protect the inhabitants of Earth and to protect my family but the enemy was too strong and acted fast killing all my allies…"

Queen Serenity shook her head "How…? Who…did such horrible thing!?"

Endymion sighed "This evil being possessed the lonely and ambitious heart of a woman named Beryl and granted her enough power to destroy everything in her way; this gave me no other choice but to do what the royal priest taught me to do…and that was to pray and channel my energy into something greater, sending my home planet to oblivion…"

Nut put a hand on her chest and pressed her lips in a tight line; Geb ran his arm around her shoulders and was the one who dared to ask next "…Your family…Your _Mother_…" he said with a dry throat, scared of what the prince would say.

Endymion turned to look at him and lowered his gaze "My mother's life was taken away by this evil being" he closed his eyes and took a moment to continue "My whole family is dead"

Queen Serenity widened her eyes and turned to look a very shocked and heartbroken Ares who had the same face of hurt and disbelief as her. Nut shook her head and covered her mouth with both hands in horror while Geb only hung his head low and tried his best to compose himself as he supported his brokenhearted wife.

"The energy everyone felt in Olympus was because of that…now I understand…" Ares muttered "The shadows covering the sun…that is what it means"

Endymion turned to Queen Serenity and looked at her in the eyes "Your Majesty, I understand my position in this place and I am willing to pay the price of my trespassing…but it is because I love your daughter that I wanted to let you know about this so you can protect _her_ and your Kingdom"

Queen Serenity turned to look at Geb and Nut who were still shocked by the news and tried to understand how could they deny such a special being like him, how they had the courage to deny the one that carried the blood of his once beautiful mother and the courage and passion of his once mortal father? Her heart could not believe her dear friend had died under such terrible circumstances and without any of their help. She felt empty; she had lost her best friend.

The queen closed her eyes and tried to hold her tears as she remembered that special day when she held Gaia's child in her arms.

…

_"What happened to Metallia?" Serenity asked._

_"She confronted me, destroyed our old palace…exposed me to the people of my kingdom…" Gaia said softly and sighed._

_"I felt a very strong energy…" Serenity said, and looked down at the bundle in her arms; he felt so warm and soft. It was the most amazing feeling she ever experienced before._

_"I fought her and put her under a seal…but then…I found out the energy that sealed her was not coming from me but from him…" Gaia said while looking at her son "He helped me do it, he gave me the power I needed to protect everyone"_

_Serenity widened her lavender eyes and turned to look at the baby in her arms and remembered the meeting with the Higher Gods; she remembered her frustration because she knew this child and her friend deserved to live in peace._

…

_"What worries me is that if they come to fight me I won't be strong enough to fight them back…" Gaia said on the verge of tears._

…

_"They think he is going to turn out like him…" Serenity said sadly._

_Gaia no longer had control over her emotions and let her tears fall; her fisted hands started to shake in anger and desperation at the mention of her brother "How could they ever think he is like him?!" Gaia raised her voice._

_"I couldn't believe it either…I confronted them but they prohibited us any contact with Earth…" Serenity said._

_"My son is not an abomination! And I will protect him even if I have to give my life in exchange in order to keep him safe!" Gaia started to cry in frustration._

_Serenity sat next to her friend with her child on her arms "I will never leave you…just like you never left me. Even if we are not going to be able to talk…please know that I will always be making sure you are safe, I will look after you Gaia, always just like you did for me all this time…our friendship is unbreakable"_

_Gaia smiled and nodded "Thank you Serenity, thank you so much…" the terran queen dried her tears with the back of her hand and sniffed softly then cued her son in her friend's arms "Someday, he'll too thank you personally"_

…

Queen Serenity opened her eyes and walked toward Endymion; she put her hand on his shoulder and looked at him straight in the eyes "Do you love my daughter?" she asked very gently.

Endymion nodded "More than you can ever imagine"

The queen nodded softly and turned to look at her daughter's hopeful eyes and suddenly everything began to make sense; the passion in her eyes when she defended a good cause, how she had matured over the past year and how she grew up to be a fine beautiful lady; it was all because of the love they had for each other.

She nodded and thought her own wish for her, isn't that what she wanted for her in the first place? To be happy with a man that could protect her and make her happy? She turned to look at the terran prince and gave him a soft smile "Gaia could not have a better son and my daughter could not have a better man than you to be by her side…"

Endymion widened his blue eyes and blinked "How did you…" he smiled sadly and nodded in realization "…You knew her"

Queen Serenity nodded "I did…she was a dear friend of mine"

Princess Serenity widened her blue eyes "She was right…" she whispered; Endymion's eyes softened and shone with unshed tears "…You are the special person she often talked about…_Dea della Luna_…" he bowed his head deep in respect and closed his eyes.

Queen Serenity put her hand on his shoulder again making him look up at her "Your presence in this place is not a casualty dear Prince but part of destiny…I finally understand that" she said softly "I always had in my mind someone special for my daughter; someone strong enough to love her and protect her…I always knew it was you Endymion" she pressed her lips together as she tried to contain her tears of excitement "There are no crimes for you to pay but on the contrary I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for loving and protecting my daughter"

Endymion nodded "Always, Your Majesty…even if that means to give up my life for her"

"You are a superb warrior and it is why I would like you to be with us as Commander of our army…" Queen Serenity said softly and turned to her daughter "…And to be alongside my daughter as it should have been in the first place"

Princess Serenity widened her eyes "Mother…"

"I should have never opposed your wishes…I should have listened to you. I did not give you the opportunity to talk to me about your true feelings dear…and for that I am so very sorry…" the queen caressed her daughter's cheek and let her tears roll down her porcelain cheeks "I am so sorry dear"

The princess shook her head and smiled "It's alright Mother…everything is now in the past…"

Endymion intertwined his fingers with Serenity's and smiled when he turned to the queen "Your Majesty I will dedicate my life to protect and love your daughter and this Kingdom but I want to do it the right way and offer her the liberty to decide…"

Queen Serenity widened her eyes in astonishment "O-Of course…"

Princess Serenity widened her eyes as well and blinked as she watched the terran prince go down in one knee "Endymion…" she blushed and held the prince's hand "What…?"

"Serenity I promised to you that no matter what, I would always find my way to come back to you…I promised that once I returned we would be together and right now, in front of your mother and friends dear to you, I want to promise you that I will do anything in my power to make you happy…" he looked down and searched in one of his tux pockets a ring with a pale golden diamond on its top; he looked at the ring with teary eyes and remembered its meaning.

"This ring sealed the most beautiful love story I have ever knew it existed between two people madly in love; it belonged to a beautiful woman who truly believed that one day I would find the special person that would change my life forever. That woman is my Mother"

Nut and Geb could not hold their tear any longer and sobbed softly at the lovely mention of their daughter. Ares on the other hand, tried to contain the feeling of loss for that woman he loved with all his heart; he admired her now even more for raising a man, as fine and strong as her.

Serenity tried to fight the tears in her eyes as she listened his soft voice; Endymion looked at her straight in the eyes and gave her a soft sad smile "…She is not here to witness it but I know she would be more than happy to see me giving you this ring to you…she gave it to me the day after you met her. She was sure that you were the one made for me, my soulmate"

"Endymion…" Serenity whispered between her tears of joy.

"Serenity…I may not be the Prince you once knew; I may no longer have a Golden Kingdom to take you to live but…I promise to love you each day of my life and to build a new world; one where we can live happily and in peace. That only, if you accept me as your husband"

Tears began rolling down the princess' eyes as she tried to stand still before the kneeling prince "Serenity…will you marry me?" he whispered softly enough for her to hear.

Serenity smiled and nodded "Yes" she whispered before a more louder and enthusiastic "Yes!" came out from and gave her hand to him so he could seal their promise. Endymion slowly stood up and looked at her without paying attention to the commotion around them and smiled "I love you…" he whispered.

"I amo te" she whispered back at him and wrapped her arms around him.

Queen Serenity wiped her tears with the back of her hand softly and went to the prince "I know you will make her happy" she whispered in his ear and no longer could help herself from hugging him "Thank you…" she whispered in tears "_Thank you…so much_"

Endymion returned the hug respectfully and shook his head "No Your Majesty, _thank you_…for everything you have done for _her_" he pulled apart from the hug and looked at her "Mother did not say much, but when she did…she always had a smile on her face. I was very little to understand it but I knew she was talking about somebody very special; now I know you are the girl of lavender hair"

The queen closed her eyes tightly for just a few seconds and nodded sadly before she cleared her throat and turned to Ares immediately asked for Artemis; it did not took more than just a few minutes to enter the room "Yes Your Majesty?"

Queen Serenity smiled at the white haired man "Could you take Prince Endymion to one of our guest rooms, please? And please ask one of the maids to prepare everything for his permanent stay"

Artemis widened his eyes slightly and turned to the young man and then at the queen "Yes Your Majesty, of course" he turned to Endymion and bowed his head "Right this way, Your Highness"

Endymion nodded and turned to Queen Serenity "Your Majesty…"

The queen turned and looked at him "Yes?"

"Besides me there is another person that has come to this realm…I know it is too much audacity on my part, but she is the only person that survived besides me and I consider her as part of my family for she served my Kingdom the last year of its existence…I will take full responsibility and…"

Queen Serenity shook her head "It's alright Endymion; you do not need to ask for anything…she is as welcome and safe as you are. Don't you worry"

The prince bowed his head in respect, his right hand rested on his chest "I will forever be grateful Your Majesty"

The lunar queen smiled softly "I am the one that will always be in debt with you…"

Endymion frowned and looked at the queen "In debt?"

The queen turned to Artemis again and nodded; the mauian advisor turned to the prince and motioned him to follow him to what it would be his new room at the palace. Endymion turned to look at everyone in the room and excused himself in the most polite way before he walked away.

Nut was about to open her mouth and stop the young man when she felt her husband's hand stopping her from doing so and both watched him leave in silence. Princess Serenity turned to her mother and gave her a soft smile; walking toward her she wrapped her arms around her and sniffed softly "Thank you Mother…thank you so much"

Queen Serenity widened her eyes and responded immediately to her daughter's embrace; it had been a long time since the two shared such a lovingly moment "For what dear?" she said softly.

Serenity closed her eyes as tears of content began to roll down her cheeks "For understanding…for supporting me…"

"Always my dear, always" the queen whispered in her hair "I am sorry for not listening before…I failed as a friend, as a mother…"

Serenity shook her head and stepped back a little "No Mother, to me…you are the best mother anyone could ask for"

The queen fought the urge to cry again and caressed her daughter's cheek with the back of her hand "I know you want to go after him…" she smiled "But before that…let me take a look on that ring"

Serenity blushed and showed her hand to her mother, the queen widened her eyes at the sight of the exquisite golden diamond "A jewel only someone like her could have, but even that jewel so precious couldn't match her beauty" she said softly as she watched it gleam in the soft light of the room. The queen looked at her daughter and nodded "Go after him"

Serenity's smile widened and nodded; she turned to Nut, Geb and Ares and excused herself. Once the door was closed; Queen Nut let out a deep sob and sat on the closest chair available and began to cry without really paying attention to the same situation happening at the other side of the room. Queen Serenity covered her mouth and closed her eyes; this was probably the most bittersweet moment she has ever experienced in her life.

"No…" Nut sobbed "Not…my daughter no…"

Geb closed his eyes and supported his wife "Nut…please…you need to calm down…" he closed his eyes "There is nothing we can do at this point…"

Ares pressed his lips tight and went to Serenity who was too sitting on a chair devastated by the news of her dead friend. His heart was deeply broken, he could not even express the feeling of hollowness and pain he was feeling in his chest; his mind was clouded by the mere image of her son standing right there before them and giving them such terrible news.

Nut shook her head and cried a little louder; her pain was even more heartbreaking "How can I calm down?! My daughter…my beautiful, strong daughter…is dead…" she shook her head "No…! Why did they take her life!? Why!?"

Geb held her close still with his eyes still closed, he couldn't say anything that could make her feel better, he was suffering the same way or even worse because just like Gaia said to him the last time they talk he has never stop thinking about her and he always remembered their bittersweet encounter for the rest of his immortal life.

"Why didn't you say anything?!" Nut suddenly said between sobs and opened her clear eyes "Why did you stop me?!"

Geb opened his and looked down at his wife "What?"

Nut frowned "Why didn't you let me speak to him?!" she asked and frowned "Why did you stop me from talking to him!?"

Geb looked at her and lowered his gaze making Nut feeling more furious "I cannot believe you…"

"It is not that easy Nut"

Nut wiped the tears from her face and narrowed her eyes at her husband "Not easy? We are not talking about a stranger! This is Gaia's son! Our grandson!" she shook her head "Do you know how many times I was tempted to break the rules and go see her and meet him?!"

"Nut, it is not that easy" Geb said again, he closed his eyes and sighed "Not when I tried to fight my own daughter to get to him…" he shook his head "What do you want to say to him Nut? Hm? We are your grandparents but we neglected your mother because she fell in love with your father and had you"

Geb turned to Ares "Why did you bring us here? You now I was not going to say anything…"

Ares stayed silent and watched the former terran queen with apologetic eyes; his hands were still resting on Queen Serenity's shoulders as she was still trying to calm her down "I have learned about your grandson more than you, I know the kind of training he had and the character and strength he possess. I knew you were not going to say anything, I didn't ask you to come here for that reason, I brought you here so you cannot deny the blood that runs through his veins, he is a true warrior just like you, both of your sons and Helios" his eyes met Nut's.

"What is going to happen to him now?" Geb asked softly, his worry was being genuine. Serenity sniffed softly and wiped the tears from her eyes gently with the back of her hand "Like I said to him, I want him to be the Commander of our Army"

Geb frowned "I heard that and that is not what I asked. Yes, he is going to stay here but what about the High Gods? As soon as they learn he is here they will not have any mercy on him…that would only start a new war, is that what you want?"

Ares frowned his lips and crossed his arms "I know Chronos will do something about it, I will intervene as well…Endymion is much stronger and powerful than we all thought. He managed to cross to this realm…no demigod has that kind of power" he turned to Serenity who looked at him in the eyes "That chair has been empty for too long now and it has to be occupied by a rightful descendant of the Earth's dynasty" he sighed and looked at Geb and Nut "And in order to do that…he will have to know that he still has a family"

"He will have questions…"

"And you answers" Serenity said softly, joining Ares' conversation.

The older warrior frowned and shook his head "I failed my daughter…I abandoned her, what am I going to say to him? -That I threatened his and his mother's life? -That I called her worthless? -That I didn't want to meet him when I had the chance?"

"Why are you so scared Geb?" Serenity asked, frowning she shook her head "What are you so scared of? Is it because of what will happen once he faces the High Gods? Or is it…"

"I am afraid to lose him the same way I lost my daughter" Geb interrupted the queen "All this years I have been visualizing this moment in my head and I knew then what I had to say but now when I saw him here…" he trailed off.

"He looks like his mother" Nut said "The way he speaks, the same poise…" she turned to Geb and held his hand "I am scared too Geb…I am petrified but I already lost my daughter and did not have the chance to say goodbye to her…I do not want that to happen again with my grandson…"

Geb lowered his gaze "What if he hates me?"

"Regardless of what happened, I am sure Gaia never held rancor in her heart and for what I have seen…she raised her son to be fair and brave" Ares said "But, this is up to you…" he turned to Serenity "This young man is obviously clueless of his true origins, he does not know anything about his mother's past and I suggest to handle this situation with extreme care…"

Serenity nodded "I agree…" he looked at Nut and Geb "He is still in shock of all that has happened in the past few days…we need to give him some time"

Geb frowned "He…put Earth to sleep. Not even I had that kind of power…"

"Exactly, see what I am talking about?" Ares said "Endymion's power surpasses the power Gaia once had, his power matches Helios' power and even _his…_ and I am sure that the one fighting the day I went to confront Gaia was not her but him"

"…And the one who sealed Metallia…" Queen Serenity said softly "Even Gaia knew the power she had to seal her away was not coming from her but from him"

Nut sighed softly "Father did it again…"

"Let's give him the night to rest, tomorrow will be a better day…we witnessed too much this evening and he must be exhausted" Queen Serenity turned to Nut "He will be more relaxed tomorrow"

Nut turned to Geb who was looking down at her "You are dying to talk to him, don't you?"

"He has the most melodic voice…so warm" Nut said softly, her clear eyes began to shine with new tears "I just…" she looked at Serenity and Ares "…I want to give him all my love, he has been alone and fighting all this time…I…"

Queen Serenity walked over to her and wrapped her arms around her in a warm embrace "I know Nut, I know…and you will, just give him some time to regain his energies a little" she rubbed the older queen's back softly "There is too much information he needs to process…" she felt Nut nodding and pulled away "Everything will be alright. Gaia's biggest fear was for him to be in danger…I understand her reasons for not telling him anything but I also know she prepared him well for anything and for the conviction I saw when he spoke to me, I know he can handle anything" she looked at Geb and gave him a sad look "I know we all are heartbroken because of Gaia's death…I still cannot believe she is gone but like Nut said, you still have your grandson and you have to be proud of him"

Geb bit his lip and sighed softly, nodding softly he turned to Ares "Thank you"

Ares nodded "No, you do not need to thank me…I suppose it was destiny…" he patted the older warrior's shoulder "There is much to do in these next few days, we all have to be strong for what's to come"

"And well rested" Queen Serenity said.

Nut nodded and turned to Geb "We should go…" her voice was a soft whisper but loud enough for the queen to hear "Why don't you stay the night?"

Geb shook his head "It's alright…" he raised his hand in gratitude and turned to his wife "…We will come tomorrow early…"

"It would be nice if you join us for breakfast, just the family" Queen Serenity smiled "So you can get to know him better" she turned to Ares "You too Ares"

Ares smiled at Serenity "Thank you Little Flower but, tomorrow early I will go and talk to Chronos and well…see what we can do to work this matter the best way possible without too much conflict. But I will come in the afternoon, now that you have asked him to be the new Commander of this army he needs to be informed of as many things as possible, please ask Artemis to join us"

Queen Serenity nodded "Certainly"

The lord of war nodded his head "Well…I will leave you to rest now, Eris must be frantic looking all over for me. I highly doubt she followed Artemis' suggestion of going home"

Queen Serenity raised her eyes brows and made an 'I know' look "I will see you tomorrow and thank you…for everything Ares. I do not know what I would do without your help"

Ares went to kiss Serenity's hand "Anytime Little Flower that is what friends are for. Get some rest…"

Queen Serenity nodded "I will try"

Ares widened his eyes in a warning manner "Please do it, I need you complete"

The lunar queen gave him a warm smile and nodded, then turned to the older couple and kissed them softly on the cheek before watching them walk out of the door. Once she was finally alone, she closed her eyes and let her emotions take over her frail body and could not help but to sit again on the nearest armchair and mourn her friend's death.

"I am so sorry Gaia…I am so sorry…" she sobbed, not minding her tears "I was not there to protect you…" she opened her eyes slowly "But now that your son is here, things will change…you will see, he will take charge just like you did and grand things will happen…you will see…"

The queen looked up to the ceiling _"I promise"_

* * *

_I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you._


	122. Chapter 122

_A/N: I remember saying many questions would be answered on this chapter like, why Endymion was taking the position of Commander of the Moon when his place is on Earth, that's true. I am asking that myself but, many things would be explained in this and the next chapter, remember...we are getting closer to the end. It's very close. Very close._

_Enjoy!_

Divinity: A question of Honor

Chapter one hundred and twenty two

* * *

Princess Serenity entered her room and found the girls waiting for her at the small reception with a curious and worried look in their faces, each and one of them was a mirror of the other. The princess widened her eyes and blinked a few times "Girls…"

Venus was sitting biting her nails nervously and looked at her with worry; it was Jupiter the one that finally spoke for them and asked her what they all wanted to know "Princess, what happened?"

Serenity blinked some more "Well…"

"What happened to Athamas?" Mars interrupted.

"What did Queen Serenity say?" Mercury asked right after.

"What happened to Prince Endymion, where is he?" Venus was the last one to ask.

The princess widened her eyes and sighed softly, turning to Mars she nodded "He was taken into custody accused for treason" then turned to Mercury "She was very upset to learn the truth about him and asked God Ares to take charge of that matter" nodding she finally turned to Venus "Nothing, he is alright…" she smiled "He is staying at one of the guest rooms"

Venus moved her hand away and blinked wide eyed "Guest rooms? You mean…He…"

Serenity nodded "He spoke to Mother and explained everything, he defended our relationship…" she sighed "He explained what happened on Earth, what brought him here and…" she trailed off and widened her eyes "Megumi…Megumi is here, isn't she? Where is she?"

Venus raised her hand and shook her head "She is alright; I asked to one of the maids to prepare her one of the guest rooms as well, she is probably near the Prince's room"

"How did they find out about the General's crimes, Princess?" Mercury asked.

Jupiter frowned "Yes because, well let us not forget that we were at your engagement ball"

Princess Serenity nodded and frowned "Everything happened so fast…" she looked at the amazon girl "Endymion appeared right when I walked back into the ballroom and we danced"

"Oh, it was him!" Mercury covered her mouth in surprise, the princess nodded and smiled "I just…I felt like I was in a dream, I could not believe he was alive…I nearly fainted"

"How did he get the appropriate attire…?" Jupiter trailed off and turned to Venus who, raised her hand again and waved it happily "I can explain that part" she sat up straight and let out a soft breath "I found him because this girl Megumi told me she had a message for Princess Serenity from him and I immediately knew that he was being kept at the dungeons so we went there, helped the prince to get out and…"

"…Right before Venus went into that great adventure without inviting me, she asked me to get a suit" Mars finished talking "I had to ask Artemis who at first was shocked and confused but when I told him it was something Venus asked me as a favor he quickly found one that fit the Prince perfectly"

Venus nodded "After we managed to escape I took him to my room so he could take a quick shower…" her eyes turned sad "It would have been too much for you to witness Princess, the condition he was in…it was obvious the pain and war all over his face…"

"When he was finally ready, I led him to the ballroom and the rest is history…" Mars said softly, taking the credit for finishing the story.

Princess Serenity watched with awe and gratitude at the two senshi and shook her head "I cannot believe you did all that…" she looked at them "When Endymion told me what had happened, right before Athamas found us I was…" she trailed off "…His pain was evident…what he had to do…"

Venus lowered her gaze and thought about Kunzite "He lost everybody he held dear…" she whispered.

Mars looked at the princess "What will happen now Princess? Did you confess your feelings to the Queen and my Father?"

"Yes, we both did" Serenity said "Athamas was ballistic, but then his right hand, Kilmakos buried him even more with his own confession, Athamas has no salvation. He no longer is the Commander of the army, he does not even hold the title of General anymore…"

The four girls watched the Princess with wide eyes again, surprised to hear that new information "And…now? Who is going to take charge?"

"Endymion"

Mars' amethyst eyes widened even bigger "The Prince?"

Serenity nodded "Mother asked him to be our new Commander; your Father supported the decision"

Venus blinked surprised "So that means…"

Serenity extended her hand and showed them the ring on her finger "He talked to Mother and defended our relationship and right in front of everybody, he went down on one knee and asked me to marry him"

Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Venus gasped and covered their mouths "Oh my!"

Jupiter was the first to held the princess' hand and took a closer look to the ring "Oh by all heavens…this is beautiful!"

Venus blinked and went to hug the princess "So that means they accepted your love!?" she whispered in her ear; the princess nodded and smiled widely "Yes Venus, Mother is beyond happy…"

"But…the Higher Gods…" Mars said softly "The forbidden law…what…?"

"We will not announce the engagement right away for obvious reasons…Athamas will be judged and will have to pay for his crimes; I did not stay and listened what was going to happen but God Ares said he was going to take charge of that matter…" Serenity said softly "It is not going to be an easy battle…but I know we can win it"

"The important thing here is that they finally know the truth and that he is alive and you are finally together" Mercury said happily. Jupiter let out a deep breath "My…I feel like if an enormous weight has been lifted off my shoulders…we were very worried, we did not know what to expect…"

Venus pulled apart and looked at her princess "I still have one question to ask you…"

Princess Serenity blinked and tilted her head "What is it?"

"What are you doing here?"

Serenity blushed a deep crimson shade and looked at the girls who were giving her a curious but knowing look "You just found out that he is alive…" Jupiter said.

"After all the tears and pain…" Mercury said.

"And the many obstacles you had to overcome…" Mars said softly.

Venus smiled "Nobody is coming after you…you do not have to hide your feelings anymore" she held her hands "…And he is here, you do not have to go anywhere far anymore, what are you doing _here_?"

Serenity sighed softly in relief and nodded; she saw her friends with eyes full of gratitude "I am sorry for all the problems I caused you…" her voice began to quiver. Jupiter shook her head "Princess, we understand…we always did but the circumstances were not the ideal to let you go and see him…"

"But now that Athamas has finally being accused for his actions, there is no more danger…" Mercury said softly. Mars pressed her lips together and nodded "We will have the opportunity to work with the Prince from now on, like it should have been since the very beginning…" she tilted her head "…That is going to be something new"

Jupiter put a finger on her lips in thought "Hmm…I haven't thought of that before" she turned to the princess "We will get to spend more time with him, which will give us the opportunity to get to know him better"

Serenity blinked at Venus who was walking back from the princess' bedroom with a familiar box in her hands "Yes, but for now…you have to return this to its owner" the blonde said "He kept his promise"

The princess looked at the box in her hands and nodded, then looked back at them and gave them a smile "Thank you…"

The girls watched the princess walk slowly down the corridor towards the guest wing and Jupiter could not help to sigh softly, catching Mercury's attention "Are you alright?" Jupiter nodded and bit her lower lip softly "Yes it is just that…I find it hard to believe everything that happened. The Prince being here, Athamas being judged, their relationship being accepted…"

Mars turned to Venus "But the shadows covering the sun…they are still there…threatening, getting closer"

Venus closed her eyes for a moment "But for now…let us give them some time" she opened her blue eyes "They have been apart from each other for a long time" she turned to Mars "At least let us give them that before we fully fight this enemy…"

Mars nodded "We finally have a good warrior to help us protect our Princess" she held the blonde's hand and squeezed it, making her turn "I am sorry about Kunzite…" she whispered.

Venus lowered her gaze, fighting her tears "Thank you Mars…" she whispered back. Mars pressed her lips and put her arm around her shoulder in support "But you know you can always count on me as a friend" Venus smiled sadly and nodded at the raven haired girl "I know, you too"

o.o.o.o.o

Serenity stood outside the door she has learned to be Endymion's room and bit her lower lip wondering if it was still a good time for her to be there considering the fact that he might be asleep or just tired to see anyone at the moment.

Her hand rested on the door knob and when she was about to turn it the door slowly opened surprising her; coming inside she closed it behind her and walked into the room in silence. The room had a smaller reception and living room and saw the bedroom doors wide open, walking in silence she watched him standing near the window close to the bed.

Serenity took a step closer but tripped with a chair making a noise, the prince turned his head immediately. His blue eyes widened "Serenity" he blinked a couple of times "How long have you been there standing?"

Serenity blushed "Just a couple of minutes…" she bit her lip "…I am sorry I…" she looked around "I know it is late…I…I should go back…"

"No" Endymion said softly.

"I understand if you want to sleep…you must be exhausted…" the princess said softly and watched the prince shake his head "No…" he sighed and sat on the bed patting the space next to him. Serenity walked slowly and sat, her eyes never leaving his handsome face "Really, I can come by tomorrow…"

Endymion shook his head again and caressed her face with the back of his bare hand "I am alright"

"I thought for a moment that you would be asleep"

Endymion lowered his gaze and smiled "You know I am not much of a good sleeper…" he took the other white glove off his hand and put it aside with the other.

Serenity felt something was odd, even when he looked as handsome as ever in that tuxedo with his bow tie and collar undone exposing is neck and chest a little, even when he smiled at her with that characteristic and lovingly way she adores she knew there was something wrong; his smile did not reach his eyes, his eyes were sad and dark, there was no spark in them, no emotion, only sadness and she felt somewhat guilty for it. She broke eye contact with him and looked down.

Endymion tilted his head "Serenity?" he asked softly.

"I am sorry…" she said softly, her voice almost trembling. The prince frowned this time and shook his head "Sorry? For what?"

"Keeping you here…"

Endymion's frown deepened "What?"

Serenity sniffed "I am keeping you here…"

Endymion sighed and shook his head "Serenity, I do not know what you are talking about"

"I can see it in your eyes…" Serenity mumbled "…You are unhappy…" she closed her eyes and heard him sigh and rub his face with his hands "Serenity…look at me" she shook her head slowly and heard him sigh again, this time more relaxed "Please?"

She opened her eyes and turned to look at him; Endymion narrowed his eyes slightly "Why are you saying those things to me?"

"Because, I can see it…"

"…In my eyes?" Endymion interrupted her softly and paused for a moment "Serenity, you cannot draw conclusions based on my eyes"

Serenity blinked "Your smile, it does not reach your eyes…"

Endymion frowned "I am not following"

"Can't you understand that your eyes tell so much about you?"

"Yes, I have been told many times before, but still, that is not a good excuse" Endymion shook his head "And you know too that I am not much of a lying person" he sighed softly "And if I did, you are the last person I would lie to Bunny, what you are telling me is not making any sense to me…"

"But…" Serenity stopped when she saw Endymion's finger on her lips "Bunny…" he paused and looked her, his eyes softened and looked down "I see what is happening now…" he breathed and looked at her again "Bunny, what happened on Earth has nothing to do with you…Athamas did those things because I was a threat to him, because he wanted me out of the way so he could accomplish his plans but even when he tried and hurt the people I held dear he was not the reason of why I had to do what I did.

Bunny, I lost my family…I lost my friends, I lost my home…my whole life has been centered in protecting that home, that family and those friends that are now gone because of a woman with weak convictions and strong ambitions. It was very painful for me to see her decoying my planet and, if I was trained to use that power under extreme circumstances I had to shut my feelings and do what a soldier would do to protect his land"

"Endymion…" Serenity whispered, near tears. The prince held her hand "I am here not only because I promised it, I am here because I love you and yes…now that I am here, alone and alive I am taking in everything that has happened, I am not sad Bunny, I am finally mourning my family and friend's death. But you have to understand that any of this has to do with you. I was supposed to protect them all and I couldn't, why? Maybe because I was not fully informed of everything concerning my life; I did not know I had this kind of power inside of me, I did not know I could put the planet to sleep…and I still do not know why. I grew up believing I was just a human being with paranormal issues…"

Serenity looked at him with teary eyes and tightened her grip on his hand "I am so sorry…"

"No Serenity…" he said softly and pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her ear "Can't you see? You are the one that makes me want to keep going…since I left you that morning I looked up to the night sky and thought about you"

Serenity could not hold her tears any longer and intertwined her fingers in his hair while she hugged him tightly "I thought about you too…all the time…"

Endymion kissed her softly near her ear and opened his eyes "What is that?" he asked softly.

Serenity blinked and pulled away from the prince and dragged the box closer on the bed "I want to give you something that belongs to you"

Endymion's blue eyes widened once he recognized the velvet box and lifted the lid to take a look at the medals catching the soft light coming from the candles "All these…" he whispered "…Gave me a rank and a title but none of them helped me achieve their meaning. Ironic"

"You earned them" Serenity said "And it is not about honor, this is not a question of honor…this is about a boy who wanted to be a warrior and achieved it, you fought for their lives until the very end" she bit her lower lip "I always opened the box to see them and be reminded that no matter what, you were going to be strong and that we were going to be together one day"

"And here I am" Endymion said softly; nodding he put the lid back on the box and gave her a full hearted "Thank you" sighing, he put the box on the night stand next to the bed and looked at her "But I have to confess that I lost the locket you gave me for my birthday in one of the battles…by the time I reached Elysion I realized I did no longer had it with me… I am so sorry…"

Serenity shook her head and smiled at him "You mean…" she turned and raised her hand and showed him the locket pending from its chain curled on her fingers "This locket watch?"

Endymion's eyes lightened like a little boy seeing a Christmas tree for the very first time and gasped in surprise "Serenity! Where did you get it? H-How?" he asked and frowned "How did it get here?"

Serenity pended it back and forth and looked at him "Kilmakos found it and gave it to Athamas the night they thought you were dead; Mars overheard that conversation and managed to sneak in to his office and steal it from him when he was not around"

"Do you have an idea of how much this means to me?" Endymion said softly and took the locket from her hand "I felt so bad when I found out I did not had it with me anymore…I felt unprotected and empty" he looked at it and sighed softly again "I could not thank the girls enough for what they did for Megumi and me…I…"

"They always knew our love was sincere but it was the circumstances what made act that way, they are my guardians and just like your shitennou they were only trying to protect me…just like you always said to me" Serenity said softly and pursed her lips "But, I feel sad for Venus…"

Endymion frowned and put the locket inside the box and turned to Serenity again "Why?"

"Venus had feelings for Kunzite" Serenity said sadly "They had a connection and shared the same feelings…"

Endymion closed his eyes and lowered his head "I am so sorry…" he frowned, still with his eyes closed "I remember the last night I talked to him…I knew there was something happening with him and always had a thought that it might be something related to her because of the way they spoke to each other…"

"She hasn't had the time to mourn his passing…" Serenity said softly.

Endymion nodded and looked down at his bare hands "No…" he closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath "He loved her…until the very end"

Serenity frowned slightly and touched the prince's arm softly "But…you just said…"

Endymion chuckled sadly and turned to look at her with those intense blue eyes of his "Remember I told you I grew up thinking I was just a human being with paranormal issues…"

Serenity widened her eyes "Oh" she blinked amazed "And you do not know the reason why?"

Endymion shook his head "No" he pursed his lips and sighed "The mere fact of me being able to cross to this realm is still keeping me in shock… experiencing in person what I was taught to pray…to know that they had an eye on my planet…it's…" he trailed off "I am very confused" he frowned "Serenity…"

Serenity tilted her head "Yes?"

"The couple…the couple that was there" he turned to look at her "You know them?"

Serenity blinked "Yes"

"What were their names?" he asked curious.

"Nut?"

Endymion nodded "I remember hearing her name before, you mentioned her before…right?"

Serenity nodded and chuckled softly while holding the prince's hand "Yes, they are good friends with my Mother, they have known each other for years because she was very close to their daughter" she frowned "It is funny because I did not see them at the ball…or maybe they were but I never saw them because I was barely there…" she blinked in curiosity "Why are you asking?"

The prince frowned and shook his head "…I don't know…to see them there gave me a strange feeling…" he looked down "…I do not know how to describe it…"

"Nut has a very strong character but she is very kind…she always knew I was in love with someone that was not Athamas"

Endymion nodded, still his brows knitted together in deep thought "The way they were looking at me…" he shook his head "But of course they were going to look at me that way, they know I am a mortal…I cannot imagine what will happen when everyone else knows about my true nature"

"I do not care about any of that" Serenity said determinant "I do not care what they might think or what will they do or react, all I care right now is that you are here, alive and with me…" she caressed his face softly "And that we love each other"

Endymion relaxed "I would do anything for you"

"You already have…" Serenity breathed "You fought and crossed to this realm just to get to me"

"Because I love you"

"And I love you too"

The prince smiled softly "For the first time in my life…I do not know what to expect" he chuckled and shook his head in disbelief "If I were at home I would know what meeting I have to attend at which hour and with whom, what plan I should follow or just, the fact of knowing where to go…"

Serenity smiled "How does that feel?"

Endymion shrugged his shoulders "I don't know…strange"

Serenity held his hand "I will give you a tour tomorrow…" her smile faded "Endy?"

The prince looked at her "Yes Bunny?"

"Am I being selfish? Am I doing wrong?"

Endymion frowned "Why do you ask me that?"

Serenity lowered her gaze "To be this happy…is it wrong?"

Endymion shook his head "No Bunny, it is not wrong…" he lifted her chin "My love, happiness is a good thing"

"But look at the circumstances we've been put under…"

"Hey…" Endymion whispered "Like I told you before, this has nothing to do with _you_. I am happy to be with you too, to finally being able to express our love without hiding our actions to anyone…that is a good thing" he sighed softly "But as I also said before…I am mourning and I am a little overwhelmed"

"If I have known Athamas was doing such things I would have done something…"

"Bunny, it is not your or anyone's fault. He threatened you that is what angers me the most…that he had the nerve to threaten you and sent his servant soldiers to kill me just to accomplish an ambition of his" he sighed "But will pay for his wrong doings"

"He will be judged" Serenity said softly.

Endymion sighed "So may the gods have mercy on him…if he deserves it"

The princess looked around the room again and sighed softly "Do you like this room?"

Endymion blinked and did the same, paying more attention to the simplicity and light colors everywhere; suddenly he noticed he was the only one contrasting in the room by wearing black "It's nice and calm…"

"It is not as big as your previous room" Serenity said.

"I do not need too much space to sleep" Endymion shrugged his shoulders and turned to look at her "As long as I am with you nothing else matters"

"Really?" Serenity asked softly.

Endymion nodded "Profecto" _(really)_

Serenity smiled and wrapped her arm around his and took a deep breath "I wish I could stay with you…"

Endymion frowned and looked down at her "And you can't?"

The princess looked up at him "You are tired"

"So?" Endymion asked.

Serenity bit her lip "You probably want to rest…"

Endymion smiled "Serenity…" he tilted her head up, meeting her eyes "I only rest when I am with you, you silly" his eyes softened, showing a calm and peaceful shade of indigo blue "Stay" he whispered.

Serenity looked at him dozed and blushed, nodding she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him tenderly "Forever" she whispered back and watched him close his eyes slowly; she reached for his hair covering his face and pushed it aside, and it was then when she came to realize something and felt her eyes burn with tears.

"_It was you that night…the night Mars told me you were gone, it was not a dream…it was really you…you came to tell me everything was going to be alright and now, here you are, sleeping beside me"_

o.o.o.o.o.o

The guards closed the iron gates with chains and locks, taking several torches with them. One of them turned to the other and frowned "Should we…?"

"These were orders not only from the Queen but from the God of War himself" the guard said and turned to look at the cells he knew were now occupied "Until their time to face the Gods comes near"

A pair of hands held the bars of one of the cells with strength and shook the door; the guard frowned "There is not much I can do"

"Obey me, that is what _you_ can do, what you _have_ to do…" Athamas' cold voice echoed in the long aisle "Remember who gave you the position you now have, are you going to turn your back on me now?"

The guard shook his head and turned to the other guard "Give the keys to Artemis"

Athamas chuckled "Artemis…that stupid feline man…how long are you going to continue with this spectacle?"

The guard greeted his teeth "You will wait there until you are called to trial"

"Who is taking my place?! Nobody can take my place! Do you even know who the fuck is the man you are letting take control of everything that belongs to me?! Everything I built!?"

The guard shook his head and lead the other one toward the exit; the heavy doors made a loud echo once they were tightly closed leaving the once general alone with Kilmakos locked in another cell in the aisle across from him. The dark haired man looked up from his sitting position with his tired and depressed eyes "The only thing you built was disaster and mistakes"

Athamas turned to the cell across from his and narrowed his eyes in the dim light that was left for them and tried to adjust his vision to the man hidden in the shadows "I should have known from the start…" he muttered bitterly "…That you were a complete imbecile…all you did was to hinder all my plans"

"I am as guilty as you are, but I least I knew I was doing wrong all this time…"

Athamas growled and turned away "You and I are not the same"

"So are you and the Terran Prince…you are not the same" Kilmakos said dryly, making the former general angrier that he already was "Of course we are not the same! What the hell is wrong with you?! I am divine and he is just a weak mortal!"

"If he was that weak and mortal like you say….you would not have gone through all that trouble to try to kill him" Kilmakos said and frowned "You always considered him a threat even before you knew he was the Princess' love interest, you were always trying to uncover that living legend you knew it existed" he chuckled "My, now it surely burns you to know he is the one taking charge of all what you used to call yours…"

"Silence!" Athamas said angrily, he growled "Remember you are as drowned in this as I am. If I go down you will too"

"I no longer care…" Kilmakos said "As long as you go down…I do not care what happens to me, you already took my family away…there is nothing else you can take away from me. I lost my freedom the moment I agreed to follow you here and you lost yours the moment you crossed the Moon Palace's doors"

Athamas growled and tried to bend the iron bars but his hoarse breathing only indicated he was not going anywhere "It is futile Athamas…your moment of glory has come to an end" the general heard the soldier speak and slowly knelt on the dirty floor and looked at his dirty hands "This was not suppose to happen this way…"

"Nothing was Athamas" he heard Kilmakos say "We were not supposed to stop being the close friends we used to be" the soldier sighed "But your ambition…your ambition of always wanting more, of wanting to prove everybody who you were and what you were capable of doing consumed you from the inside out"

"I was destined to be the next King…" Athamas muttered, his eyes were still looking at his hands "I was the one destined to follow the late King's steps"

"You were blinded by dark and uncertain promises…" Kilmakos muttered and lowered his gaze as he remembered the scene "I remember…her pale yellow eyes and her dark hair, you summoned her one night and her shadow appeared…that witch promised you to be King, promised you riches and success but she only fed your heart with ambition"

Athamas closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. Kilmakos sighed and rested his back on the wall, his eyes watched the ceiling "…And where is she now? She disappeared…she only gave you the manual of how to get here but she never really guided you to nothing…all that happened after you took the charge of being Commander of the Lunarian Army"

Athamas closed his eyes and frowned; he heard the other soldier move from his seat and came closer to the light. His fingers curled around the thick bars and looked at the general in front of him "Athamas…tell me, even if it is the last thing I will hear in my life… where are they? Where are Amalia and my children?"

Athamas remained silent for a couple of minutes and sighed, closing his eyes "It was true when I said I did no longer know"

Kilmakos frowned "What?"

Athamas opened his eyes "I…" he trailed off.

"What did you do?" Kilmakos asked, his voice trembled and his heart beat hard in his chest "Athamas, what did you do?!" his preoccupation and anxiety was becoming evident.

Athamas hung his head and shook it for a moment "I gave them as a guarantee for my power" he looked at the soldier from across the aisle "I received a letter informing me that they were killed because they were not cooperating"

Kilmakos' eyes widened and turned watery while shaking his head "When did you receive that letter?"

Athamas shrugged his shoulders; Kilmakos frowned and shook the bars of his cell "I asked you a question, be half the man you think you are and tell me!"

"The night I learned the mortal was Serenity's lover" Athamas said dryly.

Tears began falling from Kilmakos' eyes "You gave them the order…"

Athamas sighed "And what if I did? You were not doing your job right!"

"I served you almost like a slave! And you dared to take the life of an innocent family!"

"Not so innocent Kilmakos…" Athamas said with cynicism "…They were the family of an assassin, hence they were criminals as well"

Kilmakos closed his eyes and covered his face with his shaking hands; Athamas blew his sandy blonde bangs away from his face and looked away "…You were always weak, always a coward…too soft. The moment you decided to marry that woman your life changed forever…" he turned to look at him "You should be thankful, I lifted a great weight off your shoulders with that wife and those brats of yours…"

Kilmakos moved his hands away from his face "I do not know you anymore, the Athamas I knew…is dead"

"Oh boo hoo" Athamas muttered "What are you going to do? Cry me a river?"

"I do not have any more words for you. I know where I stand in this situation and I know how I will probably end…I will leave my faith to the Gods but yours will be taken by my own hands"

"Do not threat my faith, do not dare to threat me" Athamas said "Remember the difference between you and me"

"There is no difference Athamas! Not anymore" Kilmakos said and turned his back on the blonde general, leaving him in complete silence as he mourned the death of his lost family.

The blonde general looked up and saw the soft light of the morning sun filter through a small window near the tall ceiling "It is another day…" he muttered to himself and closed his eyes "Another day…"

o.o.o.o.o.o

Endymion stirred in the bed slightly and opened his eyes slowly and watched the ceiling with disorientation until the events that happened in the couple of days before came to his mind and realized that this was probably the first night of good sleep he had since he left for war. Blinking, he ran a hand through his dark hair and turned to the sleeping girl next to him and could not help to smile.

Her hands were curled near her face, covering her lips; her hair was loose and sprawled all around her like a silver aura. He turned to look out the large window on his side of the bed and realized it was now morning, his first morning in the moon; the mere thought of it was too surreal to be true. The prince rubbed his temples and felt the princess move and welcome him with a smile and a sweet "Good morning, Prince"

Endymion blinked and smiled softly "Good morning, Princess"

Serenity yawned a little and widened her eyes when she realized they both slept in their formal attires from last night and blushed "We fell asleep"

Endymion nodded; Serenity bit her lower lip "I do not even remember at what moment…"

"We were talking and suddenly both fell asleep" the prince said softly. Serenity watched him and sighed with happiness and could not get enough of him while thinking how he always had to look this handsome at any time of the day "Did you have a good night sleep?"

"I did, yes" Endymion said softly and rubbed the bridge of his nose "I was just thinking on how strange it sounds for me to say that I woke up on the Moon"

Serenity giggled and reached for his face, her fingers trailed the strong line of his jaw in a feathery stroke "I felt the same way when I woke up the first time on Earth"

Endymion smiled and heard the door of his room open and looked up; his eyes widened when he saw Megumi standing in the doorway "Good morning"

"Megumi…" Endymion said softly.

Megumi smiled and bowed her head in respect "I was told you were in this room My Prince…" she blushed and lowered her gaze "But I did not know you had company"

Both Serenity and Endymion blushed a crimson shade of red and shook their heads "No…" they both said in unison.

"We…" Serenity blinked "Fell asleep, but we were already awake when you came!"

Megumi giggled. Endymion looked at her with tender eyes, the girl was smiling again and that made him feel less guilty for all that happened on Earth. It was like a warm ray of sunlight, he felt relieved that she was finally in a safe place and that she was not alone; all he could think of was that at least after all the madness that happened he could save her.

The young girl opened her big brown eyes and tilted her head again, still smiling "I was also informed that breakfast will be served shortly"

Serenity widened her eyes "Oh, I should get ready then…" she turned to the prince "We both should get ready"

Endymion licked his dry lips and nodded; Serenity smiled widely and gave him a peck on the lips and stood from the bed "I will see you in a little bit; I will come and get you"

Endymion smiled and nodded "Thank you, Princess" he heard Serenity giggle and saw her leave the room happily and sat on the bed. He ran a hand through his disheveled hair and sighed softly. Megumi stepped closer and watched him with worry "Prince?"

"I am alright Megumi…I just…" Endymion rested his head on his hands "…This is so unreal…" he turned to look at her and smiled sadly "I do not know right now if I am doing the right thing…"

"You are not happy to be with Princess Serenity?"

Endymion widened his blue eyes "Of course I am" he sighed and lowered his gaze "But…this is probably the first time when I do not know what to do next, I'm confused and disoriented"

Megumi watched him sadly; she understood what he was saying perfectly. Seeing him like this, sitting on the bed with his hands on his head trying to figure out what he should do or not, if he was going to be a good soldier for this army or not.

She could tell he was happy to be with his princess but the pain and the mourning was still fresh in his heart, it looked like he felt…she widened her eyes and shook her head "My Prince, it wasn't your fault"

Endymion moved his hands away from his head and widened his eyes; turning to look at her he blinked dumbfounded "Megumi…"

The young maid went to him and kneeled before him "It was not your fault, anything that happened on Earth. You stopped it…"

"But at what cost Megumi?" Endymion asked frustrated.

"Still, you stopped it" Megumi searched for his eyes "They wanted you to do it, to stop the madness. You did not kill anybody…you just, put them to sleep"

"My planet is in complete oblivion" Endymion said "I have killed with my hands before…but to send everything to oblivion…there is nothing left…"

"Yes there is…" Megumi said softly, startling the prince. Finally he looked up at her, the young maid nodded "There is"

"What is that?"

Megumi smiled "Hope"

Endymion widened his eyes; the young maid took this as a cue to continue "Earth is not dead, is asleep…you created a new path for all of us earthlings, Elysion is now a land of dreams and you are its guardian, you are its Prince and one day that land will come to the light once again" she smiled warmly "The fact of you being here is a good signal…and I believe in you My Prince"

"Megumi…"

Megumi nodded "I believe in you Prince Endymion"

Endymion could not hold his emotion of thankfulness and pulled her closer in a hug; his strong arms held her closer and let out a soft breath "Thank you…I'm so glad you are alright"

"You are the one who can guide our planet to a new life…I know it" Megumi whispered and closed her eyes.

"I will do everything in my power to do so" Endymion said softly once he moved back "I promise"

Megumi smiled and nodded; Endymion sighed and stood up "Now…I do not think a tuxedo is the most appropriate thing to wear for a breakfast…but I do not have anything else…"

Megumi stood up and went to the next room and then came back with a large box on her hands and placed it over the bed startling the prince. Endymion frowned and went to open the box "What is this?"

"Your uniform and armor, they washed it and cleaned it for you"

Endymion widened his blue eyes and turned to the young maid "But…it was tainted with blood and mud"

Megumi shrugged her shoulders "We are on the Moon Your Highness, what can I say? People on the Moon can do miracles when it comes to difficult stains on clothing"

Endymion blinked and pursed his lips "I suppose…" he sighed "I will go take a quick shower and get ready for whatever this day might bring"

Megumi smiled and watched him go to the bathroom and closed the door. Sighing the young maid turned to make the bed and saw a box on the night stand next to the side of the bed where Endymion was sleeping and could not help her curiosity, opening it she saw the medals the prince used to wear back on earth and widened her eyes "So pretty…" she whispered as she studied them closely.

The young girl put the lid back on the box and walked toward the large window and looked outside the gardens, the pale light of the day so very different from the light they had on earth; then her eyes captured the blue sphere in the distance and could not help to sigh. To her, it did not look like if once was under chaos, it did not even look like it was put to sleep…it still gleamed, the blue was still being intense _'Like my Prince's eyes'_ she thought and lifted her hand, placing it against the cool window and sighed "He will lead us to a better future…I know it"

She heard noise coming from the bathroom and saw the prince wearing his dark uniform without the armor. Sighing, he pushed his hair back and since it was still wet it obeyed the trace of his fingers, exposing his handsome face. Megumi blushed slightly as she never saw him really with his hair pushed back except for the winter ball and never imagined the prince could even look more handsome than he already was. Endymion finished putting his socks and black knee boots and looked at her "I think I am ready…"

Megumi shook her head startling him and went to take the small box on his night stand and placed it on a tall drawer next to a tall mirror "You are missing something…" she took the lid off and showed him the medals inside. Endymion sighed and frowned "Megumi…I can't"

"Why not?"

"Those medals…" he trailed off "They no longer mean anything"

"If these medals are here is because they do" Megumi said softly "Prince, you fought for them and worked very hard…these are the proof that our planet has a royal standing strong, I know my King and Queen would be very proud"

Endymion looked at them for a moment and closed his eyes "I do not know if I should wear them anymore…I don't think I am a Prince anymore…"

"You are" Megumi said determinant, that side of her startled him "You are…and you are the one that will wipe our planet from any threat"

Endymion frowned and looked at her with amaze "Why do you believe in me this much?"

"Because, I have seen you fight" Megumi said simply "And I know you are not one of those who just give up…you are a warrior Prince, you fight"

The prince widened his eyes "Megumi…"

"I know I am just a simple maid…I know I am just a girl…but I have seen you in action and since I met you my Prince, I have admired you for your will and courage. That night when you summoned all that power…" Megumi trailed off and saw her hands with amaze, remembering the exact moment "When you said those words and held that sword I knew I did not have just any Prince protecting me… you are as strong as all of _them_. You fought every night, you fought that night against that woman and brought us here and I know that you are still going to fight until there is peace because you do not give up, you are our warrior" she turned and grabbed the first medal and pinned it on his black uniform jacket and so she continued that way remembering their exact position until she was done and smiled "_Now_ you are ready"

Endymion looked at her amazed "Thank you"

Megumi smiled widely and shook her head "It is you I have to thank my Prince, you saved my life" she pressed her lips and smiled again "I believe it is time"

"Huh?" Endymion raised a brow and saw Megumi pointing behind him to Serenity who was standing in the doorway wearing a lovely strapless white gown with silver applications on her waist "Hi…"

Endymion smiled at her softly "You look so beautiful"

Serenity blushed "So do you" she tilted her head "It is time…Mother is probably expecting us…are you ready?"

Endymion was about to say yes but turned to look at Megumi first like a little boy asking for permission to go out; the young maid nodded and smiled in approval. Endymion turned to Serenity and nodded "Yes, let's go"

Serenity held his hand and both walked out of the room in silence, leaving the girl behind with hopeful eyes "I believe in you my Prince" she whispered.

o.o.o.o

The couple walked in silence down the corridor holding hands, Serenity did not look any happier and radiant because her dream of being with such liberty with the man she loves finally came true.

Endymion found quite odd and at the same time unbelievably beautiful how everything was in pale colors and mostly white. The corridors had shining marble floors in white, the walls were white, so were the furniture and flowers "Am I in a dream?" he asked half joking and half serious making the princess chuckle "No…why?" she asked softly.

The prince looked with admiration at everything and blew a lock coming down to his eyes "I feel like I am walking on a cloud"

Serenity giggled "You will get used to it"

"Good morning"

The couple turned to find Venus and the girls standing in the hall wearing a long dress in their respective color "Good morning" Serenity said sweetly. The girls bowed their heads in respect at the prince and greeted him as well; Endymion widened his eyes and returned the courtesy "Good morning, it's good to see you here"

"Did you sleep well Prince Endymion?" Mercury asked softly.

"I did…thank you" Endymion answered, his blue eyes turned to Venus and Mars "Thank you" he said again, both girls knew he was talking specifically at them; Mars shook her head and gave him a soft smile "All we wanted was justice" Mars tilted her head "Now things are finally going the way it should"

Endymion smiled softly and looked at the locket pinned on his jacket "You rescued the locket, I cannot thank you enough for it…I thought I lost it"

"We all thought our Princess lost you" Mars said "We were all misinformed and for that I'm glad" she gave him a soft smile and turned to Jupiter who addressed the princess right after "Should we go inside Princess?"

Serenity nodded and turned to the prince who, with a smile took her hand and kissed it softly "You go first…"

"Endymion?" she asked puzzled; Endymion nodded "I will join you in a minute"

Serenity looked at him and turned to the blonde then back at him "Alright" she smiled softly, getting an idea of what was happening and turned on her heel. Mercury decided to give the blonde and the raven haired a moment with the terran prince and followed Jupiter.

Mars took a step closer and pursed her lips; Endymion immediately understood there were things she wanted to say without the princess being present, for her own sake "I heard you will take Athamas' position as Commander"

Endymion nodded "It is still not official, but those are the thoughts" he let out a soft breath "I know my way of working may be different from his but…"

Mars shook her head "He had no ways…he was just working for his own benefit. He ignored my premonitions and warnings…he is a brute"

Endymion frowned "I remember you mentioned to me before a premonition, my question is if it's still vivid?"

Mars sighed softly "Yes, and it is coming from Earth…"

"I put my planet to sleep"

"It's a dark energy that not only contaminated your planet Prince Endymion, but the sun as well…if the sun is covered by shadows we are going to be damned since the sun is our strongest star" Mars said cautiously "I am sorry for telling you this…but Athamas did not care for any of our opinions and he was the one in contact with Her Majesty concerning security plans…"

"I understand Mars and I appreciate your trust on me for this matter" Endymion said "I hope we can all work together to get this problem solved and I will make sure to take this matter as a priority in the future meetings with Her Majesty"

Mars widened her violet eyes "Y-You are being serious?"

Endymion frowned "Why wouldn't I?"

"Aren't you going to think I am being ridiculous and crazy?" Mars asked, surprised.

"Not at all" Endymion said, shaking his head "You are one of Serenity's senshi, and one with a gift that should be used to take advance…you look surprised" he said softly; Mars nodded "I am surprised"

"Why?"

"You were right when you said you had a different way of working…"

Endymion nodded "I cannot ignore your visions Mars because we seem to have a few things in common, you and I both share the same gift…"

"You had visions?" Mars and Venus widened their eyes in shock. Endymion nodded "That is how I knew where the enemy was attacking"

"I understand now…why your aura is so strong…" Mars said softly; she turned to Venus and then back at him "Things will change…"

"I hope so, for good" Endymion said.

Mars nodded "I was right about you then" she turned to Venus and bowed his head at him "I am looking forward to work with you Prince Endymion" she smiled softly, something very rare in her "I will join my Princess for breakfast…" she turned to Venus "We will be waiting for you…"

Venus nodded and watched the raven haired soldier walk away, leaving her alone with the prince. They stood in silence for a couple of minutes without being that uncomfortable as they might have thought. Venus bit her lower lip and lowered her gaze for a moment "I believe I owe you an apology"

Endymion raised his eyebrow "An apology, why? You saved our lives…I do not understand why you are apologizing…"

"Because I tried to break you apart" Venus said "I told you things I should not have told you…I broke my Princess' heart and lied to you but all I wanted to do was to protect her from any harm"

"I know" Endymion said "I always knew…" he sighed sadly "Venus…now that we are alone I want to thank you for everything you did, for saving my life, for saving Megumi's life…and for making my friend happy"

Venus' eyes widened "W-What?"

"I know you two had feelings for each other" Endymion said softly "I know you are mourning his death in silence"

Venus pressed her lips in a tight line but could not look other way "How…"

"Do I know?" Endymion sighed softly "Kunzite was not a man who liked to expose his feelings to anyone; he did not talk about anything that could be happening to him. He was a very private man but he was also my very good friend and I could tell he was in love" he lowered his gaze "And he died being in love…"

Venus frowned "You…you were there when he…?" she trailed off, Endymion shook his head "No…" he looked at her "I told him to go ahead and take the remaining soldiers to a safer place but Beryl took advantage of the situation and caught up with him and bewitched him. He believed he saw you calling for him and followed your image to the woods and that is where she murdered him"

Venus gasped and covered her lips with her hand "No…" she whispered. Endymion took a moment to continue "I saw all this in my mind when I got to the exact spot where it all happened but his body was already gone just like the rest"

"So this means…this witch you fought knew of my existence"

Endymion shrugged his shoulders "I highly doubt it, it was the spell she casted on him what made him believe it was you calling for him…he thought about you every day and night. The once centered and stoic man had gone since the moment you two crossed words and he often defended your position. When you went to Earth to tell me about Serenity's engagement he was there and at to some point defended you…I did not understand why until I realized what has happening between you two"

"I never doubted your love for my Princess was sincere" Venus said softly "But Athamas was here and always tormenting her I could not jeopardize her life…"

"Venus I know the rules" Endymion said softly "I know I am not supposed to be here but it happened for a reason, I may have to overcome many obstacles but I love your Princess and I have to fight and do my best to bring my people a better future, to give my planet a new life"

"It is not going to be easy…" Venus said.

"I know" Endymion answered "But I was trained as a warrior, I know how to fight"

The blonde senshi smiled and nodded "So refreshing…to hear someone speak that way in this realm…" she walked toward him and bowed her head in respect "Thank you, for telling me this"

Endymion shook his head "No, I will forever be grateful to you for saving my life"

"It is part of my job to protect those I care about, Princess Serenity is a very special person to all of us and she loves you with all her heart. When she thought you were dead she often looked at those medals you now carry in your uniform hoping to see you again…but deep inside, she was letting herself die and that was breaking my heart. Athamas was winning a war against all of us…it was a nightmare but it all ended, finally" Venus sighed and gave him a small smile "Things might not be easy for some time…but you can be sure that we have your back. We will support you with everything we can"

Venus turned to look at the guards a few feet away from them and tilted her head "I have been taking too much time from you, you need to go inside…"

Endymion nodded and turned to leave and stopped, looking over his shoulder "Your name…"

Venus blinked surprised "What?"

"That was his last word…he really loved you" he turned again and continued walking until he entered the room.

Venus watched the doors close and sighed softly "And his will forever be mine…" she whispered.

* * *

_Did you like it? Was it a good chapter? Let me know!_

_To be honest, the scene with Athamas and Kilmakos was my favorite one._

_Well, I wish you all a good week...and, if you are asking if this chapter will substitute friday's post, no worries because it doesn't. Friday's chapter is finished and ready to be published, the only thing now is that we will have to wait and see what happens..._

_Thank you!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters. _


	123. Chapter 123

_**A/N:** I would like to take a moment and have a word with you._

_I think I already said it before but I will say it again to those who still come here just to criticize what others do, in this case what I do. When I started this story I left perfectly clear that this was my first attempt to write and that it was something that had been on my mind for years and that I thought it was time to write it down. Without any beta readers or help I started working on this "project" three years ago and in this time I have met good people who have been incredibly kind and helped me improve the story with ideas, suggestions and even they were honest enough to say "hey you know what...you have been using a lot of...I think you could use this or that to change it a little bit and make it more easy to read"_

_In this three years I have met really good, loyal and very friendly people who have been in touch all this time and been helping me a lot with the story, every one who takes the time to read it and review it, even if it is just to say "Cool" or "Awesome" it's more than enough for me because that means I am doing something decent._

_But as I met really cool people I have also faced really mean, rude and discouraging messages and that is something I really can't stand. It really bothers me, I know I should not listen to any negative comments or just ignore them but it really brings the mood and inspiration down. Why is there a freaking necessity to say how boring or corny or just plain bad written my story is? I've always been perfectly clear on something "I appreciate your time reading it, but if you don't like it, just keep moving..." We do not need the grammar police. We need** constructive** criticism. _

_This is a page where fans are invited to write their ideas, this is not a publishing house, this is not a newspaper or a magazine. This is a platform for people to explode their creativity and who the hell cares of it's well written or not? If you care, well...go somewhere else because, none of us are perfect and I am sure that not even the ones who write those awful and mean things to me are as good as they claim to be. _

_As I said before I appreciate constructive criticism and I put into consideration, what I do not really like, what it really angers me if people who are just here to say "You suck" or "I thought you would learn something in three years and improve your writing but I see you didn't"_

_With this being said, I want to let you know that I am now considering to stop the series here and not continue working on a third season. I don't need negativism, I do not need mean spirited messages; it really breaks the spirit you know?_

_I thank all of you, who post after post have been here reviewing and telling me your ideas, your opinions and your encouraging messages, those who really gave my story a try. I feel really honored to be someone's favorite author, and feel very happy and grateful to have Divinity being someone's favorite story. Thank you so much, it means a lot to me._

_Next week, I will be posting the three final chapters of the story (monday, wednesday and to finish on friday) so...this might be the chapter many of you have been longing to read; I hope you enjoy it._

* * *

_Divinity: A question of Honor_

_Chapter one hundred and twenty three_

* * *

Luna entered from a back door and bowed her head in respect to the queen "Your Majesty, everything is ready"

Queen Serenity smiled and nodded "Good, now all we have to do is to wait for them to join us…" she turned at a very excited and nervous couple and chuckled "Nut, how are you feeling?"

Nut sighed and wiggled her fingers "Nervous…" she felt her husband's hand on her shoulder and turned to look at him "You need to be calm…" he said softly.

"What should I say to him? How…?" she trailed off and lowered her gaze "Should I tell him I am his grandmother?"

Queen Serenity looked at her sadly "Remember you said you were going to give him some time to assimilate all this…"

"I have waited so many years…" Nut said softly, her eyes gleamed with tears "I do not even know how old he is…if he has the same life span as us…" she sighed "…If he knows about us…" Geb closed his eyes and squeezed her shoulder lightly in support "That is very improbable dear…"

"Well, all those things you can ask him…just, do not pressure things…" the lunar queen suggested "Let's hope for him to be more tranquil and rested…"

"Ares said he was going to join us too…" Geb said and pursed his lips "…But maybe he had to attend some other matters"

"Thanks to him we met our grandson…" Nut whispered "I will be forever grateful to him…"

Queen Serenity stood with Luna and Artemis when the princess walked into the room, her lavender eyes widened when she saw her walking alone "Good morning Mother" Serenity said softly and saw the senshi walk out, leaving her alone with her mother.

"Good morning dear" the queen said and frowned slightly "Where…where is Endymion?"

Serenity smiled at the mention of his name "He will be here shortly" she turned and widened her eyes "Nut!" she exclaimed in surprise. The once goddess of the skies smiled at her "Good morning Serenity"

Serenity blinked and saw a man who she recognized as her husband and bowed her head in respect; "Dear" Queen Serenity said "This is Geb, Nut's husband. We did not have the opportunity to introduce him properly you last night due the circumstances…"

Serenity blinked and nodded "I know, it was a hectic night" she said softly. Geb bowed his head "How are you today?" she asked politely.

Geb smiled "Very well, I am very honored to be here" he smiled to the queen "You have a very beautiful daughter Serenity, she is a jewel"

The queen smiled "Thank you Geb" then turned to Serenity "They will be joining us for breakfast…I hope you don't mind"

Serenity smiled and shook her head "Oh no, not at all"

The door opened once again showing Endymion walking inside the room alongside Venus, who soon after excused herself and joined the other senshi at the gardens "Salve" Endymion said softly and looked at the queen and bowed his head "Please forgive my delay Your Majesty…I was just having a word with Sailor Venus"

The queen blinked surprised to hear him speak in ancient language and smiled "It's alright, I understand"

Endymion looked up and saw there were more people than he expected "Salve" he said again in respect. Geb and Nut widened their eyes and smiled "Salve"

The queen smiled and moved her hand toward her advisors "Endymion, I would like you to meet my advisors, Luna and Artemis. In case you need anything, please feel free to contact them, they will be here to help you"

"Nice to meet you Prince" both said in unison; Endymion nodded respectfully "Nice to meet you too"

"Artemis is with who you will be working the most since he is more involved with matters of politics and strategies since he has more relation with the soldiers, he assists me with political matters that requires to be attended with the Commander, in this case you and I personally" the queen said "He will be assisting you in anything you need"

Endymion nodded "Thank you very much" he said, startling the mauian for his simplicity even when he knew he had a strong presence and character; he showed great humbleness, something he never expected to see in this realm; so unlike Athamas. Serenity smiled and went over to him and held his hand "He is a very nice man" she turned to Artemis, making him blush "Thank you Princess, that is very kind of you"

"And you probably don't remember because of last night's events but…" Queen Serenity motioned her hand to the couple standing next to her "They are good friends of mine, Nut and Geb"

"Nut…" Endymion muttered and bowed his head in respect "Yes…of course, I remember…Salve"

Nut watched him with admiration at his handsome face and exquisite poise "Salve…" she whispered and turned to look at the lunar queen who was already walking towards the table "Breakfast will be served very soon so we better take our seats" she smiled and sat at the head of the table and waved her hand gently at the maids lined up at the back of the spacious room.

Serenity held Endymion's hand and walked to the table and took her usual place, she turned and smiled at the terran prince "Sit next to me" she said happily, a gesture Endymion found adorable. The prince waited for Serenity to take her seat then he followed and watched at the young maids move closer, offering them something to drink.

The princess turned to look at him and made a funny face, a mixture between worry and wonder "I wish we had that dark beverage you like so much…"

Endymion widened his eyes and let out a soft chuckle while stirring the tea on his cup with a silver spoon "You mean coffee?"

Serenity nodded "All we have is tea…"

"Tea is fine" Endymion kissed her hand, making her blush and watched closely his steaming cup. His blue eyes turned a more cerulean shade of blue as he remembered something "It reminds me of my Mother" he said softly as he stirred the silver spoon inside the delicate cup again.

Queen Serenity blinked and looked at him with melancholy and turned to Nut and Geb who had teary eyes as they looked at the terran prince. Endymion took a sip of the tea and studied its flavor in silence, with delight, he found a resemblance to a flavor similar to peaches and jasmine. Serenity looked at him with curious eyes and blinked "Do you like it?"

"How do you call this tea?" he asked curious.

"Golden leaf tea" Serenity said softly "It is the one we drink the most" she blinked, her big pale blue eyes again expectant "Did you like it?"

Endymion looked at her and smiled softly, probably his first sincere and hearted smile since he got to the moon "I do as a matter of fact, it's sweet"

"You don't like sweets…" Serenity pouted her lips "You prefer strong flavored beverages"

Endymion chuckled and raised his cup at her "This, I can learn to love" and took a sip, making the princess giggle playfully.

Queen Serenity watched the couple with awe as she silently took a sip of her own tea; she knew that everyone in the room was paying close attention to them and were being part of their complicity. They were more than just lovers, they were best friends; something they did not get to find in their realm.

Nut felt melancholy at the image of them being so joyful; it was somehow painful for her to know that this girl knew more things about him than her considering she was part of his life and they shared a bloodline. She paid attention to everything she said and tried to learn every little thing she could about him like for example, how he preferred coffee to tea. The once queen of the skies studied him closely and could not deny that he was a beautiful man

_"You gave this universe one beautiful man Gaia…inside and out" _she thought.

Queen Serenity smiled and lowered her gaze "So, Endymion…" she interrupted the couple's playful chattering and tried decided to do what Nut was afraid to do herself and that was, start a conversation with him to get to know him better "I heard you speak in your native tongue…" she put her cup down slowly and looked at the prince "…I found that very interesting"

Endymion looked at the queen and returned the smile "Thank you Your Majesty"

Serenity's eyes gleamed with joy and delight at the mention of the terran language and smiled widely "Oh yes Mother, he can speak Latin! It sounds so beautiful…"

The lunar queen arched a brow and could not resist to chuckle at the sight of her incredibly happy daughter "Do you master the language Endymion?" she asked softly "I know it is very ancient"

Endymion nodded "Yes" he smiled softly "My parents taught me since I was very little so it comes naturally…there were times when everyone in my family spoke in pure Latin, my Mother used to say it was a tradition that never had to be lost"

The lunar queen listened with great interest and chuckled "Oh, I have always found it fascinating! But I was not good at all with it…I barely know a few expressions…" the queen's light and friendly conversation was making Endymion feel more in confidence and relaxed "It is a very intricate language…not all terrans could master it, even I had my difficult times when I was still studying it"

Serenity turned to her mother and smiled "He taught me a few words…" she turned to the prince "Right?"

Endymion chuckled "That is right, yes"

The queen widened her lavender eyes in delight and leaned her head on her hand "It is amazing what you have done to my daughter"

Endymion looked at his princess then at the queen "My pleasure"

The queen smiled and moved to take another sip of her tea, then turned to Nut and then at prince again "How old are you Endymion?"

Endymion was taken by surprise by his question and blinked for a second "Twenty five…"

The queen looked at him and made a face of slight shock "Really? I thought you were older…"

Endymion blushed "Older?"

The queen nodded, her surprise was genuine. She indeed thought he was older for whatever reason; maybe because of his manners, his education, his poise…he didn't act like a careless young man "Please don't get me wrong…it's just that…" she trailed off "…You have achieved so many things that it is very impressive that you, at your short age have such discipline"

Endymion smiled sadly and took a bite of his food, after he swallowed he nodded again "I did have my rebel stage…I won't say I have always been like this but, I learned to value the smallest things in life in a short amount of time, I understood there were more important things than just being a Prince…I am thankful for the education and most importantly the comprehension I was given when I was deciding the path I wanted to follow in life"

Nut turned to a very surprised and proud Geb, he admired the young Prince in silence and congratulated his daughter in his mind. He even thanked the mortal king for being there supporting her and giving his grandson the best education they could give him, thanks to them he was a fine man, there was no doubt he was part of his family.

Breakfast continued smoothly, the maids placed plates after plates of different things Endymion felt so alien to try but all he could do was to be polite and give himself to experiment what he had to eat from now on. From strange colored fruit that tasted no other but wild berries from the country to more exquisite and elaborate dishes that did not look anything like fruit and yogurt or bacon and eggs.

The maids cleared what it appeared to be the last round of plates with strange but still delicious food and they began to serve another cup of tea; Queen Serenity smiled at the prince and raised her cup "I hope you enjoyed your first breakfast here with us"

Endymion nodded in respect "I did Your Majesty, thank you for having me" his face fell serious and after looking at Luna and Artemis his dark blue eyes rested on the queen "What is next Your Majesty?"

Nut and Geb blinked and turned to Serenity who was surprised to see he was capable of putting family and business to the side "So warrior like…" the queen said smiling and sighed softly "I can tell you are going to change things drastically in this place…for good"

"But I do not quite understand your question Endymion" the queen put her cup down. Geb cleared his throat "Excuse my intromission in this matter but…" he caught the attention in everyone in the table "…But there are still many things unclear, for instance the future with the man you used to have as Commander who, had the nerve to threaten the people on Earth and bring them to misery"

"It was not him who brought my planet to its current state; it is the lack of conviction and the excess of ambition" Endymion's eyes darkened and looked into Geb's clear brown ones then turned to the queen "Your previous Commander was a victim of that as well, his ambitions clouded his vision and made him commit terrible things, but that is not what I meant"

Artemis stood up and went to one of the maids who appeared to have a message for him and then returned to the table and gave the queen a small note she read immediately. Queen Serenity nodded "You have courage to speak, that is refreshing" she turned to Luna and Artemis "Please prepare everything in my office, we will be there shortly" Artemis nodded and stood up, followed by Luna. The queen turned to the prince and nodded "If you want to know Athamas' fate that is something that no longer depends on me to decide. He committed treason to an Alliance who's only purpose is to bring peace to the galaxy"

"One from we terrans are excluded because of our mortality" Endymion said, taking the queen by surprise, but she had to admit that he was more than right "Please come with me" she said and stood up.

Endymion stood up first and help Serenity stand from her seat "I want to be present as well" she said wit interest.

The queen looked at her daughter with loving eyes and understanding "Of course dear, this is your fiancé we are talking about but since this meeting is going to take more than we all expected, it can be for only a short time" Serenity widened her big blue eyes and nodded softly.

"Queen" Endymion closed his eyes and paused for a moment "Please forgive if I am being too blunt about all this, my words may be rough and so my tone…but…"

Queen Serenity raised her hand, pausing him "We will continue this conversation in my office" she turned to Geb and Nut who were still sitting on the table "Will you be alright on your own?"

Nut and Geb nodded, they both turned to the prince and then back at the queen "Yes, we will" Geb said softly "…But what about him?"

Queen Serenity smiled softly "He is stronger than I ever imagined, he will be just fine"

"Please Serenity…" Nut said softly, as she held her hands.

"I know Nut, do not worry. It won't happen again…we will do anything we can so it won't happen again" the lunar queen whispered in reassurance. Nut smiled sadly and nodded "Thank you…"

"Please feel free to go wherever you please, this is your home" Queen Serenity said and turned to leave.

Endymion frowned and turned to look at them then at the queen but before he could say anything else, she was already walking out of the room. Serenity held his hand and led him to her mother's office in silence; as she intertwined her fingers with him she could tell he was feeling slightly uncomfortable by the presence of the older couple who still, did not fully understand why they were there and so involved in everything that was occurring now.

As they continued to walk down the long open corridor, Endymion could not help but to be immersed in the beautiful view on his left side; an immense garden with flowers and a streaming little river "You have nature here as well…" he whispered to Serenity, who turned to look at him sadly "That is all artificial…"

Endymion turned to Serenity wide eyed "Artificial?"

Serenity nodded "The gods supply us with the goods from their planets, but still, we do not have a self sustainable planet like yours"

Endymion turned to look outside and indeed he confirmed, the breeze coming from the outdoors even when it felt nice and warm it was nothing like the one he knew. It wasn't cool or slightly humid; it did not have a grassy or salty scent. The air did not blow the same way, and the sky did not have any clouds; then he noticed that the sun did not shine the same way it did on Earth.

"You will feel familiar with this place very soon Prince" Endymion heard the queen said, she looked over her shoulder "We are here" she turned and opened the door of her study and walked in, thanking the guards for keeping the doors closed and under vigilance.

Endymion walked in and looked around, studying the room "This is my personal study, but it is also where I like to attend most of every matter concerned with the Alliance" the queen turned and smiled at the men standing in front of her "I am glad you are here" she said softly.

Both Endymion and Serenity widened their eyes and stopped abruptly in their tracks when they saw two men standing next to the lunar queen's desk.

"Good morning" Ares nodded his head in respect "I know I was expected for breakfast but I could not attend because of some unfinished business, I'm sorry"

"I was starting to wonder why…" Queen Serenity said softly "…But I understand now"

"I had to attend some important matters Serenity, you know how this is" Ares said playfully "And on my way back I found someone who was very interested to meet the Moon's new Commander, personally" he half smiled with satisfaction and turned to his friend "You can see the resemblance as well I suppose"

"It is undeniable" his warm and deep voice responded and without any more words he went straight to the prince, who, was standing next to Serenity with a serious face "Since he was born" he said again.

Endymion frowned "You know me?"

Chronos took a good look at him and studied his blue eyes "Oh I know you very well Prince of Earth"

Endymion shook his head, confused "I do not understand"

Queen Serenity smiled softly "Endymion, I want you to meet Chronos…"

Endymion's blue eyes widened in shock "…The Lord of Time…" he whispered in disbelief "Ab omnibus coeli…" (By all heavens)

Chronos nodded "Indeed Prince of Earth, but I do not appreciate to be called 'Lord'…it gives an air of arrogance which I do not really appreciate" he arched his brow with that omnipotence he only had and gave him a warm smile, something he did not give to just anyone "I always wanted to meet you personally, even though I knew of your existence and your keen abilities as warrior I always knew this time would come…and it finally did. Since the moment you called for me, I knew your presence in this realm was not going to take much longer…"

Endymion's eyes widened even more "Called for you…" he muttered and remembered the prayer he chanted right before he appeared on the moon "Tempus…Custos…" (Time Guardian) "She said that you were the only one that was going to listen…" the prince lowered his gaze "Like if she knew you…"

"I knew you were going to come eventually" Chronos said in a knowing tone.

Endymion frowned and looked up at him "Why did you let me come?"

Chronos smiled at him "Because you have a bigger mission, you were trained and prepared as any warrior from this realm in order to fulfill your duty as a Polemarchos"

"I am just a mortal, why me?" Endymion asked, only for him to hear.

"You finally awakened, Prince of Earth. That is good and bad news to everyone in this realm" Chronos said "As a High God I tell you that your presence here will be challenging but also, it will let them know that you belong here"

"I belong where my people is" Endymion said dryly "I belong to a planet where everyone is asleep as we speak…where it used to be life and wonders, dreams and passion for life. I did not come here to be challenged, I have come to prove my love for Princess Serenity and my loyalty to the Lunar Queen, my intentions are not the ones of being a soldier who brings debate and chaos"

Ares raised a brow "Interesting choice of words…"

Everyone in the room watched him with wide eyes, including the God of Time. His garnet eyes studied him and soon understood the power he really had right inside of him "Indeed you have awakened. You are not here by mistake Prince Endymion…you are here, because you needed to be"

Endymion lowered his head "I understand my position, I understand where I stand and I still cannot believe it…but I have grown up to believe that Gods do not listen to us mortals and makes me understand the reason of why Earth is not part of an Alliance that wants to keep the peace in the galaxy" the prince sighed "Forgive me God Chronos, but I am still very confused…I still do not understand how I was able to cross to this realm…why I had the power to do what I did back on Earth…"

"And it is normal for you to feel that way" Chronos nodded "But do not let your doubts and confusion cloud your perspective and good will. Your strength relies on your heart"

The lord of time sighed softly "I know you are worried about her, your mother"

Endymion looked up at Chronos "She was killed by a witch"

"It was her time to leave Endymion…she was not murdered, it was her decision" Chronos said softly "She served her time and raised you well. I can see so many things of her in you…which is why all of us are tranquil and confident that you, are the warrior that was needed in this realm"

"I know the previous Commander threatened the life of innocent people, he committed treason and failed to his vow as soldier. His faith is now in the hands of the High Gods"

"I do not seek revenge" Endymion said softly "I only want justice"

"Justice is something I should have done almost twenty seven years ago…but destiny had its way to solve things and I could not interfere…with a broken heart, I watched a very sad story develop right in front of my eyes… but now I can see it will get better. That story will have a happy ending"

Endymion frowned and before he could say something Ares interrupted; he felt the tension and decided to lighten up the mood a little "Do not care too much to try and decipher his words, he is like that, he talks in riddles most of the time…"

Chronos looked at the blonde god standing several feet away from him "This is an opportunity you all need to take because it may not repeat again" Ares nodded.

Endymion looked down and frowned "What is next, God Chronos?"

Chronos nodded and turned to the lunar queen then at Endymion again "You said you are confused…" Chronos began to walk slowly around the prince "Yes…" he answered.

"Why are you here?"

Endymion frowned "What?"

"Why are you here?"

"I don't understand"

"Of course you do"

Endymion frowned "I already explained the main reason of why I am here but I do not understand what you are asking me"

Chronos arched his brow "Yes you do. You can do better than that, I know you more than you can ever imagine Prince of Earth and I know that you have never in your life have given an answer so poor. You always know, that is why you are a warrior so answer my question…Why are you here?"

Endymion was beginning to feel frustrated and ran a hand through his hair "I don't know what you are asking me, I don't know why or how I managed to cross here"

"You are not listening…" Chronos sighed "Runs in the family I suppose…" he turned to look at Ares who was looking at him with wide eyes. The lord of time sighed softly again and put a hand on the prince's shoulder "Think Endymion, clear your mind…clear your mind from everything that has happened hours ago, days ago…let go of it and answer me this simple question…Why, are you here?"

Endymion turned to look at Serenity and sighed softly; finally Chronos' question made perfect sense. The reason why he was there was there, standing in front of him and looking at him with eyes full of love. The reason of why he was there was right in front of his eyes and he blamed himself for being so blind and selfish "Because I love her…" he whispered.

Endymion's eyes softened "I am here because I love her, because I promised I would fight anyone who would dare to break us apart, I am here because we promised to find a way to be together even if I had to fight every being in this realm…I am here because I want to spend the rest of my life with her, because I want to built a new future with her as my Queen, my best friend and my wife"

Chronos smiled and nodded "There you have it. There is the answer to your question"

Endymion nodded and turned to Chronos "The future?"

Chronos nodded again and went to take a seat on one of the cushion chairs next to the queen's desk; his eyes turned to the lunar queen who understood that from this point the meeting was going to be somehow bittersweet. She turned to her daughter and gave her a sad smile "Dear, we need to have a moment with Endymion in private"

Serenity blinked and widened her eyes "I have the right to be here" she felt her hand being squeezed softly by the prince and made her turn to look up at him "It's alright Bunny…"

"Why can't I be here…?" she whispered.

"Because there are matters that I should handle with Her Majesty and her advisors, I agreed to be the Commander of this army, it is my obligation to learn everything I can about your Kingdom. It's alright Bunny, this will only take a moment…"

Serenity closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his waist, not minding the stares of the people present in the room "I love you"

Endymion smiled down at her and caressed her cheek "I amo te"

Serenity looked up at him again "I will be with the girls" she turned to her mother and her guests and bowed in respect before exiting the room. Once the guards closed the doors again, Endymion turned to Ares and Chronos who were sitting on each side of the queen's desk. Luna and Artemis were standing behind the royals in silence.

The queen extended her hand and offered the prince to take a seat in front of her desk "Please"

Endymion followed her request and sat, crossing his leg across his knee "Your Majesty I know things are not going to be easy as they were with your previous Commander…God Chronos has said it a moment ago, my presence here will be challenging. But I do not exactly understand what do you want from me?"

The lunar queen lowered her gaze for a moment and thought her words carefully "This realm when it comes to laws and power is no different than any other…" she cleared her throat "Even when we rule and take care of our Kingdoms and planets, we still have to respect the Higher God's wishes"

Endymion frowned "Higher Gods…?"

"We call High Gods those who have the strongest and more experienced souls in the immortal realm. We all have powers, but they have been present from a long time before our own time…it's our way to pay them respect. They take decisions and call audiences when we all need to address important matters concerning the protection of Olympus and the universe, more importantly this galaxy"

"With all due respect Your Majesty, again, why me?"

"Why not?"

Endymion arched a brow, his blue eyes darkened. A sign that was not could be ignored by Chronos _"Yes…he has it" _he thought.

"For instance…I do not have the same power you have"

Ares chuckled, drawing the attention from the rest. His head was hung low as he rested his elbows on his thighs; he was listening to the prince's words, maybe too closely and could not help but to break the silence. He looked up at him and with that same playful smile he tried to clear all riddles and doubts "The thing here is that you actually do"

Endymion looked at him with a serious face; Ares continued even when he knew Serenity was watching him with worry "If you had the power to cross to here, to catch Chronos' attention and mine, then you are a worthy soldier" he cleared his throat "You ask why, how…? I will tell you"

Ares stood up and walked slowly down the two steps that separates what it works as study to the lounging area next to it and looked out the window "You may not believe it but you were trained the same way divine soldiers are trained in this realm" he turned to look at him "And I am not talking about your training with the army, I am talking about the early years…the prayers, the chants...it was because of that divine training that you managed to contact us…otherwise you would probably be dead down there"

Endymion widened his eyes "Are you saying…I…"

Ares looked at Queen Serenity and then back at the prince "There is a good reason you are here and that is because you are much more powerful than you think you are and everybody in this realm knows it"

Endymion shook his head and frowned "Divine power? Me? What…?"

"Have you ever had some sort of connection with your planet? Felt its joy and pain, felt it move and live?" Ares asked, crossing his arms "Every being in the universe is blessed by the stars, but those who were born under the blessing of planets are different. _You,_ are different"

"Meaning…?"

"The Higher Gods will want to have an audience with you, but it is most likely that is going to be a challenge…" Ares said and turned to Chronos who was evaluating the situation "You are something they have been avoiding for centuries…"

Endymion frowned "Why am I not getting the full picture of what is happening?"

Queen Serenity blinked "What do you mean?"

"I feel like there is more for me to know, I know there is but I just can't find the answers…" Endymion said slightly frustrated "…My Mother left me with doubts, she never…" he trailed off and lowered his dark gaze "…It doesn't matter now…"

Chronos looked at him with sympathy "We cannot give all the answers you are seeking Prince because that would mean to break a vow we made years ago" he sighed sadly and closed his eyes "But I can promise you this: You have my full support in the audience, Ares' and Serenity's as well; you are not alone in this matter"

Endymion opened his eyes and looked at the lord of time "It is like she really knew…" he muttered, amazed.

"Knew what?" Ares asked curious.

Endymion turned to him "My Mother…since I was a little boy, she used to tell me that my prayers would always reach him, that I should pray to him for he was wise and always on our side" he turned to Chronos "…Like if she knew you…"

Serenity turned to Chronos and frowned. The answers the prince was seeking were at the tip of her tongue and she wanted to tell him more than ever but a vow she made to her friend and the way Chronos was speaking was her cue to stay silent; she waited all afternoon to see if he would say something about Nut and Geb but deep down she imagined what he was trying to do and had no other choice but to play along and continue keeping the secret from him, after all; he was wiser than anyone in the room.

Pressing her lips together, she looked at Ares first and then at Chronos "Now, about the Alliance…" she turned to Endymion who had his eyes fixed on her "…I do understand your concern, I haven't forgotten your question and it would be very selfish of me to ask you protect something that does not include your planet"

"I want the best for you but also the best for my planet…I cannot commit to serve and protect something that does not believe in ourselves and will not protect my planet and its inhabitants, that would be hypocritical of me"

"I always had you in my mind, even when you are not mentioned at the audiences…Earth has always been a planet included, secretly but included" Queen Serenity said "And now that you are part of our Kingdom and soon part of my family I have more reasons to proceed with that desire of mine"

"That is something that will not be easy at all" Ares said and turned to Chronos who shook his head.

"I will fight what it takes" Endymion said "Good things are never easy but that is why I was trained as warrior. I am here to prove that terrans deserve to be listened and to create a new future that will bring peace to all of us"

"The Higher Gods are not the only thing that occupies our mind Endymion. We have been under a threat for some time now; and now that we know what happened to Earth and who attacked it there is no doubt that there is an evil presence contaminating the sun" Ares said and turned to Artemis "Artemis, could you give Prince Endymion all the reports we have concerning this matter as soon as possible?"

Artemis nodded his head and turned to the prince "Absolutely, of course"

"I expected the previous Commander to follow my lead and establish a new plan but he was busy doing…other things" Ares rolled his eyes.

Endymion nodded and frowned "I will study everything this evening and see if there are any loop holes we can tie and maybe there will be things that will have to be changed; see if there is anyone who is being protected by the Alliance has been under any attack…the first thing I would suggest is to run a deep scan and see if there hasn't been any more threats and attacks, silent attacks are the most common so we have to be alert on that and we will go from there, if there is any sign of war or battle it would be more easy for us to achieve our plan to create a new strategy that the enemy does not know about. Maybe the enemy has studied your ways of protection…we need to change course and go from there"

Ares, Chronos and Serenity listened wide eyed to the terran prince explain what he thought best for the situation. Ares, being the first one to regain his composure turned to the lunar queen and nodded "This is unbelievable…this man knows more than many men that call themselves soldiers"

"As soon as I study the reports you will have the strategy planned and ready" Endymion said.

"Fair enough" Ares nodded and turned to a very pleased and surprised Chronos "About the audience Endymion, are you up to confront them?"

Endymion looked at the lord of time and nodded "Yes"

Chronos arched his brow "Including me?"

"Whoever I have to confront" Endymion responded "We all agree I am here for a reason; I want to build a new future with Princess Serenity and I want the best for my planet"

Chronos nodded and stood up "Very well…"

Queen Serenity looked at the prince and gave him a gentle smile "There are a few matters I still have to address with them" she turned to look at Artemis "Artemis will guide you to your new office and will give you everything concerned to our meeting today, I believe everything is ready"

Artemis nodded "Yes, Your Majesty"

The queen smiled and turned to the prince "I will see you all at dinner Endymion, thank you very much for your time"

Endymion nodded and stood up; bowing his head in respect to Ares, the queen and Chronos he turned on his heel and followed Artemis to what would be his new study and office.

Queen Serenity sighed once she heard the door close and slumped back on her seat; she covered her face with her hand. Ares turned to look at her and frowned "Are you alright?"

The queen nodded "Yes…but I feel like a traitor somehow"

"Why?" Ares arched his brow.

Serenity moved her hand away and turned to Chronos "You did not tell him anything about his mother"

"You didn't either" Ares muttered.

The queen bit her lower lip "I made a promise to Gaia…but also, Chronos was my only hope to break that vow of silence and he did not say a word"

Chronos walked down the stairs and went to a window slowly "Because that truth does not depends on me" he sighed and closed his eyes for a moment "Gaia never amended her relationship with her parents not because she did not want to, it was because they were too scared of her reaction. I did not say anything concerning his family because that is something they have to do…this is the only opportunity they have to rebuild the family they believed broken"

"Geb is too scared" Ares said "Nut is desperate…but none of them takes the first step"

"What if Endymion walks away and leaves us?" Queen Serenity asked worried.

Chronos shook his head "That man loves your daughter too much to leave her…he is too intelligent to run away; like I once said: he is destined to something greater"

"Like a confrontation with Zeus and the rest of them?" the queen asked "What is going to happen Chronos? that is what really worries me…"

"No, like a confrontation with his own blood…" Chronos muttered "…That is the key to a new future…"

Queen Serenity widened her eyes "A new future…? His own blood? What are you talking about?"

"He is much stronger than everybody thinks, even him. The power he possesses is burning energy that could bring oblivion or give it a new path of life…" Chronos said and turned to Ares "You know that very well"

Ares nodded; the lord of time frowned "Serenity…about your previous Commander, where is he right now?"

"He is imprisoned in the dungeons alongside the ones involved in his wrong doings" Queen Serenity said bitterly "I was hoping to talk to you about that, Ares told me he was going to take him to an audience and give him a sentence"

Chronos nodded "I already arranged that, it will happen tomorrow…and Endymion's right after it"

Queen Serenity bit her lower lip and lowered her gaze "I feel guilty…for all the time I insisted my daughter to marry a man so evil like him…"

"That is nothing but a weakling spirit; you know what true evil is…" Chronos said softly; the lunar queen nodded "I only know by stories what really happened…"

"The eyes of an evil being are deep in anger and hatred; they do not have heart, they do not have feelings. I have only met that pair of eyes once and it still haunts my memory…" Ares said softly and frowned "…The way he looked; his voice…his aura…he was evil impersonated"

"He still is" Chronos said "He could have killed Zeus and me if we have taken a little more time to get there to save Gaia"

Queen Serenity widened her lavender eyes "He is that strong?"

Chronos turned to look at her "Nut and Geb's dynasty is a strong one…they created Polemarchos not just any warriors; they learned to have no fear…Nut and Geb's son learned how to channel all his power into malice and hatred; it's so strong he has to be locked in the depths of Tartarus with a divine spell"

Queen Serenity sighed and pressed her lips in a tight line "And this young man is part of that dynasty"

"Hades will cause a commotion; he will want him imprisoned in the same depths…"

"You are telling me there is no hope for him then?" the lunar queen asked panicking "He is going to be sent to Tartarus in the end like they have always wanted…is that it?"

"He has to fight…but his fight has not started yet" Chronos said "I truly believe he will prove who he is…he will regain his mother's honor and respect and so his family's"

The queen looked at both men and nodded "I believe so as well…" she then looked at Ares "About Athamas; his assistant…is there a way to lessen his sentence?"

Ares frowned "He is guilty as well Serenity, why would you want to help him?"

"He was another victim of his…" the queen said sadly "…He did all those things because he wanted to see his family…a family Athamas disappeared"

Ares sighed "He was still involved"

Queen Serenity looked at him sadly; she felt his hand on her shoulders "You always find the good side on everything"

"To me he is just another victim" the queen said "The mind behind it all was Athamas…"

Ares gave her a soft smile "You always so kind…" he sighed "I will see what I can do, but that will have to be until tomorrow…"

"What about Athamas?"

Ares shrugged his shoulders "Another night there will not do him any harm…" the lord of war held the queen's hand and kissed it softly "I will send a crew to take them to Olympus tomorrow early…try to enjoy the rest of your day…I will see you tomorrow"

The queen nodded and watched him leave the room silently. Chronos turned to look at the queen and gave him a soft smile "Your daughter will be very happy"

Queen Serenity smiled "That is all I want, for her to be happy"

The lord of time walked up to her and kissed her on the cheek "You are a good Mother and a very Good Queen; Selene is very proud"

Queen Serenity's eyes gleamed with tears "You think so?"

Chronos nodded "I know so"

"But…my husband…" the queen trailed off; Chronos dried the queen's falling tears "Your husband loved you very much; he still does…he made a mistake but had the courage to amend things…and your Mother knows that…"

"I miss her so much…"

"She misses you too" Chronos whispered.

Queen Serenity looked at him "And Gaia? Is she…?"

Chronos nodded "She misses you…"

"I wish I could see her…" Serenity said sadly.

Chronos sighed softly "…You will…when the time is right, you will see her…"

Queen Serenity looked at him and frowned slightly "You sound like if you knew when…"

"Time is relative; destiny is what not"

There was something in the lord of time's words that made the lunar queen think that maybe he knew a little too much about everything that was happening; her heart clenched with fear and wondered how much she would probably suffer if she knew all the things he did _"It would be too much…it's too much, how sad…"_ she thought.

In the middle of darkness and silence of a frozen world; Beryl watched the remains of what it used to be her land and palace. It was all covered in ashes and what it appeared snow; like if it was swallowed by the same ground, there was nothing much to be seen anymore, there were no rivers or trees moving, there was no breeze. All she could hear was the sound of her breathing. Her red eyes tried to find a way to recover what the prince had hidden and sealed and then looked up at the night sky.

"_He still hasn't won…" _she heard a voice turned to the darkness of the cave where she was hiding with the evil spirit Metallia and frowned "How can you say he hasn't won? He froze the entire damn planet! He was going to burn our soul right there!"

"_He still hasn't won"_

Beryl widened her red eyes and heard the sultry voice again_ "He hasn't won…" _

O.o.o.o.o.O

Endymion followed Artemis to the study that from now on was going to be his; as he opened the door he proceeded to go and open the curtains from the windows, clearing the spacious room for the prince to see "I asked the maids to clean it as much as possible but you will maybe find some of his belongings still scattered around…" Artemis frowned and turned to look at Endymion who walked into the room and looked around in silence "I understand…"

"You are free to toss them in the garbage, there is nothing we would like to keep from him" Artemis said in his usual serious tone. Endymion turned to look at the desk and saw many papers scattered over the elegant marble desk, next to some notes he saw a glass half full of liquor and grabbed it "Like this?" he asked half amused, half sarcastic.

Artemis sighed and nodded "Exactly like that"

"He likes to have a good drink before working…" Endymion looked at the amber liquid inside the glass and took a sniff, flinching his eyes at the strong scent "…I don't think this helped him think straight…this smells awful"

Artemis could not hold back a chuckle and took the glass away from the desk where the prince put it back "He never did, it really did not matter if he had a drink or not. But most of the time, he did not think clearly" he turned to the desk and gave him a thick file "These are all the records God Ares asked me to give to you, everything you need should be in there but if you have any questions, feel free to ask me"

"Thank you" Endymion took the file and looked at its thick cover.

"I am glad Athamas finally left this place, he eventually was going to taint my Queen's peaceful Kingdom with his bad decisions…" Artemis confessed his thoughts.

Endymion looked from the pages in his hands to the man in white before him and chuckled softly "I hope you don't think of me that way…"

Artemis chuckled the same "I can tell you do not have the same discipline…I am actually pleased and relieved to have to work with you Prince Endymion. Athamas and I did not get along very well…we were not even polite to each other…we just lost the interest in trying to dissimulate our disgust for each other"

"You never had any kind of suspicion on what he was doing?" Endymion asked curious.

Artemis sighed and pressed his lips for a moment "I did, I knew he was doing something behind my Queen's back…but I never had the proof and never imagined it could be something so atrocious…" he looked at him "Venus and I had our doubts and we often confronted him but he knew how to hide his crimes; he had people to do his dirty work…and sadly my Queen trusted him too much" he pursed his lips and gave him a sad look "I am really sorry for what he caused to your Kingdom…"

"He was not the only one that threatened the lives of my people…he killed people close to me, friends. He always knew what he wanted and who he needed to kill in order to get to me" Endymion's voice lowered a decibel as he remembered the day he saw the massacre near D point and the day he saw Orthos die.

"I really cannot imagine what his punishment will be…" Artemis said wondering "…One never knows with them…"

"Whatever he gets it will be because he deserves it" Endymion said dryly.

"He was mentally torturing my Princess…" Artemis said dryly "…I could see it in her eyes…she was always so angry at him, she always tried to get away from him… now I understand why"

"I never thanked you for helping Venus and Mars find a suit for me…" Endymion said softly.

Artemis shook his head "I have always thought Sailor Venus is one crazy girl…but I never judged her points of view and her beliefs; after all she is the leader of the inner senshi and there is a reason for it. She is a good soldier"

"She is a very good friend to your Princess" Endymion said softly.

Artemis nodded "That too" he smiled and let out a soft breath "Well, I shall leave you with that to study and again…if you have any questions, please feel free to ask me"

"Thank you, Artemis" Endymion nodded and watched the white advisor walk out the door. Looking around again he let out a soft sigh as he looked at the dim light coming from the windows of the study; ironically it gave him one of the best visions of Earth. He remembered Serenity telling him where she was going to be but he thought that since he had his first meeting with "Ares and Chronos…" he muttered, still amused he turned to the chair and took a sit, deciding it was better to start doing his work. As he opened the file with thick covers he proceeded to read the first pages of the report when he suddenly began feeling tired. He rubbed his temples and closed his eyes for a moment before he continued reading the papers.

_It's dark and there is rubles and debris everywhere. The walls are shaking and so is the ground, am I on Earth? Am I at home again? _

_It's war again, the war never ended…it did not end…_

_I try to run but at first I don't see her, I don't see my love…desperate I search for her, as I watch corpses at my feet. _

_Turning around there's Serenity standing near a pillar, trying to hide herself. She is hiding, her pale blue eyes watching with fright and horror as she sees somebody coming after me…_

_I turn around and I hear her scream "Endymioooooooon!"_

He gasped and opened his eyes in shock, realizing he had fallen asleep for a moment and that there was somebody there watching him with curious eyes "Are you alright?" she asked softly.

Endymion frowned and blinked for a few times until he was more calmed; clearing his throat he looked down at the papers on the desk and began to pile them again "Yes…" he answered absently then turned to look at the person in front of him "How…?" he asked, confused then shook his head and stood up "I'm sorry…Nut, right?"

Nut smiled gently and nodded; Endymion extended his hand "I am sorry, where are my manners? Please, take a seat" he showed her a chair she could use and sat, him following seconds later. He sighed and closed the file he was reading "I am sorry...I was taken by surprise…"

"It's alright, I was actually looking for Queen Serenity…but then I saw this door open and saw you where here…"

Endymion arched his brow; making her nervous "…So I wanted to salute you…"

"Thank you" Endymion said softly and looked at her closely; this was the first time they actually exchanged words and that they were this close and could not help to have this strange feeling again.

"Are you alright?" Nut asked.

Endymion shook his head "Yes…I am sorry…it's just that…" he trailed off and took a deep breath "…I do not know why but, I feel like I have known you from somewhere…"

Nut widened her eyes "You do?"

Endymion nodded and pursed his lips "Impossible, I know"

Nut arched her brow and tilted her head "Nothing is impossible…I know that now"

Endymion sighed softly and looked at her "Because I am here?"

"Well, for many reasons…" Nut said softly and looked around "I thought I have lost something very important to me and now things have changed…" she looked at him "I do not want to interrupt your work…you are probably very busy and I am here…invading your space"

"It's alright" Endymion said, his tone of voice softened "It is just still overwhelming, everything that has happened in these last few hours"

"With your planet…" Nut said, more as a statement than as a question. She looked down at her hands for a moment and hesitated to ask "…How was your life on…Earth?"

Endymion widened his eyes "My life on Earth?"

"Yes, did you live in a nice palace? Is it tough to be a Prince of a whole planet?"

The prince crossed his hands on the desk and sighed softly "I did, yes" he took a moment to continue "About being a Prince of a whole planet well, it is a big responsibility...but I lived happy"

Nut smiled softly "Were you close to your parents?"

Endymion looked at her "Yes" he looked down for a moment "They were very kind, lovable people. They were very respected and admired; I always felt very proud of them…I still am. My Father always taught me how to be humble and to be grateful even when things went wrong; he respected my decision when I told him I wanted to be a soldier...he always made time, it didn't matter how busy he was, he always had time for us. I was very close to my grandparents as well..." he paused for a second "…I had a wonderful family back home; my godparents, Obelix, my grandparents who always looked after us…"

"Obelix…" Nut's eyes widened a little; Endymion nodded "He was our High Priest, he prayed to the gods for our safety…it was thanks to him that I could come to this place…he and my Mother taught me how to pray"

"And…your Mother? How was she?" Nut asked softly; she could see the prince's face stiffen a little by the question but still managed to smile softly, barely noticeable "My Mother was the epiphany of beautiful and brave, I grew up by her example and since the moment I was old enough, I decided I wanted to be a soldier to protect her…I am what I am because of her" Endymion pressed his lips and tried to keep his emotions controlled "She always said I deserved a normal childhood, away from war, away from warriors…and I did, until I decided to become one"

Nut felt a tug in her heart by his confession. The image of that rebel daughter of her had turned into a loving, nurturing mother who wanted nothing but the best for her son; she raised a man with integrity, dignity, courage and intelligence; all what she wanted for her, her own daughter gave them to her son.

"She must be very proud"

Endymion smiled sadly "She opposed me to become a warrior but when she realized it was something I really wanted she gave me her blessing and asked me for only one thing: to be, the best warrior of all"

Nut smiled "You are, I can tell"

Endymion gave the older woman a warm smile "I hope so" he tilted his head "Serenity mentioned you several times when she visited me…"

Nut widened her eyes "She did? What did she say?"

"That you reminded her of me and vice versa" Endymion looked at her "And now that I can see you up close…I can see a resemblance too…"

Nut blinked; Endymion nodded "There is something about you…since I met you the first time; I cannot really explain it…but…"

"Yes?" Nut asked curious and nervous.

"You…remind me of her, my Mother" Endymion said softly "There is something about you and your husband…I cannot explain it but you…maybe it is the way you speak, the way you express yourself…you share the same warmth…"

Nut's eyes watered "The same…warmth?" she lowered her gaze sadly "I am everything but warm…"

"If you weren't, you would not be here saluting me without a good reason" Endymion said softly. Nut raised her head again and looked at the terran prince. She widened her eyes when she saw the intensity of its blue shade "Those eyes…" she whispered in amazement "You have the same eyes…"

Endymion frowned "Excuse me?"

"You have her eyes, Gaia's eyes…" Nut breathed, startling the prince "Wait, how…?"

Nut could not hold the strong tug in her chest and extended her hands, reaching for his "Endymion…maybe there is a good reason of it all. Of why Geb and I are here, of why I am here holding your hands right now…of that resemblance you talk about…"

Endymion frowned "What…I don't understand…"

"Endymion, that tug you feel…that connection…" Nut's eyes began to gleam with tears "…I have waited for this moment to come for so long and now that it finally happened, I am scared to death"

"What are you talking about?" Endymion's frown deepened.

"That connection between us, Endymion…" Nut paused "…It exists…" she looked at their holding hands and swallowed "Endymion…that connection exists because…you are my grandson…"

Endymion's eyes widened and darkened; his mouth dried as he watched the woman in front of him. He was in complete shock but sadly for him he did not have too much time to process that information because they already had company. He turned to the door and saw Artemis in the verge of panic.

"Prince!"

Both Endymion and Nut turned to Artemis standing in the doorway with a shocked and frightened face. Endymion moved his hands away from Nut's and stood up, ignoring sky goddess "What is it Artemis?" he asked worried.

Artemis looked at him with horror in his eyes "We are under attack"

Endymion widened his eyes, his heart began to race and his mind only could think of…

"Beryl…"

* * *

_Did you like it? Leave a comment below!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters, thank you._


	124. Chapter 124 Part I

_In the middle of darkness and silence of a frozen world; Beryl watched the remains of what it used to be her land and palace. Everywhere she looked it was all covered in ashes and a thick layer of ice and snow like if it was swallowed by the same ground, there was nothing much to be seen anymore, there were no rivers streaming or trees moving with the breeze of the night, there was no breeze, there was nothing, Earth was obliterated. _

_All Beryl could hear was the sound of her breathing; her red eyes tried to find a way to recover what the prince has hidden and sealed underground and then looked up at the night sky with a sense of loss._

"_He still hasn't won…" she heard a voice say. Beryl turned to the darkness of the cave where she was hiding with the evil spirit Metallia and frowned "How can you say he hasn't won? He froze the entire bloody planet! He was going to burn our souls right there!" she pointed her finger at the entrance of the humid cave._

"_He still hasn't won"_

_Beryl widened her red eyes and heard the sultry voice again, the one voice that has been hunting her mind for quite some time now "He hasn't won…" _

_She watched a pair of yellow eyes gleam in the darkness and heard the shadow began chanting words she could not even understand, they were not in latin or in anything she had listened before, it was strange and demonic, she could tell, it was like if this entity was summoning for something darker, more powerful...out of its reach and like it knew it for years. Beryl's red eyes grew bigger when she noticed the shadow expanded making her surprise more difficult to hide as she saw how even when it was almost black inside that cave she could see the difference from the darkness coming from the night to the one she had next to her. Metallia's was beyond black and it also smelled like sulfur, as the entity started to move again the ground beneath her feet began to rumble like an earthquake "What are you doing?" she whispered her question._

"_You are already Queen of this planet…but do you want to rule alone?"_

_Beryl blinked wide eyed "What?"_

"_The man you want is no longer here…but in the arms of another woman" Metallia hissed "The woman that threw you to misery, the one that caused the laughter of everyone that night"_

_Beryl frowned and remembered the girl in gold with silver hair "No…"_

"_That is where he is…are you letting her win? Are you letting her take the man you want for yourself?"_

_Beryl lowered her gaze in anger, her hands curled up into fists "No…" she growled; she turned to look into those yellow eyes and felt how the last remains of sympathy and conscious cracked inside her. Her eyes turned darker than before; the woman everybody knew was now gone. Her blood eyes narrowed in thought "I want her dead"_

_Metallia breathed hoarsely "Ah…I can feel it, the anger…I can feel your blood boiling in your veins…" her eyes gleamed in satisfaction._

_Beryl panted "Those eyes…that porcelain face…I want to destroy it…Give me the power to do it, bless me with your strength Queen Metallia" she walked toward the darkness where she knew the evil witch was hiding._

_Metallia chuckled and summoned for Beryl's staff. It appeared before her with its dark sphere at its top and soon began to gleam with a greenish dense energy "This sphere will hold your life…it will give you the power you seek…the power to become the Queen of the Dark Kingdom"_

"_Queen of the Dark Kingdom" Beryl repeated to herself and extended her arms "I am the Queen of the Dark Kingdom" her fingers touched the surface of the sphere and soon held it with both hands, the energy packed sphere immediately reacted to the hatred and torn feelings inside the witch's fragile mind and body possessing her completely; a loud growl echoed in the walls of the cave as the ground rumbled with more force._

"_Use that anger, feel the power…you are no longer that girl everybody used to step on…you are a Queen" Metallia's voice echoed in Beryl's mind "Think in what you want…"_

_Beryl flinched in pain as she tried to keep the sphere in her hands, she could feel it burning her skin and glow with the same greenish color mixed with black and saw how all that energy penetrated her skin; she felt it burn her veins until it was unbearable. She closed her eyes and tears began to roll down her cheeks as the image of that night came to her mind again._

_With trembling lips she repeated the words that soon became her mantra "I will not forgive her, I will not forgive her, I will not forgive her…"her voice turned hoarser and deeper and finally gave herself in to the powers given by Metallia._

_The black energy that covered her soon began to fade and revealed a new woman; a queen. Her dark purple tiara contrasted against the fiery red of her now endless long hair that reached her waist. Her skin no longer had that natural glow but instead was one of a corpse; pale and cold. Her body reacted to the powers of the sphere provided by the evil witch and soon noticed she had grown some sort of horns on her shoulders and her ears sharpened. _

_She opened her eyes and showed a pair of red blood and yellow eyes and smiled; her long and sharp red nails caressed the sphere that has given her a new identity and a new power "I can feel it through all my body…running through my veins…"_

_Metallia moved out of the shadows, the long image of a witch with a distorted face. Even when Gaia's power destroyed the once delicate face she had; she still had the remains of a face and could use her power to take the form of a human body even when it was barely there and only for some time. Her yellow eyes gleamed with satisfaction at her new creation "Now it is time to make our Kingdom bigger…raise your army Queen Beryl"_

_Beryl smiled "My army…." She raised her arms; and woke up all the burnt corpses around them. Her call woke their spirit of fighters immediately and reacted to the new given powers of the queen witch by rising one by one. Metallia moved back to the darkness and disappeared in thin air again like smoke since she could not hold her human form for too long, at least not a decent one anymore "The sun will soon be covered with darkness and the gates will open…the gates of the underworld will open for him…"_

"_I want what it is mine" Beryl snarled; curling her long fingers around her new energized staff and frowned "Now that I am Queen; I want my King"_

"_The man you want is not too far away from here…" Metallia's voice sweetened Beryl's ear "…And in the meantime destroy everything in your way…Destroy the strongest link of the Alliance and bring Olympus and the Moon to misery…"_

_Beryl narrowed her red eyes and tightened her grip on her staff "I want her pretty face destroyed…" she smiled devilishly "No, I want her dead"_

_She turned to the end of the cave and walked out; the witch extended her arms and summoned all the remains of soldiers still scattered around the once beautiful land "You may have destroyed and hidden your lovely Kingdom my Prince, you may have ran…but you…you are mine" she looked up at the dark sky and focused her sight on the white shinning moon "Oh Queen Metallia…open the gate through space and time and allow me to cross over…."_

_The ground began to rumble again showing Metallia come out of the cave in a mass of dark energy again; its strong force surrounded the new queen of darkness and gave her the necessary power to travel to their next target: _

_The moon._

"…_Grant me with your great power to cross over and conquer the Galaxy! For the Dark Kingdom!"_

_Lightning and thunder crashed across the dark skies so strong it seemed like it was being ripped apart letting her cross to the other side; the churned corpses were now armed and followed her as she rose to the skies in a high speed to soon disappear leaving Earth completely vacant and silent._

_Metallia's curse spread with speed all across the sun and blisters with dark energy popped inside like blisters of hatred and malice contaminating the strongest star in the universe. She knew that in order to weaken the divine Alliance the Moon Kingdom had with Olympus she had to weaken their biggest pride and star: the sun._

_With Queen Gaia dead; the sun was left unprotected or at least she believed that the power that came from the prince was nothing but a stroke of luck and the remaining energy of the once powerful terran goddess' powers. The sun belonged to nobody now and its crystal had finally melted into oblivion. _

_Queen Beryl finally managed to cross the path between the two worlds and stood outside the majestic moon palace; as she stood there she remembered how she used to stand outside the terran palace the night she took the life of the royal family "This is going to be very entertaining" _

_She raised her arm and gave a signal to her army "Destroy everything in your way my deadlings…and if somebody puts any resistance…just, kill them"_

_The corpse soldiers walked passed her and pounded the gates of the palace and fought the guards that came their way. Beryl turned to her side and smiled "Let the massacre begin…"_

_She turned to the main gate and walked without any presentation or courtesy; the guards standing there looked at her and crossed their swords in order to prevent her from continue whatever she was trying to do "You won't cross to this Palace, whoever you are turn back and leave immediately!"_

_Beryl's eyes darkened "You insolent little creatures" she raised her hand and let the sphere in her staff glow with its evil energy "You think a couple of swords are going to stop me from coming in? There is somebody I want to see personally"_

_One of the guards looked at her in the eyes and gasped "Who…who are you seeking?"_

_Beryl smiled wickedly, the guards let go of their weapons and tried to break free from whatever was grabbing them from their necks, depriving them of air. They struggled for a couple of more minutes until they finally fell either unconscious or dead on the ground; she didn't know and she didn't really care what happened to them "My husband" she muttered and walked in with triumph._

_Her steps were full of confidence, her smile widened once she finally stepped at the palace's entrance court. Fountains of water pooled on each side making long ripples on the water under the white marble bridge that led to the majestic smithy doors._

_She could not help to feel amazed by the fact that she was in another planet away from what she was used to and with the power she now had and felt inside her body. Beryl turned and saw more guards running toward her but with a flick of her wrist more soldiers of her army came to her aid; fighting until there was nobody strong enough to stop her "It's useless…" she muttered "…I have come for one person in particular and I will not leave empty handed…" she looked at a balcony where Artemis was standing with a shocked expression and snarled "This land will soon be ours as well…" she frowned and pointed one sharp nail at the mauian advisor "…Search for him, bring him to me and destroy everything in your way for all I care…"_

_Artemis watched wide eyes at the corpses under the spell of the witch, one he never heard about or even seen before and could not believe the massacre that was developing right in front of his eyes. His blue eyes widened even more when his thoughts went straight to the queen and the young princess. With panic written all over his face Artemis turned to more guards coming their way and pointed at Beryl "Whoever you are you better return from where you came from, otherwise you shall be punished!"_

_Beryl laughed at Artemis and looked around while extending her arms "I am the one that will bring darkness back to where it belongs…mark my words; I am the Queen of the Dark Kingdom; Queen Beryl and no one shall never stop me from getting what I want"_

"_Darkness…" Artemis muttered and widened his eyes "…Beryl…" he turned to the guards coming his way and gave them the order to attack and prevent them from crossing the main gates to the palace "Fight, do not let her get inside!" Their entrance was forbidden, thinking that would give him enough time to go and alert the prince and queen._

_He ran as fast as he could and alerted the guards on his way and went straight to Endymion's study hoping he might still be there as he said he would be, unlike Athamas who always said he was going to be somewhere and to everyone's surprise he never was when he was needed._

_His steps were strong and steady, he felt like if his heart was crawling its way up to his throat, Artemis asked hismelf how did that woman managed to travel through space and time to the moon and knew perfectly well what she was talking about _

'_Queen of darkness' still echoed in his mind… _

'_I am the one that will bring darkness to where it belongs…'_

_He stopped._

_Artemis finally reached the side of the palace where he knew and hoped he could find the prince. Much to his surprise he found him having what it looked like a serious discussion with the sky goddess Nut. The mauian stood by the door and listened the queen's desperate voice and saw the confused and doubtful look he prince had on his face, it was something serious he could tell, but soon all that was interrupted by his inevitable and obvious presence at the door._

"_Endymion…you are my grandson…" he heard her say before the prince's eyes were on him and he could not elongate the silence any longer "Prince!"_

_Nut turned to Artemis standing in the doorway with a shocked and frightened face. Endymion moved his hands away from Nut's and stood up, ignoring her shocked look "What is it Artemis?" he asked concerned._

_Artemis looked at him with great worry in his eyes and let the panic take over his stoic persona "We are under attack"_

**Chapter one hundred and twenty four **

**-Part I-**

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

Artemis walked inside the office without really waiting for any approval or invitation and began explaining what he witnessed and what he heard from the woman attempting to break into the palace. Endymion frowned, the recent news still interfered with his concentration, it was like if his mind was parted in two "Are there any more gates from where they could break in?" he asked, Artemis nodded "I sent as much guards as I could to where she is…she has brought an army with her…there are just too many"

Endymion frowned "_Her_?"

Artemis nodded "It's a woman…she claims herself as Queen"

Endymion's heart began to race in his chest "And you say she has brought an army with her?"

Artemis nodded again "I still cannot understand how she managed to cross to this realm…I have never seen her before…"

Endymion's face darkened and turned to leave, his brusque movement startled both Nut and Artemis "Prince?" he called shocked "I do not need you to tell me any more details…" he looked over his shoulder "Please go inform Her Majesty"

Artemis frowned "But…how do we know how to attack her, we do not even know who she is!"

"I do" Endymion said as he walked toward the door but right before he could leave he turned to Artemis "We must mobilize everyone, Now! Take a crew to the main entrance, and other to each wing of the palace, we must not let her in!"

Artemis turned to Nut and before he could say something they heard a big rumbling, one he recognized as thunder "We must do as he says…"

Nut frowned "Who is this person Artemis? What does she want?"

Artemis shook his head "She said…she has come to meet somebody personally" Endymion's eyes widened in horror "Serenity…" breathed and ran out of the room in search for the lunar princess who was clearly now in danger. He stopped in his tracks and turned to look at the woman with aquamarine eyes and a sense of responsibility and the familiar feeling of protecting his own sparked inside him again, even when he was still confused and hurt he felt like he needed to look after the fine woman "Go somewhere safe please, and if you must leave, then do so" he frowned "Do not stay here"

Nut widened her eyes but before she could say anything else to him Endymion was already out the door; her eyes watered and let out a soft sigh; one Artemis tried to comfort "Lady Nut…"

Nut raised her hand "It's alright Artemis, I am not going to run away…not again" she shook her head "I won't leave him alone, I will not make the same mistake again"

"Perhaps you should listen to his recommendation Milady and return until this is over"

Nut shook her head "No, I cannot leave him, _we_ cannot leave him Artemis" she turned to look at him "I will go find my husband, you go on and inform Serenity…we must find a way to stop this crazy woman!" Artemis nodded and exited the room; Nut sighed and closed her eyes for a moment "I won't leave my grandson alone…not again, _not_ anymore"

o.o.o.o.o

At the other side of the palace, near the prayer tower Princess Serenity was spending the afternoon with her senshi. It had been a long time since they all shared a day together with no worries or any kind of discussion; Serenity felt relieved and happy, all she ever wanted was finally happening. She was with her friends in peace and soon to be married with the real love of her life.

Venus chuckled when she heard the princess sigh for the tenth time and continued braiding her long pigtails "I don't need to see your aura to know you are more than just in love"

Jupiter looked at her; her pastel green gown almost matched color of the grass beneath her and smiled "You are glowing…"

Princess Serenity widened her eyes and blushed; Jupiter and the other girls chuckled "There is no need to hide it Princess" Mars said jokingly "You breathe love"

"Breathe?" asked Venus playfully "She's blissful!"

Serenity smiled shyly and looked down "I am just, so _so_ happy" she took a deep breath and let it out "Things finally are going in the right direction: This Kingdom is safe, Athamas has been caught, Endymion is alive and here! I still cannot believe he is here!"

"And engaged to you…" Mars said softly "You are finally marrying the man you really love and Queen Serenity knows it and approves it, that is the best part of all" she smiled "Even my father knows!"

Mercury tilted her head "We never imagined how things would turn out…just the fact of finding out Prince Endymion was alive after everything we learned the General did…it is truly amazing"

Jupiter cracked her knuckles "Oh I cannot wait for him to come out of that rat hole where he is right now and hear his sentence" she frowned "What do you think it will happen to him?"

Venus licked her lips and continued braiding the princess' pigtail and saw Mars how could not contain herself from explaining "Contact between Earth and the rest of us is still forbidden; he crossed that thin line and not just that but he dared to break a certain balance created between the mortals and the divine realm by committing murder"

"I feel bad for Kilmakos…" Serenity said softly, her comment startled the girls "What? Why?" Jupiter frowned "You shouldn't be…he helped Athamas do all those atrocities!"

Serenity sighed sadly "I know everything he did but I also know why he did it and that changes everything" she turned to look at the amazonian "He did it for his family"

"His family?" Mercury asked softly; Serenity nodded "Athamas had his family imprisoned somewhere in Andromeda and used that information to blackmail him…the saddest part of all this is that he never confessed anything, not even with God Ares and my mother present…"

"He will take that piece of information to his grave…" Jupiter muttered "…What a low kind of a man…"

"Where are they now? Is he with him?" Mars asked, Serenity nodded "As far as I know…they are still down in the dungeon, waiting to be taken to Olympus for their audience with the High Gods…"

"When is that happening Princess?" Mercury asked.

"Tomorrow" Serenity sighed again "I wish there could be a way to know where his family is…I wish there could be a way to help him…"

Venus smiled sadly "Oh Princess, after all the harm they caused you and the Prince, you still want to help him…"

"It was not his fault after all Venus…" Serenity said "I know that whatever his sentence is he will accept it with dignity but only if he knows what happened to them. We are talking about an entire family with children involved Venus…they went missing and the only one who knows what happened to them is Athamas"

"Yes, and his many minions back in Andromeda" Jupiter pursed her lips "You think they will disappear just because he has been imprisoned? Men like that must have helpers…"

"I do not even know how he could be chosen by the Andromedians to be a General" Venus said and turned to Jupiter "Yes, with his strange faces all the time…"

"Strange faces?" the girls asked, Jupiter crossed her arms "Do not tell me you did not notice them? Every time he was upset, his nostrils would open and his ears would turn pitch red"

Serenity blinked "Now that you mention it…"

"A mad man he is" Venus said "But you did pay a little too much attention to his strange manners, don't you think Jupiter?" she giggled; Jupiter blushed "Ugh, how can you ignore such an ugly face like that?"

Mars smiled "I believe you are…" she trailed off and widened her eyes "Mars?" Venus asked "Are you alright?"

Mars put a hand on her chest and looked at the sky in the direction of the palace "I sense a dense energy close by…" she closed her eyes for a moment, the image of her premonition coming clearer and opened them again. Venus frowned and stopped playing with the princess' hair "Mars, what is it?"

"I know that energy…I have felt it before…" Mars muttered and frowned "…I've seen it…it's coming…" she turned to the girls and stood up "It's coming…"

Venus widened her eyes "What?"

Mars turned to look at Venus "The shadows…covering the sun…"

Venus stood up and so the rest of the girls "Are you positive Mars?" it was right when the raven haired was about to answer when loud thundering resonated across the skies; her amethyst eyes widened by the demonic creatures she saw coming from them "It's coming…" she turned to Venus "We have to take the Princess to a safe place"

Serenity frowned "What are you talking about?"

A very nervous Mars held her from the shoulders "Princess there is no time to explain but we are under attack and we cannot risk you life in any way, you must listen to us, whatever we say you must follow, please"

Serenity turned to look back at the palace when she heard another crash of thundering "Endymion…" she whispered and tried to break free from Mars' grasp "I cannot leave him alone!" she turned to Mars and then Venus "I have to find him!"

"Prince Endymion will know how to find you…" Venus said and held Serenity from her arm "We have to go before it spreads like a disease…"

Serenity noticed how the sky slowly turned dark and how the lightening became more regular "I do not like the sound of it…they're not like the ones on Earth…"

Jupiter took the lead and went first, taking a look at their surroundings "It's clear…we can manage to go back to the Palace"

"We have to get to the Palace and go to the Queen!" Mercury said as she ran behind the girls and looked at the sky "It looks like if it is falling into pieces…"

Venus tightened her grip on Serenity's arm as they moved back to the palace quickly "The entrance is close by, we need to hurry!"

Mars stopped in her tracks while she followed and widened her eyes "There is a strong energy surrounding the Palace as well" she turned to Jupiter who had a pale face "What is it?"

"They're coming closer" Jupiter muttered "I can hear the sound of their swords clashing against each other"

Mercury turned to the fountain and listened to the water falling freely and shook her head "They are not coming closer…" the girls turned to look at her "…They are already here"

They looked forward and saw several guards fighting several men in black Mars frowned "What is this smell?"

Venus frowned and shook her head "It smells like coal… and it appears to be coming from them"

A growl startled them and turned to see one of the enemy soldiers running toward them with his sword pointing at them; Venus narrowed her eyes and turned to Mars "I have to take to Princess inside…but"

Mars turned to look at her and shook her head "…Do not worry about us, we will manage, _go_!"

Serenity widened her eyes and shook her head "No, I cannot leave you here! We can all go together!"

Mars frowned "There is no time Princess, go with Venus"

"No!" Serenity pulled Jupiter from her arm and ran along with Venus inside the palace and immediately closed the smithy doors on the soldier's face that was running after them. The girls did not even turn to look at him, they continued running until they reached the main court "That was very close…"

"We have to prevent them from coming in" Venus muttered "We need to transform"

"We do not even know what is happening, why are we being attacked?" Jupiter said frustrated and turned to Mars "Are you sure it is the same aura?"

Mars turned to the smithy doors where the soldier was trying to break in and closed her eyes "As vivid as right now…" she opened them and turned to Venus who let go of the princess and closed her eyes for a moment and summoned her inner power; raising her hand up in the air she shouted _"Venus power…Make Up!"_

In a flash of golden light the blonde woman was soon embraced by golden ribbons and a warm energy that soon left her completely transformed into a sailor senshi; without saying another word to the girls she turned to the enemy opening the smithy gates and pointed her index finger at him "_Crescent Beam!_"

A piercing golden light traveled at an incredible speed attacking the man and left him on the ground possibly dead. The blonde narrowed her eyes and frowned "We must keep them out" she turned to the girls and nodded "You need to transform"

The girls turned to look around and raised their hands up in the air as well; Venus stood next to the princess and waited for the rest to transform. They turned and heard noises coming in their direction which gave just a small fraction of time for them to be alone.

"_Mercury power…"_

"_Mars power…"_

"_Jupiter power…"_

"…_**Make…Up!..."**_

Just like with Venus, the girls were surrounded by a mass of warm energy in their respective color and ribbons covered their bodies and transformed into a sailor fuku seconds after. Princess Serenity admired how they could change from being all serious and lady like to soldiers in just a blink of an eye; deep inside she wished she could do the same and be of great help to her kingdom and not just a damsel in distress. She wished to be blessed with powers like they did and fight like a soldier of love and justice.

"We should ask those guards what is happening" Mercury said even when they all knew the answer. Mars turned to the men walking in their direction and bowed their heads as soon as they saw the princess with them "What is happening outside?" the raven haired senshi asked bluntly.

"We are being attacked by an unknown army" one of the guards said "We were given the order to guard the gates and possible entrances to the palace, we must not let anyone in"

"Who are these people?" Mercury asked.

The guard shook his head "We do not know…we do not know where they are from, but they are not normal"

Venus frowned "What do you mean?"

"They…" the guard trailed off and looked around "…They do not look like if they were alive"

"You mean they are dead?!" Jupiter asked confused "That is impossible!"

Mars widened her purple eyes "The smell…" she turned to Venus "Could it be?"

Serenity felt her heart palpitate in her chest strongly "The Prince…where is he?" she asked. The guard looked at her "He has been warned…but I do not know his exact location as we speak Your Highness"

"No…" Serenity shook her head "No…! I have to find him!"

Venus turned to look at her "We need to take you some place safe Princess"

"I have to find Endymion…"

"Princess!"

"He does not know the palace's grounds well yet!" Serenity said worriedly. Mercury looked at the guards "Has the Queen been informed?"

"Artemis has been warning us of the threat outside…but we have to keep the entire palace supervised"

"We better find Artemis and see what we can do to help" Mars suggested and followed Venus and the girls walk toward the opposite wing of the palace to find the queen's advisors. Artemis entered the study where he knew the queen was still talking to Ares and broke in without asking for their permission, his unexpected action startled them "Artemis?" the queen asked and stood up "What is happening outside?"

"We are being attacked"

Queen Serenity turned to Ares who immediately stood up "What do you know about the enemy?"

"Not much, it's a woman and has brought an army to attack us"

Ares frowned "A woman?"

Queen Serenity widened her eyes "Could it be…?" she shook her head "…No…" she turned to Ares again "Could it be Nehellenia?"

Ares narrowed his eyes and turned to Artemis "Where is Prince Endymion?"

"I informed him, he went to give directions to the guards on not letting anyone in or out" Artemis turned to look at the queen "He was with Queen Nut when I informed him…"

A loud thunder echoed, making the palace crack and tremble on the ground. Queen Serenity widened her eyes and took a deep breath "Serenity…" she turned on her heel and towards the door, Ares looked at her shocked "Serenity, where are you going?!"

"I have to find my daughter!"

Ares tried to stop her and pulled her to him "She must be with the senshi; they will take her to a safe place…you need to stay hidden as well"

The queen shook her head "No, I have to do something, this is my Kingdom! The Silver Crystal is…"

Ares widened his green eyes "Don't you dare!"

The queen widened hers in shock; Ares put his hands on her shoulders and shook her slightly "Don't you dare to use the power of that Crystal!"

"What if it is Nehellenia's curse coming to reality?!" the queen asked panicked "Artemis says it is a woman who is causing all this!"

Ares turned to look out the window and saw the sky tainted black with thunder crashing across and breaking its once peacefulness "Serenity you know you can't use it, you know it…"

"I cannot risk my daughter's life!"

"I cannot let you risk yours!" Ares turned to look at her, his green eyes turned dark with worry "I cannot let you vanish with its power…not you, you cannot vanish"

Serenity looked at him, worried "Ares…" she whispered.

Ares shook his head softly "You and your precious stones…I hate it…" he broke eye contact with her for a moment and lowered his gaze, Queen Serenity looked at him wide eyed; this was a reaction she was not waiting from him and she knew that when he mentioned the word you, he was talking about Gaia as well "All because of the lack of leadership and honesty from men in this realm…" he frowned "I cannot let you do it, I cannot let you take the same path Gaia took…I cannot let you disappear because of that Crystal's power"

He felt the lunar queen's hand on his cheek and looked up at her surprised, this was probably the first time she ever had this gesture so intimate toward him "I was given this mission when I became Queen and was ordered to use the Crystal only under extreme circumstances…but when you bear a child inside you and become a mother you know any that any threat that can hurt your child is an extreme circumstance"

Ares widened his eyes "Please let me do something about it, don't use the crystal…not just yet"

Queen Serenity turned to Artemis and felt another quake coming in and then turned to Ares "I am not going to hide, whenever this enemy is…I will confront it as well"

Ares sighed in defeat and nodded "Your daughter is being taken care by the senshi. I will go find Endymion and see where we are standing…but now, we must follow the order he and Artemis gave to the guards. Nobody is coming in or out of this palace"

"I will go inform Zeus and the rest, which is why I need you to stay somewhere safe" Ares said with worry "Please Serenity, do not try to be a heroine and go fight that thing alone"

Nut and Geb walked inside the study and stared at the couple having a heated conversation "Serenity…" she interrupted them "I just learned…"

"The ground is rumbling…" Geb said and frowned "This enemy is not an ordinary one and holds a great wave of malice…I can feel it"

Serenity turned to look at them "We still do not know who the enemy is…"

Nut pressed her lips together "Where is Serenity?" she asked; the queen licked hers and looked at her "She is with the senshi"

Nut nodded and turned to Geb then to the lunar queen "This enemy seems to know us all…its power is more than just human, a simple witch could not come this far and cause all the damage she is causing right now"

Queen Serenity felt her heart filled with fear as she remembered Nehellenia's words "She said I was going to remember her for the rest of my life…it's her curse! Ares it's her curse!"

Ares held her for a moment and then let Nut wrap her arms around her in a protective manner "I will go for Hades, I will go for everyone…I can't fight this thing here by myself, it could cause more damage…I need to bring Chronos and Zeus to help me seal that monster…please, stay here" he looked at Geb "Please look after her…"

Geb stayed silent and after a couple of more seconds he nodded "Old habits never die I may be old but I still remember how to hold a sword"

Ares' lips curved up a little, only for the ones who knew him well to see "Glad to hear that" he turned to look over his shoulder at the queen and left with hurry to find the high gods. Geb looked at the lunar queen and frowned "We need to take you to a safer place"

"I need to find my daughter" Queen Serenity said dryly and worried "I will do what Ares just asked me to do but not without my daughter"

"I'm here Mother…" a soft voice interrupted the debate between the queen and the old warrior. The queen turned to look at her distressed daughter standing next to the senshi and ran over to her, wrapping her arms around her "Oh, I am so relieved…Oh thank heavens you are alright…Oh my dear I was so worried!"

Serenity hugged her mother back and looked around the room as she heard the thunder outside "Endymion…" she whispered and moved apart, breaking the hug "I thought he would be here…" she looked at the older couple near the queen and then back at her mother "What is happening Mother? Why are we being attacked?"

"I do not know dear" the queen lied and looked at her daughter "Endymion…"

"He left to make sure that every gate is closed" Nut said softly; the princess turned her face to her as if wanting to know how she knew, the older queen answered with a soft smile first "I was talking to him when he was informed of the attack"

"Who is causing all this?" Serenity turned to her mother then to Nut again "And why?"

"We still do not know dear, but we must stay here. It is much safer…"

"I cannot stay here and do nothing…" Serenity frowned and moved away from her mother, making her panic even more "Serenity, do not leave this room!"

"Endymion is alone out there somewhere in the palace…he does not know it very well…" Serenity said worried sick "I cannot leave him alone!"

"We have to follow Ares' request, we must stay away from the eyes of the enemy" the queen said, not really convincing the princess "I cannot just stay here and do nothing!"

"I do not want to do that either dear, but it is until Ares' return with more help, he will not take long..."

Serenity widened her pale eyes "Who is this enemy…?" she whispered. Geb turned to look at Nut and nodded "I will go search for him"

Nut held him by the hands; the princess did too as well "I want to go with you, _please_"

Geb shook his head "This is too dangerous Princess, I will find him…" he turned to look at the senshi "Please keep them safe"

Venus nodded "We will do our very best"

The girls closed the doors after Geb left in search for the terran prince and turned to look at the queen and her daughter "The study is hidden enough so there should be no problem for us in staying here"

"I cannot just sit here and wait knowing Endymion is somewhere out there by himself" Serenity said worried, minutes after she felt Nut's hand on her bare shoulder and turned to look at her slightly surprised; the eyes of the older queen held knowledge and warmth "He would not like to know you are in danger, do not worry dear child…he knows how to handle these situations, he was chosen and trained for this"

Serenity widened her eyes, making the queen smile in reassurance "He stopped the enemies on Earth all by himself…you need to open your eyes and realize the kind of warrior he is"

Her words echoed in the silent room and sighed softly as she moved her hand away from the princess. Queen Serenity walked over to her without taking her lavender stare off her "Nut…"

Nut lowered her gaze and sighed again, this time with more sentiment "Father always had his way of choosing his predecessors…we always argued because he thought I was not strong enough to handle it, the Crystal" she turned to look at the queen "…A deep part of me wanted to, I wanted to bond with my father but it never really happened even when there was love between us two. He was too idealistic, compared to my own dreams…he had his character and it somehow always contrasted with mine. I wanted to do nothing with swords and warriors, I was tired of my lineage, I was tired of being seen like the daughter of _the_ warrior;but I ended falling for one and married him…

Still, Father had hopes for us, he had hopes for Geb but he did not find his predecessor until my children were born…" Nut lowered her gaze and took a moment to continue "It seems like it always has to be when times are difficult, it's where he sees and chooses the next soul to protect and unleash its true power" her eyes watered "I have made so many mistakes since I was young, I never really bonded with my father…I overprotected my son and judged my daughter for a destiny she was not meant to follow" she turned to the lunar queen "I broke her heart so many times…I was so upset and desperate to see her living a life she didn't had to live and I took it on her, I blamed her for choosing that path… but it was just because she reminded me of my Father so much…"

Queen Serenity looked at her sadly "Nut…"

"Now that I see _him_…it is like I am seeing both of them my father and my daughter, reborn. He has their same character and conviction…" the sky queen tear as expose her feelings "…Father never really chose my son to follow his steps like we all once thought, it was _her_ all along…he knew she was going to give birth to his true predecessor and now I am here, right at the start all over again and still not able to bond with him"

The queen held her hands and looked straight at her in the eyes "You told him…the truth…"

Nut sighed and nodded, she lowered her gaze "…Not entirely but yes, I did…" she looked up at her again "You should have seen his face…his eyes darkened it was almost as if he was rejecting me"

"What happened to them?"

Nut widened her eyes and so the lunar queen's "What?" Nut asked and turned to Princess Serenity, who was sitting on a cushion chair in front of them "What happened to them, your father and daughter?"

Nut sighed sadly and lowered her gaze "They…" she trailed off "…They both gave their lives in battle. Both of them were warriors and they are now resting somewhere I am not allowed to cross"

"That is why you feel so lonely…" Serenity said with understanding "That is why your eyes are always so full of melancholy…" she frowned "But, you mentioned a son…what happened to him?"

Queen Serenity turned to Nut wide eyed, not really sure of what the Sky Queen would say "My son…he…" she trailed off and took a moment to continue "He is a very strong warrior, very strong…one of the strongest Polemarchos in the universe…"

Princess Serenity widened her eyes "A Polemarchos…"

"Both of my children became one; but my son had to be taken away…he is far away from us and he is not easy to be reached" she turned to Queen Serenity "He once had prismatic eyes…like _his_…they share the same strength, just like father…"

Jupiter widened her hazel eyes "Two Polemarchos in a family…amazing…"

Nut turned to the Amazon and nodded "That is what happens when you are part of a dynasty where your father is one of the greatest warriors of all times" she sniffed softly "And there are not two Polemarchos in my family but three…"

Princess Serenity narrowed her eyes "Nut, what are you saying?"

Nut turned to look at Serenity and pressed her lips together; Serenity widened her eyes "What does your daughter and father has to do with Endymion?"

"Endymion is a Polemarchos as well; he was raised and trained by one..." Nut sighed softly "He is part of that dynasty I was talking about"

Princess Serenity widened her eyes, and so did the senshi "What?!"

Nut nodded "Endymion is my grandson"

Serenity and the senshi widened their eyes even bigger; the princess stood up and looked at the older queen for a couple of minutes in silence; she was just about to say something when they suddenly felt a stronger quake that made the windows crash one by one. Queen Serenity held her daughter's hand and turned to the senshi who were now trying to open the door "We have to take them out of here!" Mars said.

Venus turned to Artemis but dared to say anything that could make them feel even worse. Her worry was evident, her mouth was dry; she did not want to think the worst or even imagine what was happening outside to the other guards fighting the enemy.

_The mysterious woman_

The sound of clashing metal was like a symphony to the witch. Beryl smiled with content as she watched the soldiers and guards fall at her feet as if they were cheering for her but still, it was not enough for her and she wanted more. She looked up at the same balcony where she saw the man in white and chuckled "I wonder where the throne is…"

Beryl walked slowly and proudly through the mass of people fighting without a single scratch and turned to look over her shoulder "_You_ will come with me…it would be very rude of you to come in and do not say hello" chuckling again she turned and extended her arms. She called for her new given powers as witch and looked up at the sky "Queen Metallia! I summon for your power so I can bring this Kingdom down to ashes and make it ours!"

The shadow covering the sky send another blast of energy at Beryl giving her enough power to leave unconscious every guard that went toward her and finally opened the gates that led her to the palace.

From the west wing of the palace, Endymion ran with hurry as he watched the guards go on the opposite direction. His mind was parted in two as one part of him tried to confirm his suspicions and the other one worried about Serenity; a couple of guards ran toward him and stopped him in his tracks "Prince!"

"We closed every gate as you and Artemis ordered, but still, the enemy is too strong…it's an army of hundreds of people"

Endymion frowned "The Queen and the Princess, are they safe?"

"Artemis should have warned them already…"

Endymion sighed and turned to look at the corridor behind him and heard the panic filling the crackling palace walls "This is no good…it's happening all over again…" he ran a hand through his black hair and looked at the guards who had a face of worry and waiting for a new command "We have been informed they managed to cross to the main court"

Endymion widened his blue eyes 'Serenity…' he thought but his duty as commander and his need to protect her had to come first "The main court…how do I get there?"

The guards widened their eyes "There are just too many of them…"

"And it seems we are not enough…" the other guard stepped in.

Endymion frowned "How do I get to the main court?!"

The guards looked at him with slight disdain "There is not much you can do there alone" his voice sounded cold and full of doubt.

Endymion's eyes darkened "How do I get there!?"

The guards noticed the change in his eyes and answered silently; one of them pointed back at the corridor he was staring at just moments ago "Until you get to the main staircase…"

Endymion turned and began running toward the direction the guard gave him; the guard widened his eyes "What shall we do next?"

The other guard shook his head "Pray…" he turned to look at his comrade "Just pray"

Endymion's heart felt heavy in his chest as he came closer to a staircase he imagined was the one the guard indicated. With each step he took the more he knew what was happening, who was causing it and why. He took the stair case and began going down unaware of the trembling walls and unstable steps beneath his booted feet. His black and red linen cape flowed behind him like a shadow as his black uniform contrasted in the pristine white of the vulnerable palace.

The prince managed to get to the first floor and saw a line of guards at every window, door and hideouts that could let any enemy break in. His eyes drifted to the movement he saw outside and rested a hand on the tilt of his sword as it began to call him again…that same feeling he had back on earth.

As if happened in slow motion, the stained glass doors and windows began breaking one by one letting the enemy soldiers take advantage and slash the guards that were ready to attack. Endymion did not hesitate when he watched them have a merciless attitude and took his fine and sharp sword out of its sheath and prepared himself to attack; his main concern was Serenity so he had to do everything in his power to prevent them to go upstairs or even close to the queen's study where he imagined they would be.

It did not take long for him to be noticed, enemies ran toward him immediately and he had no other choice but to begin to defend what was left of him; his sword pierced the bodies of men he barely recognized because of their distorted and churned faces "Corpses…" he muttered as he decapitated another enemy soldier.

He fought with the same impressive agility he had to move from one place to another; his defense was strong and so was his will to terminate the madness that has followed him to this place. One soldier after another he slashed and kicked away from him, all he could hear where growls of pain and metal against metal.

It was the sound of death and desperation,

something he knew well.

One of the guards fighting there saw him kick another enemy soldier far away from him and moved closer "Prince! There are too many! I do not know how much longer we can keep them away!"

Endymion frowned and slashed three men in a row, impressing and intimidating the guard standing next to him. Endymion turned to look at him with a stoic and serious face, and noticed how his eyes were nearly black "Keep fighting" he said lowly.

The guards turned and followed his command; the prince turned and went straight to one of the doors that led to one of the balconies to see if he could get a glimpse of what was happening outside not realizing there was an enemy coming toward him, by the time he heard the soldier coming he already had another four coming his way "Damn it…" he muttered and prepared to attack when suddenly another blade cut through their rotten bodies and fell slowly in front of him. His blue eyes widened as he saw the owner of the blade that saved his life and could not ignore the feeling of void in his stomach.

Geb looked at Endymion with knowing and hopeful eyes and extended his hand to help him move away from the corpses on the floor. Geb knew Endymion wouldn't want to hear any explanations from anybody at this moment, this was not the time or the place to do so, he was well aware of his current situation with him but this was the first time he shared a moment with him alone and he couldn't deny his excitement. The older man looked at his grandson with longing and regret and he knew that it was going to be difficult to explain what happened between him and his mother many years ago "The enemy has brought a very large army with it, you should be careful…"

Endymion nodded and turned to look down at the corpses; his blue eyes widened again when he recognized the uniform they were wearing; he crouched and touched the emblem on the soldier's jacket and frowned "…She revived them…" he muttered and looked up, startling the older warrior "What is it?"

Endymion stood up and looked outside "She followed me here"

"Who did?"

"The same woman who contaminated Earth and took the life of my family with her filthy hands"

Geb widened his hazel eyes and looked at the prince wide eyed once he saw he was walking toward the opposite direction "Where are you going?!"

Endymion stopped and looked over his shoulder "I have to stop her…"

"What are you going to do?"

"I have to protect Serenity…and the only way to stop this is if I confront her again"

Geb frowned this time and stopped him "Your eyes tells me otherwise"

Endymion widened his eyes "What?"

"Go and find her…do not waste any more time"

Endymion looked at him "I cannot leave them here fighting alone, there are too many enemies coming this way"

"They are not fighting alone" Geb said and raised his sword "I am here now"

Endymion turned on his heel and stopped, he turned to look at Geb "Is it true…what she said?" he asked bluntly.

"The area is protected, there should give us enough time to alert the rest of the guards in the palace" one of the guards told Geb and the prince.

Geb stayed silent and looked away for a moment "If you confront her you will unleash a power you still cannot master. It's dangerous" he turned to look at him "Ares went to alert the High Gods and we have to continue doing what we are doing" his hazel eyes rested on the sword in the prince's hands "The golden blade" he muttered and walked closer to the prince "I remember it…not anyone can get a hold of that sacred weapon"

Endymion looked at him and frowned "You did not answer my question"

Geb sighed and looked at him "Do you really care of what I have to say?"

"I want to know truth; I think I deserve to know why would she say something like that"

Geb put his sword on its sheath again and looked at the young man in front of him "I see no point into trying to convince you of something you are not interested to believe in" he crossed his arms "I am not known for being a condescending man…if you want a sweet comment or a plea from me you won't have it"

Endymion was taken aback by his calm and straight to the point answer, it was like talking to an older version of himself "I was not expecting one. I only want the truth"

"That is the truth Endymion. Your blood is no different than mine or hers…but that doesn't matter right now" Geb said and extended his arm "Right now; your truth is in the hands of a young woman. Nothing else matters right now but that" he sighed and looked down "A warrior never gives its enemy an alibi to attack" the older man walked closer to the prince and looked at him in the eyes "You have those eyes…" Geb whispered "Those eyes I missed so much to see…"

His voice sounded slightly broken with his final words, it was something he wanted to say and kept to himself for so many years. After the events with Gaia, Geb let his heart froze in his chest and became a shadow of sympathetic and funny man he used to be. His voice turned cold and let himself be consumed by the memories of his lost daughter.

Endymion caught that emotion and looked at his sword "I was told this sword was used by many warriors before…that it was even made by gods and that it passed from generation to generation…it was a gift to me after I came home from my training as soldier"

Geb widened his eyes "That is true" he blinked surprised, the frustrated look on the young prince's face had disappeared and as if he knew he had to deal with so many emotions in the past there he was trying to make conversation with him without berating anything from their past and he understood that they were in the same page and that they both just made a secret agreement of peace.

"It's a weapon that chooses its owner and its power is deadly" Geb said "I've seen it work"

Endymion frowned "I was also told it works as a key…to what exactly?"

Geb raised a brow "She didn't tell you…" he whispered with amaze and turned to the guards who were about to fight again and turned to Endymion "Go find her!"

Endymion frowned "I cannot leave you here, they are too many!"

Geb took his sword from its sheath and gave the prince a sarcastic chuckle "I may look old young man but I still know how to fight" he frowned "Go" Endymion nodded and ran toward the queen's office.

Queen Serenity held her daughter close once they entered to her chambers, the senshi closed the doors and stayed there to guard them. Jupiter frowned "The walls are shaking too much…"

Mars closed her eyes for a moment "The evil aura is spreading…it's too strong"

"We have to remain calm" Venus said and turned to the girls "And we have to be prepared to attack" she turned to Mars "Now we must hope your Father can call the High Gods…"

Mars looked at her and nodded "The entire palace is covered by a dense energy…I really hope so too"

o.o.o.o.o.

The long corridors of that distant palace were silent and dark; the lord of war's steps were the only sound that accompanied him on his way to the throne room where he knew the man he was looking for was most of the time. Strange to see there were no guards around, he frowned and opened the large doors and walked into the room.

The throne room was solitary; his grey eyes searched around but found nothing but a long chair and a large sand clock next to the golden doors he knew were the entrance to the time space corridor.

"Chronos!" he called out but had no response.

Ares frowned and walked closer to the throne "Chronos, I need to speak with you…this is an emergency!"

He turned around, frustrated and lowered his head. The image of a frightened queen made him feel more desperate making him oblivious to the person that soon appeared in the large room "Lord Ares" a female voice brought him from his thoughts.

Ares turned and saw Pluto standing at the door in her senshi attire and her long rod on her right hand. Her face was so serene that it did not seem to be happening anything wrong but her eyes were ones of deep melancholy "Is there something I can do for you?"

The god of war took a moment to think his words but it was very strange for him to see Chronos' daughter and not him "Your Father…Is he here?"

Pluto shook her head "He left this morning and hasn't returned"

"He was at the Moon but then said he would come back after the meeting with the gods…" Ares said "He hasn't returned?"

Pluto shook her head again. There was something in her way of responding, something Ares could see was not normal "Where I can find him?" he asked, with a low voice hoping with all his might he was not where he was thinking.

The senshi of revolution held her rod closer to her body, the garnet talisman at its top gleamed every time it caught the soft light coming from the room "Can I help you Lord Ares?" she asked politely.

Ares frowned "Where is he Sailor Pluto?"

Pluto walked slowly toward him and stopped just a few inches away and sighed "I was given the order to guard these doors…"

Ares looked at the golden doors behind the young woman "He knew…" he whispered "…He always knew…"

"He went to see Lord Hades at the Underworld" Pluto said softly.

"To the Underworld?" Ares widened his eyes "He cannot…" he trailed off when he saw Pluto nod "We have known for some time that the senshi of Saturn has awakened…"

Ares turned on his heel, feeling his heart on his throat but before he could leave the room he heard Pluto say something else "Father always spoke in riddles…" she lowered her gaze "…But I sadly feared for this moment…"

Ares turned to look at her "You know too…you have seen what's happened behind those doors…"

"Destiny has to do its work" Pluto said softly "But I know Father went there for other reasons…"

"What reasons could they be?" Ares asked, confused. Pluto pursed her lips slightly "He said he was going to make sure about something…" she frowned "He mentioned something about a seal…a seal that has become weak and that it can only be stopped by a similar or even stronger force"

Ares narrowed his grey eyes "A seal…" he muttered and then widened his eyes "Could it be…?" he watched the doors behind the senshi of time and licked his lips "Could it be that the threat that is upon Serenity is coming from there…?"

Pluto widened her eyes "Lord Ares?"

Ares looked at her "Whatever happens…do not let any being get close to those doors…do not allow anybody to cross"

"The Moon Kingdom…" Pluto muttered "…Is under threat…"

Ares widened his eyes again "You know more than I thought…"

Pluto's garnet eyes turned sad "I fear for my Father…I do not know his intentions or what is he planning to do but he constantly said to me that in order for things to be the way it should be we have to let destiny run its course"

Ares frowned "I cannot let things just happen…not this time, not anymore" he turned on his heel "…I have to do something"

A strange wave of dense energy was felt between the two and felt the ground shake with intensity; Pluto widened her eyes and turned to the doors "It is stronger than I thought…"

Ares' eyes began to show panic "It is beginning to cross its way. That is not possible"

"There is a great wave in the time space corridor" Pluto held her rod tighter and turned to the lord of war "I cannot leave my post…I was given a mission and I have to accomplish it"

The same panic in his eyes possessed his heart and did not want to wait for more explanations; he turned to leave the palace in search of the lord of time. He thought about his possibilities and tried to come up with a better plan; he could go to Olympus but it was no easy task to ask for an audience with the high gods and it would be something that would take more time than he really had.

In desperation he travelled as fast as he could where he thought he could find the one he knew could stop the lunar queen from using the sacred crystal. Rubbing his face with one hand in a brusque manner he entered the gates of the palace of the underworld.

His once shiny armor turned opaque from the pitch darkness on the long corridor that would lead him to the first stage of that dimension.

A dark figure appeared before him "So you have come…"

Ares narrowed his eyes "I came to see Chronos"

"Chronos is not here"

"Pluto said he was"

Hades arched his brow "He did come, he asked me for a couple of favors and I had to agree to help him"

"What favors?"

"Ares, always so…impatient"

"The Moon Kingdom is under attack, the Alliance needs to come forward and do something about it" Ares came closer "She cannot use that crystal, you know what will happen to her is she does"

"I cannot let you cross"

Ares' brow knitted together "You are supposed to be one of the high gods; your realm is part of that Alliance…why are you opposing?"

Hades sighed "I am not opposing Ares but my daughter has awakened as senshi" his eyes showed melancholy "As much as I care for Serenity I cannot stop Saturn from fulfilling her duties"

Ares felt his lungs had run out of air and looked at the man in front of him with shock and disbelief "Where is Chronos?"

"The seal is breaking Ares, not even Tartarus is strong enough to keep him there" Hades licked his lips "Chronos knew this for a long time and came to inform me…he saw Saturn, talked to her and asked me to give him permission to cross to a realm"

"I do not understand!" Ares rubbed his temples "Serenity might die!"

"And if we do not act that thing will kill us all!" Hades raised his voice "Ares! You are the God of War one of Olympus' best warriors, you better than anyone knows that a warrior has to plan strategies to win a battle"

Ares frowned "Are you saying that all of this is a strategy of yours?" he put his hands on his head in disbelief "You…You are letting them die…"

Hades' eyes darkened "I know he is with them, the son of Gaia"

Ares clenched his jaw "This is about him then, you are letting them die because that young man is with them…"

Hades looked away and crossed his arms "Ares, that man shares the same blood with that monster…If it was for me I would go at this precise moment and rip the soul out of his body but he is protected by Chronos, all that family is"

"I do not understand"

"There is nothing to understand, Saturn has awakened and has specific orders to follow and I have to be prepared for soul hunting"

Ares could sense a wave of irony in his voice, the way he spoke it was like he was satisfied for what was going to happen; he knew more than he thought but even when he was planning a strategy for war he could not accept how cold hearted they were being by just standing aside and watch a massacre develop right in front of their eyes. Rage began boil the lord of war's blood and turned to leave; Hades watched him with a daring stare "There is nothing you can do. It is done!"

Ares looked over his shoulder "I will go talk to Zeus…he will not permit it"

"Zeus is informed about this"

His cold voice made Ares stop but did not want to face the man behind him; Hades took his silence as his cue to continue talking "You think we did not know…" he hummed "…We knew for quite a long time…"

"And why you did not tell me anything?"

Hades sighed "Ares, you are a superb warrior but…your heart has become too soft in the past few years. You have shown great sympathy toward innocent Serenity" he frowned with annoyance "Your feelings toward the memory of the Goddess of Earth has clouded your vision and your perspective…We knew that young man crossed to this realm soon enough and you helped the lunar queen…you went against our law so why should we help you?"

Ares tried with all his might to contain his rage in place; he held his sword with great force until his knuckles turned white. His breathing became hoarser and it felt like it burned his chest "I do not know what you had to do to finally get what you always wanted" his grey eyes gleamed with tears of frustration "You wanted all of them dead…"

Hades walked silently toward Ares and put his hand on his shoulder "You and Chronos always had this stupid necessity to look after her but she was weak…and the moment she betrayed us and married that mortal she signed her dead penalty and so did her son"

"What did Chronos say to Saturn?"

Hades shrugged his shoulders "He did not tell a word about it…but he did asked for permission to cross to the Elysian Fields. That man has the power to cross from one realm to another without a problem. He probably is back at his palace with another set of riddles to give as advice to the universe"

Ares closed his eyes "What if he breaks the seal?"

Hades pursed his lips "You know what could happen"

"What will happen to _you_?"

Hades widened his eyes and answered the blonde warrior with silence. Ares nodded and began to walk "That is what I thought…"

"What is your point Ares?!" The god of the underworld raised his voice as the other man kept walking away. Ares turned to look over his shoulder again "My point is…" he stopped "…That not even you are strong enough to keep him locked in that void; you are afraid of that young man…you always have been because you know that he is probably the only one that can do the work you are not capable to accomplish and that burns you to the core"

"I am looking for Olympus' best interests as well Ares!" the blonde hear Hades say in the distance "No matter how much you try it…it is done!"

Ares frowned and summoned his own power "We will see about that…" and in a flash of gold he was gone.

* * *

___Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters._

_A/N: Thank you for your incredible support and good wishes, but most of all for your understanding. I won't say much here for obvious reasons but I will answer each and one of you via PM and thank you personally for your kind and motivational words._

_So we have finally come to the end..._

_Did you like it? Tell me all about it in the section below_


	125. Chapter 124 Part II

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter 124 **

**Part II**

* * *

Outside the palace's walls Beryl was watching with glee the massacre developing in front of her but like the ambitious woman she was she wanted more and by more she meant _him_. The red headed woman stood from the large pile of debris where she was sitting at and walked to one of the gardens. Once she crossed the double doors she looked up to the damaged structure and frowned "I know you are here somewhere! I can smell your manly cologne through these corridors"

She turned to the soldiers at her side and pointed at the stairscase "Go up there…and bring whoever you can find"

The soldier nodded and obeyed her orders; Beryl smirked "You cannot stay hidden forever" her lips curved in a smile and chuckled "Do you hear me!? You cannot stay hidden forever!

o.o.o

Back at the queen's chambers Serenity and her mother stayed together holding each other while the senshi guarded the doors. Venus turned to look at them and then at Mars "We have to do something else…we cannot let them come up here"

Mars nodded "But what about the Princess and Her Majesty?"

Venus looked at them and fisted her hands "If we do not move…" she trailed off "It will get worse"

The blonde walked to the royals and crouched in front of them "My Queen, Princess…we were given orders to attack in case things get worse"

The queen nodded and turned to her daughter and held her hand. Serenity's eyes tried to find the blonde's but with no response "Venus…"

Venus pressed her lips in a tight line "Artemis will stay here in case…"

Mars shut her eyes tightly "They are coming…"

"No" the queen interrupted; she let go of her daughter's hand and stood up then turned to the girls "If there is somebody who has to fight back and put an end to this madness it's me"

Artemis and Luna watched the queen with panic all over their faces "Queen Serenity…you cannot do that! You cannot risk your life this way! It's too dangerous!" the dark haired mauian tried to stop her.

The queen nodded and gave her a faint smile "I am the Queen of this Kingdom and I swore my loyalty to your safety"

Serenity's watery eyes widened and shook her head "Mother…no, please"

She looked down at her, her lavender eyes showed all the love and caring she had for her daughter. Those eyes that never needed any words to express her love for her "There is something I need to do…" her voice maintained strong and secure "And I have to do it before the enemy finds it"

"Please do not leave me…"

The queen kneeled in front of her loving daughter and caressed her face with the back of her hand, her slender fingers traced the line of her jaw sweetly "You are not alone my dear" she smiled softly "I am not leaving you, I will never leave you" the queen was about to give her daughter a soft kiss on her forehead when a loud noise came from the doors.

Jupiter cursed under her breath and put a hand on each door as the rest of the girls tried to put resistance, but the force coming from the other side was just too much for them; the amazon soldier tried to maintain her posture but her arms started to feel weak, being her the one with more physical strength the others failed to keep the doors open and fell when the enemy kicked the doors.

"Take them out, take them to our Queen" one of the soldiers said as he pointed his dirty fingers at the queen and princess.

Venus moved fast and summoned for her power; getting hold of her golden chain she exclaimed "_Venus, love me chain!_" and snapped it against the corpse soldiers. The blonde held the chain tight against their bodies and turned to the royals "Leave!"

Serenity shook her head in panic "No Venus, I cannot leave you here!"

The blonde pulled her chain tighter, her brows knitted as she made more force "Artemis, take them out of here!"

"They are multiplying…here comes more!"

"Jupiter, Mercury, Mars…" Venus exclaimed "Clear the way for them!"

The girls moved fast and each and one of them called for their inner power, the Amazon being the first one to take a stand but was abruptly stopped by Mercury "It is too dangerous to summon for our powers inside these halls… we need a more open space"

"We have no time to look for an open space Mercury!" Jupiter clenched her teeth while kicking the men coming their way "We need to clear the area for them to cross"

Mars closed her eyes and brought her hands close and stayed in that position for several seconds more until her hands began glowing with a warm red light; she opened her amethyst eyes and scolded at the soldiers _"Fire…Soul!"_

Fire sparked from the tip of her fingers and moved along with her hands like a dancing ribbon; a beautiful and powerful image to see and like a dragon attacking its prey it went straight to the enemies and covered them in flames.

The soldier of fire looked over her shoulder at Artemis and mouthed at him "_Now_"

Artemis held the princess and ran outside the queen's chambers with her running behind. The queen turned to look behind and saw the senshi standing one next the other creating a barrier to prevent the enemy coming after them; a tug in her heart made her feel like it was too cruel of her to leave them behind _"Gaia…"_ she breathed _"You shared the same life as them…please, give me your strength...tell me what to do"_

Mercury turned her head and looked outside from one of the large broken windows "The sky…" she whispered; the anguish was evident in her soft voice and was loud enough for Mars to hear "Whatever it is…it is above us and it's the one controlling all these churned corpses"

Venus whipped her golden chain and let the lifeless bodies fall without any grace on the dark tainted floors and scourged several more away from their way "The ground is shaking again" she turned to the girls "We need to go after the Queen and Princess"

Like an instant premonition; the ground began shaking with more intensity breaking the stained glass windows one by one while several pillar began collapsing one after another. The blonde looked up at the cracked dome ceiling and gasped with mortification "Everything is falling apart"

Mercury summoned for her energy and froze the entire corridor _"Shabbon…Spray…Freezing!_" and turned to the girls "These will keep the enemy away and it will give us enough time to find them"

On a parallel hallway; the royals and the two mauian advisors found the same luck as the senshi did; the windows were breaking in hundreds of pointy and sharp shards that soon enough found their way to cut the queen and princess' skin. The floors began shaking an impressive force causing some pillars lose their balance and collapsed slowly in a domino kind of effect one after another.

Artemis took hold of the queen while Luna took hold of Serenity's hand and tried to dodge the heavy pieces of marble that fell on their way. It was like they were finally going to escape the long and baleful corridor when a strongest quake shook the ground, making them tumble and lose control of their steps. The brusque movement caused the remains of the falling pillars to come down, making it difficult for them to escape. Artemis managed to pull the queen close to him but Luna did not have the same luck as one block of marble fell between the princess and the mauian lady "Luna!"

Luna widened her eyes in horror when she saw the pieces of stone falling over the princess and shook her head "Princess! Noooo!"

Queen Serenity turned immediately and saw what was happening; like a picture in slow motion she tried to go back and help her daughter in need but the large pieces of marble were too big and heavy that it was impossible for them to move the debris aside to cross to the other side of the hall; her lavender eyes widened when out of the nothing and like a miracle, her savior appeared.

The queen felt a tug on her chest, a sense of relief and great gratitude but before she could say anything else more debris crumbled over them and had no option but to keep moving as fast as they could "The prayer tower" she said out loud, hoping he might listened and had no other option but to go and protect the sacred stone

"_Please keep my daughter safe…please be safe…"_

Serenity opened her eyes once she felt no more dust and dirt falling over her head and looked up; her blue eyes widened when she saw Endymion covering her with his cape and looking down at her with worry "I was looking all over for you…" he said with a hoarse voice.

Serenity blinked and shook her head "I…We have been moving from one room to another but they just keep coming closer…" she turned and noticed the large amount of stone and pebbles behind her and widened her eyes again in fright "Mother…"

"She is alright" the prince whispered and moved his cape away from their faces; he looked behind him and slowly helped the princess stand up "I have to take you out of here…" he turned on his heel but felt a tug on his jacket, turning he saw the princess looking at him with a face of concern "Why are we being attacked?"

Endymion held his breath for a moment and rested his hands on her shoulders "Because they want more power"

"_They?_" Serenity frowned "Who is causing all this?"

Endymion heard noises near them and covered the princess' mouth with his hand and slowly pulled her closer to him "We have to go" he whispered in her hair and turned to move some blocks of marble so they could pass to the other side of the corridor.

The prince finally moved a couple of large rocks and created an opening large enough for them to cross, he let the princess go in first and then he followed her behind. Once both crossed he turned and put the stones again where they were, blocking the path completely.

He turned to look at her and held her hand as they walked quickly toward the east wing of the palace "Damn it" he mumbled and brought the princess closer to him again "They have invaded"

Serenity rested her head on his chest and for a moment got lost in the rapid sound of his heart beats; she felt his arm around her waist and turned her around softly but quick enough for her to break free from her thoughts "Hide, and close your eyes" she heard him say as he let go of her hand.

Serenity's eyes searched for his sapphire ones and shook her head "I cannot leave you here"

Endymion clenched his jaw when he heard more enemies coming closer, he turned and gave the princess a look that was not up to discuss his petition. Serenity gulped softly and kneeled on the floor between stones and debris and closed her eyes as she was asked.

She let out a soft breath, one she had been holding since the moment she heard the first attack. The worry for Endymion and her mother, the angst of not knowing what was happening or why was really getting under her skin and deep into her mind; it was like if time stopped for her while she listened to the events developing in front of her.

She heard him move in front of her and a metal sound clashed against the floor; the sound of his boots rubbing and crashing the small pebbles on the marble floor made her realize how fast the prince was moving and wondered how she has never had the opportunity to watch him be the man he was trained to be for so many years.

A cursed escaped his lips as he took position to attack again; Serenity covered her eyes with her hands and listened to the hollow sound of the metal against metal. She could not hold the tears in her eyes anymore and let them roll down her cheeks when she realized why he asked her to close her eyes; what he did not want her to see.

Endymion watched more enemies running his way at an incredible pace and with swords on their hands ready to attack. Their eyes showed nothing else but madness and greed, it was obvious they were possessed and it was too late for them to wake up from their own nightmare. He dodged their movements, one after another and even when he could recognize some of the faces of those corpses he did not hesitate to attack them back; they were threatening the life of too many people including the one he cared the most.

It was too painful to see the men he learned to respect and looked up to in those conditions, distorted and confused by an evil force he knew it was all because of a wimp of caprice. He was sword fighting with one of the soldiers but caught another one moving closer toward the princess on the floor and widened his eyes "Stay away from her!" he growled and turned to thrust his sword into the other enemy's chest and kicked him to the floor giving him enough time to run toward the other soldier, jump and cut his head off in one swift move.

Serenity heard a hoard of noises everywhere and moved her hands away from her face, noticing they were shaking nervously she bit her lip and tried to open her eyes, it was when his voice caught her off guard "Stay away from her!" like a blur in between footsteps, metal noises and growls. She covered her head again with her arms, trying her best not to open her eyes, her mind tried to block the noise becoming louder and closer to her. Her heart was beating like a drum inside her chest; the anxiety was curling up her nerves, up to her spine. It was a suit of disturbances until everything fell silent in a sudden flash after a thick, hollow sound crashed against the floor.

She stayed covering her face with her forearm for a couple of more minutes and it was until she heard Endymion's hoarse breathing that was finally sure she could move from her position on the floor.

"Wait" she heard him say; his steady footsteps came closer to her and she could hear him move something that was apparently just a few feet away from her. She felt his hand caress the softness of her cheek, then could feel him kneeling in front of her "Serenity…" his voice was deep and strangely secure.

She opened her eyes slowly and had no chance to look around; his hand was already on her face. His dark sapphire eyes studied her, making sure she was alright and pulled her with him as he stood up. They both continued walking but still, the ghost of what just happened haunted her mind and could not help to give a glance behind her; her lips parted softly when she saw red stains on the white broken floor. Her heart sank on her chest and immediately turned to look at him and noticed his right hand was slightly splashed by that same crimson red taint.

They reached for another staircase that would lead them to the first floor and near one of the gardens that eventually would connect with the secret path toward the prayer tower "The chaos is at the other side of the palace, that will give us enough time to escape" he whispered and turned to look at her "We have to get to that tower"

Serenity nodded and walked by his side in silence, her heart was relieved that she was finally with him but at the same time it was troubled and worried because she did not know where the senshi were or how they were for that matter, this was all madness. They finally reached the bottom of the staircase they were both surprised to see the mass destruction on the hall. The sound of their shoes against the pieces of glass on the floor was the only sound that accompanied their nervous breathing; Serenity intertwined her fingers with his and he responded the gesture by holding her hand tighter and slowly walked toward the smithy gates.

"Do not dare to take another step"

The couple stopped, Serenity widened her eyes in horror. Her heart pounded in her chest like a drum in war when she recognized that voice and turned to look over her shoulder slowly, her lips trembled as she mumbled the name of the one who owned that hoarse and threatening voice.

Endymion frowned and turned as well, his brows knitted in anger as he watched the blonde soldier point at them with an accusing finger "Athamas…" Serenity breathed in surprise and fright.

Athamas took a step closer and wiped the trail of sweat and blood from his forehead with the back of his hand, his eyes were fixed on the couple but it was obvious that this was going to be the ending of a postponed confrontation between him and the terran prince "One night taking my place and look what you have caused" his sarcasm felt like daggers on the princess' skin; Endymion narrowed his blue eyes and remained silent.

Serenity moistened her lips "You were captured…"

Athamas broke his eye contact with the prince and looked at her, his lips curved up in a slight grin "So innocent, a great warrior always knows how to break free Serenity…even if it is kept in the depths of darkness" his eyes returned to Endymion "You thought you could keep me imprisoned" he licked his lips "But this war hasn't even begun"

Endymion moved Serenity slowly out of the way and let go of her hand, startling her "Endymion?" she whispered as she looked up to him; the prince frowned and took the smaller blade from his belt and gave it to her "The road is free, run to the prayer tower and stay there"

"Endymion?" she asked, confused.

Endymion narrowed his eyes "I am not supposed to entrust you with a weapon like this, I have never wanted you to hold a blade to cause damage, but I want you safe and I want you alive; so use it in case if you need to"

Serenity widened her eyes when she saw the golden blade on her hands; it was probably ten inches long and it was not as intricate and powerful as his sword but it sure made clear that it was sharp, very sharp. She shook her head in panic "I won't leave without you"

Athamas caught her words and chuckled "Of course not my dear, because you will leave with me"

Endymion turned to look at him, his eyes darkened like a stormy ocean "You are not taking her anywhere"

"She belongs to_ me_" Athamas said dryly "And _you_ are in my way" he growled and narrowed his eyes "You have_ always_ been in my way…"

"Serenity you need to get out of here" Endymion warned her, his hand slowly reached for his sword's tilt; Serenity shook her head and hesitated to answer but the prince did not need much to know she was denying his order "She is not going anywhere, the only way she will leave this place is with me by her side" Athamas threatened, his hand rested on his sword and slowly took it out of its sheath "This is over" he muttered "Your head is mine"

"This Kingdom is under attack, I do not have time for your stupid nonsense" Endymion said to the blonde. Athamas growled again "For all I care…all this can go straight to hell" he pointed his sword at the prince "I had planned it a long time ago, when I decided I was going to become King…I would take the crown, take the Princess and change this forever but…" he chuckled "Your little lover will do the trick for me"

Endymion frowned and narrowed his eyes; Athamas' smile widened once he noticed he touched a sensitive spot "Ah, so you know…how amusing"

Serenity blinked and turned to look at both, Endymion and Athamas. The blonde laughed and scratched the back of his head "I suppose you are unaware of what it is happening in your perfect little world, your perfect little castle, Princess…"

"What are you talking about?" Serenity muttered.

Athamas giggled like a madman and clapped his hands playfully "I will break the news for you honey, your _lover_ here…has been followed by an admirer" he tilted his head forward, his green eyes looked at her with that desire and lust he many times showed to her before "This kingdom is being attacked by his own planet, a woman has followed him here. A _witch_"

Serenity felt her heart sink in her chest; her hands trembled and watched the blonde man pointing at the prince with his sword. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath "Whatever it is Athamas, we can fight this" she opened then again and frowned at him "Still, what you did is horrible…what you did to Earth, you helped cause all this!"

"I did what I had to do to get to this _bastard_…" Athamas pointed Endymion again with his sword "You should have died when I sent them to kill you…you should have died the same way your army died"

Endymion watched him in silence, his hand still rested on his sword "And still, you could not do a thing to me" he arched his brow "And you still can't"

"One way or another…your head and that woman will be mine"

"Don't you even dare"

"What are you going to do _mortal_? Kill me? _ME_?!" Athamas laughed sarcastically "You are a nobody in this realm, you have no power!"

Endymion looked over his shoulder "Run…hide" he said loud enough for Serenity to hear and immediately turned to the man a few feet away from him. Serenity turned to look around and desperately tried to escape when Athamas went after her like a predator "You are not going anywhere!" he yelled, his sword soon was stopped by Endymion's "I said, don't you even dare" he threatened.

Serenity stopped at the gate and turned, both men were inches apart from each other, their blades were the only thing that kept them from tearing each other apart. She turned to look outside and then back at them and thought of her two only options before her heart began to decide for her.

"You are crossing the line _mortal_" Athamas growled and pushed his sword against the prince's even further; Endymion narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw "Too bad, you crossed mine a long time ago"

Athamas was the first to attack; his sword slipped nimbly through the air as if cutting it and Endymion reacted quickly to his tactics and dodged it with success. All his stored energy, contempt, anger and frustration were reflected in every movement. Athamas was moving from side to side trying to ruin Endymion's concentration but the prince was too successful and accurate with his movements that it was nearly impossible for the blonde to hit him.

Serenity watched them from behind the pillar where she had hidden to protect herself, pebbles flew as they both moved from one side to the other with an impressive speed; her eyes were fixed on the swords clashing with an impressive speed and force, their sound echoed in the long vacant space.

Her heart skipped a beat every time she heard their hoarse breathing or curse coming out of their mouths; this was the first time she saw Endymion being the soldier he was trained to be, it was hard for her to hide her amaze as she watched his moves and how his deep colored eyes never left his opponent. She wondered how could he move at such an impressive pace, how his hand could hold that weapon so heavy and move it like if it was a blade made of air; she heard the sound of metal cutting through thin air, that melodic echo followed by a crash.

Athamas threw himself against the prince moving his blade side to side, trying to cut him into pieces; Endymion blocked and dodged every move wonderfully making the blonde angrier. Athamas threw himself against the prince again and kicked him in the stomach, sending him far away from him "Impressive" he mumbled as he walked slowly towards him "I can see now why nobody could stop you"

Endymion coughed softly and tried to stand up, he dig his sword on the marble floor to support himself and stood up; his breathing was hoarse but steady. Athamas took another step and stared at the man in black armor "It is like if you were trained like one of us…but still" he stood in front of him "You are no comparison to me" he raised his sword above his head "Look at your handsome lover being defeated by my hand Serenity! Look how I cut his head off!" he laughed.

Serenity widened her eyes and shook her head "No!" she walked from behind the pillar but stopped abruptly when she saw Endymion blocked him again with his golden sword. Athamas clenched his jaw and put more force on his blade, his knuckles turned white and could not help to growl in frustration "I want her to see you dieeee!"

Endymion crouched and slipped his leg behind the blonde making him lose his balance and fall; this was the moment where he let out all his anger take charge; he dig his sword on the floor again and grabbed Athamas by the collar and let the warrior inside him aside as he began to hit him brutally with his fists; one fist after another landed straight on his face.

Athamas tried to fight against Endymion's rage but he was being brutally fast that it was becoming very hard for him to break free; he turned his now swollen face and grabbed Endymion the same way he was grabbing his jacket and tried to push him away from him, after many tries he finally managed to land his fist on his jaw, stopping him abruptly and slowly stood up.

Athamas' steps were slow but as steady as he could move; his vision was clouded by the blood pooling from a deep cut he had above his right brow but that did not stop him from feeding his revenge as he slowly came closer to the terran prince who was trying to stand up from the floor. Before he could move, Athamas had already given him a series of kicks on his ribs, making him growl and gasp for air; his breath escaped his lungs with each time he felt the blonde's boot against his side, one after another, a pain that was unbearable that could leave him unconscious.

After a few more kicks he stopped; a chuckled escaped his chapped and bloody lips and caught Serenity standing a few feet away from him with her eyes searching for a sign from Endymion. Her eyes were wet and red from crying, her lips were swollen and desperately mouthing the prince's name.

Her icy blue eyes went from the man on the floor to the one standing and widened slowly as she saw him walking towards her; her hands trembled and pointed at him with the small blade the prince gave her earlier. Athamas chuckled and spit the blood in his mouth "What are you going to do with that dear? Kill me? You can't even kill a bug with your own hands…much less kill a man like me"

Serenity frowned; her lips parted softly but words could not come out, she was at the verge of a breakdown watching Endymion motionless on the floor "He is dead dear" she heard Athamas mumble with satisfaction "I told you there was no use…you and I would eventually end up together"

His bloody hand was only inches away from her face when he felt something pull him back and turned to meet the prince's fist again and sent him to the floor again "I told you to stay away from her!"

Athamas growled and grab the sword he luckily found next to him and tried to attack the prince with it. Endymion moved fast enough to dodge the sharp blade and jumped back; far enough for the blonde to run after him with his sword above his head "DON'T YOU EVER DIE?!" he yelled at him frustrated.

As if it was possible to break what was already broken, Athamas went ballistic and lost any remaining calm and sanity he had in his mind and slid his sword one side to the other like a madman, hoping to hit Endymion who, dodged him every time with perfection. Athamas ran again over to him and waved his sword towards Endymion face but again, the prince dodged him by bending and sliding on the floor until he reached for his sword and blocked the blonde's attack.

At this point Athamas was just a vague memory of that collected, sarcastic man who found pleasure in other people's suffering. His eyes were red; the cut on his face had stained his once handsome face and it appeared he was already missing a tooth. Serenity covered her mouth as she watched both men take their anger out of their bodies and into each other, never in her life imagined how violent, skilled and protective Endymion could be with or without a sword on his hand and how insane and frightening Athamas really was; she saw them exchange blows and attacks with their swords as they moved across the wide corridor.

After a few more fast and deadly moves and attacks with their swords, Athamas prepared for what could be the final blow he would give and raised his sword above his head and looked at the prince "YOU ARE GOING TO DIE THE SAME WAY YOUR PEOPLE DID…AND ROT IN HELL!"

Endymion frowned, he saw the blade move fast towards him, blocked the attack with his blade again and hit him on the stomach with his knee, then kicked him as hard and far as he could, leaving him motionless on the floor.

The prince breathing was hoarse and fast, he gave one last glance to the body on the floor and immediately turned to look for Serenity with eyes full of preoccupation; his features softened a little when he watched her coming his way "Are you alright?" he asked between pants.

Serenity nodded and put her hands on each side of his face, her tears burned on her eyes as she paid close attention to the cut on his lip and brow "I am the one that should be asking you that not the other way around…" she touched a bruise on his face that made him flinch "I am sorry" she whispered. Endymion shook his head "It's alright…" he trailed off and widened his blue eyes when he saw she was crying again "Serenity? What is the matter?"

Serenity wrapped her arms around him and exposed her emotions "I was so scared…I thought I lost you…" she said between sobs; Endymion returned the hug and rubbed her back for a moment as he tried to calm her down "I'm sorry…" he whispered, both unaware that Athamas stood up and was looking at them.

Serenity moved back from the hug and looked at Endymion in the eyes "I do not want to lose you…"

Endymion wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of his hand and noticed her eyes had widened in shock again and frowned "Serenity?" he turned to look over his shoulder and saw Athamas standing and pointing at them with this sword _"You…"_ he hissed, his eyes lost in the princess "…You belong to me…_you are mine_"

His face darkened _"MINE!"_

He began running toward them with his sword again above his head like a madman; Endymion frowned and pulled Serenity out of the way, the action startled her. The prince bent and dodged the blow coming from Athamas' sword and with the help of the velocity he was carrying in his running Endymion effortlessly scooped him in his arms and sent him flying through one of the large stained glass windows.

Serenity covered her mouth with both hands in shock and watched the remains of the glass loosely attached to the frame fell slowly on the floor; her eyes widened and turned watery. The events were finally taking their toll, it made her realize what Endymion just did and what happened before that; Athamas' madness and intentions and how he tried to kill Endymion, how he tried to kill her.

Endymion put his hands on her shoulders "Are you alright?"

Serenity continued staring at the window where Athamas crossed flying minutes ago; tears kept rolling down her cheeks in silence. Slowly, she turned her face up to meet his "I am scared…" she whispered "I am very scared…"

Endymion took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around her and heard her break into sobs "I do not want to lose you…" she said between her sobbing; her hands curled into fists as she continued crying in anger and desperation. He closed his eyes and held her for a couple of more minutes in silence, letting her release everything she has been keeping since all this started.

"You won't" he muttered absently.

Serenity stopped crying and blinked her tears that were still trapped in between her long dark lashes. She looked up at him and parted her lips as if she was going to say something. Endymion's eyes found hers and sighed softly "I'm sorry you had to witness all that…" he shut his eyes when Serenity touched his waist accidentally, worrying her "You are hurt!" she said as she tried to see where he was feeling more pain but the prince stopped her "I am alright"

"No you are not, you are hurt!"

Endymion shook his head "Bunny, it's alright…" he started walking again; Serenity frowned and stopped him "No…" her voice was more serious and determinant; she was not letting him go any further.

His hand reached for her face and gave her a warm smile "I've had worse wounds Serenity, I am not lying when I say this is nothing…"

Serenity held his hand but he spoke first "It is not safe for you to be here, there might not be any enemies on this side but they have been and it will not take long for them to return"

She turned to look at the window again and bit her lip nervously; she had that strange feeling in her chest, anxiety maybe? It was something she could not explain but it made her feel weak and uneasy. She tried her best not to let her thoughts go through her lips but eventually it happened "Is he…_dead?_" the last word came in a whisper.

Endymion sighed and grabbed the small blade from her hand and put it back on his belt "I do not know Bunny" he looked at her "I wish you did not have to see what happened"

"He deserved it" he heard her mutter, her eyes still fixed on the broken window; he could not hide his surprise on her words, it was something unnatural coming from her since she always believed in the goodness of people. He saw her frown in thought and open her lips slightly "Was he telling the truth?"

The prince widened his eyes slightly; there was no surprise in her question. It worried him more the sound of her voice but this was not the moment to keep things from her, since he was living in her realm not the other way around "Yes, it's my people the ones attacking us"

Serenity nodded sadly and lowered her gaze "Why? They do not know you are here?"

"It is because I am here that they have come to attack…"

Her throat went dry; her eyes burned with unshed tears and bit her lower lip for a moment. His hand reached to touch her chin and startled her, she lifted her head and looked at him; words were not necessary to express what she was feeling and for him to know whatever was crossing her mind "We will fight this madness, we will stop this…this shall pass"

Serenity leaned to rest her cheek on his hand; her eyes never left his "Together?" Endymion nodded and took her hand "Always" he kissed it softly and began walking with her towards the gardens.

o.o.o.o

Venus pulled her chains tighter and turned to Mercury "Now Mercury! Freeze them!"

Mars frowned and wiggled her sparking fingers "I should better burn them to ashes…" her tone was defying as she saw Mercury prepare her attack "_Shabon Spray Freezing_!"

Venus loosened her chain as the frozen corpses fell one by one; some of them even broke into pieces, surprising the girls. The blonde turned to her side and saw that it was their cue to go and try to find the princess and the queen "We must hurry, before they come again"

All four girls ran as fast as they could through debris and glass and stumbled every time they felt the ground shake again in a strenuous quake; Jupiter frowned "I do not like when that happens…"

Venus slowly stopped running and turned to a very serious Mars "Mars…" she said softly, still her worry evident in her voice "What are you seeing?"

Mars gulped and licked her lips anxiously; her pupils dilated and tried to shake off whatever she was visioning "The energy…" she pointed her index finger in front of them "…it thickens…the more we walk this way…" she shut her eyes, her brows knitted together "It's awful"

Venus looked toward the direction Mars was pointing at and then at her friend "Mars, I know it is frightening…but we have to keep moving, otherwise they will find us and we still have to find our Princess"

Mars nodded, but still had her eyes closed "It's so dark…" she opened her eyes slowly "Darkness is approaching us"

Jupiter looked out the broken windows and saw the dark clouded skies "We are already into darkness…"

"No" Mars shook her head and raised her head "Darkness…" she opened her eyes, her deep purple haze enhanced as she spoke "Silence will fall upon us" she turned to the blonde and held her tight, her gloved fingers pressed against Venus' skin "Silence is coming…"

Venus widened her eyes "Mars you are frightening me"

Mars put her hands on her head and moved it side to side, as if she was trying to dismiss the horrific images in her mind "I have been having these vivid visions…" she whispered. Mercury went to stand next to the raven haired girl and tried to calm her down "Mars, what do you mean by silence?"

"It is a dense energy…the feeling of loss" her eyes began to water "It is like we are destined to lose this battle"

Jupiter turned and walked over to her, she put her hands on her shoulders and shook her vigorously "Do not ever dare to say that again, do you hear me?!"

Mars and the girls widened their eyes, startled. Jupiter looked at Mars straight in the eyes and frowned still; her forest green eyes could not hide her emotion, frustration, fright and anger. They were teary and they threatened to let go of the tears she had been holding for who knows how long "I forbid you" she managed to say "I forbid you to speak like that"

Mars blinked her own tears and let them roll slowly down her cheeks "Jupiter…I"

"No, Mars, _No_" Jupiter said dryly "You may say you have a blessing or a curse, you might see what can happen in the future but I know you and this, _this_ crying, frightened woman in front of me is not the Mars I know" she bit her lip, frustrated "The Mars _I know_ is brave enough to face anything that comes in her way and it burns whatever threatens her or our Princess to ashes…"

This was the first time the amazon beauty showed this kind of emotion, since she always showed her though side but even her knew how delicate and feminine she really is. Her emotion somehow was a wakeup call for her and brought her back from the lapse of fear she was into, her hands reached for her face and gave her a warm smile "I wish I was as strong as you" Mars whispered.

Jupiter widened her eyes, surprised by her comment she blinked several times and stuttered "M-Mars…?"

Mars' amethyst eyes showed compassion for Jupiter's words and gave her a small knowing smile "We cannot be defeated, right?"

Jupiter held Mars' hand and nodded "Correct"

"Now where should we go?" Jupiter turned to Venus "The palace is invaded by now"

"We need to get to the Prayer Tower that is where Queen Serenity had gone with the Princess"

"Alright then..." the amazon turned to look around as they continued walking "I feel like we are walking in circles…everything looks the same"

"Everything is destroyed" Mercury said softly, with melancholy. Her blue eyes watched the stains of blood on the broken floors and bit her lower lip as she studied their surroundings "Blood…_they_ have crossed this path"

Venus widened her eyes and turned to the blue haired senshi "What do you mean by that?"

"The corpses have a darker blood compared to the blood stains I am seeing here" Mercury said in an expert tone "There is a good thing and a bad thing about this"

"The good thing being?" Mars narrowed her eyes "We are under attack, what could possibly be a good thing in this scenario?"

Mercury sighed and turned to her as they kept walking cautiously "That we are going their way"

The four senshi finally reached for a staircase, after a long walking and fighting they were finally on their way to the gardens. Venus was the first one to walk down the long broken hall and saw traces of what it seemed fresh blood "They were here" she whispered and pointed at the stains.

Mercury bit her lower lip "Somebody is hurt"

"Somebody fought here" Jupiter said and pointed at the sword mark on the floor "At this point, it could have been anyone" she sighed "A guard maybe…"

"The Tower is not too far away from where we stand right now…we should keep walking" Venus said and finally crossed the large smithy doors that led to the largest garden in the palace. She stopped and looked up at the blood red sky and prayed silently for the safety of the queen and princess.

Mars stood next to the blonde and looked around "I have never been there, I do not know how to get to that tower"

"Let just keep on moving" Venus said softly as she kept walking farther from the palace and more into the garden; it was easy to get lost in that place as it was planned it to be like a sort of maze in order to protect anyone who crossed it to reach the sacred tower's entrance.

Venus had never been too far in that garden, she was sure not even the princess had gone that deep into what it look like a thick forest with pale trees and flowers; pale trees that were now sadly burnt or tainted with blood. The blonde's hand took a stronger hold on her golden chain as she walked closer to a large white fountain and widened her eyes when she saw a woman standing near it.

The blonde stopped in her tracks and studied the long and curvaceous body of the woman who apparently still did not come to realize she was being observed. There was something in her that made Venus feel uneasy and mortified; why a woman like her would be in the same gardens as she? What was she looking? What did she want? "Who are you?" she finally gave voice to her questioning.

The woman let go of a body she was holding and slowly turned to meet the blonde. Her red lips curved into a malicious smile and chuckled "It is you" she muttered with knowledge "I finally see your face in person"

Venus frowned and summoned for the power in her chain, making it glow "I asked you a question…Who are you?" she looked at the corpse the woman in purple let on the ground and tried to remain calm, wondering where the other senshi were and why they had not gotten there already.

"My name is Beryl" the woman in purple snarled "Queen of Earth"

Venus' eyes widened "Queen of Earth?" she whispered "What…"

"What are you doing here?!" Venus asked, still confused. The woman in front of her did not look old enough to be queen and if she was, she had to be related to Endymion but then, if she was related to him she had to be his mother and again, she did not look old enough to be the terran prince's mother.

"I am here to take what it is mine" Beryl said in a threatening tone.

"If you are the Queen of Earth, you have nothing to do in this place" Venus said dryly.

"Oh, but I do" Beryl said and began to walk toward the blonde "My King happens to be in this place…"

Venus frowned confused "King?" then she realized what the red head was talking about and remembered the prince's explanations of what happened "You are the one who killed everyone on Earth" she narrowed her eyes "You are no Queen and I am more than certain that he is not your King"

Beryl arched a brow "How insolent of you" she chuckled "What do you know?"

"I know enough, I know what you did…and I know Prince Endymion wants nothing with you"

"Where is _he_?" Beryl asked demanding an immediate answer "Where is _he_!?"

Venus held her chain tighter and prepared to attack the woman; Beryl on the other side watched her with a smile of satisfaction "You know…you were his last words"

The blonde widened her eyes as her heart skipped a beat "What?"

"He whispered your name while I took his life and loyalty" Beryl snarled "He thought he could beat me, the same way you are doing it now…" she turned to look at her side and watched a man approach her slowly with a blooded sword on his hand. Venus watched the scene develop in front of her and widened her eyes in shock recognizing the man who was now kissing the self proclaimed queen's hand.

"_Kun…zite…"_

Kunzite stood and turned to look at the blonde, his face was expressionless and pale, very pale. Venus looked at him with a sense of hope and happiness to see he was alive and well, what she did not understand is why was he there by that witch's side and kissing her hand; she looked at him in the eyes and saw they were pale and opaque, as if he was no longer himself or was he?

"Kunzite?" she called for him but had no response.

The girls finally found the blonde and stood there surprised to see the white haired general stand next to a woman they have never seen in their lives. Mars frowned as she sensed her aura and watched the shadow behind her "It is her" she muttered "The one who has brought destruction to our realm"

"What is he doing here?" Jupiter asked confused, she turned to the other men approaching Kunzite and felt her heart sink in her chest "It cannot be…"

Mercury covered her lips and gasped "We were told you were dead…"

The other three shitennou came closer and stood next to Kunzite, sharing his same dead expression. Mars' lips parted as she watched the once bubbly and playful Jadeite holding a sword and his grey uniform covered in blood "Jadeite?" she called hopeful, trying to shake him out of his trance.

"Where is Endymion?" Beryl asked, interrupting the moment.

"Leave them alone!" Venus yelled at the woman and raised her hand as she swirled the glowing chain "Leave this place at once!"

Beryl raised her rod and summoned for her dark power "You useless pawns…" she muttered "I will find him with or without your help…his scent is everywhere" she turned to Kunzite _"Kill her"_

Kunzite bowed his head in respect and went straight to attack the blonde woman in front of him; Venus widened her eyes and dodged him by pure miracle "Kunzite!" she called him and dodged him again. The white haired general stopped and looked at her, this might be the perfect opportunity for Venus to try to bring him back from the spell he was under "Kunzite…it's me, Venus!"

"All of you get rid of these nuisances" Beryl waved her hand at the remaining three men who obeyed immediately and went to attack the girls.

Jadeite went straight to attack the raven haired girl; Mars jumped as high as she tried to avoid his sword and just like Venus, she tried to reason with him "Jadeite…" she called him and could not help her heart feel desperate to rescue the memory of that cheerful man she once met and fell attracted to.

He was more violent and faster than she ever imagined him to be. Mars licked her lips and tried to think of a way to purify his soul, she recognized their aura as the same the woman in purple had and knew for sure they were not longer on their side. With great regret and pain written in her face she looked at them and turned to Jupiter and a very troubled Venus "They are no more our allies but our enemies" she said sadly.

Venus felt like she was about to break and fall in thousands of pieces, her eyes were beginning to burn with unshed tears as she saw Kunzite approach with a deadly glare and his sword above his head. Mars turned to look at her unable to move out of the way and felt panic to see her friend in a trance for a man he was no longer the one she fell in love with but the shell of a memory "Venus!" she called out loud, trying to bring her back to reality and ran as fast as she could towards her way.

Jadeite watched her run and went straight to her with a menacing glare and just like Kunzite, with his sword ready to attack. Mercury and Jupiter were too trying to avoid a fight with the generals, but were too aware that it was going to be futile to try and bring them back the way they were and in order to continue their way towards the tower and find the queen and princess, they had to do something about it.

The distance between Mars and Kunzite to Venus was little now; him and his sword were taking the lead leaving the raven haired girl no other choice but to summon one of her inner powers and closed her eyes _"Rin, Pyou, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen…"_ she opened her eyes and raised her hands _"Akuryo Taisan!"_ a wave of energy was released from her hands attacking the white haired general and giving her enough time to rescue her friend.

The blonde fell on the ground, still in shock for what was happening. Her blue eyes were fixed on her hands still holding her golden chain and let her feelings sink in; Mars kneeled next to her and shook her softly "Venus…" she called her again; Venus looked up and found the truth behind those amethyst eyes "I know…" she whispered "But why…?"

Mars pressed her lips together "They are no longer them…we no longer share a same opinion"

"I do not want to hurt him…" Venus closed her eyes and remembered the times she spent with him, all the conversations and kisses in between; she was in love with him but her duties came first. She opened her eyes and turned to Kunzite who was running her in way; she stood up and raised her hand as she summoned for her power, the chain began to gleam once again and this time she did not stopped.

She slowly closed her eyes and opened her mouth to speak, her mind screaming her to do otherwise but her heart gave the courage to put him out of his misery _"Venus…love me chain!"_

Venus began swirling the chain in the air and whipped the general with it, but caused not too much damage. Mercury turned and saw Zoicite holding his sword and just like the other girls she tried to convince him of what was happening "It's me…Ballerina…" she said softly and turned to Jupiter once she saw the generals were not the only ones already there ready to attack them.

Mars' fingers began to spark once again as if the fire in her was ready to explode; she turned to Jupiter and gave her a sad smile "You have plenty of space now…"

Jupiter nodded, and answered with the same sad smile "Finally" she clasped her hands together and closed her eyes _"My guardian Jupiter! Brew a storm! Call the clouds! Bring down the lightening!"_ her tiara began to glow with the massive energy that was collecting from her surroundings and when it was fully charged she summoned her power and opened her eyes _"Supreme…Thunder!"_

The blast of thunder attacked the mass of corpse soldiers and generals equally, some fell to the ground motionless and others like the generals remained standing but injured. Jupiter spotted Nephrite trying to stand up and felt a sense of guilt as she was the reason why he was bleeding…_black blood _se thought.

Beryl watched with arms crossed the girls fighting with the generals, finding it amusing for a while because she ignored the generals had romantic interests, especially Kunzite who was the hardest to read next to Endymion. Her red eyes widened "_Endymion_" she turned to look behind her and saw there was a road that probably led to another side of the palace and decided to take it, bored of the events developing in front of her.

Venus watched her go down the secret road and panicked "No! Do not go any further!" she yelled but with no success. The blonde, swirled her chain and slapped more soldiers coming her way as the other girls continued attacking their enemies.

"_Shabbon…Spray…Freezing!"_ Mercury extended her arms, freezing everything around her; Mars on the other side dodged and put her hands together _"Fire….Soul!"_ the sparks in her fingers finally ignited, creating again that mass of angry fire that went straight to the enemies, their cries of lament and pain was deafening and painful for Mars but that was probably the only way to punish Jadeite's brainwash.

Jupiter was about to attack again when she noticed the generals were no longer there with them and turned to Mars "Did you…?"

Mars frowned "What?"

"Where did they go?" Jupiter asked again.

Venus widened her blue eyes and parted her lips, letting a gasp of worry escape her body "No…" and immediately ran straight to the sacred tower hoping to be in time to protect her queen and princess from the dark witch.

"Venus!" Mars called for her but the blonde got lost in the depths of the long maze that eventually would lead to the tower. Mercury bit her lower lip "She cannot go by herself! She will get lost!"

"We have to go after her…" Jupiter said.

"And the enemies here?" Mercury asked "Somebody has to stay here to prevent more soldiers to come closer"

Mars sighed "Right now our Princess and Queen are more important"

Jupiter frowned "…Speaking of Princess Serenity, where is Prince Endymion?"

Mars turned to look back at the palace and bit her lower lip, then closed her eyes for a moment "He is with her…" she whispered. Jupiter arched a brow "What?"

Mars turned to Jupiter "He is with the Princess…his aura, I can feel it" she looked up to the sky and saw the tower in the distance "I just hope they are fine by the time we get there"

o.o.o.o.o

Queen Serenity entered the tower, Artemis and Luna closed the large heavy doors once they entered and followed the white queen to the room where the precious jewel glowed inside its crystal case. The queen turned and bit her lip, not denying the worry for her daughter and walked as fast as she could to take the stone.

The tower was silent, her heels were the only thing that echoed inside; panting she entered and sighed in relief when she saw the stone was still there intact in the middle of the room and put her hands on each side of the case protecting it.

Luna and Artemis followed and stood by the entrance, watching the queen with wide eyes "Queen…" Luna gasped with surprise; in her years back in Mau she heard countless of times about the sacred stone the lunar family kept and protected generation after generation and learned about its sacred power and beauty but, there was no comparison between the stories she heard to actually seeing it personally.

It surprised her to know how small it was, how fragile it looked but how brilliant and pure it looked inside that glass, her ruby eyes wondered of its magnificence and its legacy when the queen decided to take away the case and slowly hold it in her hands.

Artemis on the other hand, being more involved in the lunarian matters since he was in Mau he knew more about the power of the stone, still he had never seen it before and could not hold his surprise; his blue eyes showed worry once he remembered what his superiors in Mau told him once and took a step forward "Queen…that stone…" he trailed off.

Queen Serenity looked at the silver stone floating and gleaming in her hands with eyes of wonder and respect. Unlike the princess, the queen was taught to use the stone by her mother who in her time was taught by her mother and so on. Her lavender eyes studied the crystal in her hands _"So many years ago…"_ she whispered _"…And you still mesmerize me…"_

She closed her eyes and turned to the two mauian advisors "This is the Silver Imperial Crystal" her voice was calm and collected "…The stone guarded by the descendants of the Moon, made from the power of stars from all over the universe collected by the ancient Goddess of the Moon Chía and passed from the many generations in my family, counting my grandmother Diana and my mother, Selene" she opened her eyes slowly "This stone was made to heal and purify, it has been made out of love and hope…and it was created as a counterpart of the Sacred Golden Crystal"

Artemis widened his eyes "_The Golden Crystal_…the stone of the Sun"

Queen Serenity nodded "The power from the Golden Crystal might surpass the power of the Silver Imperial Crystal in matters of destruction as it is the stone of oblivion and purity…it is sacred, created by the Ancient God of the Sun, Helios and has been protected by the purifying fire casted by the many priests who have watched it gleam" the queen frowned slightly "But if any of these stones falls into the wrong hands…it can be deadly"

"Queen, but this stone…" Artemis said hesitant "…It could be deadly to those who use of its power as well…" Luna widened her eyes and turned to Artemis then at the queen "What?"

"Everything has its consequence Artemis…as a Guardian of this stone; it is why we cannot use it carelessly" she looked at her advisors and covered the stone with her hands until it disappeared in thin air "And I cannot let this enemy get a hold of it" her whole body began to emanate a soft silver glow.

"And what about the sword Your Majesty?" Artemis asked, his finger pointed the long and pointy shiny sword behind the crystal. Queen Serenity turned and watched the sword stand proudly on its pedestal, the dim light coming from the sky high dome ceiling accentuated its intricate design "This sword was created to protect the Guardian of the Crystal but I was not taught to use any kind of weapon…I was not born a warrior like my friend" she turned to Artemis "Take it with you Artemis"

Artemis widened his eyes "I…I have never used a sword before either Your Majesty…my powers are…" he trailed off "I know, but right now we need to protect this Kingdom with everything we have" the queen looked down at her hands; she felt the soothing power of the crystal running through her veins "I cannot stay here…guarded, hiding from whatever is happening outside" she began walking towards the doors again, startling Luna and Artemis.

"Queen!" Luna called "Princess Serenity…we have to wait for her here"

The queen pressed her lips together and tried to fight her tears "I want you to wait for her here"

Artemis and Luna shook their head "We cannot do that! We have to stay together Your Majesty!" the white haired man exclaimed worried "Queen Serenity, please…we need to stay together" the queen stopped in the middle of the room.

"I have to fight for this Kingdom, for my daughter" the queen's voice trembled but still remained strong "I have to find her…" she closed her eyes "I know she is safe with him… the silver and golden crystal together can do the unimaginable…I can make that happen…"

"What?" Luna frowned.

"Then let us fight alongside you Your Majesty" Artemis said and turned on his heel, startling Luna and the queen. He walked slowly towards the pedestal and with a trembling hand took hold of the heavy stone sword and paid close attention to it _"The sword to protect the Guardian of the Silver Crystal…"_ he whispered as he studied the inscriptions on its blade "This sword holds mystical power…there is a sacred inscription on the blade I cannot decipher"

"It is very ancient" Queen Serenity turned to Artemis "It was engraved by Goddess Chía the day the Silver Crystal was finally formed; that sword has a piece of the crystal's power and it works as one…once they are put together" her eyes softened when looking at the mauian advisor hold it in his hands "We cannot let them win Artemis…we need to go back, I need to find my daughter"

Artemis nodded and turned to Luna, who had a worried face "Artemis…" she whispered, her ruby eyes began to shine with tears she had never thought she would shed for him; Artemis looked at her with endearing eyes and reached for her cheek, his hand was bruised by the stones and pebbles he had to move out of the way to escape from the palace "Why those tears Luna?" he asked softly.

Luna bit her lip softly for a moment and sighed as she closed her eyes for a moment "Artemis…I…" she was interrupted by the mauian's finger on her lips "Luna, I know you think I am different from you, that we come from different worlds…but to me, you are and will always be the one I think that is right for me"

Luna widened her eyes and watched him tuck a strand of her black hair behind her ear "I had feelings for you since the very first moment I saw you at the main plaza near the fountain in Mau. When I learned you were the one coming to the Moon to assist our Queen my heart jumped with glee and hoped that maybe one day my dream to be with you would come true"

Luna watched him and let her tears roll down her cheeks "Artemis…" she whispered.

"I am still hoping for that day to come" Artemis smiled "And I know, that after this madness…I may have an opportunity"

Luna sniffed and wiped the tears with the back of her hand with a playful smile on her face "Well…I do not know, _maybe_" she said, trying to release a little tension in the room "You see, I still think you are a little conceited"

Artemis widened his blue eyes and blushed when he saw her turning to look at him and began giggling "But, who really knows? Everything can happen…you, holding a sword is a good proof of that" her giggles ended slowly with a smile "You look handsome"

Artemis' cheeks flushed bright red and watched her turn on her heel and walk towards a very surprised queen, leaving him behind. The mauian man swallowed and nodded then followed the queen and Luna out of the temple and straight back to the palace.

o.o.o.o.o.o

With hoarse breathing and heavy desperate steps, with her heart pounding in her chest…the sound of its beating deafened her from any other sound surrounding her. Her mind was a whirlwind of emotions and troubled thoughts. Venus ran as fast as she could with high hopes of finding the woman in deep purple and defeat her once and for all.

Kunzite's almost crystalline eyes made her running stop abruptly when she remembered his cold stare and dry voice _–How can he be on her side? How he couldn't recognize me? I love him…- _she felt her dry lips against her tongue when she passed it over and took a deep breath as she continued.

Her blonde and sunny hair was no longer kept impeccable; her long parted bangs were wet with sweat and stick to her forehead like a second skin. Her eyes paid close attention to the path before her, knowing this was her first time crossing this eternal maze towards the tower she only hoped to be taking the right way as she continued running. She turned around green corners with frustration once she ended right when she started probably for the third time; everything looked the same and she began to lose her patience, this was a nightmare.

The sound of laughter startled her and made her turn her head side to side and look for the woman she knew was there mocking her; she frowned and got a hold of her golden chain again "I know you are here…show your face!" she said out loud "Do not hide, you coward witch!"

She heard more chuckles and made her angrier, she summoned the power to her chain and began following the sound of the laughter she was sure was coming from Beryl; the more she walked the louder she could hear Beryl's mocking chuckles. The blonde bit her lower lip and raised her chain and left it ready to attack then she turned around the corner only to find nothing. Venus closed her eyes and breathed a couple of times as she tried to regain some of the calmness she was starting to doubt she ever had.

The sound of footsteps startled her and her blue eyes widened when she saw him there again in front of her again; like a dream Venus saw the man stand silently away from her with his pale eyes fixed on hers. His lips were tight, his features even when they held the same attractiveness they looked tense. The blonde could not hold her guard towards him and lowered her hand slowly; she took a breath and let it out anxiously "Kunzite…" she whispered, hopeful to see a change in his demeanor.

The man stood still, his lips parted as if he wanted to say anything but nothing came out. Venus pressed her lips tight and began arguing with her mind whether to walk to where he was or to stay with her guard up "Kunzite…" she called again with more hope in her voice.

"Where is he?" he asked dryly.

Venus frowned "What?" she shook her head and narrowed her eyes "What are you talking about?"

"I do not have time for guessing, tell me where he is and all of this will be over" Kunzite's voice did not sound authentic, it was more like programmed, a studied line; still it was difficult for Venus to believe it was him the one demanding her information she obviously could not give him. They had come right to where they started, they were enemies again but only this time they were fighting for different purposes.

"What is Kunzite? What is going to be over if I tell you what you want?" Venus looked at him defiant.

Kunzite frowned "This suffering of yours"

Venus' dream collapsed, this was not the man she loved. Not this shell, this servant of evil no. The man she loved even he was against the romance between the prince and princess he believed of its purity and passion and even gave himself to love; the man she knew as Kunzite loved her and supported her even when they could not be together. Her grip tightened around the chain again and summoned for its power "Who told you I was suffering?"

Kunzite smirked "Is that all you have to fight? Girls…"

Venus narrowed her eyes and raised her hand "It is like I do not know you anymore" her blue eyes burned with threatening tears at the verge of falling, the salty tears pooled inside her eyes and became closer to the rim of her waterline. She licked her lower lip and took a deep breath once she saw him run towards her with his sword up high and ready to attack.

"Those who oppose our rules must die!" Kunzite's voice threatened the blonde who did not move from her standing position. His curved blade shone with the dim light it caught from the lifeless blue planet in the sky as it moved in her direction only to be stopped by another blade.

Venus widened her eyes and blinked in surprise to see Artemis blocking the blow with a sword she has never seen before in her life. Her lips parted while she stared at him not really sure of what to do "Artemis?!" she asked surprised.

The mauian man gritted his teeth as he fought against the force the general was putting on his sword once it clashed against the one he had in his hands. Not sure of what to do next he proceeded to push the blade away from his face with all the force he did not know he had within him and docked Kunzite's next move by only a hair of luck. Kunzite frowned and studied the man before him, his lips tightened and felt the treat of the sword he held in his hands.

Artemis panted and gasped for air, trying to regain his energies "You demon, get away from her!"

Kunzite arched his brow "Demon?" he chuckled "That is a first…" he moved his blade "And of course a last"

Artemis tightened his grip on the sword with trembling hands and growled with anger as he saw the white haired man prepare to attack him one more time; Venus felt the stress and the need to do something, but still she did not know what. Her immediate reaction was to try to step in and turned to the mauian man "You need to escape"

Artemis took a deep breath and shook his head "I was asked to use this weapon to protect those who look after our Princess and that is what I am going to do"

"Artemis, you are risking your life" Venus said softly and slightly surprised; Artemis turned to look at her and gave her a faint smile "I have your back, Sailor Venus" Venus returned a grateful smile and put her hand on his shoulder but whatever she was going to say was soon interrupted by a loud clapping coming from the general "This is too adorable to watch" his featured darkened "Too adorable to continue"

Venus frowned and held her chain once again, this time taking no time in summoning her inner power "I cannot let you continue, please Kunzite…I ask you one last time, stop this…_wake up_!" her voice began to break in her throat leaving nothing to Artemis to decipher and watched her with wide eyes "Venus…" he whispered.

Venus took a step forward, her eyes gleaming with unshed tears "Please Kunzite…if there is any sanity left in you…please, wake up!"

Kunzite frowned and hesitated to raise his sword higher for a moment, he wondered why this woman in gold and orange was talking to him like if she knew him, why was she looking at him that way. His lips tightened and fought the flashes of her face smiling at him, of her lips caressing his and of the moment he woke up as a servant to the Dark Kingdom with Beryl by his side.

The general closed his eyes and lowered his sword slowly; giving Venus the feeling of hope and relief "Kunzite…" she called him softly.

Kunzite frowned as he remembered the words from the dark queen _"You are mine…you serve me, I am your Queen. Everything you knew as true was a lie…she is a lie, a product of your imagination" _he opened his eyes and growled "You are just an illusion" he mumbled.

Venus shook her head "No, Kunzite…I am right here" her hands reached her chest "I am real"

"No…" Kunzite shook his head, his heart was too corrupted, his mind too clouded and confused and all he knew was that he served someone and that he had to find someone in specific; he held his Arabic sword with both hands and raised it above his head slowly. His eyes were opaque and dark; they no longer had the light spark that made them so unique and special and looked at the blonde and her companion "If you are not going to cooperate…then _DIE_!"

Artemis pushed the blonde out of the way and held the sword with both hands, not really sure of what to do with a sword he raised it and waited for the blow that never came from the man in dark grey. The mauian opened his eyes and widened them when he did not see him in front of him anymore; surprised he lowered the sword and looked around "Do not feel so lucky" a dark voice startled him and the blonde and looked up.

Standing on a tree branch at the other side of the maze Kunzite looked at them with his arms crossed "I was given other commands more important than to fight weaklings like you who clearly do not know how to even hold a sword" he threw his head back and began to laugh sardonically "I will take care of you nuisances later" in a flash of light, he vanished into thin air.

Venus frowned and raised her hand "Come back here, you coward!" her breathing was heavy and the weight of sadness was evident every time she took a breath. Artemis walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder "Sailor Venus…"

"I swear to you I will defeat him the next time I see him" Venus started "That witch brought her minions to do the dirty work"

"Sailor Venus…"

"Do not fret Artemis, I will defeat him"

"You know that man…" Artemis said softly; Venus kept looking up to the sky and tried to hide the tears she was crying for him but minutes after that attempt to be strong became futile when she felt Artemis' hand under her chin and turned her face to meet his. Her tears kept rolling down her cheeks without control as they stained her once impeccable face "I am sorry…" Venus whispered "…It must be the sense of overwhelm of everything that has been happening…"

Artemis shook his head "Venus…" he wiped her tears with the back of his hand in a gentle manner, he was being incredibly cautious and delicate; like a cat indeed. His touch was comforting and accepted the gesture with affection and surprise, because this was the first time Artemis showed this signs of kindness she knew he had but barely showed and especially to her "I will protect you, do not worry" he whispered.

Venus widened her blue eyes and put her own love problems aside and took a look of the sword the mauian had in his hand "Artemis…where did you get that?"

Artemis looked at the weapon in his hand and looked at the blonde senshi "Queen Serenity gave it to me"

Like heavy blocks, the reality of things hit her one after another. The mention of the queen brought her back from her hazy state and turned to look around "Queen Serenity…" she widened her eyes even more "Luna, Princess Serenity!" she shook her head and put her hands on the mauian's shoulders "I lost her…we were attacked, she ran away with you…and Her Majesty…"

"We were attacked as well" Artemis said "The ground began to shake with great force that made some pillars and walls collapse inside the palace; one of those quakes separated us from the Princess…"

Venus gasped and covered her mouth with one hand "No…Our Princess…no!"

"She is alive" Artemis said softly "The Prince came to her rescue" before the blonde could speak again, he continued explaining "Queen Serenity saw him take her away and brought us to the sacred tower to get the Sacred Crystal she protects from evil" he sighed "That is when I was given this sword who was made to protect those of the White Moon, especially those who protect the Sacred Crystal"

Venus nodded and turned to the tower's direction "My intentions were to get to that tower, hoping to see you all there…but the senshi and I were attacked by the man you saw earlier and his comrades" she wiped the sweat and tears off her face with her hand and sighed "I got lost…this is my first time in this maze…"

"The maze was meant to prevent any visitors to get to the sacred tower, it's protected by a spell so nobody can find the way to its entrance" Artemis explained "But Queen Serenity did not want to risk the Crystal" he sighed and lowered his gaze "Luna and I tried to convince her to stay in the tower but she said she had to do something to stop this madness…" he looked up at the blonde senshi "But if our Queen unleashes the power of that Crystal she will die"

Venus widened her eyes "Where is she right now?!"

"She went back to the palace to look for the Prince and Princess" Artemis said "Luna went with her" he frowned "Where are the senshi?"

"They stayed back, fighting the witch's minions" Venus said worried and turned to Artemis "I need to go with them…but we also need to find the Prince and Princess and take them to the tower"

"I will go find Queen Serenity" Artemis said "You go with the others and bring them here; you should be able to find the entrance now"

"She was supposed to be here" Venus muttered with wonder and doubt, Artemis frowned "Who was?"

"She, the witch" Venus said and looked around "I came here following her…"

"Either she got lost in the maze or never dared to walk inside, but she never got to the tower"

Venus shook her head "It was a trap…" she mumbled and looked with fright in her eyes "…Everything has been a trap…" she frowned "…To get to him…" she turned to Artemis "Go and find her, find Queen Serenity and please, take her back to the tower…I will go find the Prince and Princess"

"But the Sailor Senshi…" Artemis tried to allege with her, Venus raised her hands "They know what they are doing, I will go and reunite with them after I find the Princess" she turned on her heel but was stop by Artemis' hand on her forearm; Venus turned and watched him surprised "Artemis?"

"Please be safe" Artemis said softly and handed her the sword "Take this with you"

Venus widened her eyes and shook her head "Artemis, but that sword was given to you…"

"This sword is meant to protect the Princess of the Moon; you are her guardian…its sacred so it will protect you on your way" Artemis looked at her with confidence "I know you will give a better use to this that I ever did" he gave her a soft smile "Now, go Sailor Venus…go find them" he turned on his heel and went in the palace's direction. Venus watched him run away and tightened her grip on the sword "Artemis…" she breathed and nodded.

"_I will…thank you, dear friend"_

* * *

_Did you like it? Comment in the section below!_

_A/N: Second part of this finale... thank you all for your kind words and your support._

_To glory14: I would have loved to answer your messages and thank you for all the support but since you are guest I cannot do anything, so I take this little space as an opportunity to thank you for being such a loyal reader._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters._


	126. Chapter 124 Part III

_A/N: Dear readers:_

_It has been an honor to write for you and to have you all as readers of this story. This has probably been one of the best adventures of my life, I honestly never thought I could write something like this. My job is to paint, to promote art and to work with artists...kinda far of this world (close but still far) and I am really happy I decided to embark this journey and that I found the perfect people to help me go through; we have finally reached the end, the finale. This is the final chapter of this much loved and appreciated (and long, very long) story. Thank you for everything, thank you for your support, your kind words, your encouragement and your friendship. _

_Thank you all, you are the best._

_I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it, I think it closes nicely and...probably...will give you a hint of what will happen next. I want to let you know that after I post this, I will be taking a break from writing, I need to update my life a little bit, I want to spend more time with my boyfriend, my mom, I want to listen to music until I fall asleep and I want to paint again...it's been a while. I want to see what new stories are and read, read and review (like you) _

_And who knows?...maybe one day, I will surprise you with an update under this pet name saying: New Story Alert._

_Have a lovely weekend, I will see you guys soon, very soon._

_Thank you!_

* * *

**Divinity: A question of Honor**

**Chapter 124**

**PART III**

Her body was trembling and her breathing fast and hoarse; the smell of blood filled her nostrils and the vision of an uncertain future was beginning to take its toll on her. Serenity closed her eyes for a moment as she waited behind a cracked wall for Endymion to return, it had been several minutes since he asked her to stay hidden and in complete silence and it was beginning to worry her.

She licked her lips, she had the need to cry her fears but it was more her worry to be discovered by the enemies than to really let those tears fall from her eyes; she sighed and tried to look from her hiding place but she could barely have a full view of her surroundings. All she could see were broken windows and dirty floors; there was barely any light inside which made it even more difficult for her to see what was happening or if somebody might be coming her way.

Defeated and scared, she leaned on the wall behind her and closed her eyes again and began to think about the battle between Athamas and Endymion, the words that came out of his mouth and his threats. Her mind began to think of a reason of how all this madness began, _Could it be all this caused by just one woman? _She thought _A desperate woman…_

The reason of her being hidden alone was because they tried to reach for the tower's entrance but got lost in the middle of the maze just like Venus did a while ago. After fighting many enemies Endymion took her back to the palace and found a deserted wing where he could keep her safe while he searched for another way to get to the tower.

"_The palace is surrounded, we cannot go too far from this point or otherwise we will get caught…" Endymion whispered to Serenity while holding her hand, they stopped at the entrance of the eastern wing of the palace that was completely deserted, the remains of broken glass crashed into dust under the prince's boots while walking inside with her. His eyes inspected the surroundings and saw a wall supported by a fallen pillar making the perfect hideout for them; Serenity sat behind the wall between the pillar and Endymion who, was squinting his eyes in pain every now and then._

"_You are very hurt"_

"_I am alright" Endymion turned to look at her "I am used to this…" he looked from behind the wall and took a deep breath "I need to find a way to get to that tower…I need to take you there"_

_He felt the warmth of her hand caressing his and turned to look at her, in almost pitch darkness it was difficult to see her face but the steady sound of her breathing was enough for him to know it was her and that she was alright "I do not want you to leave me, please…"_

_Endymion put his other hand in top of hers and shook his head "It is my duty to protect you. I need to keep you safe…I do not want anything happen to you"_

"_I will not be alright if I know you are out there hurt" Serenity whispered, her voice turned into a sob and lowered her head "Serenity…" his warm whisper made her turn in his direction "This will be over soon, but I have to fight for that to happen…" he held her hands and closed his eyes "This is my fault…the soldiers I have been fighting are from the army I once lead, the people I once knew as friends…I grew up with them, I trained with them and now they want to destroy everything in their way, they want my head at any cost"_

"_This is not your fault…" Serenity tried to reason with him but his fingers caressed her lips, silencing her "Serenitati, I almost lose my whole family because of them…I cannot let them take everything from me. I have to fight"_

_Serenity blinked "Almost all your family? What…do you mean?"_

_Endymion moved closer to her and kissed her hand softly "You are my family, Megumi is part of my family…" he sighed and looked away "…And Geb is fighting alone, Nut is probably worried sick about him"_

"_Geb…Nut!" Serenity widened her eyes "Endymion…" Serenity trailed off and took a moment to continue "Is it true what they say? About you being related to Geb and Nut?"_

_Endymion sighed and stayed silent for a couple of minutes; he still tried to assimilate the information he was given not too long ago and wet his lips in thought "It seems that way…" he mumbled. Serenity blinked and wiggled her fingers nervously "Are you alright…?" she asked in a whisper. _

_Endymion closed his eyes and took a deep breath, it was just too much for him at the moment, this was something he could not handle, not right now, so he preferred to ignore the topic and keep his mind focused on the situation they were into "Megumi took Nut to a safer place but that was before I went to look for you, Geb took my place at the western wing of the palace and fought the soldiers there but right now I know as little information as you…" his voice sounded tired, worried and held and air of melancholy. He was talking about Geb like if he had some sort of meaning to him, like if he had sympathy for him and somehow this made the princess more curious of what could have happened in her absence. The word family had a new meaning for her and a stronger meaning for him, Serenity thought about how this same enemy was the responsible of Earth's downfall and how Endymion might be feeling right now. Realization hit her, of course he wanted to fight, he wanted to avenge his family's murder and he wanted to protect her. _

_With a huge weight on her heart, she patted his hand and moved her hand away "Please be careful…"_

_Endymion widened his eyes, Serenity found his lips and caressed them with hers softly "But come back to me…please…"_

_Endymion nodded against her forehead "I will only go and see if there is another way to get to that tower and see where the enemy is gathering. I will come back for you…but please do not move from this hiding"_

_Serenity shook her head "I won't"_

"_I will be back very shortly" Endymion kissed the top of her head and slowly made his way out of their hideout and out of the long corridor. Serenity brought her knees to her chest and rested her head on them for a moment, even when she was away from any possible danger she could hear the sound of footsteps and metal clashing against each other._

She looked up at the ceiling and could catch a glimpse of the stormy sky and let her tears pooled in her eyes _Where are the High Gods…have they abandoned us as well? So this is how Endymion felt all those years… this is why he stopped praying… _her thoughts were interrupted by a loud sound close to the entrance of the hall.

At the other side of the palace, the royal queen walked slowly and with precaution through glass and broken marble from the walls and floors, Luna walked behind her with a fright look on her face. They have found an entrance free of any enemy but full of dead corpses; the queen closed her eyes for a moment in full regret and pain as she sidestepped from the bodies on the floor.

"Luna, you should have stayed at the tower…" the queen said softly "This is too dangerous and I cannot risk your life this way"

"Your Majesty, I cannot risk yours…whenever you go I will go as well" Luna said as she closed her eyes again to avoid seeing another corpse on the floor "But my question is why we are back in the palace?"

"I need to find my daughter and Endymion…" the queen said "The tower's spell will not let them find the right way and at this moment that tower is the only safe place before the gods come to help us" she walked slowly and looked both sides and was hurt to see how the corridors of her once peaceful palace were now pools of blood. Mixed enemies and guards all dead; the queen continued avoiding stepping on them while she continued walking to another wing "It will be impossible to go up…the stairs are almost destroyed"

"I do not think the Prince and Princess are there Your Majesty…"

A sound startled them at the end of the hall; it was what it looked like a growl coming from a man in pain; something the kind hearted queen could not let go by. She turned to Luna and then decided to continue walking as she followed the source of the sound "I never imagined the palace could look this tenebrous" Luna said softly.

The queen pressed her lips together, then widened her eyes when she soon realized who's those noises were "Oh no…" she walked faster and kneeled at the man's side "Geb…what are you doing here?"

Geb flinched in pain and opened his hazel eyes "Serenity…I should ask you the same question…" he took a deep breath and frowned "This is no place for you, you need to escape"

"I have escaped but I came back…" the queen said "Geb…who killed all these men?"

Geb opened his eyes and arched a brow "I did" he let out a soft chuckle "Now dear, I may look old and weak but I am much stronger than everyone thinks..." he took another breath and with the queen's help he slowly sat and soon stood up "Endymion was fighting the enemies here, Nut was talking to him when he was warned of the invasion…I took his place and he ran to look for your daughter" he coughed softly.

Queen Serenity gave her shoulder as support to the man "I saw him, rescuing her…" she said "Which is why I am here…"

Geb frowned "What?"

"I went to the tower to take the Crystal…and came back here, to look for them. I do not know where they are"

"No dear, at this rate they could be anywhere but here…" Geb said after he regained some of his strength "He was worried about Nut…" Geb said carefully "I could see it in his eyes"

The queen turned to look around "Nut…where…Oh no!"

"She ran with this young girl that came with Endymion, they are probably hiding somewhere too…I need to find them"

"We will find them together" the queen said "The palace is greatly damaged, I do not know where to look for them…we cannot go up the stairs for obvious reasons…"

"That will not be necessary" another male voice joined them, Luna turned and covered her mouth with both hands as she saw Artemis walking alongside Nut and Megumi "I found them hiding under the main staircase…Goddess Nut told me she saw God Geb was in this area"

"Nut…" Geb muttered and tried to walk over to her but the older woman moved first "I was so worried" she hugged the older man and closed her eyes "I thought I lost you…" Geb chuckled and coughed "It takes more than just one battle to defeat me, I told you I was still in great shape" Nut shook her head while hugging him and stopped "Geb" she pushed back "Endymion…where…?"

"The Sailor Senshi are looking for them" Artemis said "I gave the sword to Sailor Venus…"

Queen Serenity turned to look at him "You saw Venus? Where?"

"Near the entrance of the maze, she was lost. She confronted one of the enemy's strongest minions…" Artemis said and looked down at Luna and the young Megumi "My Prince must be alright…" she whispered.

Nut turned to Geb with a worried look in her eyes "I should have not told him anything…I should have waited…"

Geb hushed her and shook his head "Nut, none of us knew this was going to happen…it is not your fault. You had the need to speak with him"

Nut lowered her gaze and shook her head "He…he had a lost stare, he was so confused…" she sighed "I should have waited…if anything happens to him I won't forget myself…"

"My Prince is too strong to be defeated by them"

All eyes were now on young Megumi "My Prince has fought many battles before…I know he is safe and sound and that he is keeping the Princess safe" she took a few steps and faced the woman with dark hair "I know he can defeat them…"

"We need to find them so we can all go to the tower until help arrives" Queen Serenity said but was interrupted by the sound of clapping. She turned to look around but saw nobody standing at the hall, the clapping came to echo again.

"That if help ever arrives"

The lunar queen frowned and spotted a dark figure in the distance "Who are you?" she whispered with confusion. The shadow moved slowly across the hollow corridor from one side to another like smoke "Oh Serenity, as naïve as always…I am surprised you got to be a Queen, unlike your darling friend…"

Queen Serenity's lavender eyes widened with great shock "That voice…"

The shadow finally materialized into a long and thin figure in black; her face was hidden under a mass of sleek black hair and from time to time the peak of yellow eyes capture the attention of the woman in white "It cannot be…" Queen Serenity muttered "You…"

"Long time, no see Serenity"

Nut frowned and turned to Geb, then to Serenity who's face paled considerably "Serenity…who is this?"

Artemis pulled Megumi closer to them while never leaving his eyes on the dark woman in the distance; Megumi immediately identified the shadow but stayed silent. Queen Serenity shook her head "I thought you…"

"Let me guess…you thought I was dead and gone?" the shadow chuckled "No, I am far from being dead…it seems your little friend did not do her job properly because her seal did not last for long…"

"Little…friend?" Nut mumbled, surprised.

"That is correct, I am talking about your daughter Nut…your darling Gaia"

Queen Serenity frowned "Metallia"

"Bravo, at last somebody acknowledges my presence in this place!" Metallia chuckled and clapped once again a few times. The shadow moved closer to the white queen and materialized again in the woman she once met years ago "Too bad it had to be under these…" she looked around with her vicious yellow eyes and raised her hands "…Circumstances…"

Queen Serenity frowned and narrowed her lavender eyes "You are the one causing all this?"

Metallia chuckled and waved her hands in front of her "Oh no, please…I would never…" she smiled "Let me say I am only helping one girl…to get something that belongs to her" she chuckled and turned around "But now that I am here…I would not mind to take a little souvenirs, by the way Serenity…how is everybody? How is that lovely husband of yours?"

The lunar queen shook her head "After all you have done…you still dare to ask, how _cynical_ of you"

"Aw dear, you are still upset for what happened all those years ago? I never thought you would be so rancorous" Metallia's body appeared and disappeared in thin air like smoke from time to time, her body was no longer permanent because of the many years she spent underground, the seal Gaia cast on her was too strong even for her. The black smoke materialized again, showing Metallia sitting on a large piece of marble that fell from one of the columns "I do not even know why you are so mad at me…"

"What you did to Gaia is unforgivable" Queen Serenity said "Does it seem little to you?"

Metallia rolled her eyes "She wanted that life and I could not let her continue her doings"

Queen Serenity's frown deepened "_Her doings?_ The only reason you did what you did was because you were jealous she was with somebody…unlike you who wanted to be with her brother and never could because he never had feelings for you"

The queen's words were like a bucket of ice cold water to Metallia and immediately stood from her sitting stone and faced the queen "Silence!"

"He never took you seriously" Queen Serenity said again.

Metallia frowned and shook her head "You are wrong…"

"Why would I be wrong Metallia? The only reason you hurt Gaia was because you were jealous…" The white queen looked at her with pity "And you may destroy this palace…but you will never get what you want"

Metallia raised a thin brow "Oh? And what is that according to you?"

"You will never be accepted as a Goddess" Queen Serenity answered coldly "You will never be one of us"

Metallia growled and pointed at her "You fool…you will regret your words" her long black nail pointed at the older couple and then at the white queen again "You will vow to me Serenity, you will vow to me once I break the seal that is keeping him away and when that day comes you will forever regret your words and kneel for forgiveness"

"Don't you dare!" Nut screamed at the woman in black "Don't you dare to break that seal!"

Queen Serenity turned to look at the older woman holding her husband with trembling hands "Nut…"

Metallia laughed "He will not forgive what you did to him…never, _ever_…" she turned to the queen "Surrender to me Serenity, this is your last opportunity"

Queen Serenity narrowed her eyes _"Never"_

Metallia raised her hands "Then watch me how I take everything from you! The same way I did with your friend…" her bony fingers curved and began to burn in dark flames than soon began to spread all across the hall and up the walls, crashing the remains of the dome ceiling. The dark witch soon turned again into a black shadow in the sky and began blasting dark energy to the palace surroundings burning everything to the ground.

Geb held Nut and pulled Serenity closer to him and began to run towards the closest exit that led to the main court. Artemis turned to Luna and held her hand "We will overcome this…" he said convinced when he saw the terrified look on her face.

Megumi wiped the dirt off her face and looked around with desperate eyes and hoped to see any signs of Endymion, she bit her lower lip and brought her hands close to say a prayer

"_Please be alright, please be alright…"_ she whispered.

She looked at the main court close to the entrance of the palace and saw the a multitude of dark soldiers fighting against the silver armed guards of the moon _"It is the same war…" _her lips mouthed, her breath escaped her lungs with resignation and tried her best to control her desperation and fright.

The queen turned and saw the four inner senshi fighting against what appeared to be a higher ranked soldiers and tried to run towards them but the sound of heels on the broken floors caught her attention and made her turn. She was sure there was no one else left inside unless it was "Serenity?" she asked softly.

Her eyes widened when indeed she realized somebody was coming from the palace and towards the main court where they all were but was taken by surprise when she noticed the clothing this person was wearing, Queen Serenity's face turned pale, her mouth went dry and her eyes widened slightly more when the girl coming towards them was not her daughter, but one girl younger in age with pitch black hair and violet eyes. She had alabaster skin and despite her kind eyes the queen noticed the colors in her uniform and could not help to feel hopeless, abandoned and betrayed.

Geb turned and frowned with confusion, he studied her attire and noticed it was similar to the ones of the princess' guardians but in a darker color; she was not from here he thought and turned to his wife who shook her head in defeat. The man took a deep breath and recognized the symbol on the broach attached to her black bow _"No…"_ he whispered and took his sword from its sheath "I will not allow this to happen" he turned on his heel startling her wife and the mauians.

Queen Serenity raised her hand and walked toward the girl at the entrance of the palace; the young girl gave the white queen a sad smile and shook her head "Queen of the White Moon Kingdom, I wished for us to meet under other circumstances…but it seems I am always an uninvited guest"

"We can fight this war…there is no reason to destroy everything, why bring death where we can always protect life, together?" the queen tried to reason with the girl.

Saturn looked at the queen with calm, melancholic eyes "Queen Serenity…I was given specific orders and I must follow them"

"Orders from who?" the queen lost her temple and looked at the girl with teary eyes "Saturn, orders from who?!" she raised her voice "Why would you've be given the order to destroy us?"

Saturn looked up and watched the mass of dark energy spread across the sky, destroying everything in its path. She raised her glaive and pointed at it "I cannot let that evil being reach Olympus, more less the Underworld"

"We can fight it Saturn" the queen took a step closer; she remembered the girl being introduced to the gods in a meeting in Olympus by Hades and Zeus. The girl was given the name of Saturn, the newest chosen senshi to guard the underworld as the soldier of death and rebirth. With mixed feelings, the gods accepted the awakening of a soldier at such a short age and with both fright and glee they welcomed the Hades' daugther into their society perfectly aware of how Hades would use her daughter's power to his advantage.

Saturn turned to look around and shook her head "This is a problem that can only be solved by cutting it from its root. I must send these troubled souls to Tartarus where evil is being imprisoned" she tried to take a step forward but the lavender haired queen stopped her "There is no use Goddess Serenity, they're souls I must take to the underworld…"

"Souls…" Queen Serenity frowned and then it hit her, the girl was indeed sent by Hades and the higher gods to recollect the souls of those who once were from the mortal realm and to imprison one in particular "Your Father has sent you…to gather his soul, the soul of the son of Gaia"

Saturn blinked surprised _How did she know? _She thought.

The lunar queen nodded "I knew it…this was the perfect opportunity to take him to the underworld just like your father always wanted"

"Please step aside Goddess Serenity" Saturn said in her powdery voice, still full with threat.

Queen Serenity shook her head and stood in front of the raven haired girl "You may be the soldier of death Saturn, but I am still Queen of this Kingdom and I am going to protect it with everything I have including that young man's soul…I promised my friend"

The young girl stood still and watched the scene of death develop in front of her eyes. She had to admit that he disliked her position in this realm; she disliked being the soldier in charge of bringing death to others the one that destroyed everything in her path. She disliked being feared and alone, and even when she had all the power necessary to bring oblivion to entire planets she believed in the queen's words and hoped for better days. This was another order given by her father and the other gods, she was again used to their purposes to what use? Just to achieve something they have feared for just too long.

"I heard stories about God Geb and his legacy of warriors" Saturn said while watching the old man fight with his sword and slice the bodies of those who once were innocent mortals fighting for a good cause "The family blessed by the strongest star in the galaxy, if not the universe…the star created and protected by God Helios"

Nut turned to look at the girl over her shoulder "What do you know about us?" she snarled with anger and desperation "If we have been blessed, where are the gods now?! You are here to take my grandson with you…and that is something I cannot allow, you believe the same thing all of them believe…but he is not evil"

Saturn watched the woman in turquoise "Goddess Nut, I personally do not believe in evil unless I witness it with my own eyes…but unfortunately for too many I am a soldier with a specific duty and I was given an order I cannot fail to accomplish" she turned to the white queen "I can only wait for it to come to me by its own will…which, it will…with great sadness I cannot raise my glaive to help you win this battle…"

Queen Serenity lowered her gaze for a moment and studied her options, which were not too many and thought of what would Gaia do in a situation like this "I was not born in a family of warriors, more less was trained like one…but I will fight in my own way" she raised her head "I am sorry Saturn but I will defend my Kingdom with everything I have…with my life if it is necessary, because I believe that we can solve this without taking any more innocent lives" with that said she turned on her heel and walked down the long stairs, leaving the young senshi alone with her thoughts.

"We need his soul…to save us from disgrace…those were God Chronos' orders…" Saturn said softly, her violet haze watched the horror in front of her and immediately spotted the main source of evil "You, the mistress of Darkness…you will not fall by my hand…" She narrowed her eyes

"_Not by my hand…"_

o.o.o.o.o

Beryl walked with confidence across the same garden where she confronted the blonde senshi. After her attempts for crossing the maze to get to the mysterious tower failed, she decided to take another random stroll until she finds what she is looking for.

Her pointy heels stabbed in the dirt and dead grass as she slowly walked towards the palace grounds once again and smiled, with the powers given by Metallia her senses were enhanced to levels higher than a normal human would have; her eye slit with glee when the scent she longed for too long finally reached her nostrils. Her smile widened when she looked at the long wide corridor and began walking toward the entrance.

"I have found you, _finally_"

Serenity opened her eyes and tried to adjust them to the mix of light and darkness in the small space where she was hiding. To her surprise, everything was very silent and made her wonder for how long she fell asleep or if she ever slept at all.

She moved slowly out of the small hole behind the wall and popped her head out to see the surroundings and with great care stepped out of the hideout from behind the wall and looked around; everything was too still, too silent and too tenebrous to be real.

The sound of pebbles distracted her from her thoughts and for a moment she thought that steady noise was coming from Endymion but after a short while of being immobile she turned to look behind her the feeling of chills going down her spine; she had the feeling like if there was somebody watching her closely.

With a sense of eerie she turned to walk away from the large smithy doors and more toward the double crystal doors in the distance that seemed to lead to a balcony; the sound of heels startled her and made her turn as quickly as she heard the first step and felt her heart begin to race in her chest "Hello?" the word barely escaped her lips and felt this terrible need to run away from that place.

She turned on her heel again and walked away, she wished she could run but with all the glass on the floor the sound would expose her to whoever was there, stalking her. The echo of her heels crashing the pieces of marble and debris gave her a sense of solitude she never experienced before in her life, she wished this was only a bad dream, to wake up, adjust her eyes to the light of her room and see Endymion sleeping peacefully next to her. She wanted to see him sleep, she wanted to run her fingers through his silky hair and wait for him to wake up; she wanted him there with her, she wanted everything to be a dream, just a dream.

Serenity closed her eyes and took a deep breath _"A dream…a dream…make it a dream…"_ she stopped for a moment and took some time to accept the reality of what she was living; she opened her eyes and remembered the words the prince gave her before leaving for war

"_You have to be strong…you have to be strong for the both of us" _

The princess licked her lips and took another breath "Strong, I have to be strong" she whispered to herself and continued walking.

The sound of another pair of heels against the marbled floors caught her attention and made her turn; her blood froze when she saw someone standing at the entrance of the great hall. She frowned confused _A woman?_

This _woman _was hid between the contrast of dim light and pitch darkness, every time a lightening crashed across the sky the figure could be seen closer and closer to Serenity making her feel eerie, insecure and distressed. For a moment she considered the thought that it could be one of the senshi but her attire indicated otherwise, she was not wearing a fuku in fact, she was wearing what it could be a gown, a long dark gown.

Her lips parted in hesitation, she wanted to say something, she wanted to ask. She wanted to know who this person was and what she was doing there instead of running for her life. The uncomfortable moment became darker when the woman in question broke the silence that seemed eternal.

"That scent…is _everywhere_"

Serenity frowned and looked around, despite the fact that she wanted to scream or to say something to know who this was she decided that it was better if she just ran away. She already disobeyed Endymion's petition to staying hidden, the least she could do was to run and do not give him any more troubles…_More troubles _she thought _Enough trouble it is for him to come and get me and not see me there…Oh Serenity, what have you done?_

"That particular scent…" the mysterious woman said again, interrupting the princess' thoughts. Serenity took a deep breath and tried to focus her sight on the woman covered in shadows "Who are you?" she finally dared to ask.

A short chuckle was the first response. The woman in the dark took a couple of steps before speaking again "I wondered…_questioned_ myself of who _you_ might be…" she began walking again; her steps were slow but steady enough to scare Serenity and let her know there was something wrong with her "I could not understand where you came from…or how you appeared in our lives…" the woman in the shadows said with wonder and raised her hands "I saw you from afar…and still, you are a mystery to me"

Serenity's heart felt like if it froze in her chest, the woman's voice sounded cold and sarcastic. The vibe she was receiving from her was strange; she could feel the hairs at the nape of her neck bristle and felt the urge to get out of there as soon as possible. The woman's voice felt somehow familiar to her; there was melancholy in her words, melancholy mixed with sarcasm and despair.

The princess frowned and turned on her heel, her steps turned quicker as she desperately wanted to get to what it seemed an exit. Her heart thumped in her chest like a drum, so loud her heartbeats echoed in her ears; she licked her lips and had the urge to run away, her mind subconsciously calling Endymion for help.

Beryl looked at the young woman in the distance and extended her arms, and let the energy from her rod and body spread like black ink all over the corridor. Vines began crawling and growing from under the broken marble floors and every hole from the dome ceiling, windows and entrances accompanied by a strong smell of sulfur that almost asphyxiated the princess when she tried to move as far as she could from the black vines with thick and sharp thorns.

Her red eyes watched her innocent glowing body walking away from her and into the pitch darkness ahead, her red lips curved in a demonic satisfactory smirk. She may hasn't found the person she has been demanding to see since but someone close to her interest.

Whether it was luck or faith, things had worked out for her and now she could see those eyes again; those eyes she hope held the same fright and desperation she once had when she first and last met her. Her blood red eyes focused the girl vanishing in the middle of the darkness she had produced; the sound of her quick steps broke the thick wall of silence between her and the running princess.

The shadows around her began to follow her; the demons she summoned were her faithful servants, hungry for desperate souls who obeyed every order given by the woman in deep purple. She smiled, her right fang gleamed in the darkness and licked her lips as if she was savoring what was about to come next and raised her hand "Behold. This is something I will do myself…" she turned to look over her shoulder and chuckled "…Block any entrance, any gap…this girl…is _mine_…"

She sniffed the air and closed her eyes "_That scent_…" she licked her lips again "_I can almost taste it…_"

Beryl opened her eyes slowly and continued walking into the darkness, the echo of her laughter rumbled between the walls and pillars reaching the princess slowly like a predator. Serenity turned to look behind her and panted for air, her clear blue eyes looked around for something that could lead her to an exit or some place away from the demonic presence she knew it was following her. The energy was thick and dense, dark and chilly, very chilly. Its scent was intoxicating and filled like smoke taking over her lungs breathe after breathe.

If this were a nightmare, this would be the perfect moment for her to wake up, panting, scared and without Endymion by her side telling her that it was only a dream. This was worse; this was real and with no idea of what was happening outside these corridors that now seemed eternal. Doubt and worry sheltered her like a thick blanket and played with her mind, shot many scenes of her mother crying, her senshi being defeated and Endymion dead.

The princess closed her eyes and stopped as she tried to break free from the feeling of suffocation. She opened her eyes and saw two double doors that seemed to lead to an exit, or at least it looked like it and began to run as fast as she could toward the pale light from the outside.

The sound of her heart pumping blood was the only sound in her head as she came closer to the glass doors, with a sense of hope and freedom she finally took a deep breath and felt her chest lest congested. With fear and anxiety she looked up at the almost pitch black sky who, just hours ago was clear blue and that now the air had the familiar smell of coil and decoy.

Serenity's eyes widened when she noticed a dark mass accumulated right above the palace; with teary eyes she watched the sky turn in many dark shades every time it was broken by streaks of strenuous thunder and lightning.

Serenity looked around and realized there was nowhere to go, she stood in the middle of a large balcony and tried to find a rope or something that could help her go down but with everything almost destroyed, her chances were too little. The princess was considering to go back all the way until she found the main entrance to the hallway when a deep, cold chuckle broke her thoughts.

Serenity looked back into the darkness and saw shadows moving on the floor like tar, her light blue eyes were fixed into the darkness who soon gave view to a woman in purple. She studied her furious red hair and the way it graciously fell down her back and the emerald crown like tiara above her head; clear blue eyes met bloody red orbs with horror.

Beryl curled her long fingers around her rod and crossed the glass doors that led to the balcony where Serenity was standing and narrowed her eyes "So you are the Princess of this Kingdom, Serenity" her deep voice startled the white princess. Beryl tilted back her head and took a good look at the young woman in front of her and recognized her face "That face…" she whispered "I wanted to see that face of yours again…"

Serenity frowned "Who are you?"

Beryl arched her brow and chuckled "Why, you do not remember me?" she took another step "Such a shame"

"What do you want?" Serenity asked, not giving the red haired woman a chance to continue her taunting. Beryl took a moment to look around and raised her hand "Isn't it obvious?" she looked into Serenity's eyes and frowned "I want what it is rightfully mine…what you took away from me!" she raised her voice.

"I do not know what you are talking about…" Serenity hissed and took a step back when noticed the shadows surrounding the woman in purple began to spread all around them "I do not even know who you are" she moved her foot away from the tar like liquid coming closer to her.

The last comment twitched inside Beryl's brain, making her lose a little her cool and confidence "Look at me Princess!" she raised her voice "And tell me you do not remember me, one more time"

Serenity's breathing was short and hoarse, like if she was lacking air. She didn't really dared to look at the woman closely after looking into her eyes; but the dark woman's command spark the curiosity in her and slowly turned her face to pay a close look at her and gasped with surprise "No..." she breathed and shook her head "It cannot be…"

"What cannot be, _Princess?_" the word princess sounded like a snake talking to its pray, Beryl looked at Serenity with hatred "That I am here? That I am your superior now? Or that I am the girl you made fun of at the ball?"

Serenity frowned confused "I did not made fun of you..."

"SILENCE!" Beryl raised her voice and pointed at her with her long sharp nail _"You…"_ she took a step forward "If it wasn't for _you…_" she hissed with hatred and malice "I was the star of that evening…I was the envy of every woman that night and the desire of every man, even the Prince's"

Serenity shook her head and looked behind her, she noticed there was nowhere else to go, she was close to the edge of the balcony and had no other option but to look back at the woman in front of her.

"I had success in the palm of my hand; I had the crown upon my head…" Beryl continued "My dreams, my hopes…everything was bet on that night" she narrowed her red eyes "Do you have a slight idea of what I went through? Do you have an idea of what I had to do in order to be there that night?"

Serenity shook her head "This is not the way to solve any problem" she tried to reason with Beryl "Please…stop this madness"

Beryl knitted her brows together and let her blood boil in her veins in anger, her lips and all facial features stiffened as she took another step closer to the princess "I dreamed with that night all my life and when I finally had the chance to achieve my goal…YOU appeared!"

"But I did not do anything!" Serenity raised her hands.

"You ruined my life!" Beryl raised her voice "That angelic face….that porcelain face…that petite body in that golden gown!" the witch closed her eyes and brought her hands to her head "He was going to choose me! HE WAS GOING TO CHOOSE MEEE!" she shook her head as she remembered the scene when Serenity appeared and Endymion went up to her "You ruined my life…" she opened her eyes, but didn't look at her.

Serenity looked at Beryl with eyes of pain, she felt sorry for the weakened woman in front of her and almost felt as she needed to comfort her. Both women shared feelings for the same man but the difference was that one followed her heart while the other her pain and transformed it into hatred, turning her into the shadow of what she once was "I have never meant to hurt anybody…I never meant to hurt you…" she whispered sadly.

Beryl remained with her hands on each side of her head "All their laughter…" she whispered "…Everybody laughed at me, made fun of me…" she looked up at the white princess "All because of you…" she frowned "You enchanted him, you stole him from _me_!"

"No…" Serenity shook her head "That is not true"

"You stole him from me…but that will not happen again…_not ever again_"

Serenity shook her head "I do not understand"

"I was given this power…this absolute power to conquer the world, this galaxy…Earth is already mine, I am its rightful Queen and soon this land of yours, will be swept off your feet and so the man you claim as yours" Beryl's voice went deeper, it did not sound feminine anymore but more demonic. It was like if somebody else possessed her. Her blood red eyes turned darker and her pale turned paler; this was not the same broken girl Serenity saw at the ball, the same she was exposing her heart minutes ago, this was a demon and it was throwing her hatred at her.

"I will kill you…I will satisfy my needs by killing you…" Beryl hissed with pleasure.

Serenity gasped and covered her mouth with her hand; the shadows began forming a dark aura around Beryl like a protective blanket and levitated her a few inches from the floor. She raised her hand and watched her red nails grew longer and sharper and then turned to the white princess "Those eyes are the ones I wanted to see…the ones of fear, of respect…"

Serenity felt petrified, she could not move, she could not change her horrified expression. Her body felt like if it was made of stone, heavy, sore and unresponsive. Beryl gave the young princess a hateful glare and pointed at her with her sharp nails "I WILL DESTROY THAT PRETTY FACE OF YOURS!"

Serenity covered her face with her arm and waited a blow that never came; Beryl widened her eyes and looked up to see a blade against her razor nails and gasped once she saw the one with the sword "Endymion!"

Serenity snapped her eyes open and saw the prince standing between her and the dark witch, his dark blue eyes watched Beryl with the same intensity she was staring at the princess; but could not deny the surprise in her face. She had finally found him.

"Take those claws away from her" Endymion warned "Or I will not respond"

Beryl frowned "What are you saying?!"

"Beryl, I will not forgive you for what you have done, I will not respond if you lay even a single finger on her" his voice was cold and calculating. He came just in time to save Serenity; after he went to search for another place where he could take her and fight countless of enemy soldiers he ran straight back for the princess but did not find her where he last left her.

In a desperate manner, he had no other choice but to follow the strong feeling he had in his chest and run toward the balcony where miraculously found her discussing with Beryl.

Beryl looked at him with a face of surprise, her cold and hateful gaze softened as soon as she looked at him but felt a sting in her chest when saw he was blocking her attack with his sword, the same sword he used to put a whole planet to sleep; she narrowed her eyes and hissed like a demon who was thrown into light "That sword…you sent your own planet to oblivion with that sword…"

"And I will do the same thing to you if you do not cede" Endymion said dryly, his voice was to Serenity's surprisingly threatening "Now get the hell out of this place, you have nothing to do here"

Beryl retracted her red nails and looked at the prince; her look was still soft toward him. Maybe it was the longing she felt, the need to see him or to hear his voice again. She died and went back to life longing to hear the sound of his voice, to sniff the scent of his skin mixed with that cool cologne of his "But I do" she said softly "And I will not leave with what is rightfully mine"

Endymion narrowed his eyes; his grip on his sword tightened "Then face the consequences" he raised his sword. Beryl frowned and looked at Serenity shaking behind the prince like a leaf in an ocean and let out a despictive chuckle "Why did you have to lay eyes on her Endymion? Why do you protect the Princess of the Moon?" her eyes darkened "You are the Prince of Earth! If you just marry me, you could be King of both the Moon and Earth…and even the entire Galaxy!"

Endymion shook his head "After all you have done…you still have the nerve to come here and try to convince of your stupid ideas"

Beryl arched her brow "I took what is mine!"

"You killed my entire family! You killed the life on Earth!" Endymion raised his voice.

"You did that yourself…" Beryl licked her lips "You…with that…" she trailed off and looked at the sword in the prince's hand _"Sword…"_ she narrowed her eyes again "You are not human Endymion, not anymore…we are the same, you and I"

"We are never going to be the same" Endymion pointed at her with his sword "I do not run from reality like you, I do not crave for power like you…that power you have is not even yours in the first place" he breathed "What happened on Earth was to stop you from continuing intoxicating what was left of it"

Beryl chuckled and extended her arms "You ran from Earth and seek refuge in this place…like the shadow of that gracious, strong and invincible warrior you used to be" she pointed at him "Like the Prince you used to be. You have nothing Endymion…_nothing_, but with me you could have everything"

The witch's words touched a soft spot in Endymion's pride; half of what she was saying was true; he had come to the moon as half the man he thought he was, the man he was trained to be. But maybe that lie of a life he had happened before he was even born; he thought about Nut and Geb claiming to be part of his family.

"You disgust me Beryl" Endymion said "I feel sorry for you…almost pity; can't you see that being is using you? You are being misguided by Metallia and her evil energy…wake up yourself of the evil mind!"

Beryl's smile faded slowly and looked at Endymion with a cold stare "It was true what everybody said about you and your mother…" she raised her brow "…You two thought very similar…"

Endymion's eyes darkened at the mention of his mother "What are you trying to say?"

"Those were her exact words…when I was with her in her room" Beryl said and shrugged her shoulders "…Poor woman, she was so sick and weak…her heart was not working anymore…all that beauty was put to a waste"

Endymion's eyes widened, he knew the woman was putting his patience to a test and that she was using everything she got to make him lose his temper, she wanted to break him, but he had to be smarter than her, he had to find a way to bring her down and pay for all of her atrocities "I forbid you to speak of her" he raised his voice. Beryl raised her hand "Or what? You are going to make me pay? You are too busy protecting that dreadful woman..." her eyes were not on Serenity "She has bewitched you with that angelic face and that gracious body…but underneath all that beauty she is nothing but a weak Princess in distress" she pouted her red lips "Poor thing, are you scared?" she asked in a mocking tone.

"You have no shame…" Serenity said and shook her head "You are horrible!"

"We will see if you continue saying that once I gain full control of this Kingdom as well!" Beryl raised her hands in the air "Starting today, I will rule both Earth and the Moon! I will not allow anyone to defy me!" she raised her rod higher and summoned for her powers "Our beloved Metallia, this is the birth of our Dark Kingdom!"

Thunder and lightning began crashing across the sky, the ground started to rumble again with that fierce roar and the dark mass in the sky began invading all the palace's surroundings. The evil being, known as Metallia showed her gleaming yellow eyes through the pitch darkness and charged the evil queen with more dark energy; Beryl closed her eyes in gratitude and accepted the pain and burning sensation that ran through her veins.

Endymion narrowed his eyes and frowned in anger. He studied Beryl's movements and in a quick motion he raised his sword above his head and went to attack her and caught the witch off guard. Beryl widened her eyes and held the blade between her hands and flinch in pain as she began to feel that sacred fire taking over her again; she could see it in his eyes…his determination, his pain, his anger. She could see the strong energy flowing in him, with just a look into his now stormy eyes she knew she was not fighting just anyone but what it seemed to be more than just a mortal soldier.

The blade began to pierce the energy barrier Beryl was creating from the energy given by Metallia and soon saw a line of blood dripping from her hands and widened her eyes "No…" she breathed "It cannot be!"

Endymion looked at her with anger written all over his face, he has lost all mercy toward the woman in front of him "I will not let you continue with what you are doing, I will not let you do the same you did on Earth. This _ends here_ Beryl"

Beryl took a step back and felt there was no more room for her to run, both were standing at the edge of the balcony and growled frustrated "We are going to fall" she said "And this is too high for us both to survive"

"I don't care" he growled, startling her "What?" she asked in surprise.

Endymion's brows knitted "If I fall you will come with me. If I have to go to hell…so be it, but you are coming with me"

Beryl felt chills down her spine when she saw the golden shining blade move toward her and tried to move away, she had the power to annihilate the prince in one blast or at least that is what she thought but her feelings kept interfering with her. With no other option, she held her rod and blocked the prince's attack then turned and stepped away from the railing; she summoned for her power and blasted her energy at Endymion who protected himself with his sword, startling the dark queen and making her fall.

"Look around you Beryl…your Kingdom won't last for too long" Endymion said while looking down at her. Beryl growled at looked at the prince and princess with anger then laughed "Like you said, if I fall…you will come with me, your little Princess included" she put her hand on the floor and made it rumble with more strength making the pillars supporting the balcony crack and fall. Endymion turned to Serenity and held her hand tightly; Beryl watched him and let the anger inside her take over her reason again and blasted a mass of energy at him again, the prince moved faster pulling Serenity closer to him and out of the witch's attack. Beryl widened her eyes in panic when she saw the arched ceiling above them was beginning to fall and tried to move away but the heavy marble fell on her leg made it impossible to escape; Beryl covered her face with her arm and saw the pieces of ceiling fall around her "No…" she breathed "NOOOOOOOOO!"

Endymion turned to Serenity "We have to jump"

Serenity widened her eyes "It's too high…we…" she turned to look around her "There is nowhere to run…"

"You have to trust me, do you trust me?" the prince asked her softly and extended his hand out to her, Serenity saw there was not much time before the balcony fell into pieces and nodded, took his hand and followed him to the cracking rail. Endymion held her tight and jumped using his cape as a floating device and slowly went down until they finally touched the ground. Serenity opened her eyes and turned to see the balcony fall in the distance and could not help to feel her eyes burn with tears; after all the atrocities Beryl did to Earth and Endymion she could not help to feel sorry for her because she made the decision of being evil just to fulfill her dream of becoming a respectable woman. Now her body was under all that marble and dust, probably dead.

She slowly turned to Endymion and caressed his face with her fingertips; he watched the scene with both pain and sorrow; the woman under all that rubble was the same one that took the life of his mother and the rest of his family. It was funny how life charged for all the bad decisions one made. He looked down at the princess with worry all over his face "Are you alright?"

Serenity nodded and wrapped her arms around him "I thought I was going to lose you back there…I was so scared…"

Endymion shook his head and kissed the top of her head "I am alright; you are not going to lose me" the sound of the senshi's power diverted them from their intimate moment and turned to search where it was coming from.

"They must be at the main court" Serenity said "We are close to the palace's main entrance"

Endymion nodded and held her hand "Let's end with this once and for all" Serenity widened her eyes "But I do not have a weapon"

"You do not need one"

Serenity frowned as she continued following the prince "Then, how am I going to help you fight them?"

"You being safe is all I need for motivation" Endymion said and stopped, his arm stopped her from continuing and unsheathed his sword again "They are close"

"Who are…?" Serenity asked ad gasped when she saw more enemy soldiers coming their way. Endymion turned to look at her over his shoulder and frowned "Stay close to me" Serenity nodded and stayed behind him.

Endymion took a deep breath; he could not contain the pain to see his fellow soldiers going against him, with nothing else but only black energy filling their lifeless bodies. It was hard to see them as puppets, it was hard to fight them but at this moment, he had no other choice; he made a vow to protect the princess and to end this madness caused by Beryl and now that she was gone, they were halfway toward victory.

With sharpness, intelligence and fast movements, Endymion blocked the soldier's attacks and freed them from their torment. Blood was splattered all over the place it was hard to believe this was the same place known for being peaceful and magical.

Sailor Jupiter was the first one to spot the couple in the distance while attacking another mass of soldiers "There they are!" she shouted; Mercury and Mars turned to look at them and immediately their faces lightened with relief "Oh thank heavens…" Mercury breathed and froze another enemy.

Mars frowned "Where is Venus?"

Jupiter turned to Mars and bit her lip "Do you think she crossed paths with Kunzite again?"

Mars sighed and looked around "I would not be surprised…but I am worried about her"

"They seem to have vanished…" Mercury said "…And that woman too…"

"There are not too much enemies alive…we are actually winning this battle" Jupiter said hopeful as she looked at Geb stabbing another soldier with his blade "They are not going to win"

Mars pressed her lips and looked up at the pitch dark sky and saw the venom clouds move slowly like mist above them "The evil entity is still here… we must not let our guard down"

Jupiter blasted another soldier with her power of lightning and looked around, for the first time since they began this insatiable war she heard nothing else but silence "It's over…" she whispered and turned to look around. She turned to the queen "Your Majesty…"

"Have you seen my daughter?!" the queen asked mortified "Have you seen Endymion?!"

Jupiter widened her eyes and breathed "Your Majesty!" she walked up to her and nodded "I think I saw them…I am sure of it"

The queen blinked and began to search for them with her lavender eyes "Where!? Where are they!?"

Jupiter pointed the direction where she thinks she saw them coming and then frowned "I am sure I saw them moments ago…right at the other side of the court; one of the main balconies fell and that is when I saw them"

Queen Serenity walked with Artemis, Luna Nut and Megumi toward the balcony in question, her face showed distress and worry, it was evident there was something haunting her mind, something else besides her daughter. She looked up at the shadows in the sky and shook her head "She is still here…" she stopped and shook her head "No, no…she is still here!"

Jupiter widened her eyes "Who Your Majesty?"

"The queen said bluntly "I have to help my daughter, I have to help Endymion…" she tried to run toward the court Jupiter just mentioned but Artemis stopped her; the queen turned to look at him puzzled "What are you doing Artemis? Let me go!"

Artemis shook his head "Your Majesty…I cannot let risk your life this way, I am sure Princess Serenity is alright, and so is the Prince…I trust the Prince's abilities, after all he has from a family of warriors"

"We do not know what she is capable of doing!"

Mars frowned and took a step forward "Who is her, Your Majesty?"

The queen blinked and still looked up and sighed "An evil being who seeks nothing else but revenge…Metallia is her name"

"Revenge?" Mars narrowed her eyes and turned to look away, her eyes tried to find some kind of an answer in Artemis' but not even the man in white could tell a thing "Your Majesty…where is my Father? How come nobody has come to help us?"

The queen blinked and looked at the raven haired senshi and licked her lips slowly, trying to find a perfect explanation of why they have been abandoned. She found it strange that not even Ares was there to help, he went to seek for help and never came back, maybe Eris had something to do with it, maybe everybody knew by now that the son of Gaia is being protected by her. Hundreds of thoughts invaded the queen's mind, but she had to be strong, she could not yield before the god's ambitions "We…" she trailed off and reconsidered her answer "He went to seek for help and hasn't returned Mars"

Mars shook her head "But that cannot be…Father has always being on the lookout, this does not make any sense…he's the God of War and he is not here fighting with us, why?!" she bit her lower lip "What if something happened to him?" Mars violet eyes expressed the worry her voice could not show, the queen watched her quietly and shook her head "Do not worry Mars, we will succeed" she turned to Artemis "We must find them and go straight to the sacred tower"

Artemis hesitated to respond, the queen widened her eyes "What is it Artemis?"

Artemis pointed at four men in dark grey walking in the direction to the court Jupiter mentioned the princess was with the prince "They…he…he is the man that confronted Venus moments ago"

The senshi, the queen, Nut and Megumi turned to see who the mauian was talking about; Megumi recognized the uniform, the hair and the way of walking and gasped "No…it cannot be…"

Nut turned to see Megumi "What is it child?"

"They…they…" Megumi pointed at them with a trembling finger "They are my Prince's guardians…"

Mars turned and widened her amethyst eyes and shook her head "We have to go after them; we cannot let them find the Prince and Princess"

Endymion walked slowly with Serenity holding his hand, both were soaring and tired; she was scared and worried for him because she knew he was wounded and bruised underneath his uniform. He on the other hand, has been thinking about the recent events with Beryl and her threats, the demonic look on her face and the way she spoke of her mother with that cynical tone.

The princess' face lightened a little when she saw the main court and her senshi in the distance and felt the peace she was longing for so long, her prayers have been listened. The war was over.

As she walked, she turned to look at the prince and then at the road ahead of her and stopped abruptly. Her heart skipped a beat and waited for Endymion to catch up with her.

Four men in a grey suit were standing at a short distance from the couple, all with their arms cross and with a lost look in their faces. Their eyes were opaque and they lacked of expression, it was like if all four were…

"_Dead"_

"My…what have we here?" Jadeite was the first to talk, like always in a usual sarcastic tone. His smile did not reach his eyes like it always did; his chirpy and bubbly personality was gone "A little rabbit in the woods"

Serenity widened her eyes and felt how her breathing went from 1 to a 100 in a matter of seconds. Endymion stood next to her and widened his blue eyes when he saw the men he knew as his soul brothers "Jadeite, Zoicite, Nephrite…Kunzite" he breathed "You…" he trailed off, the surprise was too much for him.

Nephrite narrowed his dark eyes and smiled, the same way Jadeite did "The person we were looking for has finally come to us"

"Just like we expected" Zoicite joined the conversation.

Endymion frowned and pulled Serenity to stand behind him, Serenity turned to Endymion with a puzzled look and shook her head, not understanding what was happening "Endymion?"

"Stay close to me"

Serenity diverted her gaze from the prince to the shitennou and then back at Endymion again and saw he was resting his hand on the tilt of his deadly sword "Endymion what are you doing?" she widened her eyes "These are your Generals, your friends! What are you doing?!"

"Step back Serenity!" Endymion commanded.

"No!" the princess tried to reason with him, Endymion looked over his shoulder, his eyes turned darker and that meant one thing: he was hurt. His brows were knitted together and the muscles of his face were obviously tense, the man was struggling because he was about to fight and defeat his long time friends and by defeat, he meant killing them "These are no longer the men you and I used to know"

"No…" Serenity shook her head "No, no …it's _them_!"

"They reek of sulfur…which only means they are no longer them; they have been possessed by the same evil energy that possessed Beryl"

"How long did you plan on hiding eh?" Jadeite asked and arched his brow "We do not have your time you know?"

"We have been given orders" Zoicite crossed his arms "And we are not going to leave until we fulfill them"

"Orders…by Beryl?" Endymion asked, taunting the men, then felt guilt and petty to see them like that. The last time he saw Jadeite was when he went to look for him in the woods, when the first crew got lost and he fought Athamas' soldiers. He could not deny his joy to see them 'alive' but he knew deep inside these men were no longer the same people with who he grew up with.

He turned to Kunzite who was still very silent, his grey eyes were calculating and cold, it was almost like if he was back in his training years as soldier when the both of them could not get along. He didn't show any emotion, not even a single trace of recognition

Endymion's lips parted and called his name "Kunzite…" his memory went back to the last moment he saw each and one of them, the moment Kunzite saved his life. The night of the fire, the night he lost his friends, his family, his home…everything. He was stripped from everything and right now, he had to fight for the only family he had left, Serenity and Megumi and for the sake of this kingdom, he had to clean up the mess Beryl caused. He was the last one standing and he had to win, one way or another.

Kunzite looked at him and waved his hand "Kill him" he muttered to the other generals and watched how each and one of them went straight to the prince with their swords above their heads.

Endymion unsheathed his sword, the sharp blade cut through the air making a distinguished echo that ended with a clash every time he blocked one of the general's swords. Serenity knew she had to stay close, but also needed to give him some space to fight since this was not going to be easy. She went to stand under a burnt tree; her pale blue eyes watched the pain written in Endymion's face every time he attacked one of the shitennou.

These were the same men that protected him, gave him advice and were there for him each and every time he needed to talk to somebody. Serenity knew the importance of their existence, their importance in his life. Endymion grew up with ideals and dreams just like any other person; he believed in people's goodness and did what he had to do to keep his mother safe.

_His mother safe_… she repeated in her head; he fought and gave his life to save his family and now, everything was gone. The kingdom where he grew up was now a memory. All of their nights together, his room, the beautiful gardens, the lake…everything was now a memory in Mnemosyne's hands.

Now, he had to fight what was left of that family and she could not help to tear at the mere thought of where this was going to end. Her heart beat hard in her chest; the anxiety of watching him dodge, kneel, jump and attack the other men was disturbing. This was the hardest trial for Endymion, the shitennou were the closest to Endymion's range of strength and abilities with sword fighting; winning over them was not going to be an easy task.

Endymion fought with Jadeite and Zoicite first for a couple of minutes before Nephrite stepped in, there was a strange energy coming from their hands, it was as they were using magic in each and every move they made, Serenity couldn't tell. They moved so fast it was hard for her to keep up with their attacks; the prince jumped and landed a few feet away from them and looked at the three men, staring back at him with deadly glares.

"What is the matter? Are you tired?" the blonde asked sarcastically.

Endymion frowned "Far from it" his breathing might be hoarse but he still had much to give "On the other hand…"

Jadeite arched his brow at Endymion, who was pointing him with his sword "I believe you are the one who needs to rest" the blonde looked at his jacket stained with blood with utter surprise and gasped "What…?"

"Your fighting has always been predictable, that is something I never told you…you know, old friends, respect, all those things…" it was Endymion's turn to be sarcastic "But now, I can finally take that off my chest and I must say I do feel a pound or two lighter"

Jadeite looked at his deep wound across his chest and dropped the blade without caring anymore what the prince was saying "This cannot be…" he turned to Zoicite with scared look and slowly began to fall unconscious on the floor at Nephrite's feet. The brown haired general looked at him and hissed in disgust "So pitiful…what could you expect from a fourth ranked general like _you_?"

Their words were too incredible for Endymion to hear, of all four, Nephrite was the one with the most humble heart, the one that care the most for others and now, he was looking at his fellow comrade dead on the ground with such disgust and indifference "Too weak…" he raised his head and glared at the prince "You had it easy…but I am different than him"

It took all of Endymion's courage to pretend this was just another fight to him, he didn't want to fight, not them. But they were not going to back off until they had his head…

"Nephrite, you don't have to fight" Endymion said "You, of all were the only one who searched for alternative solutions to things…please, open your eyes! I cannot keep fighting you"

"You are weak" Nephrite said "That is why the star of Leo was always in danger" he pointed his sword at the prince "You let foolish feelings get in the way" he turned to Zoicite and motioned him to join the battle "This should not take long, kill him"

Endymion tightened his grip on his sword and blocked the first attack coming from Zoicite; he extended his hand and like magic shot a blast of energy at Endymion _"Zoi!"_ the prince widened his eyes and dodged it by barely nothing and rolled on the thick and odd grass.

The blonde looked at him and smiled "This is too easy!"

Endymion closed his eyes and shook his head, with all the pain in his heart he accepted the fact that they had to die or otherwise they would continue suffering in their own world of shadows. He stood up slowly and opened his dark blue eyes, took a deep breath and looked at the sword in his hands "You are like brothers to me…" he said softly "…I cannot…" he trailed off and took some time to continue "…If this is the only way you have to continue living, then I do not want you to live…I have to stop you"

Both generals ran towards the prince, their eyes were red like fire and raised their swords to get him in one blow; Endymion ran in their direction, Serenity held her breath and covered her mouth. The prince jumped and kicked Zoicite to the ground and caught Nephrite unprepared for the attack; with a horrified expression the prince pierced his sword in his chest and kept him hanging on it for a moment until the general slowly began to lose the battle and fell to the ground, lifeless.

Zoicite slowly tried to stand up and looked for his sword, he saw the prince walking in his direction and rolled to the side and blasted another mass of energy at him but the prince didn't give him any more time to regain his position in battle. The blonde saw the prince's stained boots and widened his eyes and then looked up at him with a scare stare _"Prince…"_ he whispered.

Endymion widened his eyes in shock, for a moment he saw the distress swelling inside the blonde's body. Purple bruises were all over his neck, like if he had being choked until his dead or even tortured, he didn't want to know. _Has he regained consciousness?_ _Is he back to normal?...Zoicite…_

He crouched in front of him and moved his hand close to him as if he was trying to read his mind, to know what he was feeling but then, the tar like venom inside of him began to bubble in his mouth, his green eyes began to cloud again; he started coughing blood while holding his head like a mad man.

His screams were loud and disconcerting, the man was suffering…the man was in pain and it was too much, too difficult, to painful for Endymion. This gave him the enough courage to continue with his promise to them

"_I won't let you live like this…you protected me now I will protect you"_

He raised his sword and in a swift movement, stubbed the blonde in the heart with it; the same way he did with the other two generals. Black blood began to pool from his wound and he slowly closed his eyes and drifted into an eternal sleep.

Endymion sighed and closed his eyes, he was about to touch him but soon his body started to melt and changed into that same tar that was bubbling inside him, leaving a stain in the grass.

"Fools…" a cold, very low voice startled Endymion from his thoughts and turned to see Kunzite standing several feet away from him; his Arabic sword shining with a strange energy in his hand "They never were good with a sword…" his eyes diverted from the stains in the grass to the prince in the distance "But with me, you will have to surrender"

"Kunzite…" Endymion's breath was hoarse, his eyes turned darker, almost black as he watched the silver haired man walking in his direction "Please, wake up…I do not want to harm you"

Kunzite laughed "Like if you could" he frowned and pointed at him with his sword "No one has ever beaten me in a fight before and you are not going to be the first one"

"Kunzite, you are being possessed just like the rest…" he frowned "You have no reason to fight with me!"

"Stop being a coward and raise that sword!" Kunzite raised his voice "Stop wasting my time with your nonsense!"

Endymion stood up straight and prepared for Kunzite's attack; his sweat trickled down his forehead and pressed his lips together in a tight line. Kunzite glared at him once he stood in front of the prince and turned to see the princess behind a tree _"That woman…_" he trailed off "…You let yourself be manipulated by that woman"

"You know that is not true" Endymion tried to reason with him "Your words are only the reflection of Beryl's jealousy. You are being manipulated by her…"

"Nobody manipulates me" Kunzite smirked "Taking a side against you was a decision of mine…I was tired of living under your damn shadow" his features stiffened "Now, I have the opportunity to serve my Queen, to serve the Dark Kingdom"

"There is no such Kingdom" Endymion muttered "Nothing of what you believe as real exists Kunzite, _nothing_…they implanted that idea in your brain. You are being misguided by the dark power of that being!"

"SILENCE!"

"Did you forget about Venus?" Endymion frowned "Did you forget about your ideals? The reason why you became a warrior? You and I shared a common cause!"

Kunzite's eyes were opaque, like if he was blind. He shook his head and raised his sword "Once I am done with you…I will go and cut that women's head off"

"Don't you dare to touch her"

Kunzite chuckled "Or what?"

"Or I'll kill you" Endymion snapped "I swear on my Mother's name Kunzite that I will kill you"

Kunzite smiled "My, this is getting interesting"

Both men stared into each other's eyes for a moment in complete silence. Kunzite noticed Endymion's eyes change from a sapphire shade of blue to one close to prussian in seconds and arched his brow "_Very_ interesting…" without any notice, Kunzite delivered the first attack against Endymion who with the same speed clashed his sword against his, blocking the impact.

Kunzite gritted his teeth and moved back and launched his blade towards Endymion who moved to the side and turned, hitting Kunzite from behind. Both shared the same speed and they both knew very well their moves making this fight a harder challenge; Kunzite waved his sword in front of him as if he was cutting the air between them but each and every blow was blocked by Endymion's sword. The prince moved away from the general as quickly as he could and continued returning the attacks the white haired man was giving him with his sharp weapon.

The metal clashing against metal was deafening; to evil this was music to its ears, it was a victory to finally see the royal prince of earth in the verge of a fall down. Kunzite frowned when he noticed it was not going to be as easy as he thought and moved two steps back to quickly reconsider his tactics and then shoved his sword again, and tried to pierce the prince's flesh in one clean cut once and for all.

Serenity watched them fight with wide eyes, this was different than the battle Endymion had with Athamas, with the andromedian he was angry, he was blinded by rage for knowing he was one of the reasons things escalated the way it did; he blamed him for being part of his kingdom's downfall and for knowing the damage he caused to her. But with Kunzite, the battle was passionate; in his face was the incredible need to break the spell Kunzite was put into. He wanted to wake him up, he wanted to stop him…he wanted him out of his obvious misery, just like he did with Jadeite, Nephrite and Zoicite.

She watched them move from one side to the other at an incredible speed that made her wonder how it was even possible to keep up with such pace and being able to block such quick movements every time, with perfection. She even had the feeling that the ground shook beneath their feet; their blades clashed with peals of thunder and hurricane gales. Kunzite wielded a sword with supernatural powers, its purple flashes dazed her from time to time making it hard to keep up with every move they took. Endymion's sword also held powers she now knew were also supernatural; his blade had this pale gold sheen that contrasted with the obvious dark energy on Kunzite's blade.

Endymion swung his sword in a mighty windmill but Kunzite dodged easily and made a play for his chest. He chuckled and swung his sword in his own way "Is that everything you have to offer? Aren't you a _Prince_?!"

Endymion gritted his teeth and stumbled backward, unable to gain purchase on the ground before Kunzite lunged forward with a second thrust. He rolled to one side, annoyed at the special powers granted by Metallia's power.

Kunzite laughed "Where is that great ability of yours eh? Is that everything you have for me? I heard you sent Earth to goddamn oblivion…where is that power of yours? _Where is it_!?"

Endymion glared at him and began to feel the ravages of battle and gritted his teeth once again. In one swift move he lashed out with a roundhouse kick but Kunzite blocked the move and responded with a jab to his throat. Endymion felt the tip of his sword brush air over him as it passed by.

Kunzite's arabic sword sparked again with a purple bolt of evil energy that zapped Endymion square in the adam's apple. The feeling was disorienting and that was all Kunzite needed to land one last serious blow. He kicked the prince in the ribs with great force and tumbled backward, gasping for air.

"Pitiful" Endymion heard Kunzite say. He took another breath and stood up as quickly as he could and without even asking for it, the same golden light that engulfed his sword began to run through all his body and like if he had been given another shot of energy enough to continue fighting, he rushed towards Kunzite at a blistering speed with his sword singing at his side.

Kunzite stared at him with surprise and frowned "No matter how many tricks you have under your sleeve…you cannot win, you cannot win over me!" he nimbly evaded the deadly sword. The prince swung his sword again and this time Kunzite anticipated the dual attack; he spun to avoid his blade and brought his own to crash down with Endymion's but he had already dropped his weapon and withdrawn his hand to only meet his face with his fist, catching him off guard.

The move repeated one more time and Kunzite immediately ducked below the blade cutting the air and swung his sword but Endymion's empty hand now grasped his sword again and carved deep into his left shoulder making the general haul in anguish and fell to the ground. Endymion pressed the attack, not wanting to waste his advantage and kicked his ribs several times.

Screaming, Kunzite hauled himself with his arms, for whatever reason his legs were not responding to their fullest like moments ago; Endymion knew he could still prove a formidable threat if he launched himself into the air using his sword but he could not let that happen.

"It's over Kunzite" Endymion said between hoarse breaths, he raised his blade and pointed at the general's heart "This ends now"

Kunzite's grey eyes widened in shock and raised one hand to ask for mercy. Serenity had never heard a man scream the way he did seconds before Endymion stabbed his sword in Kunzite's chest. His loud cry echoed across the battlefield meaning only one thing… the battle was over; the highest ranked shitennou was dead.

Hurt began to take over Endymion's heart as he watched his friend lie dead on the ground. He gasped for air and let it go several times like if he was trying to suppress his angst and the tears burning in his eyes. He took a moment to grief for him and for the rest and closed his eyes, knowing for a fact that it was because of them that he was still alive; they had protected him like they swore their life to his mother once and this was the only way to free them from the nightmare they were put into.

"I will see you…someday…in the future…" he whispered "My dear friend"

Serenity walked from behind the tree towards the prince; her heart pounded in her chest probably like she never had before. There had been too many strong emotions she ignored she could ever experience in her life.

"Endymion?" she called for him softly, almost as a whisper and startled him from his thoughts. He raised his head and turned to look at her, his blue eyes immediately changed from stormy to a more clean sapphire shade "Serenity…" he breathed and began walking to meet her halfway, in the process he sheathed his sword and gave the young woman a soft and faint smile.

"Are you alright?" he asked with genuine concern; Serenity nodded and looked into his eyes -_How much longer are you destined to suffer my love?- _She thought and put her hand on his cheek "I am more worried about you…" she whispered and looked at the wounds the general left him "You are very hurt…"

Endymion sighed and leaned his face on her hand, feeling her warmth so welcoming and comforting "I will be alright…" he answered softly.

Serenity licked her lips and gave him a sad look "I am deeply sorry…for everything…I…" she trailed off "I know how much you cared for them…"

The prince closed his eyes for a moment "Those men I fought were not the ones I grew up knowing…they were shadows taking their form…possessed bodies…" he took a moment and licked his lips "…My friends died in battle, trying to save the soldiers who's blood is now splattered all over this place…they died trying to save Elysion, the palace…me…" he sighed in defeat "…The Kingdom I grew up to know…is now gone…"

o.o.o.o.o

"_Your legacy must not die tonight… you shall wake up…you shall bring the key…"_

A dark voice echoed inside the darkness, it was cold, it was eerie, it was demonic…evil, very evil. If it had a color it would be no other color than black. It had hoarseness to it, sarcasm and it was terribly velvety and calm…similar to Endymion's.

It was a voice she never heard before, it was a call she never had before, it was a being her eyes were not able to see, her red eyes could not focus, it was a voice, only a voice and it echoed in her head over and over again. She felt a burning sensation going through all her limbs; deep inside in her thoughts she heard this being still talking to her.

"_You shall bring the key to me…the key to ultimate power. Wake up…your legacy shall not die tonight…you will live, forever powerful, forever beautiful…" _A blast of energy burned her heart, making it pump once again inside her chest and opened her blood red eyes _"Forever powerful…forever beautiful…"_

"_Bring me the key…"_

"The key…what key?" she whispered.

"_The golden…key…the one who will give me absolute power…."_

Beryl gasped for air and freed herself from the rubble and the heavy stones that fell over her when the balcony crumbled beneath her feet. Her long fingers curled around the stones and tried to support herself as she slowly stood up; her mind was still hazy for the previous events and a shock of panic ran through her brain once she remembered that along with her, Endymion fell to the ground.

Her eyes widened when she turned to look around and then, she finally woke up to reality. The woman she thought she managed to kill was still alive, alive and in her man's arms _"No…" _she breathed in anger and disbelief "No…how can you still be alive?!"

Beryl shook her head and slowly began to walk towards the couple in the distance, with anger and despair, with hatred pooling from her eyes. Her steps were small, slow and steady _"Endymion is mine"_ she repeated to herself like a mantra:

"_Endymion is mine…mine…you are not going to take him away from me…Endymion is mine, mine, Endymion is mine…"_

"_No…I cannot…I will not let you live…" _Beryl opened her blooded hand and pulled a soldier's sword with her power, her long fingers curled around the tilt feeling the weight of the weapon. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw him kiss the princess hands' and let the burning sensation take over her and began to speed up her pace and run without any remorse; her hand raised the sharp blade and grabbed it like someone would grab a knife and prepared to stab the princess to death.

Endymion shook his head in disbelief and an uncharacteristic feeling of deep sadness; sadness to see all the damage Beryl caused because of a whim. Serenity interpreted his moment of silence and held his hand and brought it to her lips kissing it softly "Is it over?" she whispered.

Endymion looked up at the dark sky and frowned "I can smell the decoy in the air…" he looked down at her and gave her a reassuring smile "But we will overcome this..." he kissed her hands "...It appears Beryl's minions have fallen…"

Serenity felt the intimacy of his kiss and the longing in his voice; slowly she began to close her eyes and forgot about the destroyed environment for a moment taking for the first time since this all started a breath of peace and quiet.

The couple stayed in silence and close enough to lean their foreheads together like if they were sharing their thoughts until Endymion snapped his eyes open when he heard a loud growl coming from the sky and watched with horror at the deadly woman running towards them with the sword up high above her head; her face was distorted, like if she was possessed, her mouth opened more than a normal mouth would be and let out a loud, screeching sound that startled both royals.

"_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HE'S MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE" _Beryl screamed _"DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"_

Endymion widened his eyes and like a movie in slow motion he pulled Serenity from her arm and took her place protecting her from Beryl's attack. His blue eyes widened when he felt the blade go through all the way from his back to his abdomen and let go a deep breath startling the silver haired girl.

Serenity's eyes widened and gasped in complete utter shock "Endymion…" she breathed and held him with trembling hands.

Beryl's eyes widened in panic when she saw her hand holding the sword deep into Endymion's back and moved her hand away _"No…"_ she shook her head, and looked down at her with trembling hands tainted with the prince's blood.

Beryl touched her face and shook her head again _"No…no…"_ she whispered and took another step back as she watched the prince fight the burning sensation in the pit of his stomach _"Endymion…" _she breathed.

"No…I did not…I did not mean to…no…Endymion…" she covered her mouth and took another step back, her hands trembled with almost an uncontrollable force "I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" she raised her head and looked at the pitch dark sky "I didn't…" she shook her head again "No…He cannot die…he cannot die…!"

Serenity moved closer to the prince "Endymion?!"

His crooked position began to raise the panic in her voice, everything happened too fast for her to register what just have occured "Endymion, what happened!?" her hands touched his face and tried to make him find her with his gaze, she licked her lips and kept calling his name desperately but the prince was still lost in the millions of thoughts that began crossing his mind, crashing with the burning feeling inside his body.

His life began to flash in several images in his mind like a short film, his childhood days, the countless times he watched his mother and father dance under the starry night, the hide and seek games he played with Aurea, his grandfather giving him his first wooden horse, his birthdays, his praying sessions with Obelix, the afternoons he spent with his mother under the cherry tree and his nights with Serenity.

"_Mama…mama…"_

"_Yes, Endymion?"_

"_I know what I want to be when I get old…"_

_Queen Gaia stopped reading and closed her book; it was one of their usual afternoons under the cherry tree waiting for Eros to finish his daily meetings with the generals and advisors. The queen arched a brow and brushed her son's midnight hair back, exposing his playful, innocent face and piercing blue eyes "And what is that?"_

_Endymion looked at his mother with the spark of a five year old could only have and smiled at her with enthusiasm "I want to be a strong soldier, like Papa"_

_Gaia watched her son with a tender gaze and caressed his face "My dear…" she smiled "You mean a King?"_

_Endymion frowned and shook his head, his mother was not following his ideals "You are not listening!" he pouted and crossed his little arms startling the queen "Dear, being King is synonymous of being strong"_

"_But that is not what I want" the boy said and stood up "Being King is boring…I want to ride a horse…and have a sword and fight bad people!" like this… Endymion began jumping one side to the other, pretending to swordfight with an opponent and turned to look at his mother who now had a distressed face "Mama?" he asked softly._

_Gaia took a deep breath and closed her eyes "Endymion" she called him with authority, she opened her eyes and looked at him in silence for a moment. The young boy was staring back at his mother with concern and began to wonder if he had done something wrong to upset his mother._

"_Come sit" the queen patted the seat next to her on the bench, once the boy followed and sat the beautiful queen continued "Why would you want to become a soldier? You are too young to think about those things…"_

_Endymion looked down at his shoes "Because…I want to protect you, just like Papa does"_

_The queen looked at him in admiration. Shaking her head in defeat she smiled sadly "Then you don't mean to become a soldier but a warrior"_

_Endymion widened his blue eyes and looked up at his mother "A warrior…?"_

_Gaia nodded and closed her eyes for a moment; seconds after she felt her son's warm hand over hers and opened her eyes and turned to him. She was taken aback by his curious gaze, thirsty to know what she was talking about "Mama, warriors are strong?"_

_Gaia widened her eyes and smiled softly at him "Yes, yes they are" she looked down and closed her eyes again "Warriors are the ones chosen to protect and serve a whole nation, the world even the universe"_

_Endymion widened her eyes even bigger "The…universe?" the young prince frowned "How do you know?"_

_Gaia smiled "Well, because…I have met warriors before…"_

"_You have!? When!?" Endymion leaned closer to his mother, Gaia chuckled "A long time ago…I met one of the strongest warriors in the galaxy" she brushed his hair with her fingers "And do you know something? He looks just…like, you" she pinched his little button nose._

_Endymion giggled and covered his nose with both hands for a moment "Do you think I can be one of those warriors Mama?"_

_Gaia sighed softly and caressed his face with the back of her hands "No dear…I do not think so, I know so…"_

_Endymion's eyes lit up with excitement and smiled widely at her "I promise I will always protect you…" he stood up and began doing his imaginary sword fighting scene again "I will protect you from mean people!" he turned to his mother "I promise"_

"_I promise…I will always protect you…"_

Endymion blinked and came back to reality, he looked down at the tip of the blade peeking from his abdomen and the dark stain in his dark uniform he knew it was his blood. He lifted his head, his prismatic eyes finally found Serenity's pale blue ones and gave her a soft, apologetic smile _"Serenity…"_ he whispered and gasped for air.

Serenity tried to move closer but Endymion put his hand in between them "I am alright…" he gasped for air again "I just…" he trailed off and tried to stand up straight.

"Let me help you…" Serenity fought his hand and moved closer to him.

Endymion shook his head "I am…alright…"

"What is the matter?! Let me help you" she raised her voice, not hiding her tears "Oh no…" she gasped and began crying "You are hurt! She hurt you!"

The prince looked at her and then down at the sword "Oh? This?..." he shut his eyes and pretended to sound casual as his hand slowly went to his back and grabbed the tilt of the sword and with slow movements, he pulled it out of his body but the inevitable happened, his blood began to pool from the deep wound and began to feel dizzy and weak.

He shook his head and tried to maintain his tranquil face every time he looked at her but his vision started to cloud and the princess' voice was beginning to sound less like her and more like a whisper in the wind. He shook his head again and looked down at the blooded sword in his hand and dig it in the ground as he slowly kneeled in front of the princess.

"Endymion!" Serenity held him as he slowly began to lose his strength and feel like his life was about to leave his body "Endymion! please…please do not close your eyes!" Her trembling hands slapped his face softly and kneeled in front of him "No…no…" she cried and looked around "HEEEELP! PLEASE….SOMEBODY HELP US!" she turned to Endymion, who was starting to blink heavily "Endymion, please…do not close your eyes! DO NOT CLOSE YOUR EYES! PLEASE! somebody will come…_somebody_…" she tried to keep the prince's body steady but he was too heavy for her _"Serenity…"_ he shook his head and touched her face or at least he thought he was touching her face "Are you alright?" he asked weakly.

Serenity blinked her tears and breathed "What?"

"Are you alright, Serenity? Did she hurt you?" he asked again between breaths.

The princess nodded "Yes, yes, I am alright…I am alright…"

Endymion smiled softly "I'm glad…" those were the words he needed to hear and slowly let himself go "I can't…" he said softly and closed his eyes for a moment "I need to…lay down…for just a little moment…"

Serenity helped him lay down; her teary and desperate eyes looked down at his wound and pulled his cape to make pressure, hoping her hands pressing against his body would stop the bleeding "No…" she sobbed and kept pressing the wound with the thick cloth of his cape "You are going to be alright…I…I will go…and" she looked around "I need to find help, I will go and find somebody to help us…" she sniffed "Mother...she can help you! Mother can heal you…If I go look…"

"Serenity"

"I will go find her so she can help us…I will…"

"Serenity…" Endymion's hoarse voice interrupted her and made her turn; her hands were now wet and tainted red with his warm blood "Endymion…you are hurt! You need help! I need to help you…I can help you!"

Endymion shook his head slowly, his eyes were barely open; Serenity licked the tears falling on her lip "Please let me help you!" she raised her voice in desperation "Please…please…" she leaned closer to him "Don't leave me…don't leave me here…"

Endymion swallowed the blood going up his throat and coughed in the process "Serenity…" he shook his head slowly "…You and I…" he took a deep breath "…Both know what is happening…"

Serenity shook her head and caressed his face "No…no, you are going to be alright…you are going to be alright…I will go find Mother and…"

Endymion raised his hand and Serenity took it immediately "Serenity…I want you…" he licked his lips slowly "…to promise me something…"

Serenity felt her eyes burn with tears again, this were the words she was not hoping to ever hear from him and in this position "No…please…don't talk like that…you are going to be fine" she whispered. Endymion blinked and looked at her, his sapphire eyes were still sparkling under the dark sky and looking through her soul, just like they always did "I want you…to be strong and brave…" he coughed softly "Do not give up…"

Serenity shook her head "No…Endymion…" she sobbed "I cannot do this alone…I cannot…" she closed her eyes "I do not want to lose you!"

Endymion's eyes began to burn with tears, the love of his life was suffering because of him, and her perfect white gown was now tainted red with his blood "Serenity…mea pulchra Luna Dea…" he whispered, catching her attention. His warm hand caressed her tear stained cheek and gave her a warm smile "I will find you…I will look for you without rest until I find you…"

Serenity sniffed and shook her head "No, no…I want you to stay, please, I do not want to lose you…" she whispered.

"You are not going to lose me" Endymion gasped for air "…I will find you…in another life…in another time…I will not stop until I find you again…I _promise_" a tear began to roll down his eyes; Serenity kissed his hand and closed her eyes "Please do not leave me…" she sobbed.

Endymion smiled softly "I amo te…Serenita...ti" he let go one last breath, letting himself go. His hand stopped cupping the princess' cheek and began to feel limp and heavy. Serenity opened her eyes and felt her cheeks flush once she realized what just happened; her lips parted and her breathing fastened. She looked at Endymion's blooded hand and saw it no longer moved, she moved it and looked at him "Endymion?" the sound of her voice barely escaped her vocal cords, she felt cold and lonely.

His lips were slightly parted, his eyes were closed. Her biggest fear has happened in front of her eyes.

Her heart felt heavy in her chest and almost lifeless. She shook him softly and called his name again "Endymion…" her voice quivered, her eyes burned with fresh tears and then, it hit her with a deep pain in her chest. She brought his hand to where her heart broke in millions of pieces and let her emotions take over.

"Endymion?" she shook him again "Please…don't close your eyes…"

Her tears clouded her vision, he was dead and she didn't want to recognize it yet. The man who fought for the safety of others, for her safety was gone "Endymion!?" she widened her eyes and shook her head in hysteria.

"No…" she breathed before feeling her life shatter into millions of pieces "Nooo!"

'ENDYMION! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

She opened her eyes and shook him again "Don't leave me!…please don't leave me here! Please!" she cried louder. Her arms slowly wrapped around his body and rested her face on his chest "I cannot do this without you! I cannot keep going without you!" she shook her head against his chest "…You promised me…Endymion wake up…please wake up! PLEASE WAKE UP!"

"…You promised you were going to be alright…you promised me nothing was going to happen to you!"

"Please wake up…" Serenity raised her head and looked at him "Please open your eyes…Endymion, please open your eyes…" her sobs were heavy, full of sorrow and pain. The most important part of her life was dead, lying on a pool of his own blood; it was something she could not describe, if she had to put words to what she was feeling it could it be something like, being dead at the same time of being alive.

She prayed, begged and demanded him to open his eyes; her blooded fingers traced the line of his jaw, of his lips and nose _"Please open your eyes Endymion…"_ she whispered and choked in her own sobs _"Endymion…"_

Beryl watched the princess cry next to the lifeless body of the prince she claimed to love so much. Her eyes were still wide with shock and panic; her teeth clattered with nervousness and bit her lip from time to time _"You stupid man…"_ she whispered "You, stupid _gorgeous_ man!" she raised her voice and pounded the floor with her fists "She was the one that should have died…not _you_…" the feeling of tears in her eyes startled her, the need to cry for the loss of a man he cared so much was surprising to her, she thought Metallia had taken all of her emotions and feelings and changed them for pure, hatred.

Tears rolled down her cheeks and with quickness she touched her moist face and stood up again; she looked up at the sky and frowned "Queen Metallia!" she extended her arms "I ask for your power…to help me revive the Prince of Earth and turn into a warrior of our Dark Kingdom! Give him back! Bring him back!"

The sky began to crack and howl, the massive dark energy that had calmed down was now taking force again and immediately localized the red headed witch _"Beryl..."_

"Bring him back, Queen Metallia! Bring him back to me!

"That is not going to happen…"

Beryl widened her eyes and turned to look at Venus standing in front of her with a sword in her hand and immediately recognized her face and frowned "I thought you were already dead"

Venus looked beyond the dark witch and could not help to feel devastated by the image of her princess crying next to the lifeless body of her lover, her protector. Her once soft features disappeared in a mask of anger and frustration, her blue eyes stared at the woman in dark purple _"What have you done?!" _she hissed.

Beryl's body stiffened at the blonde's question and soon, her new acquired powers given by Metallia began to crash against the feeling of guilt and desperation for murdering the terran prince "No…" she shook her head "I did not do anything!" she put her hands on her head "I did not do _anything!_"

Venus could hear the princess' painful sobs in the distance where she was standing and the exact moment when the tragedy replayed in her head "I watched you fall and be crushed by the stones of the balcony when it collapsed…I watched you…and them, I watched him fight against you…"

Beryl clenched her jaw "I am far more invincible that you could ever imagine…"

"You poisonous snake…" Venus muttered "You killed him…"

Beryl widened her eyes, remorse and guilt clouded her mind again "No…"

"You killed the one you claimed to love…you came here seeking for destruction, for death…for _him_, and in the end…_you killed him_…"

"Silence!" Beryl raised her hand "You do not know anything!"

"I watched everything that happened you witch! I watched him save my Princess' life…I watched him fall…" Venus raised her voice and could not help to feel responsible in some way for his death and Serenity's suffering "I should have…" she trailed off "I should have been here to save his life…like he did with her…like he did for all of us…I was too far away…I was not on time…I was not on time to save him…"

Beryl narrowed her eyes "Kneel before us, this is the beginning of a new era…the era of the Dark Kingdom!" she raised her arms and summoned for her given power "I shall revive the Prince of Earth and bring him to our side!"

"I will not let you…" Venus' sword pointed straight at Beryl "…Can't you see what that being is doing to you?! You are being used! You killed the Prince! You killed him!"

"NO, I did not do it!" Beryl shook her head and looked down at her trembling hands "He got in the way…He…" she frowned in distress "He was not supposed to die…I did not meant to…I did not want him to die…he was destined to be mine…" she shook her head; this was Venus cue to attack, the redhead's barrier was crumbling; she was as vulnerable as anyone at this moment and this was the right time to avenge the deaths of all those fallen soldiers, of the prince of earth, of the shitennou…and Kunzite.

"You killed him!" Venus' anger began to take over her body, a wave of strong sensations of pain and anger, of desolation and grief and strange for her, of love as well "You poisonous pawn…I cannot let you continue with this madness anymore…" her body began to glow with an intense golden color and closed her eyes

'_Kunzite…lend me your strength…whenever you are…'_

"I was witness of your mind games, your vicious tactics and your heartless selfish soul…I watched you play with all of those you called soldiers, of that army you formed of tormented souls of those who fought for a good cause, of those who fought for their freedom…who fought for peace…for love…I will not forgive you!"

The light intensified, catching the attention of the dark entity in the sky, the queen and the rest who were still looking for Serenity and the prince "What…is that?" Luna asked surprised.

Artemis turned to the very surprised queen and senshi, Mars licked her lips and brought her hands together "Venus…it's Venus…" she said surprised.

Jupiter widened her eyes and turned to the raven haired senshi "What?"

"She is summoning all of her strength…she must be with the Princess and the Prince…" Mars said and turned to the queen "They are alive"

The sound of heels startled the girls and turned to see at a senshi in black tightening her grip on the glaive "It has happened…" her violet eyes closed for a moment. Queen Serenity watched her with panic in her eyes "What has…?!"

Saturn began walking but was soon stopped by the lunar queen "I cannot let you go any further!"

"I am only following orders, Goddess Serenity" Sailor Saturn said sadly "If it was for me…things would have gone differently…but I have a duty to fulfill" she turned to Nut and Geb "I am deeply sorry you have to witness all of this…I am truly honored to have met one of the legends in sword mastery and battle, I just wished it didn't have to be under these circumstances…"

Geb looked at the girl and narrowed his eyes "You speak with such sorrow in your voice…it is almost like if you knew your life is not destined to last…"

"Who…are you?" Mercury asked, curiosity covered her voice.

The young girl turned to Mercury and gave her a sad smile "I am the journeyer from the valley of the dead. With the blessings of Saturn, the Planet of Destruction, I am the Scout of Silence... Sailor Saturn"

The four senshi widened their eyes in pure shock "What?" Mars said, almost frenetic "You are…God Hades' daughter"

Queen Serenity turned to the girl with an angry, desperate stare "I will not let you take anyone's life with you! I am going to stop you if that means to give you my life in order to leave them alone…"

Saturn remained stoic; her imposing weapon caught the gleam of the light shining in the distance "Such a warm light…the light of Venus"

"I cannot let her give her life force…I cannot let her die…" Queen Serenity said and walked pass by the senshi in black and purple and her advisors. The young senshi went right after the queen, hoping to still find the prince and princess alive and safe. Mars closed her eyes and pressed her lips in a tight line "Venus…please, resist… please stay strong…"

The young girl in black turned to Geb and rested her glaive on the broken floor "God Geb" she called at him with a calm tone "I sense a very strong aura…a familiar aura…"

Nut wiped her tears "Please…do not take him…" she felt Megumi's hand on her shoulder for support, something that took her for surprise, the young maiden showed too much concern and support towards them that it was inevitable to feel like she was one of them, after all, she was dear to Endymion.

Saturn narrowed her violet eyes "I am not" she licked her lips "It is very difficult for me to be here and be witness of all this destruction without being able to move a finger to stop it…"

"Then why…" Geb trailed off and growled in anger "Why are you here?! What does your Father want?!"

"My Father wants what everybody wants in this realm…to be at peace, to keep the darkness away. Darkness belongs to the Underworld and that is where it has to be locked, for eternity"

"I still do not understand what you are doing here" Geb held his sword tighter "You all have considered us a taboo, part of that darkness…"

"…Because we are Geb…" Nut interrupted her husband, making him turn to look at her with a surprised expression; Nut licked her lips and closed her eyes "…We are part of that darkness…there is a piece of it in our hearts, in our blood…"

"Nut, do not say that…" Geb shook his head "What happened all those years ago was out of our control…"

Nut fought her tears but her quivering lips and trembling voice was giving her emotions away "Gaia had to take charge, now our grandson has that duty…" she opened her eyes slowly and looked at the young senshi "But Endymion is far from having a dark soul, he may have the strength that could compare him to that same power but he would never be a man with dark intentions…my daughter taught him to be fair and loyal"

Saturn pressed her lips together in a childish way; the gods were often disturbed by the contrast between the girl's appearance and her stoic, cold character. She lived in sorrow and her eyes reflected it. Her eyes even when they showed her youth and her face the beauty and innocence, the truth behind her fragile figure was too frightening for them.

"I know my presence disturbs you…you may fear the worst and you are probably right to think the worst of me, that is my destiny. But the orders I was given are specific and I must follow them…" she looked up at the sky and shook her head "That being is poisonous…and it seeks the release of darkness"

Nut took a step closer; Megumi moved with her "You came here to stop her then?"

Saturn shook her head "I am only waiting for the right moment to take action"

Megumi felt a tug in her chest, it was painful to hear that little girl speak the way she was doing; she was smart enough to not retort any of her words. To know she was the guardian of the valley of the dead was enough for her to know she was not a soldier who listened to other people's advice. She looked at the girl with fright and then turned to look at the older couple, who to what she heard since they were inside the palace, claimed to be related to her prince.

Megumi took a deep breath to calm her nerves a little and widened her eyes when she saw the older man leave their side and walk towards the bright light in the distance; Nut turned and called for her husband but he did not turn his face "Geb…" she whispered.

o.o.o.o

Venus looked at Beryl and then at the princess still crying next to her lover's corpse and closed her eyes "How could you do such thing? You have no soul…You killed your own people, your own planet…you let yourself be misguided by an evil being and now you even dared to take the life of that one you claimed to love"

Beryl shook her head and raised her hands "I broke the spell she casted on him, if Endymion is not with me then he is not going to be with anyone, I took his life because _his life belongs to me_" she looked up at the sky

"Endymion and all you see around you belong to me …this is the birth of the Dark Kingdom" she smiled at the black dense energy above her "Queen Metallia…I have broken the spell, give me the power to take charge! Grant me more of your power to destroy everything that has kept us away from triumph!"

Wind began to blow strong and with it the clash of thunder lightened the sky one after another, the air stunk of sulfur, of that distinguished smell of decoy and blood; Metallia churned and cracked, it moved like turmoil above the dark queen. Venus lost control over the heavy sword in her hands and fell to the ground, the wind was too strong for her and with narrowed eyes she looked through the hair that was covering her angelic face; her blue eyes widened when she saw Beryl turn slowly towards the princess and pointed her long weapon at her "You will see her die…" she whispered.

Venus shook her head and gasped at the image of the princess crying her heart out in the distance "Princes…" she whispered and tried to stand up "Stay…away from her!" she yelled, but Beryl's energy was too strong for her to move faster.

Serenity was too immerse in her own pain for having lost the man who had been with her in good and bad, his body had slowly dropped its temperature and his once luscious lips were now slightly dry and pale. The princess pushed herself back and looked at him like if he was sleeping and felt the burn of her tears come again; that feeling of solitude and abandon, the reality of the situation she was into caught up with her, breaking any idea that this might be only just a dream and with one loud sob, broke into tears again "Why did you have to step in between? Why did you push me away…?" she whispered, her voice was choked with the lump in her throat and traced the line of his brows wishing he would open his eyes any minute now "…Endymion…open your eyes…"

Those blue eyes, the color of the same planet she grew up to adore. The reason of why she kept risking her life, the joy of every morning she woke up, the tranquility or reassurance she needed to see, the passion and deep love she knew she had. She could get lost in what she liked to call magical, prismatic eyes. She remembered the royal blue of his eyes whenever he was playful and happy, the ultramarine shade whenever he was being serious or thoughtful, the stormy prussian color whenever he was angry and that deep sapphire shade she only saw whenever they were together.

Serenity looked down at her blooded hands and then at the prince, with a slow motion she licked the tears tracing the line of her lips and took a deep breath and shook her head slowly "I cannot be in a world where you are not with me…" she whispered and traced the line of his jaw softly "…I cannot let you go…" she closed her eyes and grabbed the dark fabric of his jacket and pressed her lips together "What is the point of being alive when I cannot be with you?" she opened her eyes and looked at him with hurt and anger "You were trained a warrior, you were trained to save the lives of the defenseless but you never trained me to live without you…I cannot accept a life where you are not in it…I cannot…" she choked and took another breath

"…If we cannot be together in this life…then, _I do not care to live at all_"

The princess lowered her head and saw Endymion's majestic sword in its sheath close to his waist and curled her fingers around the sword's handgrip and pulled it in one swift move, the echo of the blade cutting the air hypnotized her and remember how many times she watched the prince clean the weapon with incredibly care. She looked at her reflection on the pale gold sword for a few seconds and sat straight, with both hands she grabbed the blade not minding of how it cut her palms in the process.

Venus' eyes widened in horror and slowly stood up, Beryl turned to the blonde then at the princess who was threatening her life with her lover's weapon and smiled "So stupid…" she whispered "Your Princess is giving her Kingdom away…"

"Princess!" Venus yelled, she shook her head "Please don't do it…pleaseee!"

Serenity watched a fine line of her blood trickle down the thin and sharp blade and positioned its tip right where her heart was still pounding in her chest; the princess took a few heavy breaths with determination and let go of her own life

"_Endymion…please, find me…wherever you are…find me…wait for me…I'm coming…"_

Venus moved much to Beryl's surprise but right when she was about to run towards her, Beryl held her from her shoulders and held her tight. She could feel her body being contaminated by the poisonous energy coming from the redhead; Beryl grabbed the blonde's hair and made her watch the princess' faith with horror.

"Princess….don't…please put that sword down!" she screamed.

Serenity pressed her lips tight in a fine line and looked up at the stormy sky for a fraction of a second and then at the dead prince with endearment _"Wait for me Endymion…"_ with determination she tightened her grip on the blade and let it go through all the way into her chest; with a grasp she closed her eyes and immediately fell over Endymion's motionless body, drenching him with her warm blood.

"_Endymion…you are my first love, my only love…even if we are reborn in another life, we will find each other…and then, we will fall in love again…"_

Serenity's voice came out in a soft whisper and let herself go.

Venus' felt her body burn with desperation and with obvious horror and shock PRINCESS….NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Her cry was muffled by the redhead's laughter "She's dead! THE PRINCESS OF THE WHITE MOON IS DEAD!"

Venus shook her head and let the anger inside her take over her body, like a vessel ready to explode by its owner she broke free from Beryl's grasp and went to take the stone sword then turned to the woman in front of her "I will never forgive you for what you did…I don't care if I rot myself in Tartarus…I don't care about anything except but _you, dead_"

She raised her sword in the air and launched herself over the redhead and pierced her stomach; Beryl widened her eyes and fell to her knees. She touched the wound the sword had left on her body with trembling hands and shook her head "No…impossible…" she looked up at the blonde senshi "I cannot die…the same way they did…"

"You not only deserve to die…but to be condemned in Tartarus for what you just did…I hope you rot in hell"

Beryl looked up at the sky as she felt her life pool away like the blood in her body "Queen Metallia…" she gasped for air "Give me…Kill them…" her red eyes began to feel heavy and slowly began to turn green again "En…dy…mion…" with one last breath her life left her body, leaving only a cold corpse in the pool of its own blood on the ground.

Venus threw the blooded stone sword away and ran towards her princess, she felt her heart pounding on her throat; she heard every beat echoing in her ears like a drum as she moved closer to the couple on the ground "Princess…what have you done…" she sobbed as she continued running, her blue eyes widened when she saw the queen coming in her direction alongside the other senshi and who appeared to be Nut, Geb and the young girl that came with Endymion.

Her body froze the moment she heard the queen's loud lament once she saw the scene of her daughter dead next to her lover's body and could not help to gasp for air, her body was starting to respond to the venom in Beryl's energy. Venus was starting to lose her battle and her eyes could only watch the scene of a heart broken mother crying for the loss of her only child while lying on the blooded grass and waited for her own death.

Queen Serenity felt her body stiffen the moment she saw the lifeless body of her daughter on the ground and fell to her knees, she covered her face with her trembling hands and sobbed her heart out "Serenity…no….what have you done?!"

Nut watched the queen fall to her knees and immediately feared for the worst. The older woman stopped in her tracks for a moment and put a hand over her chest then her aquamarine eyes widened when the fear and realization of what has happened got to her like a bucket of freezing water "Endymion…" she whispered and covered her mouth with her hand "No…Endymion…" she shook her head "Not my grandson…not my grandson…" Megumi widened her eyes and opened her mouth to speak but words could not come out.

The moon queen's cries were enough for all of them to know what happened. The senshi kneeled several feet away from the dead couple, heartbroken and hopeless. Mars wiped the tears off her face with one hand and cursed under her breath, Jupiter covered her face with both hands and Mercury ran her hands through her dark blue hair "This is not happening…this is not happening…" she whispered over and over, catching Mars' attention "Venus…" she widened her eyes and turned to look for the blonde and ran towards her as soon as she found her on the ground "Venus!" she called for the blonde and kneeled next to her.

Mars tried to revive the girl as she shook her and patted her face trying to wake her up "Venus…please, come back to us…"

Soon Mercury and Jupiter were next to the blonde and raven haired girl and helped Venus sit for a moment "I could not save her…" the blonde whispered and opened her eyes slowly "I could not save them both…"

"What happened?" Jupiter asked and saw Beryl lying dead on the ground with surprise "She's dead…"

"I killed her…" Venus muttered and looked at the queen, who was still on her knees crying for the loss of her only daughter, and lover "She…" she took a moment to continue "…She was going to kill her, our Princess…" the blonde licked her lips "The Prince had defeated Kunzite...and had defeated Beryl…but she managed to survive and went straight to her but the Prince pushed her away and received the attack for her, killing him"

Mercury widened her eyes and looked at the queen then back at the blonde "Then that means…" she trailed off; Venus nodded "Princess Serenity took her own life using the Prince's sword…"

The blonde shook her head "I killed the witch but that dark entity is still here…haunting us…"

Mars looked up and nodded "It is looking at us…"

Jupiter growled and wiped the tears off her face "I will avenge their death…I will avenge the Prince's honor by defeating this being…" she looked down at the senshi "He gave his life for our Princess…and I will give mine to avenge her death"

Venus nodded and with the help of Mars stood up with the last remains of her own life force, Mercury followed "Even if this means to give our lives in battle"

"We will protect our Queen" Mercury said.

"Protect this Kingdom from darkness" Mars said.

"And avenge the deaths of all those who fought for peace"

All four girls began to channel her energy and to glow with the power of her given powers, Venus took the lead and pointed at the dark entity in the sky "You have taken the most important people in our lives…and now we will punish you"

The dark energy that covered the black sky soon materialized into a woman in a black dress and very dry and pale skin, her hair was straight and long and it covered her face from the girls "This…is mine, it has always been mine…" she said with a hoarse voice "I already have Gaia's realm under my power and now I will have Serenity's…the universe will be mine" there was something in her monotone voice that chilled Mars' body to the core "This is evil…she is evil…"

Venus frowned and took a step forward and took the chain off her waist and summoned the last of her power _"Crescent Beam!_" a very intense light bloomed from the tip of her finger and sent a blast of very strong energy towards the woman in black.

Metallia absorbed the golden energy and chuckled giving Jupiter her cue to go next; bringing her hands together she closed her eyes and summoned her own energy _"My guardian Jupiter! Brew a storm! Call the clouds! Bring down the lightning!"_ strong lighting began to crash in the long thin antenna on her tiara as she began to manipulate the strong energy flowing around the tall amazonian "SUPREEEEEME THUNDEEER!" she opened her arms and sent the majestic attack towards Metallia but the same thing that happened to Venus, happened to her. Her attack it was lost in the pitch darkness of her gown.

"_It's useless…everything you do…it's useless…"_

Mercury and Mars did the same with her powers; the bluenette sent a freezing attack while Mars channeled the fire bursting from the tips of her fingers with her fire soul attack but with no avail.

Metallia looked at them and tilted her head, revealing her cracked and pale skin; she revealed her face at them and raised her hand "How dare you to stand up before a superior being?!"

The girls gasped at the sight of the dark woman's face and took position to attack again

"CRESCENT BEAAAM"

"FIREEEE SOUL!

"SHABOOOON SPRAAAAY FREEEZING!"

"SUPREMEEEE THUNDEEEEEER!"

Metallia raised her hands up in the air and absorbed the senshi's power "It's useless…the more you attack me, the more power you give me to kill you all" with a smirk on her demonic face she sent a dark blast at the girls "DIE! YOU DISGUSTING LITTLE PESTS…"

Metallia's energy felt like venom on the girl's bodies, it felt like it was gnawing their flesh giving them no time to act before the woman attacked them again with another blast of dark energy, leaving them helpless on the ground.

Queen Serenity turned and watched Metallia attacking the girls and frowned, her lavender eyes were fixed on the woman several meters away from her. Like a movie, she was drifted to the exact moment when she heard Nehellenia predict the future of her daughter while taking the life of her unfaithful husband and stood up, startling Luna and Artemis.

"I cannot let this go any further…" she frowned, her tears were still falling from her eyes "This has to stop"

The lavender haired queen turned to see the senshi in purple and black standing with her glaive near the palace and suddenly it hit her _"He sent you…"_ she muttered and looked down at her daughter and the prince _"I understand now…"_ she sniffed and with great pain nodded in realization _"I know what I have to do now…"_

Queen Serenity closed her eyes and summoned her own power until a bright silver light emerged from her body and materialized in the palms of her hands in a crystal ball.

Luna and Artemis widened their eyes in panic, being Artemis the one to question his queen's decision "Queen Serenity…if…"

"I know Artemis…" Queen Serenity opened her eyes slowly and looked at the crystal marble gleaming with intensity in her hand "…I know what will happen if I use the crystal, but I cannot let that witch spread more venom in this realm, in this Kingdom…" a silver moon wand materialized soon after in her other hand and turned to her advisors "This scepter can only be used by a descendant of the moon family…" she slowly put the crystal inside the curve of the polished moon at the top of the scepter and immediately began to glow a warm, calming light and raised her hand _"Please…find her, and give her this scepter…find them…"_

"Queen Serenity! Please…don't!" Luna exclaimed "If you use this you will die!"

Queen Serenity turned to Luna and gave her a small sad smile "Luna, you always so loyal and kind hearted…do not worry, everything will be alright…I promise…"

The queen turned to Metallia and looked at her "You will not have what you seek…you will never open that gate…you will never be his because he was never really interested in you, you were just a toy to him…"

Metallia turned to look at the white queen and frowned "Gaia's Kingdom is now mine, Earth is mine and soon the Moon and the entire universe will be within my grasp!"

"You cannot have Gaia's Kingdom…nor this one, because they already have their rightful owners" Serenity shook her head "You cannot have something that has never been yours"

Metallia frowned and squinted her eyes at the bright light coming from the queen's scepter "What…?"

Queen Serenity closed her eyes and let her energy flow from her body to the moon wand and with a powdery characteristic voice; she called for the crystal's power and channeled her own will and energy to her words.

"_Moon Healing, Escalation!"_

The light intensified much to Metallia's disgrace and covered her face with disgust "No…Noooo….NOOOOOOOOOO" she screamed in rejection "THIS IS MINE, THIS KINGDOM IS MINE…THE UNIVERSE, THE SUN IS MIIIINEEEEE NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" her yellow eyes widened when she saw how her body began to disintegrate into smoke and began to being swallowed by her own darkness "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? I CANNOT LOOSEEEE I CANNOOOOT LOSEEEEE!"

Sailor Saturn saw the queen fight Metallia and raised her glaive up high "It's time…" she whispered and summoned her power

"_Silence Glaive…Surprise!"_

Geb stopped wide eyed and held his wife, with closed eyes he accepted their fate and prayed for better days in the afterlife. Nut intertwined her fingers with her husband's and continued crying "Our grandson has died Geb…they took his life…they got what they wanted…We lost our grandson…"

Geb tightened his grip on his wife and kissed the top of her head then opened his eyes in realization "The senshi…of silence…she…" his lips parted in surprise and then turned to the young maid kneeling next to his wife "You need to keep it…"

Megumi turned to look at the older man with surprise "What?"

"Go…hide…find a safe place until all this is over…" Geb urged the girl to leave the place and go back to the palace ruins "One of us must stand alive…"

Megumi shook her head "But…I do not understand…"

"Goooo! GO HIDE, WE DO NOT HAVE MUCH TIMEEE! GOOOOO!" Geb plead the girl who had no other option but to obey and run back to the palace and hide under the piles of broken marble pillars and debris.

Geb took a deep breath and hugged his wife "My dear Nut…everything will be fine…I promise...he hasn't died, our grandson hasn't died" Nut opened her eyes and looked at her husband "Geb…"

Geb kissed her softly "I believe in him, I believe in my grandson…I believe in my daughter, I trust he will take our legacy to a better future" he smiled at her "But that will be a fight for him to win…"

Nut caressed her husband's face and returned the kiss "I love you Geb…"

Geb held her tighter "Everything will be alright, we will see them again…someday…"

The silver light coming from the queen soon began to engulf the moon and earth with a purifying energy. Metallia's screeching and growling soon began to fade away until the shadows disappeared in the basking light of the silver crystal.

Queen Serenity opened her eyes and slowly fell to her knees then looked up at the starry night sky "The stars…they shine…so brightly…"

Artemis and Luna held the queen as she slowly fainted in Artemis' arms "Queen!"

Queen Serenity turned her face to Artemis and gave him a soft smile "She is gone…Metallia…"

Luna moved closer to the queen and nodded "Yes Your Majesty…she is gone…"

Queen Serenity smiled again "I'm glad…"

Artemis closed his eyes "Queen Serenity…you gave your life to save us all…but…"

"Artemis" the queen interrupted him "It has come the time to change the future, you two are about to embark a new mission…this is only the beginning of a new life…" she turned to Luna and raised her hand that was still holding the scepter with the silver crystal "Please…find my daughter and look after her, give her this…"

Luna and Artemis widened their eyes in shock "What?"

"My daughter has found love with a man that gave his life for her…she have found real love and I want her to be happy…" she took a deep breath "Metallia has been put under a seal just like Gaia did many years ago but someday…one day…she will find her way to break free again…" she licked her lips "Please, find my daughter…and give her this scepter, look after her…and tell her how much I love her"

Luna could not hold her tears and sniffed softly "I swear My Queen, I swear with my life…"

Queen Serenity looked up at the night sky _"Live again Serenity…and live your love freely…find each other again and be happy…"_ with one last breath she slowly closed her eyes, the moon scepter slipped from her limp hand and before it hit the ground both Luna and Artemis were turned cats and put into a deep sleep.

Sailor Saturn walked in silence and put her glaive down bringing silence to the Moon, it soon lost its mystical energy and all the life that was once given by the gods was now gone, leaving the place desolated and cold. With great pain and resignation, she took the lunar queen's spirit with her and moments later she disappeared into thin air.

o.o.o.o.o

Megumi felt a heavy wave over her fragile body for a couple of minutes, the sound she could still hear just moments ago had died unexpectedly and shut her eyes with all the remaining force in her body. Her hands covered her face and slowly curved herself in a fetal position on the floor as she slowly waited for her time to die.

With a heavy feeling of solitude and loss in her heart, she tried to hold her tears to no avail; she was painfully accepting the loss of her prince and friend. Her protector had died saving the life of his lover. Frightened and resigned she felt the ground had turned cold, even more than it was before and noticed how nothing had happened since the moment she got inside and hid behind the broken walls. She slowly opened her brown eyes and looked around "Silence…" she whispered and wiped the tears on her face.

The young girl found her way out of the palace again and gasped when she saw her blue planet shining again with life around all the stars in the sky _"Earth…"_ she whispered and turned to look around and felt the solitude and the fright of being there on her own; it was so silent it was deafening and unnerving "It's…over…" she said softly as she walked alone lost in direction.

Her brown eyes widened when she saw Geb and Nut's bodies lying on the ground and ran toward them hoping to find them alive "No…" she whispered and kneeled next to them "No…please do not die…"

"It's too late…" a male voice startled her. The young maid turned frightened and watched Ares walk slowly in her direction. Megumi felt her body began to tremble and soon recognized the man's face.

Ares stood a few feet away from her with a distorted face; it was obvious he had been under too much pressure and that he had cried for the loss of his daughter and his friends. His sandy blonde hair was no longer in a ponytail and his green eyes were red and swollen. This was the perfect image of a warrior who had failed to complete his duty and it was heartbreaking to see "I came too late…I couldn't…" he trailed off and closed his eyes.

Megumi wasn't sure of what to do or what to say and turned to look around uncertain of her future "My Prince…" she choked with her tears and covered her mouth with a dirty hand "There is nothing else I can do…I do not know what to do…I came here with him and now I…"

Ares opened his eyes and looked in the direction the prince and princess were lying dead "The Prince…that is what Chronos wanted to tell us…" he muttered in realization "You are the only one who can help him now…"

Megumi frowned "What?"

Ares turned to Megumi "His sword…" he helped the girl stand up "You need to take the Prince's sword with you…and when it is the right time, find him and return it to him"

Megumi widened her brown eyes "I do not understand"

"Prince Endymion is not the Prince you knew, he has divine blood in his veins...he comes from a very strong legacy and that sword of his has been part of that legacy for many generations and because of that legacy it must be kept away from the enemy…you need to take it with you…take it, guard it, _protect it_ and return to its rightful owner when the time is right"

Megumi widened her eyes "But…how? I am no divine being, how am I going to find its rightful owner?" she turned to look around "I…"

"I cannot take it with me because if the gods find out it will bring more problems…it could only bring Chaos more quickly…" Ares took a moment to continue "That sword cannot fall on to the wrong hands. You were Endymion's friend, I entrust that sword to you…until you find its owner"

"But…how am I going to find that person?"

"You will be guided by it, until then…you need to take it with you and guard it with your life…do not let anyone find you; I must warn you this mission is life threatening, they will be following you, _he _will follow you but you have to be strong and you must have faith…" Ares said and pointed in the direction Endymion was lying dead "There is not much time left before they know you and I are here and their bodies disintegrate by Saturn's energy" he closed his eyes for a moment "Please…the future of Earth and this galaxy depends on that weapon"

Megumi widened her eyes and nodded; she accepted her new life by the sake of her prince. She turned on her heel and went to couple on the small hill, Megumi stopped and took a moment to see the couple on the ground and took a moment to look at them; to her surprise both royals looked like they were both asleep, their faces look at peace. It was Serenity's blood and the stains around the prince's body what brought her back to reality and again, she felt the pain.

The young girl kneeled next to her prince and caressed his face softly with the tip of her fingers "There is no one stronger or greater than you, my Prince" she closed her eyes and nodded.

"_I will protect your sword and find its rightful owner…I promise my Prince, I will never forget you, thank you…for saving my life..."_

She opened her eyes slowly and held the sword from its handle and pulled it slowly from the princess' lifeless body. To her surprise the blade came out easily as it cut through the air making that melodic echo while it moved slowly in the young maiden's hand. Megumi put it on her lap and ripped a piece of fabric from her gown and wrapped the blooded sword in it immediately and brought it closer to her chest protectively.

She took a few more minutes to say goodbye to both prince and princess and accepted her fate. Minutes after she stood up and turned to look over her shoulder "I will protect it, until I find its owner…I accept my fate, God Ares"

Ares nodded "We will meet again, someday…in the future but until then…I have to fight against darkness and prevent it from spreading across the universe…I must fight, until it's all over"

Megumi nodded and gave him a kind smile. With nothing else to say, Ares watched her turn on her heel and walk away until her fragile image was soon lost in the immensity of the night.

"This Kingdom will see the light of day again…someday…" the god of war closed his eyes and accepted the truth and the death of his dear friends and vanished in thin air unaware that he was not alone.

From behind a pillar Athamas appeared with a wound on his head that stained his face with dry blood. His hair was disheveled and dirty and so his once impeccable uniform; he looked around with a face of surprise and shook his head in denial but could not help being intrigued by Ares' words.

"_Rightful owner…"_

Even when he was at a considerable distance away from the young maid and the god of war, the silence made it easy for him to hear his explanations perfectly and could not help to feed his ambitious heart with the mystery behind that holy sword.

"_That sword…"_

He muttered and remembered seeing it gleam with a golden light, his green eyes darkened and turned completely black; his lips curved in a malicious smile; the man chuckled and took a step forward not taking his eyes off the blue planet shining bright in the distance.

"_That sword… is the key to ultimate power…and it will be mine…"_

"…_Again"_

* * *

_Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters._

_Did you like it? Tell me on the section below, or write me a PM! :)_

**__****_glory 14: I'm sorry...but, on your message I couldn't see your email address...maybe it had something to do with the webpage's privacy rules or something, could you pm it to me again without any symbols, just words, please, pretty please? _**  



	127. edited dialog

_A/N: Hi there, I just wanted to thank you all for your messages and your reviews; again, I appreciate your time and I am just honored to have you as my readers. I honestly must say that I have been trying to adjust my time and schedule again lol, the time I used for writing and editing chapters has come quite in handy in terms of I don't know...buying unnecessary stuff and paint, lost of paint. These vacations are a charm!_

_Anyways...today I was cleaning and archiving the story in my super hard drive (it has come the time to make some space in my usb for new stuff) and in between those curiosities I found an edited conversation between Eros, Leonidas and Endymion; I remember writing this particular scene... in the end I thought it wasn't so good so I cut the text off the chapter and wrote a different scene...anyways, I thought I share it with you guys :) _

_This scene is suppose to happen after Endymion learns and sign the order to go to war made by Eros...(I honestly, don't remember the chapter where this was supposed to be)_

_Anyways, I hope you are doing well... enjoy your free time and please, let's stay in touch :) _

_Enjoy!_

* * *

Eros sighed and opened his mouth but the sound of the door distracted him from speaking; Endymion's figure was caught in the soft warm light coming from the desk as he sat next to Leonidas and in front of his father. The king looked at his son with a worried face "What happened?"

"The bodies just arrived, I just arranged everything for tomorrow" Endymion said as he looked to the nothingness. The general looked at both son and friend and pursed his lips "Tomorrow is going to be a difficult day"

Endymion nodded and took the papers from the desk and began to read them "What are these?"

"New plan, a strategy that may require you to study it and make changes if possible"

The prince nodded and continued reading; Leonidas sighed softly and looked at the king "When are you going to talk to her?"

"About what?" Endymion asked, never leaving his eyes on the paper in his hands, the general pursed his lips "You, leaving"

"Don't tell Mother" Endymion looked at his father, his voice determinant. The king widened his eyes and frowned "What?"

"Don't tell her"

"Are you listening to what you are saying?"

"Yes"

"She has to know…"

Endymion shook his head "No, not this…"

"She has to know"

"No" Endymion said, this time more determined. Eros shook his head and closed his eyes "Son, please…if your Mother does not know it will affect her when the time comes…"

"And if she does, it's going to affect her even more…" Endymion said dryly "I have done to her already…I can't…" he trailed off and looked down. Leonidas turned to look at him "Endymion…"

Endymion stood up and began rolling the parchment in his hands "She can die!" he raised his voice, losing composure for the very first time "It's going to kill her to know this situation…" he sighed and ran his hand through his hair "I'm sorry…it's just…"

Eros stood up and nodded "Son I understand…it pains me too, but I need to take care of this matter…I will deal with that"

Endymion looked at his father with tiredness and rubbed the bridge of his nose; the king walked toward him and patted his shoulder "You need to rest…"

"No…" Endymion shook his head "I have to study this…"

"No, Endymion…" Eros put his hands on each shoulder and looked into his son's eyes "I need you to be complete…you need to rest. This has been a very difficult day and even if you study this tonight, you won't be able to solve or improve anything you are tired and we are not going to put it to work yet…please, listen to me just this time and have some rest. Go to sleep"


End file.
